What is Rebirthing Breathwork?
Rebirthing Breathwork is a breathing practice that uses ‘conscious connected circular breathing’—a technique in which the inhale flows directly into the exhale with no pause between breaths. This continuous breath pattern is considered the cornerstone of the practice, functioning as a healing vehicle. Sessions typically involve maintaining this connected breathing rhythm for an hour or longer, usually with eyes closed while lying on a mat. The technique aims to gently release stored stress and trauma, with participants breathing in a relaxed, connected rhythm under a trained facilitator’s care.
Rebirthing traditionally involves nasal breathing, while similar practices like Holotropic Breathwork are typically done through the mouth. The emphasis is on the relaxed exhale—practitioners encourage letting the exhale be as relaxed as possible to help release stress and tension from the body. The practice does not typically incorporate music, bodywork, or other external stimuli beyond the facilitator’s verbal guidance.
Origins & lineage
Leonard Orr is the founder of Rebirthing Breathwork, a healing approach that uses conscious connected breathing to reach and let go of deeply held emotional, mental and physical patterns. Born in 1937 in upstate New York, the seminal moment of this breakthrough occurred on a morning in 1962 as Orr was taking a bath, during which he began to experience a state of regression accompanied by a feeling of weakness, lying transfixed in the bath tub for three hours.
According to the ‘Manual for Rebirthers’ by Fanny Laere and Leonard Orr, he gradually discovered Rebirthing between 1962 and 1976, having an experience in 1962 of regressing to prenatal and birth states of consciousness, then spending years returning to and exploring these experiences. In 1973 at one of his spiritual-physiological seminars in California, he spoke of his experiences and began to facilitate hot tub rebirths, making the key observation that all participants were breathing in a similar connected rhythm, merging the inhalation with the exhalation.
By the mid-1970s, Orr had developed a method that he was sharing with others, initially in warm-water sessions and later in ‘dry’ sessions. By 1975 he had devised a training system so that others could become Rebirthing facilitators. His early clients included notable figures like Werner Erhard of EST (now Landmark Education) and breathwork pioneer Stanislav Grof. Students who trained under him went on to found their own schools and lineages, among them Dan Brulé (Breath Mastery), Sondra Ray (Liberation Breathing), and Judith Kravitz (Transformational Breath®).
Orr’s spiritual curiosity led him to explore a wide range of traditions, including the teachings of Shri Mahavatar Babaji, the legendary immortal yogi of the Himalayas, which significantly influenced his later philosophy around spiritual purification and the nature of the body. Leonard Orr passed away on September 6, 2019, at the age of 82.
How it’s practiced
The inhale turns into the exhale, and the exhale merges with the inhale—it is like a wheel turning, with inhale and exhale connected in a seamless circle to the other. There are no pauses or gaps between the breaths. With an instructor’s supervision, practitioners perform ‘circular breathing’—quick, shallow breaths without any breaks between an inhale and an exhale, typically for one to two hours, taking breaks if needed.
Rebirthing Breathwork was designed to be learned through the traditional method of ‘initiation’—a student receives the technique from a teacher who has mastered it. Rebirthing is usually learned over a series of ten private/individual sessions, and sessions usually require one to two hours. In Rebirthing, it is one-to-one work, with a Rebirther and a client, distinguishing it from group-based breathwork modalities.
Rebirthing breathwork facilitates breathing through tension, pain, drama, fear and trauma, until the participant experiences peace and relaxation. The role of the trained facilitator is to remain grounded, continue motivation of the continuous circular breath, and guide the breather through the energy cycles appropriately. The process of long and careful attention to the circular breath technique exposes multiple layers of inhibitions and unconscious patterns of defenses that have developed from birth and throughout life. Practitioners neutralize and integrate whatever surfaces by simply breathing through it even as they maintain present awareness.
Water Rebirthing is a technique for those who have learned the basic breathing technique and who want to take it deeper, done curled up in foetal position, immersed in warm water in the dark with breathing apparatus to breathe through a tube whilst totally immersed—conditions that mimic the womb.
Rebirthing Breathwork today
Since Rebirthing’s development in the 1970s, it is estimated that 10 million people have experienced at least one session of this therapy. There are now thousands of both Rebirthing Facilitators and Rebirthing Teachers worldwide. Since the 70s many different Breathwork schools and styles have emerged, using the conscious connected breath. They vary in their use of different elements from the original Rebirthing and Holotropic styles, and add in new ones.
Seekers encounter Rebirthing Breathwork today through private sessions with certified practitioners, multi-day retreats, and facilitator training programs. The practice has influenced numerous modern breathwork modalities while maintaining a distinct lineage of practitioners who continue to teach Orr’s methods. Sessions are typically offered in wellness centers, retreat settings, and through independent practitioners trained in the Rebirthing tradition.
Common misconceptions
Rebirthing Breathwork is often confused with “rebirthing therapy” or “attachment therapy”—a distinct and controversial practice whose definition has expanded to include physical simulation of birth. Rebirthing therapy is controversial because there is little evidence of its merit, and in some cases, it has proven to be dangerous. The death of Candace Newmaker, a 10-year-old girl who passed away during a rebirthing therapy session, deepened the controversy around rebirthing. A law named in her honor made the technique illegal in Colorado, where she died, and it is also illegal in North Carolina. These bans refer to coercive physical restraint practices, not the breathwork technique developed by Orr.
There is no evidence that individuals can remember their births. Memories of one’s birth that appear to resurface during a rebirthing-breathwork practice are believed to be the result of false memories. Current evidence regarding efficacy is limited and not strong enough for firm conclusions. In 2006, a panel that consisted of over one hundred experts participated in a survey of psychological treatments; they considered rebirthing therapy to be discredited.
Rebirthing is not equivalent to Holotropic Breathwork, though both emerged in the same era. Holotropic Breathwork differs from Rebirthing in several ways: Rebirthing is traditionally done through the nose instead of the mouth and focuses on a complete inhale, as opposed to a forceful exhale. Music is a fundamental part of Holotropic Breathwork, but not of Rebirthing. In Rebirthing the facilitator guides the breath, whereas in Holotropic Breathwork the emphasis is on self-healing and the sessions are primarily self-directed.
How to begin
While it’s possible to practice connected breathing independently, it’s not recommended for the initial phases. A trained facilitator is essential to create a safe space and guide practitioners through the process, especially when deep emotional material surfaces. Some argue that Rebirthing Breathwork cannot be taught over the internet. Many people these days are having spontaneous ‘rebirthing’ experiences, where the breath wants to move into the connected breathing pattern; and out of fear, not knowing what is happening, people naturally try to resist and control the process.
Prospective practitioners should seek certified Rebirthing facilitators trained in the Leonard Orr lineage or affiliated schools. As a way of ‘tasting’ it and developing basic Rebirthing Breathwork skills, practitioners begin by practicing the ‘20 Connected Breath Exercise,’ developed by Leonard Orr. The traditional learning path involves a series of ten private sessions with a qualified facilitator. Those interested in the theoretical foundations can consult Orr’s writings or resources from the Leonard D. Orr Foundation, established in 2019 to preserve his teachings.