How to Choose the Right Breathwork Training & Certification in Australia

Australian Breathwork College

A Heart Centred Guide To Choosing Professional Breathwork Training

More people are discovering Breathwork as a powerful way to reduce stress, regulate the nervous system, reconnect with themselves and support emotional wellbeing.

And increasingly, coaches, therapists, counsellors, health professionals, yoga and meditation teachers — as well as people seeking a completely new direction in life — are asking:

How do I become professionally trained in Breathwork?

With the growth of Breathwork has come an extraordinary range of training programs. Some are highly scientific. Some are spiritual. Some focus primarily on breathing techniques. Others use powerful dynamic breathing experiences.

There is no single approach that will suit everybody.

So, before choosing a Breathwork training or certification, it is worth asking a deeper question:

What kind of Breathwork Coach or Facilitator do you want to become?

Because professional Breathwork training is about much more than learning how to guide someone to breathe.

It is about learning how to be with another human being.

1. Start With Your “Why”

Before comparing courses, certifications and prices, ask yourself why you are drawn to Breathwork in the first place.

Perhaps you want Breathwork primarily for your own healing and personal growth.

Perhaps you are already a coach, therapist, counsellor, health professional, yoga teacher or healer and would like another modality that allows you to work more holistically with your clients.

Or perhaps something in your life is changing and you feel called towards more meaningful and fulfilling work in service to others.

These are quite different starting points.

A short workshop may be ideal if you simply want to experience Breathwork or learn a few techniques for yourself.

But if you intend to work professionally with others, look for training that goes considerably deeper.

You are not simply learning a breathing exercise.

You are learning how to safely accompany another person through an experience that may involve their body, nervous system, emotions, beliefs and deeply held patterns.

2. Look Beyond Breathing Techniques

3. Look for Training That Includes the Whole Person

Different Breathwork schools naturally emphasise different things.

When comparing programs, look carefully at what is actually being taught.

We believe effective Breathwork training should include an understanding of:

• The breath and body
  
• Nervous system regulation
  
• Emotional processing
  
• Beliefs and unconscious patterns
  
• Trauma awareness and safety
  
• Self-regulation and co-regulation
  
• Active listening and coaching skills
  
• Professional boundaries and ethics
  
• Integration following a Breathwork experience
  
• Presence and the therapeutic relationship

At the Australian Breathwork College, this is why we describe our approach as Core Clearing Breathwork and Heart Centred Breathwork.

The breath becomes a doorway into something larger.

Rather than simply asking: “How do we change the breathing?”

we are also interested in: “What is happening within the whole person?”

4. Profound Does Not Have to Mean Forceful

One of the most important distinctions between Breathwork approaches is intensity.

Some people love powerful, highly activating Breathwork experiences. Others respond much better to a gentler approach.

Deeper does not necessarily mean harder.

Someone can experience a significant emotional shift while remaining connected to themselves, their body and the person supporting them.

In fact, one of the comments we hear regularly from students is that they are surprised by how something can feel so gentle and yet work so deeply.

When investigating a training program, experience the methodology yourself if possible.

Notice what happens in your body.

Do you feel safe?

Do you feel respected?

Do you feel pressured towards an outcome or supported to discover your own experience? 

Does the approach resonate with the kind of practitioner you want to become?

There is a significant difference between knowing about Breathwork and being able to confidently facilitate it.

We believe professional training should involve:

Learning → Experiencing → Practising → Facilitating → Integration

Before asking students to support other people, we want them to experience the work themselves.

This is why personal development forms an important part of our Core Clearing Breathwork Coach Certification.

Students experience Heart Centring, emotional awareness, self and co-regulation, Core Clearing Breathwork and our You Can Change Your Life journey for themselves.

They then practise facilitating with others before taking a client through the structured Tune Up Your Life program.

This progression matters.

You aren't simply memorising a process.

You are gradually becoming the person who can confidently hold that process for somebody else.

6. Presence Matters More Than Performance

One of the biggest lessons we have learnt through thousands of Breathwork sessions is surprisingly simple:

You don't have to constantly do something to help someone.

New practitioners can understandably worry: What do I say next? Am I doing this correctly? Should I intervene? Should I ask another question?

But sometimes the most powerful thing a facilitator can do is remain present.

We sometimes describe this as: Less fixing. More witnessing.

Your nervous system enters the room before your techniques do.

Your pace, voice, facial expression, breathing, posture and ability to remain grounded can all contribute to another person's experience of safety and connection.

This is why we teach: Presence Before Technique.

7. Check the Experience Behind the Training

Breathwork has grown enormously in recent years, which is wonderful. It also means there are now many people teaching Breathwork.

Ask how long the school and its principal trainers have actually been practising the work.

How many clients have they worked with?

Have they facilitated individuals as well as groups?

Have they worked with difficult emotional situations?

Has their methodology evolved through years of real-world practice?

The Australian Breathwork College grew from our own work with Breathwork beginning in 1992.

Over more than three decades, our understanding of Breathwork has continued to evolve through working with people, training practitioners and observing what genuinely helps people create lasting change.

Much of what we now teach came not simply from books or theory, but from sitting beside people and asking: What actually helps?

8. Online or In-Person Breathwork Training?

Both can work extremely well.

