Parachute by Kathleen Silver

Advisory Board
Board Members
Legal Advisor
The Mission of AHBI
Principles of Holotropic Breathwork
The History of AHBI
Ethical Agreements of Facilitators
The Inner Door

AHBI Advisory Board Chris Bache is an award-winning professor, Director of Transformative Learning at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and author of Lifecycles and Dark Night, Early Dawn in which he explores the interplay of deep inner work and collective social transformation. As humanity enters the dark night of our collective soul, the magnitude of the crisis confronting us and the fractal dynamics of consciousness seem to be opening new possibilities for leveraging social change through work in deep states of consciousness. Christina Grof is an author, teacher, artist, psychotherapist, founder of the Spiritual Emergence Network, and co-creator of Holotropic Breathwork. She is past-president of Grof Transpersonal Training, vice-president emeritus of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), and an advisor to the board of the Spiritual Emergence Network. For almost thirty years, she has been active in the field of Transpersonal Psychology, which includes the spiritual aspects of human nature, as well as the emotional, mental, physical, and social aspects, as essential to a full understanding of the whole person. She received an honorary Ph.D from Wisdon University in June of 2008. An interview with Christina about this honor, about her personal story, and about her co-development of Holotropic Breathwork is available at this link. An article about Christina's astrological birth chart is in development and will be posted here when it is completed. Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD  is a psychiatrist with over forty years experience of research into non-ordinary states of consciousness (induced by psychedelic substances and various non-drug techniques) and one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology. His web site is at www.stanislavgrof.com. He is the founder of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and its past and current president. In this role, he has organized large international conferences in the United States, the former Czechoslovakia, India, Australia, and Brazil. At present, he lives in Mill Valley, California, conducting training seminars for professionals in Holotropic Breathwork and transpersonal psychology and writing books. He is also Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco and at the Pacifica Graduate School in Santa Barbara and gives lectures and seminars worldwide. In 1993, he received an Honorary Award from the Association for Transpersonal Psychology (ATP) for major contributions to and development of the field of transpersonal psychology given at the occasion of the 25th Anniversary Convocation held at Asilomar, California.  In 2007 Stan was awarded the prestigious Vision 97 award from the Dagmar and Vaclav Havel Foundation for his pioneering work on the frontiers of human consciousness. He has published over 140 articles in professional journals, as well as 17 books which have been translated into German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Russian, Czech, Polish, Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish, Japanese, and Chinese.   Kylea Taylor, M.S., M.F.T. was one of the three initial incorporators of AHBI and has served on AHBI's Board's Executive Committee from that time on. She was Editor of its newsletter, The Inner Door, from 1991 until her retirement from day-to-day involvement in AHBI at the end of 2006. She also worked on all of AHBI's past conferences and spearheaded the project to complete AHBI's website renovation. She is the author of The Breathwork Experience (published also in Italian and Spanish) and The Ethics of Caring(Hilfe fur die Helfer in German), The Holotropic Breathwork Workshop Manual, and she is the editor of the recently published AHBI anthology, Exploring Holotropic Breathwork. Taylor started studying with Stan Grof in 1984 and has been a staff trainer for the Grof Transpersonal Training, Mill Valley, CA since 1993. For 11 years she did monthly public Holotropic Breathwork workshops in Santa Cruz, CA, where she has a private therapy and consulting practice. Kylea is a California licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC# 34901) in private practice in Santa Cruz, CA. Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma. He is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. He is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center and has taught meditation internationally since 1974. For many years he has led periodic week-long "Insight and Opening" retreats combining Buddhist mediation practices and Holotropic Breathwork with Stan Grof.  He holds a PhD in clinical psychology, and is a husband and father. His books include A Path with Heart; Buddha’s Little Instruction Book; Teachings of the Buddha; Seeking the Heart of Wisdom; Living Dharma; A Still Forest Pool; Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart; After the Ecstasy, the Laundry; and The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness and Peace.   