Rebirthing Breathwork: What to Expect from a Session (and the Contraindications)

Of all the breathwork practices, Rebirthing is the one that intrigues and intimidates the most, often for the same reasons. Born in the 1970s from the work of Leonard Orr, it is a technique of connected conscious breathing: you breathe in a continuous, circular way, with no pause between inhale and exhale, for an extended time and under guidance. Here is what to really expect, and what a serious professional tells you before you lie down on the mat.

How a session unfolds

A typical session lasts between one and two hours. You lie down, in a protected, sheltered space; the facilitator guides the rhythm of the breath, connected, full, usually through the mouth or the nose depending on the approach, and accompanies whatever emerges. And something almost always emerges: the amplified breath temporarily changes the body's chemistry, and with it may come tingling, heat or cold, contractions in the hands, intense emotions, memories, tears, laughter. The final part is relaxed: the breath returns to normal, the body integrates, you share if you wish. In group circles the experience is collective but the journey is individual: each person on their own mat, the facilitator there for everyone.

What it is NOT

Let's be clear, because Rebirthing carries half a century of stories with it: it is not a therapy, it does not cure illnesses, it does not replace a medical or psychological path. Nor is it a magic ritual: the physical phenomena of the session have known physiological explanations (voluntary hyperventilation temporarily alters the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide: that is the reason for the tingling). It is a powerful experience of awareness, which many people describe as liberating. Keeping it in its rightful place, a wellbeing practice, not medicine, is what makes it serious.

The contraindications (the most important section of this page)

Precisely because it is an intense practice, Rebirthing is not for everyone. The recognised contraindications include, among others:

• pregnancy;
• epilepsy and a history of seizures;
• cardiovascular conditions and uncontrolled hypertension;
• glaucoma and retinal detachment;
• aneurysms, including a family history of them;
• serious psychiatric conditions (including psychotic and bipolar disorders) or moments of acute psychological fragility;
• recent surgery.

A serious facilitator collects this information with a written questionnaire, before the session, and when in doubt says the most valuable "no" of their profession. If someone offers you a rebirthing that is "suitable for everyone, no problem", walk the other way: they are minimising exactly what must not be minimised. And for any health condition, your doctor has the final word.

The first circle at the masseria

Rebirthing is coming here too: Davide, Rebirthing Breathwork facilitator we work with: the first group circles will take place in the coming months in the masseria's vaulted stone hall, 55 m², air-conditioned, with the intimate acoustics of the vault and the silence of the countryside all around: a container that seems designed for this practice. The sessions will open with all the seriousness described on this page: written screening, small groups, gradual steps. If you want to be there, join the waiting list: those on the list will be the first to hear and will have priority for places.

In short

Rebirthing is a deep experience that deserves two things: the curiosity to try it and the seriousness to do it well: with the right guide, in the right place, with the right questions asked beforehand. With the first we cannot help you; with the other two, we are getting ready. See you soon, with the breath.