The Spiritual Artist Podcast · Christopher J. Miller

The Creative Power of Breathwork with Jonathan Schecter

·58 min·5 clips

Jonathan's dad told him breathwork could get him higher than psychedelics—years later, he discovered it was true.

This episode of The Spiritual Artist Podcast features host CJ Miller interviewing Jonathan Schechter, an integration specialist and breathwork facilitator. They explore how conscious breathing techniques can unlock creative and healing states beyond ordinary awareness. Schechter explains that his journey into breathwork began with Wim Hof's cold exposure method during a difficult divorce, later deepened by an online session with Michael Stone, creator of Neurodynamic Breathwork. He describes a typical breathwork session structure, which includes an introduction, an hour of guided breathing, and an integration period that often involves mandala art creation. Schechter references the work of Stanislav Grof, who coined the term "holotropic," meaning moving toward wholeness, to describe this process of accessing non-ordinary states. He connects breathwork to ancient understandings, noting that in Greek, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Hebrew, the word for "breath" is the same as the word for "spirit." Schechter discusses how breathwork can help regulate the nervous system, shifting it from a stressed "fight-or-flight" state to a calmer "rest-and-digest" mode, indicated by yawning. He argues that modern life, especially social media, constantly bombards our nervous systems with perceived threats it hasn't evolved to handle. The conversation touches on somatic experiencing, a method developed by Dr. Peter Levine for trauma release, which Schechter incorporates into his SCOPE method for nervous system regulation. A key insight is the concept of the "inner healer" or "inner creator," a part of the psyche that emerges when the ego takes a backseat. Schechter explains the holotropic paradigm as shifting from a "horizontal" axis of reacting to external events to a "vertical" axis of internal exploration and connection to something greater. He shares a personal transpersonal experience where he repeatedly envisioned the deity Shiva before learning its significance, which felt like a meaningful synchronicity. He recounts another profound breathwork experience where he re-processed a physical assault from age 13, facilitated by the specific safety of a retreat setting. Schechter emphasizes that a facilitator's role is to trust the client's "inner creator" until the client can trust it themselves. The tone is conversational and exploratory, blending personal anecdote with educational explanations of psychological and physiological concepts. Listeners interested in alternative healing modalities, the intersection of creativity and consciousness, or practical tools for nervous system regulation would find this episode compelling. Those seeking strictly scientific, data-driven content or who are uncomfortable with discussions of transpersonal or mystical experiences might choose to skip it.

As heard by us

Breathwork, nervous-system safety, and spiritual intelligence shape a reflective conversation.

Breathwork sits at the center of the conversation, but the larger concern is the moment when ego gives way and inner wisdom, an inner healer, or a higher power is allowed to lead.

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Why you'd press play

If your nervous system needs a gentler route back to creativity, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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