Richard Tarnas, a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, founded the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a bestseller and widely used text in universities, and Cosmos and Psyche, which recently won the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network in England.  We are living at the end of an era. The old structures of the world are cracking apart, the moment of creative chaos is upon us, and the drama of our time has become a great question: What new principles, what new structures will emerge to shape our future? Everything is at stake, from the deep ecology of our planetary biosphere to the deep ecology of the human spirit. Richard Tarnas illuminates this challenging moment in our history and provides a larger context for both understanding and action. back to top AHBI BOARD of Directors President Ken Sloan was born in 1946 in Decatur, Texas, USA. His "day job" until his early retirement in January of 2008 was consulting on information technology and team-based decision-making for large multinational firms. He has been a member of AHBI since 1990 and served as Secretary of AHBI from 2004 through October of 2008. Ken was certified for Holotropic Breathwork facilitation in 1997 and lives in Steinen, Germany, in the southwest corner of the Black Forest with his partner Petra, their two children Lara and Sariya, and Nemo the dog. Since 1998 Ken and Petra (who is also certified in Holotropic Breathwork) have given regular residential Holotropic Breathwork weekend workshops and sometimes longer retreats in their home which doubles as a Buddhist retreat center. Ken and Petra have been trained and certified by Albrecht Mahr (Institute for Systemic and Integrative Solutions in Wuerzburg, Germany) to lead systems constellations. They offer systemic constellation workshops in Germany and Switzerland focused on the relationship between people and nature as well as sometimes using systemic constellations as a support for integration after Holotropic Breathwork. Vice President Marty Boroson studied philosophy at Yale University and earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He was certified to facilitate Holotropic Breathwork in 1993 and facilitated monthly workshops in Ireland with the Transpersonal Group until 2000. His article, Radar to the Infinite , relating Holotropic Breathwork to the spectrum psychology of Ken Wilber, was translated by AHBI into German, Spanish and Portuguese. He is the author of the creation story, Becoming Me, based on his holotropic adventures, and now uses this book to teach interfaith spirituality to children and adults. A student of Zen Buddhism, Marty recently co-facilitated a holotropic and Zen workshop at the Sweetwater Zen Center in California, and is fascinated by the experiential differences between these two forms. He trains managers in holistic approaches to decision-making, and lives in England. Treasurer Leonard Gibson, Ph.D., graduated from Williams College and earned doctorates from Claremont Graduate School in philosophy and The University of Texas at Austin in psychology. Lenny has over thirty-five years of experience exploring and working with non-ordinary states of consciousness. He has taught at The University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served his clinical psychology Internship at the Veterans Administration Hospital , Boston Massachusetts. Lenny teaches Transpersonal Psychology at Burlington College. He is a cancer survivor. Acting Secretary Elena Francisc joined the AHBI Board in November of 2007. She volunteered and was accepted for Acting AHBI Secretary in the October 2008 Board Meeting after Ken Sloan's election as President left the secretary job open. AHBI expects to elect a Secretary in the January 2008 Board Meeting. Elena is the first Board Member from Eastern Europe having been born and growing up in Romania and living and working there now. She spent some years in Canada as an adult getting a bacholer's degree in Psychology with a minor in Italian at the University of Waterloo. After the fall of the iron curtain she returned to Romania to help rebuild the country . Her activities in Romania since then have included being editor of the Romanian edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine for seven years where she focused her work on increasing women's self-consciousness and self-confidence, participating in making changes to Romania's laws to protect women against violence, and founding a transpersonal publishing house to make transpersonal books available in Romanian (www.efpublishing.ro). Her goal with the publishing house and the events she organizes is to bring together both psychological and spiritual principles in the process of healing and growth. She has been involved in Holotropic Breathwork for many years. Ana Maria Aguirre is a 1969 graduate of the Catholic University of Argentina in psychology and philosophy. She offers both Gestalt and transpersonal therapy. She has had formal training in the US working with the terminally ill with Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. She was certified as a facilitator of Holotropic Breathwork in the US by Grof Transpersonal Training in 1996. She has been the coordinator and organizer for the training in Argentina since 1996. She has been a member of the Association of Transpersonal Psychology since 1980 and a founding member of the Association Transpersonal Argentina. Ana Maria is the director of Trans-formar, an institution dedicated to the Holotropic Breathwork and other complementary activities. Laura Beann  is currently earning a Master’s Degree in International Social Work with an emphasis on Social Work Leadership.  