Holotropic Breathwork: Psychedelic States Without the Substance
No pills, no plants, no potions — just breath as a doorway into the extraordinary.
What if you could access a psychedelic state of consciousness without actually taking any drugs?
That’s the premise of holotropic breathwork — a therapeutic practice developed in the 1970s by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof — coincidentally just a few years after LSD was banned.
Drawing on both modern psychotherapy and ancient breathing traditions, Grof designed a method to reliably induce non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Today, holotropic breathwork is practiced around the world as a tool for healing, self-discovery, and transformation. And the science behind it is finally starting to catch up.
What Is Holotropic Breathwork?
At its core, holotropic breathwork uses rapid, deep breathing, paired with evocative music and a supportive setting, to shift brain chemistry and consciousness.
The technique is practiced in pairs: one person breathes while the other “sits” as a guide and support.
Sessions last two to three hours and end with an integration process — often through art, reflective journaling, or group sharing circles (or a combination of all three).
Watch this video for a demonstration of what a holotropic breathwork session might look like.
How Ancient Breathwork Became a Modern Therapy
The word holotropic comes from the Greek holos (“whole”) and trepein (“to move toward”).
Put together: “moving toward wholeness.”
That’s the goal — to open up the psyche, release stored trauma, and reconnect with the deeper layers of self.
Long before Grof coined the term in the 1970s, cultures around the world had discovered that breath could be a gateway to expanded states of consciousness.
In India, the yogic science of pranayama used controlled breathing to channel prana — the vital life force — for meditation and spiritual awakening.
In Taoist and Buddhist traditions, breathing was central to cultivating balance, longevity, and transcendence.
Sufi mystics used rhythmic breathing combined with chanting and dance to enter ecstatic states.
Even in ancient Greece, the word pneuma meant both “breath” and “spirit,” reflecting the idea that respiration was inseparable from life itself.
What makes holotropic breathwork different is the way Grof reorganized and secularized these traditions through the lens of modern psychology. Instead of being tied to a religious or cultural framework, holotropic breathwork is offered as a structured therapeutic practice.
It integrates elements like evocative music, safe group settings, trained facilitators, and guided integration afterward — all designed to make the altered state accessible without years of yogic discipline or esoteric training.
The other major distinction with holotropic breathwork is the connection of the practice to transpersonal psychology — a branch of psychology that looks beyond the individual ego to include spiritual, mystical, and transcendent dimensions of human experience.
Other Transformational Breathing Practices:
Pranayama — The yogic science of controlled breathing, using techniques like alternate nostril or breath retention to balance energy and focus the mind.
Kapalabhati (“Skull-Shining Breath”) — Rapid, forceful exhalations through the nose paired with passive inhalations, traditionally used for cleansing and energizing.
Bhastrika (“Bellows Breath”) — Vigorous inhalations and exhalations that mimic a blacksmith’s bellows, designed to stoke internal energy and heat.
Tummo (Inner Fire Meditation) — A Tibetan Buddhist practice combining breath retention and visualization to generate body heat and altered states.
Wim Hof Method — A modern system combining cyclical hyperventilation with cold exposure and mindset training to boost resilience and immune function.
The Science Behind Holotropic Breathwork
Holotropic breathwork is often explained in mystical terms, but the practice also produces real, measurable shifts in physiology and psychology.
The research is still young, and many mechanisms remain debated, yet a clearer picture is starting to form.
The science can be broken down into three dimensions: physiological, psychological, and mystical.
1. Physiological Effects
When someone begins the deep, rapid breathing of holotropic work, the balance of gases in the blood changes dramatically.
Carbon dioxide levels drop, a state known as hypocapnia, which in turn alters blood chemistry.
Earlier explanations claimed that since carbon dioxide is acidic, its removal through hyperventilation lead to a drop in blood pH (AKA it becomes more alkaline). While this is technically true in the short term (a process called respiratory alkalosis), the consensus among researchers today is that this “alkalinizing the blood” is an overly simplistic explanation of what’s behind the psychedelic-like effects.
The body rapidly compensates for any minute changes in pH. If it didn’t, essential proteins and enzymes would denature, and we would surely die. The small and transient rise in pH that results from lowered CO2 during hyperventilation is unlikely to account for the complex experiences people report from holotropic breathing on their own.
What seems to matter more is what follows from low CO2 — blood vessels in the brain constrict, especially in the cortex. Cerebral blood flow drops, starving higher-order “thinking” regions of oxygen and glucose while leaving deeper structures — like the limbic system and brainstem — relatively active.
At the same time, reduced CO2 changes how neurons fire — inhibition weakens, excitability rises, and brain rhythms become unstable.
