International Breathwork Training
Alliance - FORM TWO
Includes schools and practitioners of schools:
- Who agree on the common vision and principles
of Form I,
- Who agree to IBTA professional ethics,
- Who agree to specified standards for the training of breathworkers whic include specfic content of training, training hours and
objective competency
criteria.
In addition to upholding the ethical principles stated in Form
One, schools and practitioners belonging to Form Two attest to
their compliance with the following minimum and essential requirements
for Breathwork training.
Schools subscribing to Form 2 of the International Breathwork
Training Alliance are in compliance with the minimal requirements in
all 12 areas of Breathwork Training listed below and have
a written record of such compliance registered with the Alliance.
Professional Breathwork Practitioners subscribing to Form 2 of the
International Breathwork Training Alliance have received their training in compliance
with the minimal requirements in all 12 areas of Breathwork Training
listed below and have a written record of such training compliance
registered with the Alliance.
Preamble:
A breathwork training is a course of study designed to train
people to be professional breathworkers. Trainees may choose not to
practice after graduation but the course is designed to give
them the skills and knowledge to work with clients
as a profession, should they choose to do so.
This is markedly different to a breathwork seminar where participants
work on their personal development through the medium of breathwork. Such seminars are often called ‘trainings.’ What follows refers to
the training of professional breathworkers and not to personal growth seminars.
The following recommendations are based on a synthesis of contributions of
established breathwork training schools worldwide.
- Length of Training
Requirement:
A minimum of 400 hours of training time over a
minimum of 2 years training period. The division of
these hours may include classroom training, assisting at Breathwork Training,
Supervised practice with clients, observation of Breathwork sessions, individual Breathwork
sessions received from trainers, written
assignement and readings and may vary with programs.
Entry Requirements
Requirement:
Training staff must assess each applicant’s ability to utilize
breathwork training effectively and responsibly.
Criteria for this assessment will depend on training objectives and
may include the following at the discretion of the training staff.
Recommended:
It is recommended that training objectives and entry
requirements be
communicated clearly in writing to
training candidates and that they be notified of what entry criteria they do not
meet with and what they would need
to do to be eligible.
A minimum of 10 breathwork sessions,
Experience in group work,
Demonstration of maturity, mental and emotional stability, self responsibility
and the ability to function in a group,
Ability to learn emotionally,
Ability to learn intellectually, i.e. have the capacity for independent study literacy skills, etc.,
Demonstration of financial stability and social awareness,
Awareness of the commitment involved in the training and having made a clear decision to participate,
Prior knowledge of the tenets and principles of breathwork and the profession for which one is about to train,
For those operating a modular system with multiple entry points,
the requirements for entry to various stages of the
training will be based on attaining the knowledge, skills and qualities of the earlier phase of the training.
The following are suggested methods of assessing applicants:
Foundation workshops/weekends,
Interviews – individual and group,
Application forms,
References.
- Contracts/Agreements
Requirement:
All trainees to be provided with a statement outlining clearly
the commitment involved in the training. These include requirements
in terms of attendance at classes, between class work, assessment,
support provided by the trainers, costs and duration.
Recommended: Contracts are to be signed with a copy for the trainee
and for the school and also include a waiver form, a
statement of the school’s code of ethics and practice and a copy of the appeals
procedure. Trainees commitment is to the full length of the training course and should
they decide to leave the course before completion this needs to be discussed
with the trainers.
- Structure of Training
Trainings vary widely in how they are structured in terms of
blocks of training and sometimes this depends on the physical location of the training center
– urban or rural. Some trainings are modular with multiple entry points,
others are closed to new entrants from the beginning. It is therefore,
not possible or appropriate to specify how trainings should be conducted in terms of blocks of training.
For some it is one weekend per month, for others there are
longer blocks of residential training and for others there are elements of distance learning.
Trainings are divided into theoretical components and experiential work. A training course
should contain the following:
Requirement:
A training course should have personal development, client work under supervision, theoretical work, and peer
support. Some may require community service.
Recommended:  | One
quarter to one third of the time devoted to theoretical input | | Two thirds
to three quarters of the time devoted to experiential work | | Emphasis is placed on the personal growth of the trainee and not just on the acquisition of skills/knowledge.
