Practitioner Certification Training

2022–2023 POBI TRAININGS

Level I: BREATHWORK EMPOWERMENT TRAINING

PROGRAM INVITATION

Introduction

Since 2001, The Power of Breath Institute has been guiding individuals and groups through personal empowerment courses, webinars, weekend workshops and trainings, as well as Breathwork Practitioner Certifications. What do we mean by empowerment?

Empowerment refers to the process by which you improve your ability to fully engage in your life, learn to live free from fear and live in peaceful harmony with reality. Empowerment is the cause and the result of BEING CONSCIOUS in the presence of Love, Truth and Beauty; while developing the inner strength, self-awareness and capability to help others. Empowerment is the natural by-product of integrative healing, i.e. the ability to review, release, renew and integrate whatever is in the way of you being who you truly are! It is the crown of personal and collective well-being, and literally means you can “Walk the Talk”.

With this core philosophy, the POBI personal and professional trainings have been offered at the international standard level for most of the past 21 years. With the reality of the pandemic, however, many breathwork schools (including this one) were forced to take a step back and redesign their programs, putting more of their content online. Simultaneously, however, there was a huge upswing in interest in conscious breathing and breathwork practice and practitioner trainings, especially those geared towards healing PTSD and trauma.

More and more spiritual/thought leaders are talking about breathwork and are teaching techniques of conscious breathing. However, over the past 2-3 years there were obvious limitations of breathing in person due to the pandemic; but now as the restrictions are easing up, we stand at the threshold of seeing breathwork take its rightful place as one of the most positive, self-empowering and effective tools in the field of alternative healing therapy.

How are the POBI Trainings designed and who determines the standards?

As soon as the immediate restrictions due to Covid-19 started to be lifted, I began to redesign the training program to reflect the practicality of doing some of the work on-line, while maintaining the importance of having quality in-person experiences that utilize the body-soul connection. I respect the desire for breathwork trainers to get the tangible benefits of breathwork out to the general public, and there certainly are a number of well-designed online programs aimed at familiarizing people with the power of the breath.

However, at the Power of Breath Institute, facilitating breathwork is still primarily a body-heart-mind-soul event that engages subtle energies perceivable mostly through physical proximity and in-person exchange and modeling. Can the cognitive, informative aspects of breathwork be taught online? Yes, of course. Yet, utilizing breathwork (or any somatic-based therapy) to heal deeply held body-trauma we feel still needs to be done primarily in-person. In order to minimize long-distance traveling, we have also shifted the training events to 4-day or 5-Day Training Modules complemented with more Zoom (online) calls and conferences. The direct time ratio between online and in-person is about 15%.

We have reconceptualized and redesigned the basic training modules to deliver these three areas of instruction: personal empowerment, practitioner development and professional certification. Much of this is modeled after the Australian model (through the ABA. See: https://www.australianbreathworkassociation.org ). The first program phase (Level I) focuses on Personal Empowerment and may be taken along with the Sampler Weekend as a stand-alone training. The second program (Level II) is designed for people who want to be a Breathwork Practitioner, which then includes a separate option for those who desire Professional Certification (as established by the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance (GBPA).

2022-2023 CERTIFICATION TRAINING SUMMARY 

(one day = 8 hrs.):

Level	Training	Equivalency in Days	Cost
I	Sampler Weekend	2.5 days (20 hrs.)	$ 350
	Personal Empowerment-PE	21.5 (4X4 + 5.5 days)*	$2995
II	Practitioner Development-PD	37 (4X5 + 17 days)*	$4495
	Professional Certification-PC	6.5 (1X4 + 2.5 days)*	$ 995
	TOTAL	67.5 days = 540 hours	$8835

[Please Note: $8835/67.5 days = $131 per day. Compare with other trainings]

*** For those who know they would like to take the full program, we are offering an $840 (~10%) discount available if the full payment ($7995) is received before Nov. 1, 2022.

*Level I Trainings include a 2-½ day Sampler weekend plus four 4-day modules; each additional ‘day’ represents 8 hrs. of Online (Zoom) time. e.g. The PE has 128 direct hours + 20 online hrs. = 148 hrs. or 18.5 days, In Level II, the PD has 160 direct hrs. + 48 online hrs. = 208 hrs. or 26 days and the PC has 32 hrs. direct + 16 hrs. online = 48 hrs. or 6 days. Direct time for both levels = 356 hrs. plus the Indirect time of 175 hrs. = 540 Total hours of Training time.

Why are the hours so important? 

