Originally, Rebirthing, as discovered by Leonard Orr in the 1960s and 70s, was largely about exploring and healing the experience of our birth into this world. As it evolved, the exploration and healing were being brought to many different experiences from across the clients’ lives, as guided by the wisdom of the breath and body. These days, people come to Rebirthing for many reasons, as it is known to have many benefits for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.
Many people are coming to Rebirthing for support and healing with conditions and issues that are prevalent in these times – chronic stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, chronic pain, and addictions – or in areas such as relationships, life purpose, and grief and loss. For many, it has strong implications in social justice. For others, Breathwork is a spiritual practice. Many people find benefits in all of these areas. Indeed, there is a thread that runs between them all.
The culture in our Western society has led to a disconnect from ourselves, our bodies, each other and Mother Nature, and this is impacting every area of our lives. People are finding ways to reconnect, to care, to support one another in these often very difficult times.
We are hearing more and more about ‘embodiment’ practices as being helpful for our health and well-being. Mindfulness is one such popular practice now, facilitating a deeper awareness of the mind-body connection. As with mindfulness, Rebirthing brings our attention to the breath in our bodies and to body sensations. These practices bring us to the present moment and how we are experiencing it in our bodies. Over time, such practices allow us to be more present with what is going on inside us, as well as around us and for others. What a gift it is to be present!
It is to our bodies we are turning as we understand more about ‘bottom-up’ healing as an effective approach in therapy, where the body and the nervous system’s part in healing is prioritised over the ‘top-down’ approaches that primarily focus on our thoughts and cognitive processes.
Rebirthing Breathwork works on the level of the nervous system and is a powerful and gentle way to unwind the stored stress that gets held there. Painful or traumatic experiences which are held in our bodies, often for a long time, can integrate and heal.
It is in being present with ourselves, or another, that healing can happen. In a Rebirthing session, the Rebirther is present with the client and their process, as the client learns how to do this more for themselves. The process forever deepens our connection to and trust in ourselves, our intuition, and our own innate abilities to heal.
As we release tension and blocks in our systems, and trauma is resolved, life-force energy is freed. We can gradually overcome limiting beliefs and behaviours. We literally have more space to be present, to breathe. We have more bandwidth to be with all the different experiences of being human – the joy, the pain, the discomfort, the magic! In Rebirthing, we are learning to breathe, and live, more fully and freely.
“During my training I came to understand that rebirthing is about freedom. It is a fast and amazingly effective way of liberating our core selves from inner constraints, from the tyranny of “should”, from a straitjacket of a lifetime of conditioning. The result is a life lived creatively, a life lived in daily contact with who we are, not who we think we should be”[1].
Rebirthers are harnessing their own passions, skills and experience, creatively devising their own unique ways of working with the breath. They may work more in the areas of birth, stress relief, sexuality, activism, social justice, group work, anger, death and dying, ancestral healing, creativity, children, couples work and more. Also, they may attract clients whose journeys show them areas in which they are being called to focus more. And indeed, many people wish to be of service in areas that they have had struggles and received support and healing and wish to give back.
It is often the case that a client will be drawn to a particular practitioner who has experience in the area they want to explore, whether they know this beforehand or not! The Rebirther and breather(s) work together in a field of energy, bringing healing to all involved.
Whether in a one-on-one session or a group, Rebirthing is fostering a greater awareness of how we are all interconnected.
The breath can be our ally, anchor and guide through life. We can become an anchor for others too.
“When the crowded Vietnamese refugee boats met with storms or pirates, if everyone panicked all would be lost. But if even one person on the boat remained calm and centred, it was enough. It showed the way for everyone to survive.” Thich Nhat Hanh
The breath and the way we breathe is connected to every system in our bodies, each other and beyond. It affects our nervous systems, immune systems, lymphatic, hormonal, cardiovascular, and digestive systems, our mental health and spiritual capacities and potential. The ancient yogis and other ancient cultures knew this, and modern science is proving it. It is a powerful tool to have in our toolkits for these times, and to share with others.
In a (quite big) nutshell,
Rebirthing Breathwork can help to:
– reduce stress levels in the body
– reduce anxiety
– lower heart rate
– lower blood pressure
– relieve and manage chronic pain
– increase oxygen levels
– improve circulation
– relieve fatigue and bring more mental and physical energy
– improve sleep
– improve heart rate variability
– strengthen the immune system
– regulate the nervous system
– heal trauma
– heal intergenerational wounds
– overcome addiction
– heal digestive issues
– support grief and loss
– bring mental clarity and focus
– improve mental health
– improve mood
– bring a greater capacity for joy and aliveness
– improve our relationship to ourselves
– improve our relationships with others
– deepen compassion for ourselves and others
– have or deepen a spiritual practice
– foster social cohesion
– facilitate greater self-awareness
– bring new perspectives
– increase creativity
– increase intuition
– increase inner peace
– improve self-worth and self-love
– bring more flow to our lives
– open to our sexuality
– increase self-empowerment and trust in ourselves
– find acceptance and forgiveness
– to be a safe haven for others
– and more…
Written by Kath Veitch
21st June, 2025
[1] Catherine Dowling, “Rebirthing and Breathwork, A Powerful Technique for Personal Transformation”, Piatkus, London 2000