However, the acquisition of skills and
knowledge is an important part of the training. |
Suggested experiential components- | Exchange
of breathwork sessions with fellow trainees under supervision, | |
Taking a minimum of 3 clients through a minimum of 10 sessions each under
supervision when trainees are
considered ready to work with clients by the trainers, | | Having
personal breathwork sessions with an appropriate breathworker at
least every two months during the life of the training, | | Having an
experience of different modes of breathwork, Providing ongoing
feedback/evaluation for students from self, peers and staff, | | Providing
experience of group breathwork, Ongoing and regular evaluation
of the course with staff and students, with a final evaluation
at the end of each year. |
- Supervision
Supervision is seen as an essential learning tool. Supervision is in relation to working with clients and
may or
may not involve the supervisor's presence at the time of the session,
but always respects the welfare,
confidentiality and requires the consent of the client.
Trainee’s peers can be their “clients” in the early part of the training, and paying clients
can be acquired from outside the training when the trainee is ready to begin work with the general public.
Requirement:
Trainees work under supervision from the time they begin working with clients (members of
the public and members of the training group) and supervised work forms an integral part
of the training. Supervision can take place either in a group setting or individually.
In both cases it can be with one or more trainers. Supervision
should also include written and/or oral reports of breathwork sessions with clients.
- Client Work
Requirement:
Trainees take their peers through breathwork sessions for a portion of the training. This
can be done in pairs, threesomes, etc. but it is done under supervision and forms
an integral part of the training.
Trainees take a minimum of 3 clients through 10 sessions each during the life of the training.
All client work, whether peer or with a member of the public
is supervised.
Work with members of the public does not begin until the trainee is considered ready
to work in this manner (usually in the second half of the training).
- Assessment/Testing
Requirement:
Trainings have clearly documented outcomes for the training in terms of knowledge,
skills, personal development, etc. These outcomes are to be assessed in appropriate,
non-competitive, supportive, empowering ways on a regular basis. Students are to be given
their assessment as a learning tool on which to build and focus.
Methods of assessment should be clearly specified and can include-
Recommended:
Self evaluation,
Peer feedback through group process,
Tutor feedback, written work including essays, reports, case studies, journals, etc.,
Examinations,
Practicum, e.g.. giving sessions, presentations, etc.,
Supervision.
- Printed Materials
Requirement:
All students are to receive a list of recommended reading including books, articles, resources, etc.
Where possible or appropriate trainers are to provide study manuals, copies of handouts, etc.
Materials that are required and which of these are included in the training fee are to be specified clearly.
- Trainers
Requirement:
Breathwork trainers have themselves completed a formal training program in groupwork and training. This can include an element of apprenticeship.
They are to have been working as a breathwork practitioner for a minimum of 2.5 years prior to becoming a breathwork trainer.
They demonstrate integrity in their personal and professional life.
They have good communication skills, organizational abilities and the ability to work as a part of a team.
They have an understanding of the ways adults learn and of the fundamental concepts
of adult education and methodology, i.e. empowerment,
groupwork, equality, self and professional evaluation, etc.
There should be a minimum of two trainers.
Recommended:
Trainers who have graduated from schools other than the one in which they are working are to be included
in the training team.
- Ethos of the Training
Recommended:
Training is based on the ethos of adult education (an approach to training and education
that is based on group work, a recognition that adults learn best by experience and therefore
theoretical concepts are drawn from experience as much as possible rather than from lecture, a commitment to equality and empowerment,
the trainer is more a facilitator of learning than a traditional style teacher/lecturer/guru, etc.)
It is seen as ‘drawing out’ learning from people’s experience
rather than ‘putting in‘ knowledge that is missing.
It is committed to equality and empowerment and respect for all who are involved.
Methodology is largely experiential and groupwork based, although there are times when lecture, etc.
is more appropriate to the material being delivered.
It is flexible and learner centered.
It has ongoing and final evaluations/reviews built into it on a regular basis.
- Modules
Form Two outlines MINIMUM
AND ESSENTIAL criteria for the training of competent, professional
breathworkers.
A breathwork training should contain the following units of
learning. A unit
of learning is a collection of topics that roughly fit together. This
does not
mean they have to be delivered together. Some topics can fit under
several headings.
These are offered as minimum requirements and do not preclude to adding to
and
expanding them if they so wish. They are not listed in any particular
order and the order
does not indicate any value judgment or priority.
Required: Material from all nine Units are to be covered in the training. Suggested topics for this
material are given.
