By Viola Edward

“Conscious Connected Breathing can entice us to voyage far into the realm of being, often beyond mere words. The pure heart of the universe beating in harmony with the voice of the soul, dancing and flowing with the self, while listening to the song of the spirit.

Powerful recognition that life itself is a gift of different sounds and rhythms, some of them so simply sweet, though others are more complicated to accept.

If we keep breathing, thinking and acting in this conscious connected way, we will reach the most precious gift of all, the acceptance of what is”.          Viola 1999

Recently, a dear friend had her first Conscious Connected Breathing Session. She was thrilled with the experience and for days she was talking and sharing about it. It was such a pleasure to be explaining the phenomena of the process to her for some days in a row.

It reminded me of a very similar feeling that I had in the early nineties during my first session. I felt in love with the kindness and the joy of reconnecting with my own energy fully through my own breath… No interference from any outside source…just me and the rhythm of my breath, a sitter beside me, confidently holding the space for me with her presence and experienced knowledge about Breathwork…No pushing, no massaging, no incense, no music, just me and the breath.

I felt so empowered and immediately understood my place and my power distinct from the domain of the breathworker, who was diligently holding the space but was not the one creating the process. It was I, following the basic instructions of conscious connected breathing and feeling safe that a well-trained person was beside me, holding the space for me. This is what I was told would happen and this is what it was.

My, oh my, that was powerful, an hour or so of steady breathing, with an energy in my lungs that I didn’t know I had (I had been a chain smoker for fourteen years).

The wisdom of my inner self simply let go and I gratefully surrendered to what I was going through. It was a time of my life that I was ready for a change and here it was. I fell in love with the breathwork methodology and began searching for the source. I went to the USA to train with Leonard Orr, the founder of “Conscious Connected Breathing”, also known as “Rebirthing”, at his ‘Inspirational University” and, as I am a very lucky person, I also had the honour to be trained by another pioneer breathworker, Toni Lo Mastro and his team in the Philadelphia Rebirthing Centre.

Since then, I have taken Breathwork to another area of my life. With my background in Business, I introduced breathing to the Business World with the extraordinary consultant Neida Guasamucare. She trained me to be a consultant and I trained her to be a breathworker. Peer mentoring is pure wisdom if it’s done with an open heart and mind.

Then, with my sister Layla, who also trained with the same team that I was trained with in Philadelphia, we created and taught our own training programs in Caracas at our company ‘Centro Rebirthing de Venezuela’. and then evolved out onto the international platform.

I have been so blessed to be part of the pioneering of Breathwork CCB in South and Central America. I was the organiser of the 2002 GIC (weeklong Global Inspirational Conference) sponsored by IBF (International Breathwork Foundation) on the Caribbean island of Margarita, which hosted 203 breathwork lovers from 30 countries.

ContinuIng the work in Cyprus with Michael, my breathworker husband, we now have our own trademark “Kayana Breathwork International”, following the basic teachings of Leonard and enriched by Layla’s and my training as Psychotherapists and Michael’s as body therapist.

A key breathwork parameter for us is the encounter with freedom and the power of the self through the breathwork experience. For this reason, we strive to keep the breathworker’s interference in the breather’s experience to a minimum. The client then encounters their own power and with good feedback learns to transform any dysfunctional breathing habits by themselves. ‘The important problems that we face cannot be resolved on the same level that we create them.’ Albert Einstein’

There are many varieties of breathing techniques. Conscious Connected Breathwork is the one I love, the one that healed me, the one I use in my trainings. I really value the way the trained breathworker’s interventions are tailor made for the breather in each session and have the energy of focused guidance rather than duplicated systemic actions.

The other element that I love is the freedom that this wonderful technique creates. After ten accompanied sessions with a professional, the client can take their accumulated knowledge home and continue to practice independently. The technique trains them into an awareness of their own breathing which enables them to self-direct.

I want to invite you all to explore and learn how conscious connected breathwork leads us beyond the limitations of our habitual, defensive breathing rhythms triggered by pains and traumas during our early lives, especially in our childhood and teenage years, hopefully, there is a Breathworker nearby you if not let me know and I will find them for you.

Satisfaction in life reaches its maximum expression when thought and action dance to the same rhythm of the Breath.

‘To explore the internal labyrinth of the mind, body, spirit and emotions, we should not work with the Psychology of the Dysfunctional, what is needed is a Psychology of Freedom, with the appropriate tools to find our own truth and help others to find theirs.’ Abraham Maslow.