THE AVALON INSTITUTE OF REBIRTHING
Rebirther Training Course Brochure
Vision Of The Avalon Institute Of Rebirthing (A.I.R.)
At the Avalon Institute of Rebirthing, we believe that Rebirthing is one of the most effective tools for personal transformation and are committed to promoting its use for the healing of Body, Mind and Spirit.
Our aim is to train aspiring Rebirthers to become highly skilled, caring and ethical professionals. Ease, delight and mindfulness are at the heart of our rigorous training, which also acknowledges each person’s unique contribution within the oneness of Creation. The Avalon Institute of Rebirthing offers a heart centred environment for personal as well as professional growth.
What Is Rebirthing?
The use of the Breath to access heightened states of consciousness for healing and reaching union with the Divine is found in all cultures and religions and is very ancient. In many languages, the words for “breath” and “spirit” or “soul” are the same.
The conscious breathing technique called Rebirthing was developed in the 1970’s and soon became very popular in the West for personal and spiritual development. Rebirthing is a simple, gentle yet powerful way to bring into awareness not only our unconsciously held beliefs and emotions but also the relationship we have with ourself, with our loved ones and our world. When we consciously breathe with this awareness, we make it possible to integrate and heal previously unresolved issues. This frees up energy, bringing greater aliveness and joy, and allowing us to move towards fulfillment of our potential as human beings. Rebirthing allows access to subconscious information that is beyond the reach of conventional talking therapies.
“Breath is the key to the mystery of life, to that of the body as well as to that of the spirit”.
Lama Anagarika Govinda
A.I.R. Training Course
At AIR, we train you to become a confident, competent, recognised, professional Rebirther. We provide you with the tools to develop a thriving practice. Our course fulfils national (British Rebirth Society) as well as international (International Breathwork Training Alliance) requirements for professional Rebirthers/Breathworkers.
Becoming a Rebirther involves an on-going exploration and understanding of our individual reality, as we believe that personal development forms the core of any practitioner. You can only teach and apply what you have learned and integrated yourself. The AIR Rebirthing Course therefore combines a professional training with a personal journey of transformation. We teach responsible communication and encourage creative thinking. The practice of living with integrity and the development of intuition are also key aspects of our work.
Content Of The A.I.R. Rebirther Training Course
The course covers the theory and practice of Rebirthing and introduces you to a wide variety of healing modalities and coaching techniques.
Rebirthing
o Background and principles of Rebirthing
o Development of practical skills
o Anatomy of breath and energy pattern
o Dry, cold and hot water, mirror, eye gaze Rebirthing
o Rebirthing in one-to-one sessions and groups
o The application of Rebirthing in the corporate world
o Experience of a range of other breathwork techniques
Psychotherapeutic skills
- Counselling skills
- People skills and effective communication
- Voice Dialogue, The Journey, Cutting the ties, Psych.K
- Family dynamics
- Projection, transference and counter-transference
- Pre-birth, and past-life influences
Life skills
o The power of our thoughts and taking responsibility
o Dealing with addictions
o Goal setting and visualisation
o Prosperity consciousness
o Transforming money, intimacy and relationship issues
Healing the different levels of the body
- Physical anatomy and physiology
- Touch awareness, movement, sound
- Chakra balancing
- Healing sexuality
Connecting with one’s own inner truth
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Intuition
- Spiritual purification
- Trance and extra-ordinary state of consciousness
Professionalism
- Ethics and code of conduct
- Developing an individual style of work
- Business skills (setting up a practice, affiliations, promotion, taking on clients, case studies, public speaking, running groups)
- Giving and receiving peer support
- Supervision
“…each breath we take is filled not only with the nutrients and energies we need for life, but also with the expansive, open quality of space. It this quality of spaciousness, if we allow it to enter us, that can help us open to deeper levels of our own being and to our own inner powers of healing”.
Dennis Lewis, “The Tao of Natural Breathing, For Health, Well-Being, And Inner Growth”, Rodmell Press, Berkeley 2006
Techniques We Use On The AI.R. Course
The techniques used on the AIR course are many and varied. We believe that it is when people are relaxed and enjoying themselves that their learning abilities are at their best and we aim to provide an optimal learning environment in our teaching sessions.
- We teach through lectures, individual and group breathing sessions, movement, creative art, silence, sound, karma yoga, group sharing, play and more.
- We work with the 5 elements of purification.
- We use sitting and walking meditations in the development of stillness.