Because the total number of hours needs to fulfill the 400-hr. international training standard minimum for a certified breathwork practitioner training. (ABA = 450 hrs.)In the field of professional breathwork, the international organization that monitors and recognizes professional trainings around the world is the Global Professional Breathwork Association (GPBA). https://breathworkalliance.com This organization was formed in the early 2000’s, set the original training standards from 22 breathwork schools and consists of many of the original breathwork trainers and schools from the 1970’s and 80’s.

Redesigning the Global Training Standards

I have been a board member of the GPBA since 2005, and in fact, am just now leading a team to upgrade the existing global training standards of a school’s program to be internationally accredited by the GBPA. In addition to having completed so many Practitioner Trainings, this firsthand involvement I believe has given me the direct understanding of what it takes to provide a well-rounded, comprehensive and professional training for people wanting to become internationally recognized breathworkers.

Is this training for you?

Essentially, I believe only your inner intuition and Sacred Heart can only answer that question. I strongly encourage anyone interested in becoming a breathwork practitioner to attend other introductory breathwork events and have at least three professional breathwork sessions before entering the program. I am also available to discuss the various options with anyone who is serious about entering the program.

What we stand behind…

Finally, here are some of the qualities of the POBI practitioner training that may help you feel into what makes sense. This is what the POBI upholds:

• LOVE is who you are and is the primal power of the universe; in fact, some would say you are a Single Ray of the Great Central Sun of Love
• Breathing is a Ritual of Awareness; when we come together, we do so with 

intentional, conscious ceremony to create a SAFE Culture of Connection

• We invite people to “Walk the Talk”; becoming a breathwork practitioner and growing personally are mutually inclusive of each other 
• More than fixers, we seek to train Emissaries of Empowerment for the 

Spirit of Breath

• Our Bodies are soul-expressions of the Earth and deserve our loving care
• Every living thing possesses evolutionary intelligence, which is why we embrace this in the breath as: “Body-Breathing Interactive-Intelligence”
• Humans are all fundamentally good & deserve to let go of their painful pasts
• We all have the ability/access to heal past trauma in every moment
• Conscious breathing leads to conscious living with responsive beingness
• Breathing in Nature supports natural breathing in the body
• Breathwork facilitation is a human/divine 50/50 energy/information flow
• The main question we teach practitioners to ask is: “What would Love do now?”

Redesigning and Transitioning to a Post-Pandemic World

During the time since my last training in 2019, I have been engaged in a period of personal transition, taking a 2+ year sabbatical. Quite simply, the world became a very different place, and in many ways, with the advent of the pandemic, everything changed. I still did breathwork sessions, but most were largely on-line. Yet despite this, it felt like the in-person sessions were qualitatively different – less dramatic, more intense but very energetic and multidimensional.

As I thought about reinitiating the breathwork trainings, I struggled to find the right formula to again guide people out of their stuck patterns and challenged lives into ones filled with purpose, clarity, creativity, and joy. Although I knew the tools and techniques had been successful for over 17 years, I still felt uneasy about doing the ‘same old thing’. And then it hit me during a guidance session… Since the pandemic, all the old programs, paradigms and teachings needed a modified trajectory, focus and delivery!

As clearly as possible, I was told the post pandemic world is now headed in a whole new direction, and the old and new tools need to have a new intention – one aimed at personal empowerment, relational mutuality AND global care-taking! The whole course design needed to be refreshed and redirected towards something more specific, streamlined and need-driven according to the world today. I was told the practitioners of tomorrow must have the necessary tools and refinements that include the understanding we are irrevocably connected to the Earth, and that the Earth Herself is going through an Ascension process. For someone who has been integrating nature into breathwork trainings, this was music to my ears! Bottom line, we’re not just raising up our vibrations, we need to do it all together!

Lastly, in order to help maintain a healthy balance of personal and professional needs and deliver truly competent practitioners, I also wanted to upgrade some of the ways the training was designed, i.e. to make three important changes:

1. Professional Certification must be separate from the other training modules. What this means: those who wish to get internationally certified must attend a separate training (a 4-day events + 16 hrs. of online instruction, including a demonstration session), which will focus solely on what it takes to demonstrate competency and confidence as a Breathwork Practitioner.

2. Students enrolled in the programs need to complete the assignments before they come to the next 4 or 5-day module, or they will not be allowed to enter. What does that mean? It means having your required breathwork session between modules and doing the other training requirements. I realize this is a lot to ask – however, this will help to correct the past imbalance around the amount of personal work needing to be done during group time (which in the past drastically cut into curriculum-teaching time).

