ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with definitions and the history of the attribute of respiration as it has always related to the mystery of the breath, which in turn is associated with life and death and, as life force, connected to spirit and soul. Connections are explored between the breath and instinctual expression of strong affects, and connections with the inspirations of the inner world and the archaic shaman and their sacramental breath are brought in as examples of how a connection with the spirit world was expressed in respiratory language. The chapter posits that because breathing is both voluntary and involuntary, it lends itself to linking body and mind in the psychotherapy process and can open up a constricted, defensive posture through various techniques that are shamanic in origin, such as holotropic breathwork (Stanislaus Grof). The author describes how she, as a child of the respiratory domain was plagued by various weaknesses (asthma, throat infections, etc.) and how this whole domain strengthened and changed over the course of her therapy, voice work, and psychological development. Finally, professionals who depend on expressive capacities in the respiratory domain, such as singers, actors, performers are shown to be illustrations of the ‘functionalization’ of emotional expression, which is a primary stronghold of the shaman.
