In my own breathwork practice as a path to greater well-being, I have come to realize the importance of the support of a community - a circle of others breathing.
In his book, “A Hidden Wholeness”, Parker Palmer speaks of the importance of community in what he calls, “Circles of Trust”.
"Gathering in circles is an ancient practice being revived in our time. We have dialogue circles to improve communication, conflict resolution circles to negotiate crises, therapeutic circles to explore our emotions, problem-solving circles to puzzle out hard questions, team-building circles to cheerlead for a common cause, and collaborative learning circles to deepen our education. All of them have worthy purposes, but none of them has the singular intent of a circle of trust: to make it safe for the soul to show up and offer us its guidance.
"The circles of trust I have experienced are a rare form of community-one that supports rather than supplants the individual quest for integrity-that is rooted in two basic beliefs.
First, we all have an inner teacher whose guidance is more reliable than anything we can get from a doctrine, ideology, collective belief system, institution, or leader.
Second, we all need other people to invite, amplify, and help us discern the inner teacher's voice for at least three reasons:
The journey toward inner truth is too taxing to be made solo: lacking support, the solitary traveler soon becomes weary or fearful and is likely to quit the road.
The path is too deeply hidden to be traveled without company: finding our way involves clues that are subtle and sometimes misleading, requiring the kind of discernment that can happen only in dialogue.
The destination is too daunting to be achieved alone: we need community to find the courage to venture into the alien lands to which the inner teacher may call us."