She is particularly interested in furthering the Social Work profession through research, international collaboration and fundraising.  At present she is conducting research in organizational socialization of volunteers and volunteer training methods in the field of victim advocacy. With regards to her involvement in breathwork, she is dedicated to creating a model of financial aid that allows and encourages the underserved to participate in Holotropic Breathwork.  She is also interested in creating safe spaces for local facilitators to practice Breathwork and to support each other, as they support their various client groups. Tim Brewerton joined the AHBI board on April 13, 2008. Already a member of the Research Committee and leading the first research project sponsored by AHBI (see his call for case reports in the Research Section of this site), Tim offers us a huge amount of valuable experience, along with his love of Holotropic Breathwork. Besides his private psychiatric practice near Charleston, Tim has been a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) since 1987, where he has served as Principle Investigator (PI) or co-PI for a number of research projects. After earning his medical degree at Tulane University, Tim completed his psychiatric training at the University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco. He also completed a research fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health (1984–1987) and a child-adolescent psychiatry fellowship at MUSC (1994–1996). He has published almost 200 abstracts and over 100 articles, edited the book Clinical Handbook of Eating Disorders: An Integrated Approach, and presented at more than 100 conferences.   Bonnie Bright is one of the newest practitioners of Holotropic Breathwork on the AHBI board, experiencing her first session in 2006. Because of the tremendous impact HB had on her, Bonnie is actively moving toward certification. Bonnie brings 15 years of experience in corporate training, marketing communications, and public relations to AHBI, having worked in a variety of industries including retail, technology, and media. Bonnie ran her own internet and marketing design firm for several years and is a previous board member of AWRT (American Women in Radio & Television). As a new AHBI board member, she is heading up the PR committee to help get the word out to the general public about Holotropic Breathwork. Bonnie is an avid student of the Enneagram, a psycho-spiritual personality typology system, having completed over 350 hours of training since January 2006. She is currently finishing a Master's Program in Depth Psychology in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her thesis work focuses on shamanism, the goddess, and the disappearing honeybees. Nieves Martinez was born in Madrid, where she lives. She also lived in England for some time many years ago. She has a Bachelor of Economics/Business and she has been working over the last 18 years in an English bank, 16 of them as a Corporate Analyst. She is also a Yoga teacher since 1994, trained in India, and practises Yoga and meditation since 1993. Her adventure with Holotropic Breathwork started in 1996. She entered the training in 1999 and became certified in 2002. Since she finished the training she has been offering Holotropic Breathwork workshops in Madrid for some years and also private sessions, although currently only offers private sessions and workshops as pre-arranged. She has been also facilitating in the training held in Spain. She is currently taking a Ph.D. Programme in Psychology at Madrid University, where she is doing research on Holotropic Breathwork. Karey Pohn has more than 20 years experience as a management consultant, Lawyer, and entrepreneur. She obtained her BS in Finance and JD from the University of Colorado. Karey is a licensed attorney in California and Illinois. She also has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, California. Karey has researched the organizing principles of play and creativity. Her dissertation is a website—www.cosmicplay.net— Playing the Cosmic Game: Exploring Play’s Archetypal Aspects Through the Kaleidoscope of Culture. It is based on the work of Dr. Stanislav Grof and shows how this universal death/rebirth archetype is truly at the heart of the cosmos, and she illustrates this through the myths of Shiva’s dice game, quantum physics and chaos theory and in popular culture using Disneyland and the movies Mary Poppins and Chicago. Karey brings the entrepreneurial knowledge of having been a partner of an international importing manufacturing business Additionally, she is a Certified Trainer in Neuro Linguistic Program. Her legal and academic background, along with her professional experience enables Karey to help her clients