In-person training provides immediacy, physical connection and the experience of learning together in the same room.

Online training provides flexibility and allows people to train without putting the rest of their lives on hold.

The more important question is not simply online versus in-person.

Ask: Does the training include live interaction? Can I ask questions? Will I actually practise facilitating? Will I receive feedback? Will I interact with other students? Will there be mentoring and support?

A professional online program should be considerably more than watching prerecorded videos and receiving a certificate.

9. Check Professional Recognition and Insurance

If you intend to practise professionally, investigate whether the training provides a pathway towards appropriate professional recognition and insurance.

Standards vary considerably between organisations and schools.

The official overseeing guiding bodies that supervise professional Breathwork include the International Breathwork Foundation and locally the Australian Breathwork Association.

When choosing a breathwork training in Australia, it is crucial to note the distinct differences in the quality of training standards across accreditation bodies. As an IICT-Approved Training Provider, the Australian Breathwork College delivers our specialized Core Clearing Breathwork Coach Training under significantly stricter educational benchmarks than standard registries. While international boards like the UK-based IPHM grant accreditation without requiring supervised, live training sessions, the International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT) explicitly mandates direct, supervised training contact to ensure practitioner competency. Consequently, while Professional Indemnity Insurance is available through both pathways, choosing an IICT-approved program ensures you receive a rigorous, contact-supported education.

Ask the training provider: What certification will I receive? How many training hours are included? Is the training professionally recognised? Can graduates obtain professional insurance? What professional standards, ethics and safety requirements are included?

By training with the Australian Breathwork College, you gain approximately 160 hours of comprehensive training and supervised practical experience through the Core Clearing Breathwork Coach Certification. As an IICT-approved training, it provides graduates with recognised professional credibility and a clear pathway to professional practice and practitioner insurance upon graduation.

10. Look at What Happens After the Training

Receiving your certificate should not be the end of your development. In many ways, it is the beginning.

One of the biggest challenges we have observed over many years of training practitioners is that people can become very good at their modality — and still struggle to actually create a sustainable practice.

They don't necessarily know how to find clients, explain what they do, conduct an initial conversation, create a structured client program, set appropriate fees, or confidently invite somebody to work with them.

That is why we believe professional Breathwork training should also help students bridge the gap between qualification and practice.

11. Can the Training Help You Actually Begin Working With People?

If your intention is professional practice, look for more than a certificate.

Ask: What will I actually have when I graduate?

Will you have a structured client program? Facilitation scripts? Client resources? A Discovery or Clarity Session process? Business and marketing foundations? Mentoring? A professional community? Opportunities to continue practising?

At ABC, our goal isn't simply to train knowledgeable Breathwork Coaches. We want graduates to feel ready to begin.

Because meaningful work needs to be sustainable.

We believe you can: Make a difference AND make a living. Give AND receive. Create purpose AND prosperity. Experience freedom AND service.

12. Look for Community and Ongoing Mentoring

Learning this work in isolation can be difficult.

A strong professional community gives you people to practise with, ask questions of, learn from and grow alongside.

Look at what happens after graduation. Is there ongoing mentoring? Continued professional development? Practice opportunities? Graduate gatherings? A community you genuinely want to remain part of?

For us, community isn't simply an added bonus.

We believe presence is contagious.

Self-regulation supports co-regulation. Co-regulation supports groups. Groups influence communities. And communities can influence the world around them.

13. Ask Yourself One Final Question

After looking at curriculum, price, accreditation, format and qualifications, there is one final question that may be even more important:

Do these people represent the kind of practitioner — and human being — I want to become?

Listen to how they speak. Experience their work. Talk with them if possible. Read what their graduates say. Notice whether their philosophy resonates with your own values.

Professional Breathwork training isn't simply a transaction in which you purchase information.

You may spend months learning from these people. Their philosophy, presence and approach to other human beings will inevitably influence the way you learn to practise.

Choose people whose work you trust.

Three Different Reasons

One Heart-Centred Path

Over the years, we have found that people generally arrive at the Australian Breathwork College from one of three starting points.

“I already help people — and I want to work more deeply and holistically.”

You may already be a coach, counsellor, therapist, psychologist, health professional, yoga teacher, meditation teacher or healer.

“I want more meaningful and fulfilling work.”

Perhaps you're at a transition point and feel there must be something more aligned with who you are and the contribution you want to make.

“I want healing and personal growth for myself — and perhaps one day I can share this with others.”

You may initially have very little intention of becoming a professional Breathwork Coach.

All three are valid places to begin.

Our Approach: Core Clearing Breathwork Coach Certification

Our Core Clearing Breathwork Coach Certification brings together more than three decades of Heart Centred Breathwork experience with a professional pathway for people who want to support others.

The approximately 160-hour training combines:

Self & Co-Regulation — understanding your own nervous system and learning practical Breathwork and regulation practices.

Coach Skills — presence, listening, emotional awareness, Core Clearing Breathwork facilitation and learning how to safely support another person.

Personal Transformation — experiencing the Heart Centred principles and Breathwork for yourself.

Professional Practice — practising with others and facilitating a complete client journey.

Business Foundations — helping you begin translating your training into meaningful, sustainable work.

And throughout all of it runs one central principle: