What is Biodynamic Breathwork?
Biodynamic Breathwork & Trauma Release System (BBTRS) is a body-based approach that integrates six core elements to support safe trauma release, restore nervous system regulation, and expand awareness. This somatic, trauma-informed approach is designed to help individuals release chronic tension and heal emotional wounds stored in the body, recognizing that trauma and stress can become “trapped” in the body’s tissues and nervous system. Unlike talk therapy or purely cognitive modalities, Biodynamic Breathwork addresses trauma somatically—through the body itself—based on the premise that unresolved traumatic experiences leave physical imprints in muscular tension, restricted breath patterns, and dysregulated nervous system responses.
The method combines breath, movement, sound, touch, emotional expression, and meditation in a precise sequence that supports the nervous system’s natural capacity to regulate and heal. Practitioners guide clients through deep, connected breathing to charge the nervous system, making stored trauma accessible for release. The approach recognizes that trauma is not solely a psychological phenomenon but manifests in chronic muscular contraction, shallow breathing, suppressed emotions, and compromised energetic flow.
Origins & Lineage
BBTRS creator Giten Tonkov developed BBTRS on a years-long personal journey of recovering his own body, which carried the impact of a childhood accident, through decades of learning and work with thousands of clients. Giten was born in Ukraine and has been living in New York since 1988. Tonkov has been a licensed massage therapist since 1994 (Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy, New York), a certified breathwork and body-oriented therapist since 2001 (Diamond Breath School, Miasto Meditation Institute, Italy), and was a former OSHO Multiversity therapist.
Tonkov traveled each year to other countries to experience trainings in different modalities—especially resonating with the breath therapies and meditations taught at the OSHO International Meditation Center in India, where meditation became a daily practice and he explored counseling techniques, Holotropic Breathwork, and hallucinogenic plant medicine. BBTRS has evolved from Wilhelm Reich’s therapeutic approach to soft tissues and Peter Levine’s trauma healing models. The system specifically aims at Emotional De-Armoring following Wilhelm Reich’s concept of Segmental Armoring.
Biodynamic Breathwork emerged in the early 2000s as a distinct modality within the broader modern breathwork movement that began in the 1960s with pioneers like Stanislav and Christina Grof (Holotropic Breathwork) and Leonard Orr (Rebirthing). Tonkov synthesized elements from somatic psychology, bodywork traditions, conscious movement, Eastern meditation practices, and Western trauma therapy into a comprehensive six-element system. His mastery of body-oriented therapies evolved over 20 years of learning, exploring, and working with countless clients and groups around the world, with his passion for life and love for people inspiring the creation of his “6-Element” approach to healing.
How It’s Practiced
BBTRS uses deep, connected breathing to “charge” the nervous system and provide access to the physical aspects of the trauma-release process, with the full series of sessions allowing tension to dissipate through movement, thus rebalancing mind and body from head to toe. A session typically takes about ninety minutes. The practitioner structures sessions around six elements:
Breath: BBTRS uses deep connected breathing that activates specific muscle tension belts and emotional patterns, with sessions structured as series to stimulate and balance the body and mind from head to toe. This is conscious connected breathing—continuous inhalation and exhalation through the mouth without pauses.
Movement: BBTRS stimulates the natural expression of the body to release held energy through movement invited through somatic and creative/dance exercises—from playful warm-ups to organic whole-body tremors to undulating spinal waves. Movement includes Trauma Release Exercises (TRE) to induce neurogenic tremoring.
Sound: The therapeutic use of sound is a proven way to aid in calming the nervous system/relaxing the body, with BBTRS using sound through music and voice or toning.
Touch: Conscious touch, bodywork, and soft-tissue manipulation allows a practitioner to assist a person in releasing trauma, applied with sensitivity to increase awareness and support energy flow, with understanding how and when to use conscious touch central to all trainings. Touch uses conscious touch at many levels, from the body’s energetic field to contact with core muscles.
Emotion: Emotion is held along with body tension, and both come to the surface during somatic work, but BBTRS is structured to avoid reactivating people and steers away from overstimulation, with the balanced approach honoring what is coming out emotionally then connecting that experience to the body—allowing people to release and integrate trauma rather than simply relive it.
Meditation: Meditation is used at the beginning and the end of BBTRS to support resonance in the practitioner and integration for the client.
The practitioner observes where breathing is restricted in the body—chest, belly, diaphragm, throat—and uses targeted touch and movement to release muscular armoring in those areas. The work proceeds through the concept of “felt sense”—cultivating nonjudgmental awareness of bodily sensations.
Biodynamic Breathwork Today
BBTRS is recognized and accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance. The training includes 460 hours of experience as a foundation and is accredited with the massage board as well as the breathwork alliance. Certification pathways, retreats and online learning are available globally, with BBTRS retreats held across the world—in North & South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Seekers encounter Biodynamic Breathwork through:
- Individual sessions with certified practitioners, typically 75-90 minutes, conducted in-person or online
- Week-long experiential retreats held internationally, immersing participants in intensive breathwork, bodywork, and integration
- Multi-module training programs (online and in-person) for those seeking professional certification
- Workshops and drop-in sessions offered through wellness centers, yoga studios, and trauma therapy clinics
The modality has gained traction among somatic therapists, bodyworkers, yoga teachers, and trauma-informed practitioners as a complement to or standalone therapy. Tonkov’s book Feel to Heal: Releasing Trauma Through Body Awareness and Breathwork Practice provides an accessible entry point for those curious about the approach.
Common Misconceptions
Biodynamic Breathwork is not Holotropic Breathwork, though both use conscious connected breathing. Holotropic work was developed by Stanislav Grof in the 1970s, emphasizes altered states akin to psychedelic experiences, and typically occurs in large group settings with intensive music. BBTRS incorporates bodywork, precise touch, and a structured six-element framework absent in Holotropic practice.
It is not a quick fix. The resulting modality—BioDynamic Breathwork Trauma Release System—dramatically reduces the time needed for a person to transcend something that was deeply embedded in the body. However, lasting results require consistency, often a series of sessions, and ongoing integration of somatic awareness.
It is not appropriate for everyone. Pregnant women, especially in the first trimester, should avoid the release associated with deep breathwork; those with severe heart disease, epilepsy, or a history of seizures; and those with mental illness, especially schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and any condition that includes psychosis.
It is not purely a breathing technique. The breath is the entry point, but the work fundamentally involves full-body engagement—movement, vocalization, touch, and emotional expression—to complete arrested fight/flight/freeze responses trapped in tissue.
It is not focused on spiritual transcendence or peak mystical experiences, though those may occur. The primary aim is trauma resolution, nervous system regulation, and restoration of natural aliveness in the body.
How to Begin
Start with Giten Tonkov’s book Feel to Heal: Releasing Trauma Through Body Awareness and Breathwork Practice, a bestseller in body-oriented psychotherapy that offers practical tools, science-based explanations, and real practice exercises.
Locate a certified BBTRS practitioner through the BioDynamic Breathwork & Trauma Release Institute directory (biodynamicbreath.com). Schedule an introductory session—most practitioners offer a consultation to determine if the work is appropriate for your current needs and health conditions.
Attend a drop-in workshop or weekend intensive before committing to a full series. These shorter experiences allow you to sample the modality in a supported group environment.
If you are a bodyworker, therapist, or wellness professional, consider the foundational training modules, which combine personal healing work with skill-building for facilitating sessions with clients. The training begins with online coursework and progresses to in-person retreat intensives.
Approach the work with realistic expectations: healing occurs in layers, and deep somatic release cannot be rushed. The work asks for courage, curiosity, and a willingness to trust the body’s innate wisdom.