Breathwork And Shamanic Healing: Revealing Their Fundamental Differences

Sometimes, participants come to breathwork from a Shamanic background. I am familiar with the Shamanic worldview as I went through a 3-year advanced training with Michael Harner and his Foundation for Shamanic Studies over a decade ago. The Shamanic worldview is vastly different from the Neurodynamic Breathwork worldview and below we will explore those differences. 

The Shamanic Approach to Healing

In Shamanism, when a person has a traumatic experience like a car accident, the theory is that a piece of their soul can leave their body and only a Shaman possesses the ability to retrieve these lost pieces through “soul retrieval.” Also in the Shamanic worldview, there can be foreign energies in your bodies that do not belong there. These foreign energies can only be removed by a Shaman through a process called “spiritual extraction.” In each of these situations, the Shaman assumes the role of the healer. 

Through the rhythmic beat of drums or the rattle of instruments, the Shaman will enter a trance-like state, and establish a connection with their spirit guide. Together with the spirit guide, the Shaman will search for and bring back the client’s missing soul pieces. Alternatively, they may extract foreign energies residing within the participant’s body and send them into the ocean or another place where they cannot do any harm. The underlying message of these practices is that the only way to resolve trauma or heal oneself is through a Shaman.

The Neurodynamic Breathwork Approach

In Neurodynamic Breathwork, we have a different worldview. We recognize that everybody has an inner guiding intelligence (IGI) that already has all the answers and knows exactly what needs to happen to bring the person to full health and wholeness. The problem for most of us, is that our ego mind has disconnected us from our inner intelligence (also known as inner wisdom or higher self). However, in the breathwork state, the grip of the ego mind loosens its hold, allowing for an immediate and profound connection with our IGI. As a result of this profound connection, the need for an external healer becomes entirely unnecessary.

In Neurodynamic Breathwork You Are the Healer, Not the Facilitator

The facilitators at Neurodynamic Breathwork are not Shamans, gurus, or even healers. The facilitator is there to create a safe space for people to connect with their own inner guidance and heal themselves. This is a modality of radical self-empowerment where people gain more and more confidence in their own ability to bring themselves to a place of wholeness and health.

‘Entities’ in a Breathwork Journey

If you encounter “evil beings” or “entities” during your breathwork journey, it’s important to recognize that they are not real. They are projections from your psyche, carrying a message that warrants exploration and understanding. Although the message conveyed will be deeply personal, the appearance of “entities” frequently symbolizes shunned, repressed, or disowned aspects of oneself, which need to be acknowledged, embraced, and integrated. While messages encountered during breathwork sessions are deeply personal, a unifying thread among all participants is that each session holds a message intended to bolster the individual’s journey toward wholeness.

Closing Thoughts on Breathwork and Shamanic Healing

It’s important to note that there’s no absolute truth in anyone’s perspective. If you believe in the Shamanic worldview, you can experience powerful healing with a Shaman. Our brains are ultra-powerful and the power of belief is one of the strongest available. We’ve also had participants integrate both approaches. They experience healing through Shamanic sessions and then come to breathwork and feel their own self-empowerment as they get more and more in touch with their own unlimited power to heal themselves.

Does the Idea of Empowering Others to Heal Themselves Spark Something Within You?

We offer a 6-month breathwork facilitator training that is not merely educational, but also a transformational program. This is a world-leading comprehensive training that will allow you to confidently Facilitate Breathwork session both online and offline. More than that, you will go on a deep and transformative inner journey that will allow you to release trauma and layers of conditioning, and step into your fullest potential. Past students tell us this program not only prepared them to lead breathwork journeys, but in many cases also transformed their relationships and life quality. Find out more about the pathway to becoming a certified breathwork facilitator and the best version of yourself here.

If becoming a certified breathwork facilitator does not interest you but you would like to experience radical self-empowerment with Neurodynamic breathwork we invite you to join us for a FREE breathwork session.

Click here to find out more about our online breathwork process.

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