anticipate challenges and develop creative strategies to achieve their goals. Karey has worked with geographically diverse clients from Australia, Europe, and Asia. Her experience includes organizational and leadership development, team building, process analysis and development, as well as cultural integration issues related to mergers/acquisitions. Ted Riskin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist specializing in relationship issues and cognitive therapy. Along with his Grof certification, he is also certified in Core Energetics, hypnotherapy, and EMDR. Since January 1997, he has been facilitating Holotropic workshops regularly in New Jersey, New York City, and Florida. In the non-Holotropic Breathwork realm, he is certified in Breath Therapy and has taught in this program, and he is a member of the International Breathwork Foundation, having presented at two of their conferences. Unable to kick his 1 CD per week music habit, he uses the CDs to create session sets that he makes available to Holotropic practitioners internationally, as well as to several training programs in other forms of Breathwork. In addition, he has been the music editor for The Inner Door since August 1999. Ted has practiced meditation for the past 25 years and has been active in the human development movement for the past 19. Mark Seelig was born in Germany and has been living in the US several years. He taught Jungian and transpersonal psychology at Frankfurt-Main University, Germany, and co-founded the German College for Transpersonal Psychology and Psychotherapy. Mark now is a therapist in private practice, using various ways of inducing non-ordinary states of consciousness in ritual settings. He also facilitates Holotropic Breathwork and Neo-Reichian Bodywork at a psychosomatic clinic in Kassel, Germany. Complementing his work, he has been using archetypal astrology for many years. His favorite hobbies are traveling, and studying the North Indian bamboo flute 'Bansuri'. "As a European AHBI Board member I hope to be able to serve as a connection to people in and around my country". Oliver Williams works as a map-maker and illustrator for The New York Times and other publications. His self-exploration began in 1972 when he came to the US from his native England to pursue primal therapy, and has continued with Holotropic Breathwork since 1992. He trained with Stan and GTT, certifying in 1996, and in addition to offering monthly HB workshops in NYC began work at that time to bring legitimacy to HB within the evidence-based medical community through clinical research. He was invited in 2006 to join the AHBI board to found and chair the research committee with the goal of mounting research utilizing the broad facilitator base worldwide. He has facilitated at Insight and Opening retreats in Europe and the US, facilitates bi-monthly with Tim O'Connell, PhD, in New Jersey and offers private HB sessions in New York City.  Oliver is divorced, the father of two sons. Cary Sparks, (ex officio) co-directs GTT with her husband Tav. She has been administrator of the training program since 1990, working at that time with Stan and Christina Grof. In 1999, the Grofs retired from training. Tav and Cary took over the management of GTT, caretaking the continuation of the practice of Holotropic Breathwork as developed by Stan and Christina. Cary is a certified HB practitioner since 1986. Besides the breathwork and her family, Carys passions are writing and riding/training horses. She is currently working on her second novel, Inscensed, set in the world of transformational workshops (not breathwork!), while querying agents for her first, The Colin Firth Film Festival. She trains warmblood sporthorses and Thoroughbred ex-racehorses, several of whom have gone on to have successful show careers. Tav Sparks, (ex officio) is the Director of Grof Transpersonal Training and leads most of the training events in the United States and worldwide. He has been the primary faculty member since the training began in 1989. Since 1985, Tav has led numerous workshops internationally in Holotropic Breathwork and in transpersonal approaches to wellness and recovery. He is the author of The Wide Open Door: The Twelve Steps, Spiritual Tradition, and the New Psychology; the training manual Doing Not Doing: A Facilitator's Guide to Holotropic Breathwork; Through Thunder - A Poetic Death Rebirth Journey and seven screenplays combining the transpersonal perspective with modern popular culture. His current project is the book Movie Yoga: How to Turn Your Local Cinema into a Temple of Transformation. Since 1990, he has been program coordinator for three conferences of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and served as a member of the ITA Board of Directors. back to top AHBI Legal Advisor Jack Silver, AHBI legal Advisor, is active on a number of environmental boards in his community and is interested in stronger ties to the breath community and the inner environment it seeks to protect and enhance. back to top THE MISSION OF AHBI The mission of AHBI is to support the practice of Holotropic Breathwork as a resource for healing and transformation. We aim to do this by: Striving to make Holotropic Breathwork