Report on the Global Inspiration Conference (GIC), held annually in one country of the globe, in association with the International Breathwork Foundation (IBF) and its network members. By Alakh Analda – her last year as National Coordinator for Australia. It was my 8th GIC.
The venue was in a pristine environment in the Austrian Alps, one hour from Vienna – in a Hotel/Seminar complex that had a great big conference room and a number of excellent breakout/seminar rooms. A big park was part of the property, and it is at the base of very high mountains.
There were 250 attendees from 33 countries, so there was accommodation in two other hotels as well. The village was very small and a summer-house location for royal families in the past. Very quaint and beautiful.
The conference is simultaneously translated into several languages.
The adopted new mission statement is the IBF’s: “Uniting and Inspiring People Through Conscious Breathing”. There is also the vision statement and the definition of breathwork is being decided, which brings in more detail – see more details on the IBF site
There has been a new structure for IBF for one year, and the emphasis is on horizontal leadership – and
• executive team at the top of the structure (instead of the usual structure of an association ) – and then there are the teams of
• integrity committee (IC)
• national co-ordinators (NR) and
• project leaders, plus a
• consulting team of experts.
The one-year trial has been voted to continue, as the new structure and national co-ordinators are now called national representatives, and there can be one for the country and one for an area – or more than one.
From day 2, the IBF AGM is 2 hours each morning, where all business and changes are discussed, and any participant can attend, with members only voting. Up to 100 people attended the morning sessions, mostly to vote.
The agenda and IBF bylaws, etc are also on the IBF website.
I was National Co-ordinator from 2007-2014, then Mirabai for 2015, 2016, then myself again this last year, and now Ghislaine is the Australian representative. The roles are defined on the http://www.ibfnetwork.com site and can be seen in the file of bylaws.
IBF Projects are
• The Science and Research Group of IBF (SciReG) is collecting information about breathwork practices …. to learn more about the many different breathwork practices that exist so that we can create a classification. This will allow future research to be undertaken and interpreted safely and increase our understanding of the magnificent range of techniques that exist.
• Education project to have breathwork taught in schools
• UN project for the IBF to continue with the special status of consultative body to the UN Economic and Social Council.
• and smaller projects like managing the development fund, changes to the bylaws, definition of breathwork, etc
IBF Membership
There are three levels of membership – Professional member, member, friend and also Organisational member – which ABA is.
Please join to strengthen our bonds and our international presence.
Joining IBF is easy through the site – and friend membership is 10 euros.
ABA members holding office on the task force are Mirabai – IC, John – NR Malaysia and Singapore and Ghislane NR Australia. I have stepped down after 8 years on the task force.
Trainer Australian Breathwork Association ABA members who attended are John, Suzanne, Myself (Alakh) and Mirabai. John co-presented a three-hour workshop, and Mirabai chaired the AGM each day, which takes 2-3 hours each morning. I offered 3 three three-hour workshops with Breathwork Mastery and in conjunction with BM graduates who qualified in Australia or Europe and now work in other countries – Ghislaine, Marianna – Israel, Marina – Ukraine, Ana – Spain, Laura – France, and provided translations in the groups.
At the conference
Each day there were a number of workshops in a number of time slots, and up to 15-20 on offer in the three-hour slot 3-6 pm. So there were a large number of styles of breathwork from all parts of the world, including Transformational BW – Congruent BW, Peuma BW, Cord BW, cold and hot sessions, firewalk ( BW preparations ), Wim Hof BW, and myself, Breathwork Mastery… plus many more. A number of dance or movement and conscious breathing workshops were also offered, along with specialist sessions on subjects like the feminine and the thinking states behind diseases/body issues. And the yoga, movement, and cold water swim groups before breakfast.
Trainers have been asked to define their BW style and approach for a project, and it is being classified. Some of the original trainers at the IBF were trained by Leonard and Sondra, but their current schools were not represented at this GIC by workshops. Nor was any Holotropic BW.
The keynote and seminar presenters shared a high level of science, breathing data, and research information, including a breather hooked up while she consciously breathed and CO2 levels shown on a moving graph. Material was sometimes controversial – especially in regard to hyperventilation, and we are still integrating the information.
IBF has a number of medical doctors, professors, and PhDs as members and presenters, and at least one MD is on the executive team, which now has 5 members. Also, the keynote was a presentation on cognitive breathing research results, which Wilfried gave, and he was the GIC organiser.
This was the 23rd conference.
GIC 2018
GIC 2018 will be held in France from 28 July to 4 August 2018.
Joël Jégo (IBF National Coordinator for France) and Pierre Josis (IBF Board team member) are responsible for the organisation.
The theme will be: “Respirez la Joie !” / “Breath and Joy”.
Website for GIC 2018 – email Joel – nc-france@ibfnetwork.com
or check the details posted on https://www.ibfnetwork.com
The Conference venue is:
Les Jardins de l’Anjou
9, Chemin du Vaujou
La Pommeraye
49620 Mauges sur Loire
(300km west of Paris, near Angers and 80km away from Nantes International Airport)
http://www.jardinsdelanjou.fr/en/
2019 GIC is in USA – California desert near Sacramento at Joshua Tree retreat venue ( a Frank Lloyd Wright design ) in July – the 25 th conference
2020 GIC is in Sweden – the home of the first GIC – 25 years later – its the 26th conference.
To date the GIC sites have been
1994 Väddö,Sweden – Gunnel Minnet: ”
1995 Warsaw,Poland – Ewa Foley: ”
1996 Alghero, Sardinia,Italy – Robin Lawley: ”
1997 Kirchberg/Pielach,Austria – Wilfried Ehrmann: ”
1998 Montpellier,France – Judee Gee: ‘Body, Breath and Bliss’
1999 Almeria,Spain – Armando Aguilar: ‘Breathing into Society’
2000 Orta,Italy – Michael de Glanville: ”
2001 Merrimac, Wisconsin,USA – Jim Morningstar: ‘Uniting in the One Breath’
2002 Margarita,Venezuela – Viola Edward: ‘Breath Dance … Power and Responsibility’
2003 Southern Queensland, Australia – Nemi Nath: ‘Living the Dreaming’
2004 Pühajärve,,Estonia – Liina Lugus: ‘The Roots of the Future’
2005 St Petersburg,Russia – Andrei Zacharevich: ‘Inspiring Power’
2006 Nelson,Canada – JoAnn Lowell: ‘We are the Ones we have been waiting for’
2007 Istambul,Turkey – Indalecia Ziritt: ‘Dancing with the Breath’
2008 Hay-on-Wye,UK – Natalia Brown: ‘Weaving the Quantum Web’
2009 Oaxtepec,Mexico – Leonardo : ‘Inspiring Love’
2010 Cardona, Spain – Manuel Atienza: ‘Growing Together’
2011 Papallacta,Equator – Indalecia Ziritt: ‘Enlightening our Spirits with Pachamama’
2012 Oostduinkerke,Belgium – Luc Maertens: ‘Spring of Newmanity’
2013 Bimthal,India – Mark Conrad: ‘Breathing the spirit of the Himalayas’
2014 Delphi Valley,Ireland – Michael Blake : ‘My heart to your heart ‘
2015 ,Tenerife (Spain) – Silke Modersohn: ”
2016 Port Elisabeth,South Africa – Marie Rose Windels: ‘Breathe South Africa in Abundance ‘
2017 Vienna,Austria – Wilfried Ehrmann: ‘The Music of Breath’
