“Somehow despite a built-in aversion to new-agey type things I found myself at Jon Paul’s Breathwork class and I’m lucky I did because it’ was a great experience. Memorable, useful and Important.”
~ Owen Wilson via The Hollywood Reporter
“Breathwork changed my life. Jon Paul‘s passion and style inspired me to Go through his teacher training program. A game true game changer In my practice of mindfulness. Breathwork is undeniable.”
~ CEO | Brooke Burke Body
“I hate Breathwork and Jon Paul (Kidding) but if you must do Breathwork make sure you do it with Jon Paul.”
~ Matthew Perry via The Hollywood Reporter
WHAT IS BREATHWORK
What is Breathwork? Is a question I’ve been getting for the last ten years.
Breathwork is an umbrella term so it can cause a good deal of confusion or misunderstanding. It’s sort of like saying “fitness”. If someone said to you; “I teach fitness”, you would probably ask them for more specifics. Such as; “Do you teach SoulCycle, CrossFit, Pilates, or strength training?”. There are so many different types of fitness now.
This is just like breathwork – there are dozens of types of breathwork techniques! And within these different techniques, you have people creating brands around specific techniques and that can make it even more confusing.
MORE ABOUT BREATHWORK
Where did Breathwork come from?
Breathwork dates as far back to 2700 B.C.E in China and 3000 B.C.E in India. It’s also been used in Japan and Tibet for centuries. These practices have since been much refined and “modernized” to fit into today’s society.
The physical, emotional, psychological, and even spiritual benefits have been well established and studied and continue to be studied today.
What are a few of the techniques?
Breathwork techniques can vary from “Breath of fire” to “Box Breathing” to “4-7-8 Breathing”
I’ve done and taught all of these various techniques at different times. To determine which technique would be most beneficial for you first you need to know what your goal is or whatever issue you may have challenges with.
There is one particular technique I focus on and teach in my classes the majority of the time. The technique I mostly teach is called circular breathing or conscious connected breathing. The reason I focus on this technique is because it yields massive results in a very short amount of time. From the first time you try this technique, the results are immediate and undeniable. One of the things I love about circular breathing/conscious connected breathing, is that often – the more skeptical or resistant you are, the bigger the experience. Don’t take my word for it, do it and find out for yourself.
The results are different for everybody and you will have a different experience almost every time (this also makes it really challenging to explain) So instead I focus on the results. The most common statement that I hear after my class is; “That felt like 20 years of therapy without having to say a word!” People from every demographic come and do my Breathwork and have massive results.
Results such as; relief from stress, anxiety, depression, and healing lifelong wounds of feeling abandoned from a parent to physical health issues quickly disappearing.
I go more into the results in “Benefits of Breathwork” article.
This once common question of “What is Breathwork” has quickly started to disappear and I have seen the popularity of Breathwork increase dramatically over the last five years. It seems like every podcast host wants to talk about it now. And the Google search has increased pretty steadily over the last 5 years as well.
Where can I try Breathwork?
I lead a class online via Zoom, Sundays at 9:00am PST (12:00pm EST) and if you can’t make the class, there is a replay available for 72 hours afterwards. This class is geared for newbies as well as for intermediate and advanced breathers. You can register and find out more about the class here: Class link
BREATHWORK TOPICSVISIT THE BLOG
The Different Types of Breathwork What is Breathwork and why is it so confusing? Breathwork is an umbrella
Is Breathwork Dangerous? Here’s a 3-minute youtube video I did on this topic. Is Breathwork Dangerous?
Breathwork is the most healing thing I’ve ever done and I’ve done a ton of healing work. I
BREATHWORK BENEFITS
The Benefits of Breathwork are Many and Massive
Breathwork has so many benefits that I am hesitant to share them all here because it might sound like it’s too good to be true – especially for people who have never experienced it before. I understand that some people are reluctant to believe that something they have already been doing their whole life (breathing) could suddenly have such a huge impact in the areas that they have been struggling with.
My reaction after my very first breath work session was; “How has something this incredible, this powerful, this transformative, been available to me all this time and nobody told me about it?”. I was in shock and awe and couldn’t really put the experience into words at the time.
The experience was profound and undeniable.
MORE ABOUT BREATHWORK BENEFITS
Over the last ten years I’ve been privileged to guide thousands of people through Breathwork – giving them the same incredible experience. That being said, I lead breathwork in a much different way than my original experiences.
Explaining the Breathwork experience to someone is like trying to explain the colors in a kaleidoscope to someone who is blind. I just isn’t possible, so rather, I like to focus on the results. The most common statement heard after my classes is; “That felt like 20 years of therapy without having to say a word.”
Over the last ten years I’ve personally experienced so many incredible breathwork benefits and witnessed others experience the benefits as well.
One of the things you should know is that Breathwork is different for everybody and it’s different every time you practice so the results and benefits vary greatly.
I’m going to list 13 of the biggest benefits below. These are the most popular and immediate benefits that I see on a regular basis after 10 years of doing classes with 300+ people per class.
