Holotropic Breath Work Question

The famous LSD experimentor Stanislav Grof is apparently using this for group therapy since LSD and related drugs are not legal. It amounts to basically hyperventilating while listening to certain types of music.

At least some patients are reporting good results with this, in terms of releasing and working through repressed memories.

My question is this. LSD has been called a non-specific thought amplifier. So it is not surprising that LSD can allow one to recall and relive forgotten events (given proper guidance during use). But how would holotropic breathwork, which is basically just hyperventilating, also allow recall of forgotten events? I can understand how LSD would do this, since it apparently mimics certain brain chemicals. But hyperventilation? I would think a persons thoughts would be attenuated, not amplified, by this. Thoughts?

 

Maybe the extra oxygen in the brain along with lsd does this. I'm a little confused right now because i've got unwanted chemicals in my head right now so fuck it.

 

I've done holotropic breathwork. The breathing instructions were vague, and when asked the leader said he was deliberately vague because whatever we did with his suggestions was ok. The breathing was a centering tool but the key for me was the evocative music. The leader was like a skilled DJ reading the crowd and selecting just the right song to play next. I experienced powerful emotions but not many visuals or other acid-like symptoms. The breathwork is most effective after a strong group therapy session or anything that stirs up feelings and then the breathwork helps process those feelings. For some reason it was only effective in a group, didn't do much for me solo or with one other person.

based on my experience I wouldn't compare it to LSD, It's a different kind of experience for different circumstances. the biggest similarity is the Grof name.