available to all who might benefit from it. Supporting the practice of Holotropic Breathwork facilitators and participants. Enabling connections and communications among all who are interested in Holotropic Breathwork. Promoting awareness about Holotropic Breathwork by distributing information and research in a variety of languages and formats. Supporting research into the theory, practice, and effects of Holotropic Breathwork. Commentary: The Board approved this new mission on July 8, 2007 with two primary intentions: (1) to emphasize that membership in AHBI primarily supports its charitable role, and (2) to welcome into membership all who wish to support the practice of Holotropic Breathwork. We also affirm our intention to work internationally as much as possible. We note that the specific points of this mission statement are not listed in order of priority; indeed we expect the priority of these points to change over time, in response to the needs of our community, the capabilities of our organization, and the availability of resources. We also note that our intention to support research refers primarily to formal academic research. back to top PRINCIPLES OF HOLOTROPIC BREATHWORK By Stanislav and Christina Grof Edited by AHBI Theoretical Position: The theory of Holotropic Breathwork encompasses a broad understanding of the human psyche that includes the biographical, perinatal, and transpersonal dimensions. Phenomena from all these domains are seen as natural and normal constituents of the psychological process; they are accepted, and supported without preference. Recognition of the fact that non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by Holotropic Breathwork, as well as similar states occurring spontaneously, mobilize intrinsic healing forces in the psyche and the body. As the process is unfolding, this “inner healer” manifests therapeutic wisdom which transcends the knowledge that can be derived from the cognitive understanding of an individual practitioner or from any specific school of psychotherapy or body work. Practical Approach: The basic elements in Holotropic Breathwork are deeper and accelerated breathing, evocative music, and facilitation of energy release through a specific form of bodywork. This is complemented by creative expression, such as “mandala” drawing, and discussion of the experience. Holotropic Breathwork can be conducted on a one to one basis, or preferably in a group situation, where participants alternate in the role of experiencers and “Sitters”. Before the first breathing experience, participants receive an in-depth theoretical preparation that includes a description of the major types of phenomena that occur in holotropic sessions (biographical, perinatal and transpersonal) and technical instructions for both experiencers and Sitters. Physical and emotional contraindications are discussed and if there are any concerns, expert assessment is obtained. The facilitator makes clear agreements with clients that they will not damage persons or property or engage in sexual behavior with others during a Holotropic Breathwork session, and that they will stay to participate in and complete the entire session. Holotropic Breathing is faster and deeper than usual; generally no other specific instructions are given before or during the session as to the rate, pattern, and nature of breathing. The experience is entirely internal and largely non-verbal, without interventions. Exceptions are constriction in the throat, management problems, excessive pain or fear threatening the continuation of the session, and explicit request of the Breather. Music (or other forms of acoustic stimulation —drumming, nature sounds, etc.) is an integral part of the Holotropic process. Typically, the choice of music follows a characteristic pattern that reflects the most common unfolding of the holotropic experiences: at the beginning, it is evocative and stimulating, later it becomes increasingly dramatic and dynamic, and finally it reaches a culmination. Following the culmination, it is appropriate to shift gradually to quieter music and end with peaceful, flowing, and meditative selections. Although this seems to represent the statistical average, it should be modified if the energy in the group suggests that a different pattern is indicated. The role of the Sitter during the session is to be responsive and non-intrusive, to ensure effective breathing, create a safe environment, respect the natural unfolding of the experience, and provide assistance in all situations that require it (including physical support, help during bathroom breaks, bringing tissues or a glass of water, etc.). It is important to remain focused and centered while facing the entire spectrum of possible emotions and behaviors of the Breather. Holotropic Breathwork does not use any interventions that come from intellectual analysis or are based on a priori theoretical constructs. It is important to leave sufficient time for the sessions, usually between two and three hours. However, as a general rule, the process is allowed to reach a natural closure; in exceptional cases, this can take a few hours. In the termination period the facilitator offers energy release work, if the breathing