3. There needs to be more time between the professional 5-day intensives so that the self, buddy and demo sessions would have more time to be completed. There is now eight months within which the five-day Level II trainings (4) are being offered. Besides the 400-hour requirement, the new GPBA standards for minimum training time will be 1 ½ to 2 years for practitioner certification. Practitioners: There’s a required reading list at the end of this document.

With these changes, I feel confident those joining this training program will receive one of the most thorough, transformative and professional breathwork trainings available. Of course, there are more details that you’ll find in the material below – and please feel free to call me at 603-903-3251 if you have further questions or concerns.

Here’s what some Empowerment students had to say:

LEVEL I – EMPOWERMENT TRAINING LOGISTICS:

Location and Accommodations:
All Trainings are held in the central FL. area…
For more information contact: Elizabeth Keigher 941-928-7258

Total investment: $2995 includes tuition, materials, teleconferences, lunches and snacks for each event. Tuition must be paid in full by October 1, 2022; we take Master Card, Visa, personal checks, PayPal, Venmo and cash. A $840 early registration discount is available if the entire tuition (Sampler Weekend, Level’s I & II, Certification 4-Day) is paid by October 15, 2022.  A non-refundable deposit of $500 along with a short letter of Intent will secure your space in the Level I training. This training will fill quickly! Send your deposit early to reserve your space. 4-day retreats run 9 am to 6 pm each day.

Application Requirements:

You will need to fill out a program application. The application includes:

• Letter of Intention and Commitment (A short letter indicating why you would like to take this training, what you expect to get out of it and your willingness to commit to the entire program)
• Signed Agreements Contract (Below)
• Non-refundable deposit of $500

Send to jeremy@powerofbreath.com or Jeremy Youst, 77B State St. Shelburne Falls, MA 01370.

LEVEL I – EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM DETAILS:

Introduction to the Power of Breath – separate fee: $350

Weekend (New England: Sept. 23-25; Florida: Oct. 21-23, 2022) 

• Introduction to Personal Empowerment with Breathwork
• Personal Intro’s/Intentions, 3 Jewels of Conscious Breathing
• Program outline, Dyad work, BW Awareness Exercise 
• Breath Session Cycle; What is an Open, Healthy Breath?
• Respiratory Basics, Breath Inquiries, Details & Definitions 
• 7 Preparatory Palpations, 9 Somatic Breath Techniques
• Logistics of Level I & II Trainings

4-Day Event Details:

Event I (November 9-12, 2022) 

Awakening Your Attention: Breathing as a Ritual of Awareness

• ET Intros, Intentions and Goals, Training Agreements
• Getting the Most Out of Your Training
• Culture of Loving Connection, 4 Qualities of Intention
• Respiratory Physiology, Dysfunctional Breathing Habits
• PERfect vs. PerFECT, Be-Do-Have vs. Have-Do-Be
• Embodiment and the Key Elements of Breathwork I
• Mindfulness, Presence & the Command of Loving Attention
• Flowering Tree and Sacred Pipe Ceremony

Event II (December 7-10, 2022)

Embracing the Shadow: Learning to Relax the Exhale

• 9 Steps to Unwinding the Respiratory System
• The Work of Byron Katie, the End of Story
• Body-Belief: How Your Body Keeps the Score
• Resistance, Core Issues, and Control Patterns
• Trauma, PTSD and the Mechanics of Integration
• Key Elements II, 7 intelligences of the Sacred Heart
• Dyads: Working as a “Sitter”, Soul Connection Breathing
• Trans-Tending: the 4 Evolutionary Attentions

Event III (January 11-14, 2023) (Ends at 9 am on Sat. the 14^th)

Dreaming a New Earth: Opening to New Possibilities

• WOA (Wedge of Awareness): from Reactivity to Responsiveness
• Intimacy, Sexuality and Loving Your Body
• Key Elements of Breathwork II
• 4 Agreements, Dance of the Warrior Wheel
• Discernment vs. Judgment, The WORK of BK II
• Dyad Practice, Energy Exercises, Star Breathing Circle
• Forgiveness and Freedom, Fire Ceremony
• Dancing the Long-Dark Breath (All-Night Breathe)

Event IV (February 8-11, 2023)

Returning to Love: Claiming an Open, Healthy Breath

• Love, Guidance and Choice: Soul of Love
• Inner Knowing and the Spirit of Mastery
• Heart Wisdom Exercise, Projection Exercise
• Dyad Practice, Key Elements III, Water Breathing
• BBII: Body-Breathing Interactive-Intelligence 
• Making it real: Integration and Re-entry
• Sound Healing Circles, Completion Questionnaire
• Completion Circle, Celebration, and “The Way”

POBI TRAINING STAFF