Rebirthing
Breathwork to release emotions and let go of past experiences.
The rebirthing movement was founded by Leonard Orr in the 1970s. Orr, a former student of spiritual and metaphysical thought with the organization (Erhard Seminar Training), describes rebirthing as a process of "learning to breath energy as well as air."
The concept launched in the late 1960s, thanks to experimentation by an American called Leonard Orr and his colleagues at Hay House including Sondra Ray.
Background of rebirthing / breathwork
At birth we take our first breath in sometimes a 'harsh' environment. It has been theorised that this experience can have a profound effect on the way we think and behave.
The term 'Rebirthing' evolved originally due to client's birth memories arising after being processed in hot tubs. Orr realised after awhile that it was the connected breath that caused these submerged memories to emerge not the water experience. Hence the process moved out of the tub and clients were rebirthed dry lying on a comfortable mattress.
Orr explored altered states of consciousness by spending extended periods of time in a sauna and a bath( his breathing rate increased and he re-experienced birth memories). He found he would reach an 'urgency barrier' (one which stops you looking deeper), and by pushing past the barrier he was able to access deep insights and memories stored in his mind and body.
It enabled him to 'breathe easier'. By retraining the body to breath more deeply and fully, he found a new strength and quality of aliveness began to emerge.
The aim of rebirthing is to more fully understand and resolve the issues in one's life and relationships. In essence, it is a program employing techniques of environmental and interpersonal manipulation designed to change behavioural patterns by adopting alternative behaviours.
Since then it has been discovered that rebirthing/breathwork isn't just about the moment of birth, but the 'rebirth' of one's life and rehabilitation of one's breath. It's about clearing out and/or resolving experiences, which have blocked one's ability to change and grow. These experiences can and do effect the way we breathe, and most people are usually unaware at first that the two are connected. Today the Rebirthing/Breathwork technique is mostly practiced 'out of the tub' with a trained Professional Rebirther safeguarding one's personal journey.
Just over 30 years down the track, the process has given freedom to literally millions of people worldwide. By changing your thoughts, you can change your life. Rebirthing/Breathwork helps you to create change in a profound, safe and supportive way, and release and heal emotional stress and tension.
The process of rebirthing / breathwork
Essentially it consists of continuous deep breathing exercises without pausing between breaths, sometimes followed by a massage while on a mattress, called a "dry" birth, or in a tub of oil, called a "wet" birth.
During the physiological state that ensues from the hyperventilating, dramatic impressions of happenings in one's childhood are recalled usually resulting in a burst of anger or a flood of tears and a feeling of emotional release.