Abstract

Stanislav Grof has devoted his life to the study of the "remarkable healing and transformative potential of nonordinary states of consciousness" . His early career focused on the effets of psychedelic substances - initally in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and then at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. He became convinced that "psychedelics - if used properly and judiciously under expert guidance - represent extradinary tools for psychiatry and psychology" . As we all know, the social and judicial climate has inhibited the full development of psychedelic research and therapy. Of necessity, researchers interested in the therapeutic effects of altered states of consciousness have turned their attention to other mind expansion techniques-yoga, meditation and hypnosis - as a means of attaining similar states. Grof and his wife Christina have developed their own non pharmacological method, known as Holonomic integration, or holotropic therapy , which combines controlled breathing, music and sound technology, focused body work, and mandala drawing. Grof has found that application of the yogic technique of deliberate, sustained hyperventilation known as "bastrika," particularly when utilized in conjunction with evocative music, allows access to the entire range of states available with psychedelic drugs. Its therapeutic value lies in its activation of the unconscious, which selects the most relevant emotional materials and facilitates their emergence into the consciousness