Expanded States Breathwork™
Breath as a doorway
to expanded states
A trauma-informed method that guides people into altered states through conscious breathing, somatic awareness, and attuned presence — creating space for what is ready to be seen, felt, or released.
The Method
What is Expanded States Breathwork™?
Expanded States Breathwork™ brings together trauma-informed foundations, somatic awareness, energy work, and curated musical journeys to guide people into deep inner spaces — without substances, only breath.
Breath is one of the few bridges between the conscious and subconscious mind. When we breathe consciously and continuously, something shifts. The analytical mind quietens. The body begins to communicate. What has been stored in the nervous system starts to move.
This is not relaxation breathing. This is an active, guided process that can open access to expanded states of awareness — states where old patterns are visible, where emotional material can complete, and where a deeper intelligence can be felt and trusted.
The work is grounded in safety, consent, and the understanding that the psyche has an innate tendency toward healing when the right conditions are created. As Stanislav Grof understood: we don't direct the healing. We protect the process.
How It Works
The four pillars
of the method
Expanded States Breathwork™ is an integrated approach built on four interconnected principles, each essential to the depth and safety of the work.
Safety First
Depth is only accessed to the degree the nervous system feels safe. Everything is designed around creating that safety — before, during, and after a session.
Breath as a Door to the Subconscious
Conscious connected breath opens access to the subconscious without force or interpretation. The body leads. The mind follows.
Innate Healing Intelligence
The psyche knows how to organise and complete experience when supported. We do not direct the content. We protect the process.
Energetic Literacy
Facilitation requires sensing and responding to subtle shifts — knowing when to guide, when to soften, and when to step back entirely.
"The psyche has an innate tendency toward healing and wholeness."— Stanislav Grof
Jelena Holodkova — Founder
About
The person behind
the method
Breathwork changed my life. And for the years since, I have devoted myself to understanding why — and to creating spaces where others can experience that for themselves.
I am a certified Rebirthing Breathwork practitioner, trauma-informed facilitator, and IFS-informed therapist, with advanced teacher training through Dan Brulé's BreathMastery School. Over the years, I developed an intuitive way of working with breath that blends conscious connected breathing with energetics, somatic awareness, voice activation, and curated musical journeys.
This evolution became Expanded States Breathwork™ — a presence-based, trauma-informed method for guiding people into altered states without substances. I have guided thousands of breathwork journeys across Europe and Mexico, and what I teach is shaped by years of witnessing how people open, release, resist, soften, and return to themselves through the breath.
My life's mission is simple: to empower people to share their gifts with the world.
Who It's For
This work is for
those who are ready
Expanded States Breathwork™ is not for everyone — and that is intentional. The depth of what can move in these sessions requires a certain readiness. If you find yourself here, you likely already know what that means.
Those who have tried everything and know something is still missing
You understand your patterns. And yet they are still running you. This is the work that goes underneath the understanding.
Practitioners and facilitators who want to go deeper
Coaches, therapists, yoga teachers, somatic practitioners who want to add the power of expanded states to their work safely and skillfully.
Those who feel a calling to be of service
People who sense that their path involves holding space for others — and are ready to develop the capacity to answer that call responsibly.
Anyone navigating a significant transition
Life changes, grief, endings, new beginnings. The breath has a way of meeting you exactly where you are and moving what is ready to move.
Those curious about expanded states without substances
If you are drawn to the territory that plant medicine opens but want to explore it through your own breath and body, this is that doorway.
Empathetic, self-aware humans ready for real depth
You know yourself. You have done your work. You are ready for a different kind of experience — one that lives in the body, not just the mind.
Offerings
Ways to work together
Whether you are stepping into breathwork for the first time, looking for deep 1:1 support, or feeling called to hold this space for others — there is a place for you here.
Breathwork Sessions in Ibiza
Guided Expanded States Breathwork™ sessions — intimate group journeys designed to create the conditions for real inner work. Themed, trauma-informed, and held with full presence. No experience necessary.
Book a Session1:1 Breathwork & IFS Sessions
Private sessions combining Expanded States Breathwork™ with IFS-informed parts work — for those who want to go deep into their own process with dedicated, personalised support. Available online.
