5 Qualities to Look for in a Breathwork Facilitator
- Kym Burls
- Jan 8
- 5 min read
After seven years in the breathwork industry, one thing is clear:
The breath is powerful enough to help — and powerful enough to harm — depending on who is guiding it.
Unlike protected titles such as psychologist, the terms breathwork ‘facilitator’, ‘coach’, ‘mentor’, ‘shaman’, or ‘xxxx’ are unregulated and can represent vastly different levels of training and understanding.
I’ve deliberately used the example of a psychologist, because breathwork — especially as I see the majority of it being practiced and promoted online — is a potent tool that, through its direct influence on physiology, also shapes emotional state and sense of self.
High-ventilation techniques — a technical term for faster breathing patterns — induce an altered state of consciousness similar to psychedelics (yes, your breath is that powerful). These states open up ‘windows of plasticity’ where the participant is not only highly vulnerable, but also highly suggestible to what they experience physically, emotionally and even energetically.
This potency is why experienced, ethical and informed guidance is essential. Done poorly, breathwork can overwhelm the nervous system, trigger dysregulation, or even retraumatise individuals.
If you’re considering a breathwork journey, whether one-on-one or in a group setting (which I generally don’t recommend if you’re new to breathwork), understanding the necessary qualities of a competent, ethical facilitator is critical.
Here’s a closer look at the five qualities that separate skilled, safe practitioners from those whose methods may be well-intentioned but ultimately risky.
This list is compiled from the lessons I’ve learned from seven years in the industry, involving more than 1,500 hours of face-to-face facilitation and 700+ hours of breathwork, neuroscience and trauma related education.
TL;DR
Deep knowledge
Broad skills and responsive application
Rigorous, transparent in-person training
Trauma-informed containers and integration
Commitment to ongoing development
1. Deep Knowledge
A breathwork facilitator must have a comprehensive understanding of the physical, mental, and emotional impacts of breathing. Breathwork is not just a set of exercises — it alters carbon dioxide levels, shifts autonomic nervous system states, and directly influences both emotional and cognitive processes.
Over-breathing or pushing intensity under the guise of ‘oxygenation’, for example, paradoxically reduces tissue oxygenation due to changes in blood pH.
A facilitator with deep knowledge recognises these dynamics and guides participants with nuance, pacing, and physiological awareness.
A truly skilled facilitator balances scientific understanding with an embodied awareness of how the breath shows up in each participant, knowing when to slow down, adjust, or shift techniques to prevent dysregulation and dissociation.
Warning signs: Anyone claiming that faster breathing increases oxygen delivery or that intensity equals efficacy is demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of physiology.
2. Broad Skills & Responsiveness
Ethical breathwork is not a one-size-fits-all practice. People arrive with unique nervous system states, life histories, and capacities for processing experience. A competent facilitator will not only take a health assessment prior, but also read how this history shows up in the moment, adapting techniques to the person in front of them rather than rigidly applying a predetermined method.
This requires a breadth of tools, flexibility, and the ability to accurately read what is happening in someone’s body and nervous system in real time. It means recognising when to slow the pace, when to invite a return to grounding, and when to allow an experience to unfold organically without forcing catharsis. It is this responsiveness — not the volume or drama of emotional expression — that facilitates genuine growth.
Warning signs: Facilitators who apply the same technique to every participant, regardless of individual needs, are prioritising method over human response — a recipe for overwhelm or retraumatisation.
3. Rigorous, Transparent In-Person Training
A facilitator’s training matters because it shapes both their technical competence and ethical framework, and exposes them to a broader and more diverse range of human responses. Breathwork is not abstract or theoretical — it is physical, audible, visible, and relational. It needs to be observed, heard, and felt in real bodies, not just understood conceptually or through a screen.
High‑quality training goes beyond delivering information. It includes in‑person learning where breathing patterns, compensation, emotional shifts, and nervous system responses can be directly witnessed and worked with in real time. This kind of embodied training develops discernment — the ability to notice subtle signs of distress, dissociation, over‑activation, or collapse, and how to respond appropriately.
Comprehensive training therefore covers respiratory physiology, somatic awareness, trauma principles, contraindications, ethical standards, and — critically — supervision. When training is thorough and embodied, facilitators are far better equipped to hold safety, adapt their approach, and intervene when needed rather than pushing ahead with a singular protocol.
Ethical facilitators are transparent about their training, lineage, and scope of practice. They do not overpromise healing or use breathwork as a shortcut to psychological transformation.
Warning signs: Lack of transparency about credentials; evasiveness or exaggeration around scope of practice; online, short-format or ‘one-week’ training courses that skim trauma‑informed principles and offer little to no in‑person, hands‑on training experience.
4. Trauma-Informed Containers & Integration
Breathwork — even when using relatively gentle techniques — can evoke strong emotions, memories, and bodily sensations. This is not a sign that something has gone wrong; it is a natural consequence of working directly with physiology and the nervous system. However, without a trauma-informed perspective, these responses can quickly exceed a person’s capacity to process them, increasing the risk of overwhelm, dissociation, or retraumatisation.
Ethical breathwork honours boundaries, pacing, and participant agency. Rather than chasing emotional intensity or cathartic release, it prioritises regulation, stability, and the ability to stay present with the experience. Depth is not created by pushing harder, but by ensuring the nervous system remains within a tolerable range.
A trauma-informed facilitator provides support, maintains containment throughout the process, and ensures integration is not an afterthought; that it is built into the session itself, allowing experiences to settle rather than spill over.
Large group events marketed as ‘breakthrough experiences’, even when staffed adequately, carry additional risk. In these settings, intensity is often prioritised over individual capacity, and the likelihood of transference — particularly from witnessing or absorbing other participants’ emotional release — is significantly higher. What appears powerful in the moment can be destabilising in the days or weeks that follow.
Warning signs: High-intensity breathwork events without meaningful integration practices; insufficient staffing relative to group size; or marketing that glorifies emotional collapse as evidence of effectiveness.
5. Commitment to Ongoing Development
The fields of breathwork, neuroscience, and trauma-informed practice are continually evolving. Ethical facilitators remain students of the work themselves. They continue to study, practice, and reflect, acknowledging where techniques, research, and understanding are shifting.
Ongoing personal practice, reflective supervision, and openness to emerging research are all indicators of a practitioner who honours both their participants and their own development.
Growth and transparency in their journey also model the very qualities they wish to cultivate in others.
Warning signs: Facilitators who are static in their approach, avoid feedback, or present themselves (or their technique) as having all the answers.
Conclusion
The qualities above reflect more than skill — they reflect ethics, integrity, and responsibility.
Breathwork has profound potential, but only when guided by someone who understands physiology, respects trauma, and values participant agency over spectacle. When you choose a facilitator with these qualities, you are investing not only in results but in safety, empowerment, and sustainable transformation.
For those working in the space, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this list — are there aspects you prioritise differently, or other qualities you consider essential?
And if you’re curious whether my approach and guided breathwork style align with your needs, you’re welcome to book a free 30-minute consultation call — a space to explore what’s right for you.
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