has not resolved all of the emotional and physical tensions activated during the sessions. The basic principle of this work is to take the clues from the experience and create a situation where the existing symptoms are amplified; while the energy and awareness is held in this area, the subject is encouraged to express fully his or her reaction, whichever form it takes. This form of energy release work is an essential part of the holotropic approach and plays an important role in the completion and integration of the experience. Facilitators of Holotropic Breathwork should recognize that, when they utilize a technique that evokes a non-ordinary state in a client, there is a potential for unusually intense projections, including regressed longings for nurturing, sexual contact, or spiritual connection. These projections are often focused on the facilitator. In such cases the facilitator should be sensitive to the imbalance of power in the facilitator and client roles and take care to assist clients with such feelings as they arise. Facilitators make agreements to conduct their practice of Holotropic Breathwork in an ethical manner. Discussion groups take place on the same day after an extended break. During these sessions, the facilitator does not give interpretations of the material, based on a specific theoretical system, including that of Holotropic Breathwork. It is preferable to ask the experiencer for further elaboration and clarification reflecting his or her insights from the session. Jungian amplification in the form of mythological and anthropological references can be very useful in the discussion of the holotropic experiences, as well as the mandalas. On occasion, references to the facilitator’s own experiences in the past or experiences of other people might be appropriate. There are many approaches that complement Holotropic Breathwork —Gestalt practice, Dora Kalff’s sandplay, bioenergetics, various forms of massage, acupuncture, etc. However, whenever these are used, it should be clearly indicated that these are not a part of Holotropic Breathwork. If the practice of conducting the sessions itself departs significantly from the above descriptions, the name Holotropic Breathwork should not be used for such a procedure. We ask that it be replaced by a different term and not associated with our names. back to top THE HISTORY The original idea for the formation of AHBI was the inspiration of Cary Sparks in 1988, after she received her Holotropic Breathwork Certification. Carlin Scherer provided the original funding for the start-up organization. Cary Sparks, Tav Sparks, and John Scherer organized and edited the first issues of The Inner Door, which later became AHBI’s quarterly newsletter. The organization was transformed into a membership-operated organization and created as an official non-profit organization in 1989. Cary Sparks, Kylea Taylor, and Laurie Weaver were the incorporating officers. AHBI had its first meeting on April 8, 1990, with Stanislav and Christina Grof present. A statement of purpose was developed. Laurie Weaver was elected as the first AHBI President. In July 1991, Kylea Taylor became editor of The Inner Door. Kylea remained the acting editor until 2007 when she retired from AHBI (but not from life!).  Sharanya Naik graciously served as interim editor for the May 2007 Tribute to Kylea issue while the search for a new editor was launched under the leadership of Kevin Sachs.  The new editor, Alysson Troffer, began her work in July 2007.  The Inner Door was printed and distributed for ten years by Richard and Carleen Blum and is now printed and distributed by the AHBI office. The first AHBI conference was held in January 1992 in Orlando, Florida with Stanislav and Christina Grof in attendance. The Grofs made educational presentations, and there were presentations by others about using Holotropic Breathwork with various therapeutic populations such as those in addiction and recovery, those engaged in community building, and in creativity. The second AHBI conference was held in May 1993 in San Rafael, California. Its topic was “Creativity of the Human Psyche”. John Mack, M.D., Jim Fadiman, and Brenda Love gave presentations. An AHBI meeting was held. The AHBI Board committee proposed Holotropic Breathwork Ethical Agreements, which were approved. Charlie Knutila was elected the next AHBI President. The third AHBI conference was held in October 1994 in San Francisco, California. The conference topic was “Moving toward Conscious Relationship – Nature, Self, and Other”. Jim Fadiman gave a presentation on “ The Holy Triangle of Relationship”. Presentations were also given about using Holotropic Breathwork with female trauma survivors and those with disocciative identity disorder, and on the use of shamanic inebriance in ethnic cultures. A discussion was also held on the evolution of the AHBI Ethical Agreements. In February 1996, Carol Trescott was elected President. In August 1996 an AHBI meeting was held in Byfield, Massachusetts. Charlie Knutila was re-elected as AHBI President. Another AHBI meeting was held in August 1997 in Byfield, Massachusetts. Several informational presentations were given by AHBI members on topics such as trauma, multiple personality disorder, and electronic mixing of music sets using a personal computer. Lenny Gibson was elected President of AHBI. In 1999, AHBI hired its first part-time employee, Sarah Burdge, for the position of Office Coordinator. Later Glenn Wilson became the AHBI Office manager and administrator. AHBI went through a long and challenging "transformation process" led by Marty Boroson from 2004 through 2006.  