There are four main levels of Soma Breath:

1. SOMA Therapeutic Breathwork - 5 core scientifically validated breathwork techniques based on the ancient indian science of pranayama. Including special sauna breathwork meditations for deepening the practice. These 5 core breathing techniques can be used to help you:

- Lose weight

- Increase energy

- Heal quicker

- Get deeper sleep

- Improve digestion

- Live longer

- Improve mood

- Reduce Anxiety/Panic

- Reduce inflammation

- Clear asthma, congestion, sinus problems.

2. SOMA ‘The Awakening’ Breathwork Ceremony - full 1.5hr breathwork ceremony combining specially crafted brainwave entrainment music, a sequence of breathwork techniques, NLP, sexual energy and meditation. This can:

- Awaken dormant functions of the brain.

- Enhance creativity

- Create heightened states of consciousness and inspiration.

- Improve brain function and mind power

- Cleanse and purify the bloodstream and lymphatic system.

- Activate stem cells

- Stimulate self healing

- Reduce depression/anxiety

- Clear negative imprints and traumas from early life (0-7 years)

- Reimprinting with more empowering beliefs and habits.

- Set intentions, create motivation and energy to complete important goals.

- Self realisation, discover your true self, your deeper inner calling.

3. SOMA Yoga, Breath, Movement, Dance - a series of static contraction exercises combined with breathing techniques to create both resistance to stress and increased strength and stamina, through the power of intermittent hypoxia, making you highly efficient at using oxygen, so you need to breathe less and are less prone to oxidative stress in the body. Strength is the main quality of a healthy body free of disease, which is accomplished through 3 core techniques:

- Soma Yoga - builds overall body strength and flexibility

- Soma Static Contraction Exercises - builds stronger bones and muscles.

- Somatic Release - shaking, stretching and body breathing techniques for releasing stress and tension from the body.

4. SOMA Therapy - After learning the foundational training in level 1-3, you will be prepared to become a full SOMATherapist. As a SOMA Therapist you will discover how to use meta-reprogramming techniques combining NLP, Hypnotherapy and guided meditation with The Awakening and Breath Toning techniques to create powerful transformations in your clients.

SOMA is a complete holistic system of breathwork techniques. There is no one size fits all, and SOMA takes into account everyone is different and requires different breathing techniques depending on their needs.

SOMA Therapeutic Breathwork techniques are the core pranayama techniques that have the most scientific evidence to support their function.

The Awakening is inspired by the most revered pranayama technique called Nishessha Rechaka Kumbhaka and the ancient ritual of SOMA that has over 50,000 references to it in the ancient text, Rig Veda, that is the basis of modern day Hinduism and the Vedic philosophy that yoga originates from. It is also inspired by the breathwork technique that is the core of the Wim Hof Method, created by Wim Hof, a close friend and mentor of Niraj Naik, the work of Dr Prakash Malshe an Indian doctor based near Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga who uses pranayama and yoga to treat his patients, and Swami Ambikananda Saraswati who has one of the most popular yoga schools in the UK that is based on the earliest recorded traditional yoga practices.

Other modern breathwork modalities such as Rebirthing, Holotropic Breathwork and Transformational Breath focus on one method that hyperventilates the body. These should be done with caution as oxygen creates oxidative stress in the body, and are not for regular use because of this reason.

SOMA The Awakening is something that can be practiced more regularly and can only lead to positive health and psychological benefits. SOMA Yoga utilises breath retention and special yoga postures designed to make you highly efficient at using oxygen as they are anaerobic.

Most modern day exercises and styles of yoga that have evolved away from the original teachings are aerobic and so do not create as much strength or endurance as you would find in SOMA Yoga practice.

SOMA Breath is a truly holistic method that incorporates Niraj Naik MPharm wealth of experience and scientific education over the last 14+ years dealing with a range of health conditions, including curing his own autoimmune condition back in 2011, where breathwork was a core method he used.

Niraj is a fully qualified pharmacist with a masters degree and high level education in physiology, anatomy, biology, chemistry and physics. Niraj is also trained in yoga and ayurveda, and incorporates his knowledge of ancient healing modalities with a modern non dogmatic scientific understanding of why and how they work.

This sets him apart from many other trainers and wellness experts, as he has first hand experience from his own self healing journey. He has also trained with the top masters in the world like Wim Hof and Swami Ambikananda, and has a professional masters level scientific education with over 7+ years of experience working with patients in a clinical environment.

His deep understanding of a broad range of subjects allows him to simplify and easily explain complex material, without leaving out essential components that is necessary for techniques like Soma Breath to work effectively.

The techniques of SOMA Breath are very safe if practiced properly and learned from a trained SOMA Breath instructor. The breath retention techniques including The Awakening ritual should be done with caution for people who have severe hypertension or heart disease. Pregnant women and menstruating women should avoid The Awakening.

Hyperventilation can lead to respiratory alkalosis and so techniques like Rebirthing, Holotropic Breathwork or Transformational Breath should be done with caution as it can cause toxic damage and an overload of stress from excess oxygen entering the bloodstream. However SOMA breath uses gentle, rhythmical breathwork and breath retention techniques that prevents this issue and allows more oxygen to enter into the areas it is needed without harming cells from oxidative stress.

SOMA Breath can be experienced online via zoom video conferences or in person via our Global Breath Network of instructors certified to facilitate SOMA Breath classes. We run classes and facilitator training retreats in the following ways:

- weekly online sessions - click here to enroll in one of our upcoming online zoom classes

- drop in workshops facilitated by a certified SOMA Breath instructor - click here to find a SOMA Breath instructor near you

- multi-day SOMA Breath retreats - click here to find upcoming retreats around the world

- 11 day SOMA Breath facilitator training retreats - click here to find upcoming retreats

- Online training program

Wear comfortable clothes. Yoga style clothing is perfect. All breathwork techniques should be done on an empty stomach. So either in the morning before breakfast after rehydrating with water, or at least 1-2 hrs before eating a full meal.