- There are exercises to develop creative thinking and intuition and other exercises to strengthen our bodies.
- We also draw on problem solving and goal setting techniques to enable you to reach your highest potential.
- Our students chart their own transformation in a personal journal.
- We mainly work in the large group but also break into smaller groups to do specific work. In between training sessions, you are encouraged to connect with other AIR students to practice together. We also use the Internet to keep in touch and support you as required, including through conference calls.
Breath
- We look at the physiology and mechanics of the Breath to provide you with a good understanding of the breathing mechanism.
- We also introduce you to different breathing techniques such as: yoga pranayama, the Buteyko method, Holotropic Breathwork, Holographic Breathing, micro breathing, rhythmic and dynamic breathing.
- We learn to understand the Breath “language”, as it tells us about the way our clients feel and can give clues about the state of their health.
- At the Avalon Institute of Rebirthing we believe that our Breath is our ultimate guide on our path towards self-expression, freedom and happiness. Our approach therefore focuses on surrendering to the Breath, following and trusting its wisdom and for each student to uncover his or her own individual path.
Thoughts
- We analyse the evolution of the thought process, from its conception through to the development of beliefs.
- We support you to uncover your own beliefs and look at the consequences of these beliefs on your life.
- Together we explore developing beliefs that are life enhancing and how to manifest this transformation in your daily life.
Intuition, acceptance and mindfulness
- An important aspect of the Rebirther work is to be still, to allow our clients to open up to their own process, in their own time, feeling safe, supported and accepted.
- It takes patience and stillness to be able to sit and watch for the signs of movement; it takes emotional maturity to be able to contain our clients’ emotional releases without judging them or getting hooked by them; and it takes spiritual awareness to support our clients when they enter profound states of consciousness.
- An essential quality in Rebirthing is intuition or inner listening. It is however not something that can be learnt from a book over a few days. It requires time, practice and patience. We monitor the development of this inner listening by trusting “gut feeling” and observing the results.
- The AIR training prepares you to feel confident and be competent in any rebirthing situation.
Integrity
The Rebirthing practitioners need to have clear behaviour guidelines in order to guarantee the correct relationship with the client. The AIR Rebirthing Course trainers and their students abide by the British Rebirth Society (BRS) Code of Ethics during the whole of the course.
This Course Is For You If:
o You want to become a professional Rebirther (otherwise known as a Breathwork therapist)
o You are already a health practitioner and want to add the use of the Breath to the portfolio of skills you offer
o You wish to gain personal mastery. Being on a training course over 2 years with a group of dedicated participants, in an atmosphere of total acceptance, is a very powerful and valuable way of supporting yourself in your quest to know yourself better and grow into your full potential
o You want to share with friends and family the miracles you have experienced through Rebirthing, and assist them in creating a life they really love
Embarking on the AIR Rebirthing Course will change you and the world as you know it. You probably will not recognise your life by the time you complete the training. By then, it is likely that it will include much more fun, fulfilling relationships, and rewarding activities. It will be reflected in your self-expression, your joie de vivre, your vitality, your inner peace and your charisma. Your trusted guide on this transformational path will be your own breath. Our main role will be to make sure that this journey is SAFE for you at all times.
“During my training I came to understand that rebirthing is about freedom. It is a fast and amazingly effective way of liberating our core selves from inner constraints, from the tyranny of “should”, from a straitjacket of a lifetime of conditioning. The result is a life lived creatively, a life lived in daily contact with who we are, not who we think we should be”.
Catherine Dowling, “Rebirthing and Breathwork, A Powerful Technique For Personal Transformation”, Piatkus, London 2000
Setting Up A Business
Towards the end of their course, AIR students may consider setting up their own business as Rebirth Practitioners. The AIR Rebirthing Course acknowledges the challenge this represents and dedicates part of the teaching to develop skills in self-advertisement, public talking and marketing.
Course Schedule, Costs And Methods Of Payment
The AIR Rebirther Training Course total training time is 400 hours over a minimum of 2 years.
Its structure as well as the length of its course modules may vary from one course to the other.
Our courses are available in the UK and overseas. If you don’t find any suitable AIR training where you are, you may consider becoming an AIR organiser yourself and support the AIR trainers in setting up a training course in your area.
For course calendar, cost and payment details, see separate information sheet.