This process climaxed with Kylea Taylor's retirement from AHBI at the end of 2006.  Was there an AHBI "after Kylea?"  It wasn't so clear.  But thanks to a lot of good work by involved people AHBI re-emerged in the summer of 2007 with a new board, a new mission, an advisory board, a new Inner Door editor, and a plan for implementing its mission (see above). Would you like to help out in fulfilling our mission?  Bringing breathwork to more people, improving communication between those involved in breathwork, and sponsoring research?  Then feel free to join us in whatever way works for you. back to top ETHICAL AGREEMENTS OF FACILITATORS Preface The practice of Holotropic BreathworkTM involves work with clients in nonordinary states of consciousness. It is described in the "Theoretical Principles of Holotropic Breathwork" by Stanislav and Christina Grof. As individuals or as individuals working in organizations, we subscribe to the value of self-examination in order to promote personal growth in ethics. Because practitioners who keep these Agreements avoid behavior which may be exploitative to participants and may also bring injury to the larger Holotropic Breathwork community, we subscribe to the principle that we need to give and receive feedback from each other in order to maintain the highest integrity in the Holotropic Breathwork community. We make the following agreements which specifically apply to our relationship with clients as practitioners of Holotropic Breathwork. Agreements We commit ourselves, as practitioners-in-training to practice Holotropic Breathwork only within the limitations of our training and competence, and to do so under the direct supervision of a Certified Holotropic Breathwork Practitioner. We commit ourselves, as Holotropic Breathwork Practitioners to be open to receive feedback from other Holotropic Breathwork Practitioners. We also commit ourselves to give feedback to other Practitioners, especially when we believe that the other Practitioners have failed to keep one of the following agreements. We will keep workshop clients/participants confidences within the limits of the state law. We create a safe setting for clients, as defined by the Holotropic Breathwork Principles. We will represent ourselves and act only within the bounds of our experience and competence and help our apprentices and trainees to do the same. If we are certified and qualified to supervise trainees as apprentices, we agree to be responsible for providing ethical guidance to our apprentices (including these agreements) while they are under our supervision. We continue to increase our Holotropic Breathwork competence. As researchers, educators, and authors we are dedicated to presenting accurate information and to citing our sources. Dual relationships risk role confusion and the appearance or reality of exploiting clients for personal gain. We agree to discuss with our peers any of our relationships with participants or apprentices. We agree to avoid and refrain from dual relationships, which may be exploitative sexually, emotionally, spiritually, economically, hierarchically, or ideologically. We do not invite, project, respond to, or allow any sexual contact with our clients or apprentices. We provide referrals to workshop participants who require follow-up or referral to local community resources. We seek appropriate professional assistance for our own personal problems or conflicts which may impair our work performance or professional judgments. We respect the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual autonomy of our clients. We enable them to choose freely with respect to participating in Holotropic Breathwork, following suggestions, and accepting physical interventions. We maintain clear and honest business practices, including making agreements regarding appointments, workshop times, and fees. In establishing the rates for our services we consider the financial situation of our clients. We recognize a responsibility to participate in activities that contribute to the community, including devoting a portion of our services for little or no financial reward. I, the undersigned, agree to uphold the above Agreements of the Holotropic Breathwork community and the Association for Holotropic Breathwork International.   _____________________________________________ ____________ Signature, Holotropic Breathwork Practitioner Date back to top THE INNER DOOR The Inner Door is the publication ( ISSN # 1524-623X ) that has been published by the Association for Holotropic Breathwork for its members since 1989. Since July 1991 it has been published quarterly.  From 1991 until the end of 2006 Kylea Taylor was the editor of the Inner Door.  In July 2007 Alysson Troffer became the new editor of the Inner Door. Go to Inner Door Archive back to top