UNIT 1: Personal Attributes and Qualities
Suggested topics:
| Personal | | Self-care | | The nature
of caring and loving | | Clarity of
intention | | Intuition | | Awareness
or | | Presence | | Self-esteem | | Motivation | | Responsibility and self-responsibility | | Social and
cultural sensitivity | | Professionalism | | Independence | | Self-esteem | | Motivation | | Responsibility and self-responsibility | | Social and
cultural sensitivity | | Professionalism | | Independence | | Closeness/Intimacy | | Independence | | Inter-dependence - the ability to be active within a community/group of people | UNIT 2: History and Nature of Breathwork | Theories
of breathwork - prana, chemical changes, armouring, altered
states | | Benefits
and limitations | | Client
suitability - contraindications for breathwork | | Research | | Literature |
UNIT 3: Breathing Mechanics
| Anatomy
and physiology | | Medical
knowledge - conditions pertinent to safety, eg. heart
conditions, kidney conditions, etc. | | Medication
and its effects on the process and effectiveness of breathwork | | Analysis
of breathing |
Unit 4: The Business of Breathwork
| Record
keeping | | Referral
protocol | | Accounting | | Establishing a practice | | Public
presentations | | Legal
issues | | Venue |
UNIT 5: Breathwork and Breathwork Sessions
This unit will be adapted to suit the particular type of breathwork being
taught.
| Five
elements | | Variety of
breathwork techniques e.g. rebirthing, vivation, holotropic, et |
| Types of breathwork dry,
water, mirror, eye gaze, group, etc | | Breathing
cycles | | Integration | | Stages of
a breathwork session | | Interviews
and record keeping | | Reading
energy, role of energy, energy as a vehicle for thoughts and
emotions, moving energy with the breath | | Variety of
experience e.g. pain, yawning, ecstasy, tetany, suspended
breath, etc. | | Recognizing emotions in the breath | | Intuition
its strengths and limitations | | Staying
with the client throughout - physically, intellectually,
emotionally and energetically | | Touch | | Movement | | Verbal
interventions |
UNIT 6: Theoretical Approaches
There should be more than one theoretical approach presented to trainees. These can include the following: | Psychology | | Creative
power of beliefs (this is arbitrarily put in this section but it
really permeates a whole training, in fields such as
self-responsibility, self-esteem, business, energy work, etc.) | | Main
schools of psychological thinking i.e. pschodynamic, behavioral,
person centered, transpersonal, Buddhist, etc. From these
schools more detail on selected theories can be presented if
suitable or desirable. | | Theories
of human development and stages of development e.g.. Freud,
Erickson, Rosenberg, etc. | | Personality theories | | Body
Psychotherapies |
Unit
7: Counseling/Communication
Suggested Topics
| Active
listening | | Congruence and incongruence, empathy, genuineness | | Body
language and what happens to the body during expression, eye
contact | | Respecting, understanding and working effectively with diverse
cultural, socio-
economic and religious populations | | Identifying own listening patterns | | Facilitating disclosure | | Summarizing, questioning, mirroring, etc. | | Difference
between counseling, advising and helping | | Other
facilitation counseling techniques/approaches, e.g., inner
child, TA, NLP, Gestalt, Voice Dialogue | | Referral:
Knowing when and how to refer clients, what is out of one's
scope of practice or advisability to work with clients. |
UNIT 8: Presenting Issues - approaches to physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual client issues.
Training should include basic understanding of the challenging issues which may be presented by clients and the life contexts in which
such issues arise. Trainees are encouraged to explore these issues in their own lives and become aware of how they may influence their work
as breathworkers.
Suggested Topics:
| Architecture of emotional and psychosomatic
disorders | | Depression | | Fear | | Phobias | | Addiction | | Grief | | Anger | | Dissociation | | Abuse -
all forms | | Relationships | | Sex and
sexuality | | Spirituality and spiritual crises | | Self-esteem | | Family
dynamics | | Sibling
relationships |
UNIT 9: Client-Practitioner Relationship
Suggested Topics | The role
of the practitioner/breathworker | | Ethics | | Boundaries | | Transference and counter-transference | | Projection | | Mirroring | | Closeness/Intimacy | | Independence | | Enmeshment | | Motivation | | Being
present | | Awareness |
12. Continuing Professional Education Requirements
National registration bodies may require annual post graduate
education. It is not the job of the training schools to determine the nature and amount of ongoing
professional
personal development requirement. The schools may provide the training
to meet these requirements but they are not responsible for ensuring that their graduates
participate in
ongoing professional development. That is the job of the national
registration body. But in countries where there is no national body, the training establishment
could make
suggestions or offer guidelines for graduates.
Recommendation:
Registration for individual practitioners in Form II of the IBTA requires
having
completed training in accordance with the above guidelines and 16 hours (two
days) of
continuing education per annum in breathwork or additional skills that
contribute to work as
a breathwork practitioner.
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