Get in TouchExpanded States Breathwork™ Teacher Training
A four-day in-person immersion for practitioners and facilitators ready to learn to hold this work safely and skillfully. Application only. Small group. Next cohort: April 23–26, Ibiza.
Apply NowWhat People Say
From those who have breathed
The work speaks through the people who have experienced it. These are their words — unedited, unscripted, from the inside out.
I came in thinking it was just a breathing exercise. I left having accessed something I hadn't touched in years. I cried in a way I haven't cried since I was a child — and it felt like relief, not grief.
S.M. Participant, Ibiza SessionJelena holds the space with such steadiness and intelligence. You feel completely safe to go wherever the breath takes you. It's rare to feel that held in a group setting.
A.K. Therapist & Training ParticipantThe training changed how I hold space — not just in breathwork but in everything. The combination of theory, practice, and my own inner work in four days was unlike anything I've experienced in any training.
M.W. Yoga Teacher & FacilitatorThe level of attunement in the room — from Jelena and the whole team — meant I could go somewhere I've never been. And come back feeling more myself than I have in years.
R.L. Coach & Retreat ParticipantNothing was forced. Nothing was pushed. The breath was invited, and what needed to move — moved. I felt safe the entire time.
C.P. Somatic PractitionerI left with a completely different understanding of what it means to hold space — and of myself. The four days were some of the most important of my life.
T.B. Training Graduate
Teacher Training
Learn to hold what
breath opens
This is not a certification programme. It is a four-day immersion into the depth of this work — designed for practitioners, facilitators, and those who feel called to hold expanded states for others.
The training runs across three inseparable tracks: your own inner work as a breather and inquirer, the theory and science of what happens in these states, and real supervised practice with feedback.
This training is application only. Not to be exclusive — but because the container we create depends entirely on who is in it.
Apply NowTrauma-Informed Foundations
Nervous system literacy, contraindications, consent, safety protocols, and what it means to truly hold space without directing it.
Expanded States & Altered Consciousness
What expanded states are, how they arise through breath, and how to facilitate the full range of experiences that can emerge.
Somatic & Energetic Facilitation
Touch, sound, movement, presence, and energetic attunement — the tools of skilled facilitation that go beyond technique.
Musical Journey Architecture
How to design playlists that follow the emotional arc of a session — from arrival to peak to integration.
Supervised 1:1 Practice Sessions
Two real supervised sessions guiding external breathwork models — with full feedback and integration support.
Your Own Inner Work
Self-inquiry, somatic partner exercises, and your own breathwork journey as the foundation. You cannot hold what you haven't met in yourself.
FAQ
Questions
For group sessions in Ibiza — no prior experience is necessary. Curiosity and openness are enough. For the Teacher Training, some personal breathwork experience is required. You should know what it feels like to be in an expanded state before you learn to guide others there.
Being trauma-informed means designing every aspect of the work — language, pacing, environment, facilitation choices — around nervous system safety and participant autonomy. It means understanding how not to cause harm, and creating conditions where the system can organise toward healing at its own pace.
No. Expanded States Breathwork™ Teacher Training is a facilitation certification, not a clinical or therapeutic qualification. It prepares you to guide breathwork journeys safely and skillfully. For clinical work, additional professional training and licensing are required.
Yes. Breathwork is not appropriate for everyone. If you have a history of cardiovascular conditions, epilepsy, severe psychiatric diagnosis, recent surgery, or are pregnant, please reach out before booking so we can discuss whether this is appropriate for you.
Upon completion you will receive a certificate in Expanded States Breathwork™ Facilitation, which you can integrate into an existing practice or use as the foundation of a dedicated breathwork offering. You will leave with real session experience, not just theory.
The training investment includes four full days of in-person training, all organic lunches, your breathwork session, all materials and workbook, supervised practice sessions, and two post-training integration calls. Accommodation, flights, and local transport are not included.
Begin Here
The breath is
always available
Whether you are coming to a session for the first time, looking for deep 1:1 support, or feeling called to hold this space for others — there is a place for you in this work.
Hello, World!