The Power of Breath: Grof® Breathwork in Berkeley, CA

This workshop is now full. To join the waitlist, please email gianna@grof-legacy-training-usa.com

Grof® Breathwork is the brand of holotropic breathwork currently offered by the Grof Legacy communities authorized by Stan and Brigitte Grof. Developed by Stan and Christina Grof at the Esalen Institute in 1974, holotropic breathwork is an experiential method of self-exploration and healing designed to induce deep holotropic states of consciousness through a combination of very simple means - accelerated breathing, evocative music, and focused bodywork that helps to release residual bioenergetic and emotional blocks.

By activating the unconscious and mobilizing blocked energies, Grof® Breathwork invites access to all levels of human experience including unfinished issues from our post-natal biography, traumatic physical or emotional events, perinatal memories, death and rebirth sequences, and a variety of transpersonal experiences that can reach mythological, archetypal, and universal realms. 

While Grof® Breathwork is an internal process led by the breather’s own intrinsic healing intelligence, trained facilitators may offer a range of supportive interventions with the agreement of the breather.

What to Expect

In this workshop, participants will:

• Become familiar with the background of Grof Breathwork through asynchronous video and written materials

• Join an orientation to provide comprehensive preparation for the workshop

• Participate in two Grof® breathwork sessions (one as ‘breather’ and one as ‘sitter’)

• Engage in integration practices to process and embody the workshop experience

• Have an opportunity to check-in post-workshop on a live Zoom call, approximately one week after the workshop

• Receive a catered group dinner the day of the workshop

Hosted By

Rebekah Wheeler

Tamara Wolfson

Natasha Bell

Facilitation Team

Marianne Murray

Marianne is an eclectic and experiential practitioner in the field of learning. Her academic studies include master’s degrees in transpersonal psychology and mindfulness-based psychotherapy and a doctoral degree in transformative learning and change in human systems. Integral to her work has been her training with Stanislav Grof – she completed the Grof Transpersonal Training in 2001, is a certified GROF® Breathwork facilitator, and has facilitated holotropic breathwork in the US, UK and Europe, Kenya, and India. She is certified also as a facilitator of Bert Hellinger’s systemic constellation work and completed her training as a massage therapist, both of which inform her practice as a facilitator. Marianne had the good fortune to study with Stan during the mid-1990s, both in breathwork training and as a student at CIIS. Living into Stan’s insights on the nature of consciousness and his cartography of consciousness catalyzed not only deep personal healing, but also radically informed her work with group facilitation in the field of personal learning and change.

A faculty member at the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Marianne has been intimately involved with the development of their Leading by Being curriculum and helped to establish the Academy’s overall pedagogy. Topics that motivate her include: somatic awareness as an integral aspect of learning (and un-learning) as we explore unconscious, and semi-conscious, beliefs and biases. The role of facilitator presence in individual and group learning and healing. Now in her mid-70s she can’t help but ask, too, what is the conscious completion of a life’s journey?

Marianne is senior faculty/teacher for the GROF® Legacy Training USA, serves on the Board of Directors for GROF® Legacy Project, and is a Mind and Life Fellow.

Loriel Starr

Loriel Starr, CMT, SEP is a skilled and versatile practitioner with over 24 years of experience facilitating expanded and embodied states of consciousness for healing and self-exploration. Certified as a Grof Holotropic Breathwork® Facilitator since 2003, she has guided individuals through sacred journeys using breathwork, somatic bodywork, sound healing, medicine work, and in her role as a facilitator with the Grof Transpersonal Training team under the mentorship of Stanislav Grof.

Her many years of witnessing the profound impact of music in non-ordinary states led her to explore the healing power of sound. A 2008 graduate of the California Institute of Integral Studies’ Sound, Voice, and Music in the Healing Arts program, Loriel has become one of Northern California’s premier sound bath facilitators. For over a decade, she has offered immersive sound healing experiences in settings ranging from Grace Cathedral to yoga studios, music festivals, corporate wellness programs, and private ceremonies. She is deeply fascinated by sound as a portal into meditative states, medicinal trance, and deep rejuvenation.

Loriel brings a compassionate, integrative approach to her work, drawing from multiple body-centered modalities. She is a certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP), a Level III iRest® Yoga Nidra Meditation Teacher, and a certified Psychedelic Microdose and Integration Coach. She is also certified as a Somatic Embodiment, Sexuality, and Relationship Coach, supporting the integration of sexuality, intimacy, and embodiment as pathways to healing and wholeness.

Rooted in a deep respect for the mystery and intelligence of the healing process, Loriel’s work invites reconnection, resilience, and inner transformation. For more information, visit: www.lorielstarr.com

Schedule

Friday, Sept. 12

6:00-8:00pm: Orientation (via Zoom)

Saturday, Sept. 13

8:30am: Arrival, registration

9:00am: Grof Breathwork introduction

10:30am: Breathwork #1 and mandala making

1:30pm: Lunch (please bring a sack lunch)

2:30pm: Breathwork #2 and mandala making

6:00pm: Dinner (provided)

7:00pm: Small sharing circles and integration

8:00-8:30pm: Closing circle

Sunday, Sept. 14

10:00am-12:00pm: Closing circle, integration (via Zoom)

*Additional integration Zoom will be schedule approximately one week post-workshop

Contraindications

Grof® Breathwork is a transformative experience designed to facilitate deep self-exploration and healing. Due to the intense physical and emotional nature of the practice, certain health conditions may pose risks during breathwork sessions. To ensure the safety and well-being of all participants, please review our health considerations before registering for a workshop. You may also view our health questionnaire prior to registration.

We strive to create a welcome and inclusive community that engenders a sense of belonging, respect, openness, and safety in order to facilitate a personally meaningful process for each participant.  Our intent is to support all participants in their work of self-exploration and discovery. Thus, limited sliding scale opportunities are available. Please inquire directly with Gianna at gianna@grof-legacy-training-usa.com.