9D Breathwork Safety Guide & Contraindications

Before participating in any 9D Breathwork session, it’s essential to understand how your body and nervous system may respond to different breathing techniques and levels of intensity.

This guide outlines key safety considerations, contraindications, and participant responsibilities to ensure your wellbeing and create a safe environment for personal transformation.

Important Medical and Legal Disclaimers

This document is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. 9D Breathwork sessions are not a medical treatment, nor are they intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any physical or psychological condition.

If you have any health concerns, pre-existing conditions, or are taking prescription medication, you must consult with your physician before participating.

Participation in any 9D Breathwork session is entirely voluntary. By engaging in this practice, you acknowledge that:

You are choosing to participate of your own free will.
You understand the potential emotional and physical intensity of breathwork.
You take full responsibility for your health and wellbeing during and after the session.
Your facilitator will provide professional guidance and safety monitoring (limited if virtual, and not possible with your camera off), but you remain the ultimate authority over your body and experience.
We encourage collaboration with your healthcare provider and transparent communication with your facilitator to ensure the safest, most beneficial experience possible.

Not all breathwork is the same

Understanding Different Types of Breathwork

Not all breathwork techniques affect the body in the same way. 9D Breathwork offers four distinct categories, each with its own purpose and intensity.

Basic Breath Training

Foundational techniques that strengthen awareness, regulation, and resilience in daily life.
Down-Regulation

Parasympathetic Activation

Gentle breathing designed to calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and restore balance.
Hybrid Breathwork

A blend of calming and activating breathing that creates rhythmic energetic waves while maintaining equilibrium.
9D Activation Sessions

High-intensity patterns designed to release stored emotions, awaken energy, and facilitate deep transformation through altered states of consciousness.

What You Might Experience

Breathwork can create a wide range of experiences that vary greatly from person to person and session to session. Some people describe it as “riding a wave”, sometimes smooth and peaceful, other times raw and intense. For others, the experience might be subtle or seem like “nothing happened”, and that’s perfectly valid too.

Physical sensations

Tingling, pulsing, or vibration throughout your body
Changes in temperature (feeling hot, cold, or fluctuating)
Muscle stiffness or cramping (often hands, feet, or jaw)
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Nausea or temporary physical discomfort
Involuntary shaking, trembling, or twitching
Deep relaxation or floating sensations
Intense surges of energy moving through your system

Emotional or mental sensations

Sudden emotional releases or unexpected tears
Feelings of deep vulnerability or openness
Strong emotional resonance with others in the space
Waves of different emotions moving through you
Profound states of peace, bliss, or connection
Memories, images, or insights surfacing from your subconscious

All of these experiences are welcome in our space. Most people who have intense experiences report feeling like “this is exactly what I needed to feel right now”, even when it’s challenging. The 9D process has a wisdom that tends to show you what you’re ready to process.

However, breathwork can be physically and emotionally intense, which is why we need to ensure it’s safe for your current health status.

Safety is foundational

Contraindications & Medical Considerations

At 9D, safety is foundational to the transformational power of the breath. The following contraindications are shared not to exclude individuals, but to ensure every participant has the safest and most supportive experience possible.

If you experience or have a history of any of the following, please review the guidance below and consult your physician before joining a high-intensity (Activation or Hybrid) session.

Physical Health Conditions

Pregnancy (any stage): No participation, at any stage. No exceptions.
High or Low Blood Pressure: Inform your facilitator; breathwork can alter pressure levels.
Cardiovascular Disease: Including heart attack, angina, or stroke history. Medical clearance required.
Aneurysms (any type): Medical clearance required; risk of rupture due to pressure changes.
Thyroid Conditions: Energy and metabolism changes may affect thyroid stability.
Diabetes (Type 1 or 2): Blood-sugar regulation can fluctuate; consult your doctor.
Eye Conditions (glaucoma, detached retina): Increased pressure can aggravate these issues.
Respiratory Conditions (asthma, COPD): Gentle practice only; bring inhaler if applicable.
Recent Surgery, Injury, or Childbirth: Avoid activation sessions until fully healed.
Osteoporosis: Medical clearance required before Activation or Hybrid sessions.
Active Substance Use or Withdrawal: No participation while under the influence of any substance, or while in withdrawal.
Consciousness- or Breathing-Altering Medications: Any prescription that significantly alters consciousness, breathing, heart rate, or blood pressure. Speak to whoever prescribed it before participating.
Anything Your Physician Has Advised Against: If you have been advised against breathwork, or against intense physical or emotional experiences, do not participate.

Neurological or Psychiatric Conditions

Down-regulation sessions only. No participation in Activation or Hybrid sessions.

