Is a Breathwork Journey Similar to a Plant Medicine Ceremony?

Short Answer - Kinda.

Perhaps you’ve been curious about attending a plant medicine retreat or maybe you have attended one and want to know if you could get a similar experience with breathwork. No matter the case, I’ll do my best to share what I know to be true through my own personal learnings and experience in hopes it provides some clarity for you. Noting, each person’s experience is unique to them and my own experience may not be reflective of everyone’s.

First let me say, consciousness expansion medicines and modalities have been used for centuries by different cultures around the world for healing and transformation. I find it very exciting that many of these medicines and modalities are becoming more accepted and accessible to people of today. I commend anyone who is doing the work to explore their own consciousness.

When wondering if there is a resemblance in experience when it comes to practicing breathwork compared to plant medicine or even psychedelics, it may not come as a surprise that a psychiatrist Dr Stanislov Grof, creator of Holotropic Breathwork, LSD therapy researcher and facilitator, with a high interest in altered states of consciousness began to use breathwork as an alternative to psychedelic substances in 1968 in controlled forms, connecting it to the natural bodily release of DMT, a hallucinogenic tryptamine chemical specified to a range of psychedelics that includes LSD and psilocybin.

This may help explain why we may see a correlation between plant medicine ceremonies and breathwork journeys. Both have the ability to alter states of consciousness, shift your emotional state and many people explain having visionary experiences and inner journeys which can feel psychedelic, and unexplainable in both experiences. It is up to each individual to choose their own path of transformation and I place no judgment around that choice. Again, the below information is just an account of my own findings, learnings and personal experiences.

Here’s a little FAQ Comparison:

What is a plant medicine retreat/breathwork journey?

A plant medicine retreat is a guided experience where participants consume various plant-based substances for introspective and healing purposes.

A breathwork journey is an experience where participants use particular breathing techniques for introspective and healing purposes while a facilitator holds space.

What can you expect during a plant medicine retreat/breathwork journey?

During a plant medicine retreat, you should expect to participate in ceremonies, guided meditations, and group discussions. You may experience non ordinary states of consciousness and intense emotional and physical sensations as the plants work through your system.

During a breathwork journey, you should expect to have a personal experience where you practice controlled breathing patterns while a facilitator holds space. You may experience non ordinary states of consciousness and intense emotional and physical sensations as unprocessed emotions or memories surface. Sharing your insights and experience are a powerful piece of the work. However, it is your choice to share and sharing may look different based on a private or group session.

What is ingested and how long will it last?

During a Plant medicine retreat some common plant medicines used include ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, San Pedro cactus, and tobacco. Plant medicine retreats can vary in length, but typically last anywhere from three days to a week.

During a breathwork journey you don’t ingest anything and use your own breath and different breathing techniques to incite restorative or activating sensations . Breathwork sessions can vary in length, but typically last 60 -90 minutes.

What are the benefits?

A plant medicine retreat can be a transformative experience that allows individuals to connect with themselves and nature. You may experience an opportunity to elevate consciousness and unlock more of what's already inside you. Possibly quieting of the mind, finding a deeper understanding of self, finding inspiration and inner peace and a higher connection to your purpose.

• Benefits:

• - Increased self-awareness and personal growth

• - Relief from emotional or psychological distress

• - Improved physical health and wellbeing

• - Access to alternative forms of healing

• - Process emotions, let go of stress and tension

• - Have access to clarity, insights and creative solutions

• - Heal past traumas and wounds

A breathwork journey is a deeply grounded, and efficient practice that allows individuals to access a non ordinary state of consciousness where they have access to the subconsciouus and can safely process any unprocessed energy or emotions that are held in the mindbody. A restorative breathing technique is used to reach deeper levels of relaxation, presence, peace and self healing and an activation breathing technique is used to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and have breakthroughs and emotional release that only years of therapy can accomplish.

Benefits:

• - Increased self-awareness and personal growth

• - Relief from emotional or psychological distress

• - Improved physical health and wellbeing

• - Process emotions, let go of stress and tension

• - Have access to clarity, insights and creative solutions

• - Regulate the nervous system

• - Heal past traumas and wounds

• - Ability to help with depression, anxiety, addiction and PTSD

Is it safe?

While plant medicine retreats can be intense and emotionally challenging, they are generally safe when done under the guidance of experienced facilitators. It’s important to do your research and choose a retreat center with a good reputation and a commitment to safety. It is crucial to do thorough research beforehand, including finding a reputable facilitator and preparing oneself mentally and physically for the experience. When considering participating in a plant medicine retreat, it's vital to note the importance of acknowledging individual differences in terms of tolerance levels. This variance makes knowing how much to consume an essential factor.

Risks:

• - Possible negative reactions to the plant medicine

• - Unintended psychological effects such as confusion or paranoia

• - Interference with medications or existing health conditions

• - Possibility of encountering untrained facilitators or unsafe facilities/ travel costs

• - Purging - excessive vomiting or diarrhea

• - Integration Support may not be available after the retreat

Breathwork journeys can be intense and emotionally challenging, however, there are zero reported incidences of anything bad happening.

As with any healing modality, it’s important to do your research, know yourself and your own limits, have an open mind and a willingness to let go of expectations.

Here are ten of the most common shared experiences with breathwork and plant medicine

Being in the present moment and a deep somatic relaxation in the body, supporting the parasympathetic nervous system and decrease of anxiety, nervousness, fear and depression.

A cathartic emotional release – through laughing, crying, screaming and breathing– which creates a lightness of being and a new sense of self. This spaciousness and new perspective can allow for the healing of trauma by being able to revisit it in a safe and sacred way and see it from a new perspective.

Personal growth, awakening, transformation: self-exploration and personal empowerment.

Experiencing deep happiness: feeling and embodying the frequency of love, self-love, joy, bliss, gratitude and euphoria.

Physical release from pain as energy flows through the body, releasing stuck and suppressed emotions and physical pain.

Enhanced energy, focus and clarity that supercharges the mind and body.

A “journey” that moves beyond the ruminations of the busy mind and ego self to a surrender into a higher state of being, where intuition, vision, connection and creativity flow and new ideas emerge effortlessly. Many experience “lightbulb” moments and insights about their life.

Pronounced feelings of connection or being with a deceased family member or friend or ancestors. Direct messages or conversations with those people.

A mystical or spiritual experience that connects you with spirit, the divine, source, higher self, god.

Ego dissolution and oneness: a loss of the sense of a separate self, and an enhanced feeling of connectedness with people, animals, nature and the cosmos.

And, to end on a personal note… as someone whom has experienced altered states of consciousness through different modalities, I have to say, it is my personal preference these days to practice breathwork alone, without substances, as I can personally achieve many of the same benefits as psychedelics and/or plant medicine and I don’t have to go to the middle of the jungle and puke into a bucket.