In the SOMA Therapeutic Breathwork course, you will be trained in the 5 fundamental breathwork techniques. You will then learn how to use these for various purposes throughout the day, either for your own health and well being or to help your clients with their health.

This will empower you in the knowledge, science and power of breath to influence and enhance yours and your clients physiology, health and well being.

By learning the 5 core breathwork techniques it is like having your own pharmacy of medicines that you can activate by the power of your breath! You can lower your blood pressure, reduce inflammation, activate stem cells and repair cells, promote growth of good bacteria and cleanse the bowels. Your dependency on medication will reduce and eventually fade away over time.

All of the techniques inside of SOMA Therapeutic Breathwork can be used to help with a variety of chronic health issues that are triggered by chronic emotional stress such autoimmune disease and metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Some of the things these techniques can be used for include to:

- Lose weight

- Increase energy

- Heal quicker

- Get deeper sleep

- Improve digestion

- Live longer

- Improve mood

- Reduce Anxiety/Panic

- Reduce inflammation

- Clear asthma, congestion, sinus problems.

All techniques are designed to be a complimentary addition to existing treatment and not a replacement for them. You must seek medical advice before doing any alternative holistic practice such as Soma Breath.

The hardest imprints and traumas to clear are from your inner womb experience, to birth and then the first 6 to 7 years of your life. Higher yoga practices were designed to clear these past traumas and negative conditioning so that you can become free and liberated.

The Awakening is a higher yoga ritual designed to clear negative imprints and help you break free from the past, so you can be more present, in the flow and liberated with the power to create your own reality.

This ritual uses a series of ancient breathing techniques put into a sequence that combines rhythmical breathing to beat driven music, vocal toning/humming, breath retention, meditation/visualization techniques and the activation and transmutation of sexual energy.

The rhythmical breathing phase hyper-oxygenates the body, bringing in more oxygen and blowing out more carbon dioxide than normal. This alters the pH of the blood stream and creates a stronger electromagnetic field and current to flow through the body. The effect of this is an elevation of your vibrational and emotional energy. Through a higher vibration and emotional quality, negative emotions can be released and cleansed from the body, and the ability to attract and manifest your intentions is increased.

This type of breathing also moves the largest lymph gland in the body creating a powerful cleansing effect.

Before the breath retention phase you extend your exhale with deep vocal toning. This allows you to tap into the power of the vagus nerve, switch off stress and connect with your subconscious mind during the breath retention phase.

Life is a series of inhales and exhales, meaning that your quality of thought is strongly linked to your breath. Erratic breathing leads to erratic thinking. Smooth consistent breathing leads to coherent thought. When you pause your breath during the breath retention phase, you press pause on life. This allows you to go into the deepest meditative state possible where you can connect with your subconscious mind.

Using the power of affirmations, visualization techniques and self hypnosis you can program your subconscious operating system to influence your autonomic nervous system.

The activation of sexual energy throughout the process and the gradual progression of the experience through repetition of the routine over a 1hr duration creates a strong gamma wave stimulation and heightened ecstatic states of consciousness.

Powerful emotional releases can occur, negative imprints from the past can be cleared, and what we call ‘divine downloads’ that are moments of deep insight and moments of inspirations makes this experience truly unforgettable.

The Awakening experience is a powerful cleansing and revitalizing experience that allows you to connect to your higher self. You can stimulate healing through the activation of stem cells and the power of visualization techniques and intermittent hypoxia.

The Awakening is a ceremonial sequence that combines several of the elements of SOMA Therapeutic Breathwork into one longer routine. Other than the same physical health benefits, it can also help with deep seated emotional disturbances, negative limiting beliefs/patterns and reprogramming early life imprints.

SOMA yoga and FIT help you maintain and create a strong physical body that is more resilient to stress and highly efficient at using oxygen.

Contrary to popular belief, Yoga is not simply for creating a stronger and more flexible physical body. The principle of SOMA is that your body and mind are one and not separate. So by creating strong physical strength and training your body to thrive on less oxygen, your thoughts become more balanced and pure. You become more in the flow. Chronic stress related issues can be resolved both physical and psychological. Obesity and metabolic diseases can be prevented and reversed. Depression and anxiety can be relieved. Physical issues such as weak joints, chronic pain and even injuries can be gently and gradually treated and healed by using the techniques found in SOMA Yoga and F.I.T.

SOMA Breath respects the ancient rituals that predates religion that at the time were so powerful that religions were even formed from them. It enabled these early tribes to connect to their own higher power and therefore create mastery over mind and body through the energy of spirit. We bring you back that same spiritual power but now free from the secrecy, control and dogma of religion.

The latin root meaning of the word ‘Spiritual’ is ‘To Breathe’. Inspire means ‘to breathe in’. Conspire means ‘to breathe together’. Spirit is the spiritual life force that comes from breath.

The ancient Essenes tribes who formed the early Christian traditions had breathwork rituals as a core of their religious practices. The shamanic tribes from Siberia through to Native American Indians and African tribesman also have breathing practices as a core part of their celebrations and prayer.

The techniques in SOMA Breath are inspired from the ‘renegade’ tantric yogis and these ancient shamanic cultures who predate the more dogmatic organised religion of Hinduism, and so the methods they discovered were evolved from their own real world experience of surviving and thriving in harsh environments.