Epilepsy or Seizure History
History of Fainting or Vasovagal Episodes
Severe PTSD or Trauma History
Bipolar, Schizophrenia, or Psychosis
Recent Psychiatric Hospitalization (within 10 years)
Dissociative Disorder
Currently in Acute Emotional, Psychological, or Spiritual Crisis
A Mental Health Condition Not Currently Treated or Adequately Supported

Guideline summary

Chronic or medically managed conditions Yours to obtain medical clearance

Mild or non-chronic conditions Modify technique and self-regulate

Safe for everyone Down-regulation sessions

This list is not exhaustive. If you have a condition that is not named here, speak with your physician before participating, and write to us at hello@psyeed.com if you are unsure.

Discussing Breathwork with Your Doctor

If you need to check with your doctor about participating, here’s how to communicate effectively:

“I’m interested in participating in a guided breathwork session for stress relief and personal development. The facilitator will guide me through specific breathing patterns that may include deep, rhythmic breathing designed to activate my nervous system in a controlled, therapeutic way. This can help with stress resilience and emotional release, and it will be held safely by a trained professional.

The session is held virtually, which limits the safety support a facilitator can provide. If I choose to keep my camera off, no support can be provided at all.

Given my [specific condition/medication], is there anything I should know or any reason this might not be safe for me?”

Collaborating with your doctor supports both your safety and your growth.

Safety Guidelines for Participants

Arrive sober: Come to every session free from the influence of alcohol, cannabis, recreational drugs, or any other mind-altering substance. Participating under the influence is a contraindication and a safety risk. If your facilitator judges that you are impaired, the session ends there, without refund or makeup session.
Choose a safe environment: Never practice intense breathwork while driving, swimming, or bathing.
No forcing: Breathwork should never feel pressured or competitive.
Self-regulate: You control your experience: slow down, return to natural breathing, or stop if needed.
Communicate: Share any discomfort, emotion, or boundary with your facilitator.
If it feels like an emergency, call 911: If any symptom during or after a session feels like a medical emergency, stop and call 911 immediately. Do not wait to see whether it passes.
Stay grounded after sessions: Drink water, rest, and give yourself time to integrate. Treat the two hours after a session as protected: avoid stressful conversations, screens, and cognitively demanding tasks where you can.

Virtual Sessions & Their Limits

This applies to every session you join from home: all 1:1 sessions, and any group class you attend online.

A virtual session is a real session, and most of this guide applies to it unchanged. What does not carry across is everything that depends on your facilitator being in the room with you.

No one can reach you: Your facilitator cannot steady you, adjust your position, or offer grounding touch. Everything the in-person guidance below describes is unavailable on a screen.
No one on site to help: If you faint, cramp, or need medical attention, there is nobody in the room to call emergency services or reach your emergency contact for you.
The connection can drop: Internet, audio, or software can fail at any point, including mid-journey, which can leave you alone in a highly activated state with no guidance.
Your space is your responsibility: In a studio the room has been prepared for you. At home nobody has checked it for hard edges, obstacles, or anything you could fall against.

With your camera off

Turning your camera off is always your choice. It also removes the last way your facilitator can tell that something is wrong.

Your facilitator cannot see distress, over-breathing, tetany, or cramping, the signs that would normally prompt them to step in.
They cannot tell the difference between someone resting deeply and someone who has stopped responding.
They cannot check on you without interrupting everyone else in the room.

If you would rather not be seen, consider leaving the camera on and facing it away from your head, or telling your facilitator before the session so they know to check in with you by name.

Keeping it off is entirely your choice, and you do not have to explain it. What you are choosing is to carry more of your own safety for that session, so give the setup below more care, not less.

Before a session at home

Have someone reachable: Tell a person nearby, or someone who can reach you quickly, that you are doing a session and when it ends.
Clear your space: Lie on the floor or a mat, not a bed, sofa, or chair. Move anything hard or breakable out of arm’s reach.
Keep your camera on where you can: Especially for Activation and Hybrid sessions. It is the only way your facilitator can see that you are alright.
Keep your phone within reach: Unlocked and charged, so you can call for help or rejoin if the connection drops.

Bodywork & Physical Contact

This applies only to in-person group events. There are no in-person 1:1 sessions.

Some in-person sessions may include supportive, consensual touch such as grounding pressure or light positioning assistance on the shoulders, hands, head, or feet.

Your facilitator will

Ask for explicit verbal consent before any contact.
Respect all boundaries. No touch is ever required.
You always have the right to decline support at any moment.

Roles & Responsibilities

Our Responsibility

Facilitators

To provide clear information about possible experiences, maintain a safe container, and honor your personal boundaries at all times.

Your Responsibility

Participant

To review this information thoroughly, disclose any relevant health conditions, and consult your healthcare provider when necessary. You are responsible for your choices, pace, and wellbeing during the session.

Together

The container

We co-create a safe, professional, and transformational environment rooted in awareness, respect, and trust.

Acknowledgment

By attending a 9D Breathwork session, you confirm that you have read and understood this document and take full responsibility for your participation.

This document ensures we can hold space for your transformation while maintaining the highest standards of safety and care. Thank you for taking the time to read it thoroughly.

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