Free Your MindBreath work is the latest trend to get people off ofpharmaceuticals and in touch with their bodies.TEXT JAKE BROWNE“Since age six, I had horriblechronic migraines,”Lindsay Balgooyen tellsme. “I pretty much livedmy entire life with a migraine.”Admittedly, I’mnot expecting this. Myinterest in the idea ofbreath work started whenI interviewed comedianand psychedelics expertShane Mauss last year.He described to me anintense, mind-altering experience,one that seemedmore of a consciousnessexpansion than healing.Considering the impressiverésumé of substanceshe’s experimented with,I took stock in his wordsbut never considered thecurative properties of myown breathing.“I grew up in Michiganin not exactly a progressivetown, and whenI was 17, I had been on50 different drugs,” Balgooyensays. “I decided Iwas done with that.”Working with medicalcannabis patientsfor years, I’m used tohearing about chronicpain, but there’s some-PHOTO BY JOMKWAN7, ADOBE STOCK16 SPARK FEBRUARY 2021
PHOTO BY YOLYA_ILYASOVA, ADOBE STOCKthing beneath her wordsthat suggests how muchof a struggle it was forher, how defining the experiencewas. Balgooyen’sjourney overcomingthe constant illness ledher to seek a numberof treatment optionsoutside of traditionalWestern medicine, fromacupuncture to physicaltherapy to massage. Itwasn’t until a 2015 tripto Southeast Asia that itall clicked, though.While assisting at ayoga retreat in India, shehad made plans to headto Thailand toward theend of her trip to experiencea modality that wastotally new to her: circularbreathing. “I did myfirst session, and it absolutelyblew me away,” shesays. “My entire body feltlike it was paralyzed; Icouldn’t move anythingand just felt like my bodywas filled with cement.”She notes that this isn’tuncommon, but it’s oneof the reasons guidedsessions are recommendedfor beginners beforebranching out on theirown. “My whole bodywas in pain.”The process of circularbreathing, she tellsme, can lead to crampsand tightness, but shedescribes it as energymoving through yourbody and hitting blockagesalong the way. I’ma skeptic at heart, but itreminds me of a tai chiteacher I once had whowould have us tense ourmuscles to lead the wayto relaxation. Balgooyensays that once sheworked through the painin her first session, sheexperienced a release likenothing else she had feltbefore. She was hooked.“That day, I found amonth-long training andsigned up for it. Withina week, my headacheswent away completely.”Returning home toSteamboat Springs, thetransition was natural.“There’s a ton of differenthealers up there,and it’s a pretty spiritualtown,” she says. Once aweek, she’d bring togetherfriends and peoplewho had heard the buzzfor three hour sessions aspart of a longer course,and soon students becameapostles. “It justtakes one session becauseit’s such a crazy, profoundexperience,” shesays. “It kind of becomesaddicting.”After another year ofbuilding her practicethrough word of mouth inSteamboat, Balgooyen decidedit was time to takethe next big leap and workin Boulder, a liberal bastionof alternative medicineand a town wherecollaborators would bebountiful. Soon, she wasincorporating other modalitiesinto her practice,particularly sound healing.I have some experiencewith the chantingand music of kirtan (DebBrowne, my spirituallywoke mom, introducedme to it), and I start picturingus in a session together.“The sound aloneis so powerful,” Balgooyensays, as I nod.At festivals, it startedwith Nibumbu, a neotribalband that has spentthe last 2½ years incorporatingshamanic drumminginto breath work,creating an immersive experience.Now, Balgooyenis teaming up with BrianDickinson, founder ofSonic Alchemy, to bringsimilar concepts to smallersettings, with gongs,singing bowls, flutes, and“other trinkets” addingto the journey. “It startsoff really relaxed, thenit builds and gets prettyintense, then it starts tocalm down and gets verymeditative,” she says.I’m curious aboutwhat science has to sayon the matter, though.We take tens of thousandsof breaths eachday, so there has to besome study on how sucha simple act can haveFEBRUARY 2021 SENSIMAG.COM 17
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