Somatic Release Breathwork

- 3 mins read

I recently went through a private and individual Somatic Release Breathwork session with Dr Dave Cohodes in Austin, Texas. I was curious to try the session because:

  • I’ve had increased anxiety recently, so I’ve been trying to learn about anxiety, understand anxiety, and what contributes to mine.

  • After going through 3 years of talk therapy, being privileged to have months of EMDR and practicing meditation for over 5 years, I am a huge proponent of mental health therapies. It strikes me as odd that we learn about geometry and chemistry in childhood education but we don’t learn how to process our difficult life experiences. So, I am all for trying mental health practices, and this one was new to me.

  • I have been learning about trauma. Respect, learning, and wellness are Dona-Koppe family values so I’ve been learning about trauma in history, how trauma lingers in our body, how trauma reverberates through generations, and how body practices are necessary to process trauma and therefore also to work through big problems like systemic racism. And, I realized recently that I’ve had traumatic experiences (death, homelesness, disconnection, and more), only some of which I’ve processed. All of our experiences inform who we are and how we live.

My single session of Somatic Release Breathwork was more effective and profound than all other mental health therapies at enabling me to hone in on my experience and process them. My session immediately made me calmer, more present, more open, more authentic, and more confident. I feel that I am a better person, father, spouse, friend, and worker.

I recommend a Breathwork session to anyone who has indecision, anxiety, depression, or has traumatic experiences that they think might contribute to current stress/anxiety/depression.

What is Somatic Release Breathwork? Guided breathing patterns over about an hour, without talking.

What does a Somatic Release Breathwork session entail? Well, for my session with Dr Dave, here’s what happened:

  • We started with < 5 minutes of traditional body mobility with physical movements like downward dog, etc

  • We discussed the process - Dr Dave coached me on how deeply and quickly to breathe, how to let my body twitch, shake, move, how to let out any sounds - cries, laughs, yells, yelps, how we’d start with an energizing breathing pattern and end with a restorative breathing pattern, and how I’d breathe in between.

  • We discussed my focus for the session

  • I laid down and started breathing. Dr Dave coached me how to breathe differently if needed, Dr Dave guided me through the hour-long breathing process.

  • I cried, laughed, and screamed. 

  • I thought, felt, and processed.

  • After, we lightly debriefed and I jotted some notes in my journal.

After my session, I immediately recommended the Somatic Release Breathwork to my mom and my spouse.

If you’re interested in talking more to me about this, please feel free to reach out.

If you’re interested in getting a session with Dr Dave, he has an upcoming group session on Sat Oct 2 or you can SMS or call him at 210-622-2512.