Breathe with intention. Reconnect with yourself.

No. Classes are suitable for beginners and the facilitator guides each stage. You can adjust your participation throughout the experience.

Breathing is unusual because it happens automatically but can also be changed intentionally. Slower, steadier breathing, particularly with a comfortable longer exhale, can support a shift toward a calmer autonomic state. More active breathing can temporarily increase physiological activation. Elemental Rhythm breathwork intentionally moves between different breathing patterns before returning to slower breathing, meditation and rest.

Breathing changes the balance of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and oxygen (O₂) in the body. During faster, more active breathing, you may breathe out CO₂ faster than your body produces it. This temporary decrease in CO₂ can raise blood pH and affect how oxygen is released from hemoglobin and delivered to tissues. It can also increase nerve and muscle excitability, which helps explain sensations such as tingling, light-headedness, numbness or temporary tightening of the hands and feet.

CO₂ is not simply a waste gas. It plays an important role in regulating breathing, maintaining blood pH, influencing blood flow and helping regulate oxygen delivery throughout the body. This is one reason that breathing more does not necessarily mean that your tissues are receiving more usable oxygen.

As the active breathing ends and your breathing slows, CO₂ gradually returns toward its usual level. This shift is part of the transition from the more activating portion of the breathwork experience into recovery, meditation and integration.

Some breathwork practitioners and participants also believe that these temporary shifts in breathing and physiology may support processes such as metabolic regulation, inflammation, energy production and more efficient use of oxygen. These potential benefits are sometimes discussed within breathwork communities, although research is still developing and they should not be considered established medical outcomes of breathwork.

Breath holds create an intentional pause after a period of active breathing. During faster breathing, you breathe out more carbon dioxide (CO₂), causing CO₂ levels to temporarily drop. When you stop and hold your breath, CO₂ begins to build again while oxygen gradually decreases. Eventually, that rising CO₂ contributes to the natural urge to take your next breath.

You can think of it a little like interval training for your breathing system. Instead of staying at one intensity, Elemental Rhythm moves through periods of active breathing, pauses, recovery breathing and rest. The breath hold changes the experience and gives your body a moment to respond to what just happened before moving into the next phase.

The pause can also shift your attention inward. After actively concentrating on breathing, suddenly doing nothing can create a noticeable contrast. Some people describe greater stillness, heightened body awareness, emotional awareness or a sense that their usual mental chatter has become quieter.

Breath holding also briefly exposes the body to changing levels of oxygen and CO₂. Some practitioners believe that repeated, controlled exposure to these temporary changes may help the body become more adaptable to physiological stress and may support things such as circulation, oxygen utilization, energy production and overall resilience. Some of these ideas are being explored scientifically in research on breath-hold training and intermittent hypoxia, but they should not be considered established health outcomes of an Elemental Rhythm breathwork class.

Most importantly, breath holds are always optional. They are not a test of how long you can hold your breath. You can shorten a hold, skip it entirely or return to normal breathing whenever you need to.

Tetany is temporary tingling, tightening or cramping that can occur in the hands, feet or around the mouth during more active breathing. This is temporary and expected in breathwork. Faster or more forceful breathing can lower CO₂, which changes blood pH and affects how nerves and muscles fire. If this happens, slow your breathing, soften your exhale and return to a comfortable breathing pattern. Gentle movement, stretching or massaging the affected area may also help. If tetany occurs frequently or intensely, speak with a health care professional before participating in more intensive breathwork.

During more active breathwork, several things are happening at the same time. Your breathing pattern changes, CO₂ levels can temporarily decrease, your level of physiological arousal changes, and your attention becomes increasingly focused on your breath, body and internal experience. Add rhythmic music, repetition and closing your eyes, and the experience can become very immersive.

Think of your everyday thinking mind as having a lot of browser tabs open at once, including planning, analyzing, remembering, worrying and monitoring what is happening around you. During breathwork, some of those tabs may become quieter. As attention shifts away from everyday thinking and toward the body and internal experience, sensations, emotions, memories, imagery or insights may become more noticeable.

Some people describe reaching a state in which they feel deeply absorbed, lose track of time, experience vivid imagery or colours, feel unusually connected to themselves, or have an unexpected emotional release or insight. Occasionally, people describe these as breakthrough experiences because something that had previously felt difficult to access suddenly feels clearer or more available.

There is research exploring how intensive breathing practices may influence brain activity and networks involved in attention, self-reflection and our usual sense of self. Some breathwork practitioners believe that temporarily quieting the brain's usual analytical and self-monitoring processes, including activity associated with the prefrontal cortex and Default Mode Network, may help explain why people sometimes experience unusual clarity, emotional access or a different perspective during breathwork. These mechanisms are still being studied, and we cannot say that every person's brain is responding in this particular way.

For similar reasons, intensive breathwork is sometimes described as producing a psychedelic-like or non-ordinary state of consciousness without the use of a substance. That does not mean breathwork is equivalent to taking a psychedelic drug. Rather, it describes the fact that some people report changes in perception, emotion, imagery, sense of time or sense of self that can feel very different from their ordinary waking state.

Other people experience none of this. They may simply feel relaxed, physically energized, emotional, sleepy or more present. A dramatic experience is not the goal, and it is not evidence that the breathwork worked better. A quiet experience can be just as meaningful.

Breathing practices can be used to support grounding, body awareness and nervous system regulation. Elemental Rhythm classes intentionally move between activation and recovery while giving participants choices to slow down, pause, open their eyes, change position or return to normal breathing. A wellness breathwork class is not trauma treatment or psychotherapy. If you are seeking treatment for trauma, a TGI therapist can help determine which therapeutic approaches may be appropriate for you.

Breathwork itself is not psychotherapy. TGI’s Elemental Rhythm classes and private breathwork events are wellness services, not psychotherapy or medical treatment. Separately, some TGI clinicians may incorporate breathing practices into psychotherapy as one component of clinical care.

Yes. Some TGI clinicians incorporate breathing practices into psychotherapy to support grounding, nervous system regulation, body awareness and emotional regulation. These practices are tailored to the individual and are generally different from participating in an Elemental Rhythm breathwork class.

Yes. Krista Helman facilitates private Elemental Rhythm breathwork experiences for workplace wellness events, retreats, community organizations and private groups. Contact TGI to discuss your group and the type of experience you are looking for.

A typical Elemental Rhythm class is about 90 minutes. Check the specific event details because timing and format may vary.

Slow down, pause, return to normal breathing, open your eyes or change position. Breath holds are optional. Tell the facilitator if you need support and do not push beyond your comfort.

Read the complete participant waiver and contraindications before registering. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or remain unsure, speak with a qualified health care professional for individual guidance.