- Profound immediate stress release
Almost everyone experiences a huge stress relief immediately after doing this Breathwork technique. This is what most people come looking for and it’s exactly what they get. Rarely does something deliver so well as this. - Helps with depression and anxiety
It’s been said that depression is about being stuck in the past and anxiety is about worrying about the future. Breathwork puts you right in the moment like nothing I’ve ever experienced and clears out that depression and anxiety. - Release toxins from your body
Breathwork stimulates the lymphatic system and detoxifies the body. Breathing releases carbon monoxide and breathing is in charge of 70% of cleansing the body of toxins. The other 30% is done through the bladder and bowels. If you do not breathe fully, your body must work overtime to release these toxins. - Increase energy and boost immune system
Breathwork improves our stamina and the more oxygen that you take into your blood the better our body functions. I’ve had people tell me once they started doing Breathwork they got all their energy back and they felt 20 years younger. - Helps with the digestion process
Diaphragmatic breathing creates a gentle massaging action felt by the internal organs intestines and stomach which can reduce abdominal pain urgency, bloating and constipation. If you’re suffering from G.I. symptoms you should definitely give this a try as I’ve been told amazing things by my students over the years. - Releases trauma and fear
I personally released all of my childhood trauma within the first three months of doing Breathwork. It caused such a dramatic and positive change in me that everyone who knew me asked what have I been doing. They wanted to try it as well because it was so obvious that I was a calmer and happier person. Breathwork also clears out fear of people and situations. - Increases self-love
To me this is actually the biggest benefit from Breathwork because when you start to have more self-love, everything in your entire life changes. We all know we need to love ourselves but most of us have no clue. Practicing breathwork and showing up for yourself by doing the uncomfortable work, is true self love. - Eliminate chronic pain
Most chronic pain actually stems from our emotions. Stress and anxiety create chronic pain in our body. Nobody doubts that stress can cause heart attacks and other health problems. I cannot even tell you the number of people that have told me the pain in their neck, back, wherever has gone away immediately from doing Breathwork. - Improve sleep
Studies have shown that diaphragmatic breathing helps relax the mind and aid in sleep. I don’t suggest to my students that you do my particular technique right before bed as it can elevate the heart rate, but a few hours before bed is fine. People tell me that they sleep like babies after doing this Breathwork. - Increase self-esteem and confidence
The number one regret people have on their deathbed Is that they wish they didn’t care so much what other people thought about them during their lifetime. One of the biggest things I’ve gotten from (Breathwork) is not giving a shit what other peoples’ opinions of me are. When you don’t care what other people think, then you can accomplish so much and it gives you a confidence that is unshakable and real. And people are attracted to that type of confidence. You become a magnet. - Explore altered states of consciousness
(Breathwork) can take you into other states of consciousness and altered states and it can get pretty far out there. I’ve had some incredible experiences that are hard to explain and some of the realizations that have come to me during Breathwork have completely altered the course of my life for the better. - Strengthen your lungs
Focusing on your breathing and doing a strong breathing technique strengthens your lungs. I found personally that this translates over into the sports and physical activities that I do on a regular basis. - Resets your day like nothing else
Whenever you’re having a bad day you can just lay down and do this technique and it will completely reset you mentally physically and emotionally and it resets your entire day and gives you the perspective you need to start over. Anytime I’ve ever had an argument with my wife and I’ve done Breathwork I always come down and apologize and realize what I was arguing over just isn’t that important in the big picture. So Breathwork gives you a big picture perspective.
There are many more benefits than I have listed here and you will only discover them if you actually start doing (Breathwork) on a regular basis. If you want change in some way or some area of your life, this is the best tool I’ve ever found to create change. If you want something different, do something different. The more you do breathwork and start to use it for different areas of your life, you will see that you can transform your entire life with this incredible Breathwork practice. But as I always say – don’t take my word for it, do it and find out for yourself.
BREATHWORK TRAINING
Breathwork Training is also known as Breathwork Teacher Training, Breathwork Facilitator Training, Breathwork Coach Training, and the list goes on. For the purposes of this article, we will simply refer to it as Breathwork Training.
Breathwork Training is my favorite thing to teach. Not only do I get to dive deep for two full days and each of my trainings (I have two trainings) I get to see people transform in front of my eyes in a weekend and then I know they’re going to go out there in the world, and help other people do the same so I feel like I have purpose and fulfillment. I feel like I’m doing good work on the planet, and I’m leaving the world a better place than when I found it.
I had been leading sold-out classes for years before I finally decided to do my own training.
MORE ABOUT BREATHWORK TRAINING
Students have been asking me for a long time to teach them how to lead others in this transformational process. I hesitated at first but then realized that there was no one out there who has classes as large as mine, or who has been doing it as often with so many large sold out classes. I don’t say this to brag, but rather to illustrate that I had more experience taking hundreds and hundreds of people through Breathwork at a time than most other Teachers. And that experience is extremely valuable because I could pass on so many things I learned in this process.
When I set out to create my own Teacher Trainings, I took a year to design the trainings in such a way that it would give my students the confidence they needed to lead others, sessions and classes. I feel like in the two weekends of my trainings, you will have the same experience and knowledge that you would get from other Teachers’ one year trainings, but at a fraction of the time and cost. I don’t just know that from my own experience of other Teacher Trainings but from the many students who have completed my trainings. I break it all down in a way that tells you exactly what you need to do and say in breathwork sessions and classes. From this foundation you can then develop your own style.
Another thing that’s different is that I allow my students to be free of any restrictions from branding and control. With most Breathwork trainings, you are forced to use their brand name and to continuously go through different levels and spend tons of money. That’s definitely not my thing.
There are a ton of Breathwork Teacher Trainings out there now, so it’s a lot more challenging to decide. My suggestion to people who are trying to figure out which training is the best fit for them is to come try my live online zoom class on Sundays, or do the replay if you can’t make the time. This will tell you if I’m the right teacher for you. I’m certainly not for everybody! I tend to swear a little too much but I’m working on that.
To check out my class you can do that here: Online Class
