Holotropic Breathwork sits at the center of this wide ranging conversation between Psychedelics Today co-founders Joe Moore and Kyle Buller. Drawing from decades of personal practice and assorted types of breathwork facilitation, they explore how breathwork methods from the Grof lineage including Dreamshadow Breathwork can prepare people for psychedelic work, support difficult journeys, and deepen integration over time. Kyle shares how his near death experience, somatic training, and breathwork facilitation shaped this new course on breathwork foundations, while Joe reflects on how reading Dr Stanislav Grof and years of experience in Holotropic Breathwork changed how he approaches psychedelics.
The episode opens with how each of them first found breathwork. Joe discovered Grof's writing in college, then traveled to Dreamshadow workshops long before he worked seriously with psychedelics. Kyle came to Holotropic style breathwork while studying transpersonal psychology at Burlington College, arriving as a skeptic who assumed people were exaggerating until his first session opened into a full psychedelic level process.
They trace the roots of breathwork in modern psychology back to Wilhelm Reich, character armor, and early somatic approaches, then follow that thread into Grof's work and later branches. Joe and Kyle map out the different schools that emerged, including Grof Transpersonal Training, Grof Legacy Training, and Dreamshadow, and explain why the term "breathwork" has become a huge umbrella that covers everything from Wim Hof to short online sessions that are not actually Holotropic Breathwork.
In the middle of the episode they move into what this new foundations course actually covers and why it matters now. Rather than promising quick fixes, Kyle frames breath as a flexible tool for:
They discuss window of tolerance, fight flight freeze responses, and how fast, deep breathing can open powerful experiences but also risk overwhelm if there is no somatic literacy. Kyle shares a vivid story from a ketamine training where his near death trauma was reactivated and how simple breath awareness, slow belly breathing, and body based skills kept him from panicking or fleeing.
Throughout, they return to a key point: Holotropic Breathwork and related practices can restore agency. The breather chooses when to intensify, when to slow down, and how far to go, which can be deeply reparative for people whose trauma involved a loss of control.
Later in the conversation, Joe and Kyle caution against "keeping up with the Joneses" in psychedelic culture. They talk about people chasing ever bigger doses, accruing trauma, and then needing years of therapy to sort it out. Breathwork, including Holotropic Breathwork in a well held group setting, is offered as a slower, more grounded way to explore non ordinary states while building skills that transfer into medicine work.
They outline the core components of Grof lineage breathwork: intensified breathing, evocative music, focused body support, expressive art, and group sharing in a safe container. Joe highlights how group process, mandala drawing, and simply being witnessed can be as healing as the inner journey itself. They also flag practical next steps: Kyle's self paced breathwork foundations course at the Psychedelic Education Center, upcoming live online sessions, and in person weekend workshops in places like Breckenridge.
What is Holotropic Breathwork?
Holotropic Breathwork is a structured group process developed by Stan and Christina Grof that uses accelerated breathing, evocative music, supportive bodywork, art, and integration sharing to access non ordinary states of consciousness without substances.
Is Holotropic Breathwork as intense as psychedelics?
For some people, yes. Joe and Kyle both describe Holotropic Breathwork sessions that matched the depth of powerful LSD or ayahuasca journeys, while also noting that some sessions are quiet, restful, and focused on simple nervous system regulation.
Can I do Holotropic Breathwork alone at home?
They strongly suggest caution. Gentle breath practices can be explored solo, but Holotropic Breathwork as taught in the Grof lineages is designed for a trained facilitation team and a group container to reduce risk and support intense emotional or somatic processes.
How does Holotropic Breathwork help with psychedelic preparation and integration?
Breathwork helps people learn their own nervous system, practice staying with difficult material, and build trust in inner process. These skills often translate into more resilience, flexibility, and agency before, during, and after psychedelic sessions.
Is Holotropic Breathwork backed by research?
Research on breathwork is growing, especially around heart rate variability, stress, and subjective mystical type experiences. Joe and Kyle emphasize that early studies suggest overlaps with psychedelic states, but they avoid framing Holotropic Breathwork as a cure and instead present it as a powerful tool within a broader healing path.
In a culture that often treats psychedelics like quick fixes, this episode makes the case for slow foundations, embodied practice, and honest respect for the risks. By placing Holotropic Breathwork and the other Grof lineage breathwork practices inside a larger conversation about trauma, agency, and community, Joe and Kyle offer a grounded path for anyone who wants to explore non ordinary states in a safer, more skillful way.
Learn more about breathwork in the Foundations class here.