This dual effect — cortical networks going quiet while emotional and sensory circuits fire more freely — may loosen the grip of ordinary cognition and allow unconscious material to rise to the surface.
Studies exploring circular and holotropic-style breathing have found direct correlations between falling end-tidal CO2 and the onset of altered states of consciousness.
2. Psychological Effects
The psychological impact of holotropic breathwork is where the research gets really interesting.
While the data is not as robust as what we have for psychedelics, a growing number of studies suggest that breathwork can ease depression, reduce anxiety, and even help people face existential fears around death and dying.
A 2023 meta-analysis of controlled trials found that intentional breathwork interventions significantly lowered stress and depressive symptoms compared to controls, with moderate effect sizes.
In psychotherapy contexts, clinicians report that breathwork sessions often unlock material that patients had been avoiding, allowing them to engage with trauma or buried memories in a more direct way.
Observational studies add further depth: participants frequently describe a boost in self-esteem, an improved sense of life satisfaction, and relief from chronic psychosomatic symptoms after repeated sessions.
While much of this evidence is still anecdotal or based on small samples, the pattern is consistent — people often leave breathwork sessions with a lighter psychological load than they carried in.
3. Mystical Effects
Perhaps the most compelling (and controversial) dimension of holotropic breathwork is its similarity to psychedelic and mystical experiences.
In one study, one in ten subjects reported experiences that met clinical criteria for a “complete mystical experience,” including unity, transcendence of time and space, and ineffability.
Others report archetypal imagery, reliving the process of birth, or profound encounters with death and rebirth.
These accounts echo descriptions from psychedelic research, where the depth of a mystical experience strongly predicts long-term benefits in well-being and life satisfaction.
Importantly, because breathwork is self-generated, participants can often modulate the intensity of the experience by slowing their breath — offering a sense of agency that a high-dose psychedelic journey simply can’t.
As with all mystical states — the outcomes of the experience are largely shaped by intention, context, and the meaning participants give to their experience.
Who Can Lead Holotropic Breathwork?
Because of the nature of holotropic breathwork as a gateway into different states of consciousness, the practice must be led with care by someone who is equipped to support the experience.
Much like a psychedelic therapy session, holotropic breathwork has the potential to expose and bring to the surface deep and intense emotion that can be overwhelming, so a safe container with a knowledgeable, qualified, and an available sitter is key.
Holotropic Breathwork, as a trademarked practice, can only technically be led by practitioners who have been certified to do so through an institution. The base certification program through the Grof Transpersonal Training, which normally consists of 600 hours of theory and practice.
The Risks of Holotropic Breathwork
Holotropic breathwork is generally considered safe when practiced in a supportive environment with trained facilitators. But it’s not without its risks.
Much like psychedelics, the practice can bring up overwhelming emotions — from euphoria and catharsis to fear, grief, or panic.
For most, this intensity can be healing, but for those in psychological crisis, it may be destabilizing. Ontological shock is a real psychological concern that can leave participants feeling disoriented, ungrounded, or unable to integrate what they experienced.
On the more physical side of things, holotropic breathwork induces hyperventilation — which, by virtue, changes the delicate balance of blood gases and temporarily alters circulation. For healthy participants, this is usually well tolerated, but for people with certain medical conditions, it can be risky.
There are a few specific conditions where hyperventilation can be especially dangerous, including:
Cardiovascular disease or history of heart attack
High blood pressure or angina
Asthma or other respiratory conditions
Glaucoma or retinal detachment
Family history of aneurysms
Epilepsy or other seizure disorders
Recent surgery, injury, or major trauma
Prescription medications that affect breathing or consciousness
For most healthy adults, the practice is safe when led by experienced facilitators and supported by proper preparation and integration.
But like any method of inducing non-ordinary states, it deserves caution and respect.
Using the Breath as Medicine
Holotropic breathwork sits at the crossroads of ancient wisdom and modern psychology. It takes something as ordinary as breathing and turns it into a gateway for extraordinary states of consciousness.
No substances. No shortcuts. Just the body, the mind, and the willingness to dive deep.
For some, the experience is a cathartic release. For others, it’s a mystical union or a confrontation with buried memories.
As the science catches up to what practitioners have long reported, one truth remains clear — in the right setting, with skilled support and proper integration, holotropic breathwork offers far more than a simple breathing exercise.
It can be a journey toward wholeness — a psychedelic path without the drug.
Further Reading
Inhale Insight: The Transformative Power of Psychedelic Breathwork
Awakened States: Exploring The Harmony Between Psychedelics & Meditation
Healing Isn’t a Performance: Why New Age Psychedelic Culture Is Missing the Point
Other Memory: Ayahuasca, Harmine & the Mystery of Inherited Knowledge
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