Requirements For Prospective Participants
o Some experience of Rebirthing
o Experience in group work
o Basic understanding of Rebirthing (book list available)
o Completion of detailed application form
o Attendance to AIR taster week-end or interview with the trainers
The A.I.R. Rebirthing Diploma
To qualify for the AIR Rebirthing Diploma, our students are required to attend all training modules and successfully complete all AIR training requirements. The Avalon Institute of Rebirthing Diploma is recognised by the British Rebirth Society (BRS) and the International Breathwork Training Alliance (IBTA).
“… the breath is the Teacher or Guide. It leads us on a sacred journey through a series of initiations that give us opportunities to acquire subtle skills and attain secret and sacred knowledge”.
Joy Manné, “Conscious Breathing, How Shamanic Breathwork Can Transform Your Life”, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley 2004
Joining The British Rebirth Society (BRS)
The British Rebirth Society (BRS) is the national body of professional Rebirthers in the UK. It provides professional recognition, client referrals, a quarterly journal and access to practice insurance to its practitioner members. Graduates from the AIR Rebirthing Course are eligible to join this organisation as full members.
AIR trainees may also join the BRS while still in training as apprentice Rebirthers sponsored by the AIR trainers.
A.I.R. National And International Commitments
“Modern science is beginning to accept that body and mind are not separate after all, but rather interact so closely that it is impossible to separate them: science can now show that thoughts and emotions greatly influence bodily functions and that the body can have an equally great influence on thoughts and emotions – indicating that it is possible for a person to become healthier simply by re-evaluating their thoughts and emotions; that it is possible to evoke the body’s innate ability for self-healing and that this is more effective the more emotionally positive we feel. But crucially for our purpose, science has shown that the way we breathe has a central role in all of this”.
Gunnel Minett, “Exhale, An Overview Of Breathwork”, Floris Books, Edinburgh 2004
Trainer Profiles
Doug Sawyer and Brigitte Martin Powell are the founders, directors and trainers of the Avalon Institute of Rebirthing. They met in 1998 at a BRS meeting and soon set up with other Rebirthers a valuable supervision group in the South-West. Overtime, their passion for the healing powers of the breath and their determination to share the practice of conscious breathing with others lead them to organise and facilitate together personal development workshops where fun and laughter acted as a key to progressing on the path to self-realisation.
For having been involved with Rebirthing for many years, both Doug and Brigitte have witnessed the transforming results this technique can bring to people’s life, whatever their background, whatever the belief system they belong too. They have also observed over the years how Rebirthing has evolved, becoming much more mainstream, still providing spectacular results but without the drama of it all. In 2007, they decided to create a Rebirthing training fit for the 21st century.
“Le XXIème siècle sera spirituel ou ne sera pas”
André Malraux
Doug Sawyer
A formative influence in his life was being born and raised in Central Africa. He came to England in his teens and lived in Liverpool until he completed his degree at Liverpool University. He trained and practiced as a teacher before moving into production management. At the age of 30, Doug went through a series of deep changes one of which was to attend a Rebirthing Weekend. This led him along the path of studying Rebirthing and becoming a Rebirther. In his life he has had a series extreme experiences which have tested his resilience to the limit and his work with Rebirthing has enabled him to grow stronger whilst remaining open.
Doug has over 25 years experience as a practising Rebirthing Practitioner. He has served as a committee member with the British Rebirth Society. His other work includes Shiatsu and Couple Relationship Counselling. He also works as a group facilitator for a number of organisations. The way he works with clients is to encourage each person to trust their own inner wisdom.
Doug lives with his teenage daughter in Bristol. His passion is walking in nature and latin/ballroomdancing.
Brigitte Martin Powell
Brigitte has been a Rebirther for the last 15 years and was involved with personal growth for many years before that. As well as being a Rebirthing trainer and practitioner, Brigitte works with the Inner Child, Voice Dialogue, Psych.K and Life-coaching. She is also a trainer and a coach in the corporate world. Brigitte has studied Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, meditation and yoga. Before training as a Rebirther in Venezuela in 1995, she worked for many years as an economist in Switzerland and in Africa. Through her rather “exotic” past, Brigitte has learned to think out of the box. She brings a refreshing sense of creativity and unlimited possibilities to her work. Brigitte is open and intuitive. She creates a space of acceptance for you to explore your self-expression.
Brigitte is a Practionner member of the British Rebirth Society and served on its Committee for 4 years. She is presently the President of the International Breathwork Foundation, where her passion for the world, its communities and the breath all come together.
She now lives in Devon (UK) with her husband and their 17-year-old daughter. She loves walking in this beautiful part of the world, as well as singing sacred music.
Truth, Simplicity and Love
