Holographic Breathing and birth
I had always felt that Holographic Breathing could make a contribution towards conception, pregnancy and birth. It fundamentally seemed to connect to this area.
There are several seminars relating to the birth and in the first of these participants learn how all the different bones of the pelvis breathe and move. In this process the pelvis becomes a very fluid structure. In birth it’s helpful to have this experience and be able to allow the pelvis to breathe with the baby.
It is empowering for mothers to feel their pelvis softening and understand its design for birth.
During birth this type breathing gently unfolds in its own way. The main effect of this is that most women said that Holographic Breathing takes away about 60% of the pain of labour, or changes it into something more enjoyable.
Letter from Francoise Freedman – founder of the birthlight trust www.birthlight.com
Being introduced to Holographic Breathing by Martin Jones was an immediate revelation. The simplicity of the initial practice reminded me of my first session of Pranayama with Philip Jones, many years ago. Once Holographic Breathing was established, it felt so easy and natural that I could not imagine not using it through the day and through life.
As a yoga teacher and therapist, I am extremely suspicious of methods and approaches that are not sanctioned by the Yoga Tradition, particularly in relation to breathing. For this reason, at Birthlight we do not endorse the breathing methods used in re-birthing and in some hypno-birthing approaches. Not wanting to discard or recommend something I had not experienced, I first read the documents on Holographic Breathing on Martin Jones’s website. Detailed explanations based on anatomy gave me an incentive to experiment with this mode of breathing. My main preoccupation was to find out whether the Holographic Breathing would be compatible with Yoga teachings or not. After a number of phone-taught sessions with Martin, I am convinced that there is no contradiction between any aspect of the Holographic Breathing and Yoga. On the contrary, using Holographic Breathing can enhance the practice of full yogic breath and produces an instant feeling of relaxation, of the kind that one can experience in the hands of a skilled cranio-sacral osteopath.
For Birthlight teachers, facilitating the interaction between the lower jaw and the pelvis during labour is of importance. While it has become common knowledge (long shared among midwives) that women do better if they do not tighten their lower jaw and clench their teeth in childbirth, fear and forceful pushing with breath retention create tight locks. The Holographic Breathing is based primarily on undoing this jaw lock and then on exploring connections between relaxed maxillary bones and the pelvis. Further connections follow. Discovering them has been one of the most interesting explorations I have recently experienced in relation to promoting the greater enjoyment of pregnancy and childbirth.
Martin Jones is offering introductory talks, seminars and training courses for those who wish to become practitioners. These are affordable to Birthlight teachers and add an extremely valuable skill to the ‘toolkit’ we offer women in preparation for birth. For this reason I am happy to recommend the Holographic Breathing and to acknowledge courses as Birthlight CPDs for diploma holders. Primarily this breathing is of benefit to perinatal yoga teachers but it is also of value in all the areas of teaching within Birthlight. It is well worth trying and you will probably find that once you increase the awareness of your jaws, cranium and pelvis while breathing, there is just no going back!
Natalia Brown – secretary of International Breathwork Foundation
Martin guided me through Holographic breathing sessions in the run up to the birth of my first child, Iris. We were interested to see how Holographic Breathing supported the pre-natal and birthing process. The most powerful experience was the recollection of my skull being stuck while my own birth took place, which resulted in my mother having an emergency C-section. When we released the anxiety about being stuck my own pelvis started to move with fluidity in preparation for the birth. When labour started, Holographic Breathing was like a friend helping me to handle the intensity of the contractions. Iris was Lotus Birthed at home after a natural labour. It was first natural birth in my family for decades.
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