EARTH MODULE - Foundations
FOUNDATION IN 1:1 SOMATIC BREATHWORK FACILITATION
Learning a breathwork technique is one thing.
Learning how to meet another human being inside a process is something else.
What happens when someone stops?
When nothing seems to happen?
When strong emotions arise?
When someone wants to go further, but you sense that slowing down may be more appropriate?
When your own nervous system becomes activated by the person in front of you?
The EARTH Module is the foundation of the SVARA Somatic Breathwork Facilitator Training and focuses on the art of working with one person at a time.
You will learn how to structure and guide a 1:1 breathwork process, understand the breath and nervous system, recognise emotional and somatic responses, work with contraindications and safety, and support a person before, during and after a session.
But technique is only one part of this training.
We are equally interested in the person using the technique.
Your capacity to observe. To listen. To stay present. To recognise your impulse to fix, push or create an outcome. To know when to intervene and when to wait. To meet intensity without automatically amplifying it.
Because you cannot guide someone deeper than your own capacity to stay present.
THE EARTH MODULE CURRICULUM
1. UNDERSTANDING THE BREATH
- History and foundations of breathwork
- Anatomy and physiology of breathing
- Conscious connected breathing
- Understanding different breathing patterns
- Reading the breath as an expression of the system
- Selected breathing practices and pranayama
- Lifestyle factors that can influence breath and regulation
2. NERVOUS SYSTEM & TRAUMA INFORMED FACILITATION
- Introduction to Polyvagal Theory
- Understanding different nervous system states
- Recognising activation, overwhelm and shutdown
- Trauma informed principles in breathwork facilitation
- Working with pacing and capacity
- Understanding when less may be more
- Contraindications and safety considerations
- Recognising when additional professional support or referral is needed
3. THE STRUCTURE OF A 1:1 SESSION
- Preparing a client for breathwork
- Intake and intention setting
- Creating a clear and safe container
- Structuring and guiding a 1:1 session
- Working responsively rather than following a rigid protocol
- Knowing when to intervene and when to wait
- Ethics, professional boundaries and responsibility as a facilitator
- Consent and client autonomy
- Understanding your scope of practice and when to refer
- Closing a session
- Integration and post session support
- Building a series of 1:1 sessions
4. WORKING WITH WHAT EMERGES
- Emotions, sensations and somatic responses
- Working with emotional activation
- Understanding catharsis without making catharsis the goal
- Silence and moments where seemingly nothing happens
- Working with resistance and protective responses
- Touch, consent and intention
- Developing intuition while maintaining discernment
5. THE FACILITATOR
- Understanding your own nervous system while facilitating
- Recognising the impulse to fix, help or create an outcome
- Staying present with strong emotion
- Staying present when very little appears to be happening
- Working with uncertainty
- Differentiating observation from interpretation
- Developing your own way of facilitating
6. PRACTICE & INTEGRATION
- Giving and receiving 1:1 breathwork sessions
- Observation and reflection
- Feedback and supervised practice
- Personal breathwork and somatic practice
- Integration throughout the training
- Preparing to begin working with your own clients
7. ELEMENTS, RITUAL & NATURE
- Introduction to working with the elements
- Ritual as part of personal and group process
- Working with fire and elemental purification practices
- Nature connection as part of the training experience
- Exploring our relationship with food
- Nutrition and the relationship between food, body and wellbeing
- Bringing awareness into the way we eat, rest and care for the body
THIS IS AN APPLIED AND EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING
The EARTH Module is not a training where you spend your days sitting and listening to theory.
The days move between teaching, movement, somatic practice, breathwork, partner work, facilitation practice, time in nature, ritual, integration, reflection and sharing.
You will experience the work from both sides: as the person facilitating and as the person being facilitated.
Your own process is an essential part of the training.
Because learning how to hold another person also means learning to recognise what happens inside of you when you are faced with emotion, silence, uncertainty, resistance, intensity or simply not knowing what to do.
We don’t expect you to arrive having worked through everything. We do expect a willingness to look at yourself, receive feedback and participate fully in the process.
For this reason, participation requires emotional and physical stability at the time of enrolment. A short application and interview are part of the registration process.
Full participation throughout the module is required.
WHO THIS TRAINING IS DESIGNED FOR
The Earth Module is for people who want to work with others through breath, the body and the nervous system, and who are looking for more than learning a breathwork technique.
You may already work as a therapist, coach, yoga teacher, bodyworker, healthcare professional or facilitator and want to bring breathwork into your existing practice.
Or you may be at the beginning of your path as a facilitator and want to build a strong foundation from the start.
You don’t need to arrive with years of professional experience.
But you do need a genuine interest in working with people, a willingness to engage in your own process, and the maturity to understand that learning to facilitate is something that develops through practice.
YOUR FOUNDATION AS A FACILITATOR
The Earth Module gives you the practical foundation to begin working with conscious connected breath in a 1:1 setting.
But learning to facilitate is not only about knowing what to do.
Throughout the training, you begin developing something that cannot be learned from a manual: the capacity to observe, respond and make decisions in real time with the person in front of you.
The EARTH Module gives you the foundation.
Your competence continues to develop through practice, client work, your own process, reflection and supervision.
BREATHWORK FACILITATOR CERTIFICATION
Completing the EARTH MODULE is the beginning of your practical work.
To receive your certification, you will continue working with clients after the training and complete:
• A minimum of 2 practice clients
• A minimum of 5 sessions with each client, ideally 10
• 2 supervision sessions
• 1 written self reflection
• 2 client session reports
Supervision can be completed in a group setting or privately.
The purpose of this period is not simply to fulfil certification requirements. It gives you time to practise, encounter real situations, ask questions and receive support as your facilitation develops.
TESTIMONIALS
Guilherme, 30, Brasil
Fanny, 36, Switzerland
Justin, 41, USA
PRACTICAL DETAILS:
FORMAT
The Earth Module is offered as a hybrid training, combining live online teaching with 7 days of in person training in Portugal.
Maximum 12 participants.
THE TRAINING INCLUDES
Live online training sessions
7 days of in person training in Portugal
1 integration call
2 online integration classes
Nervous System Essentials Online Course
Training materials
INVESTMENT
€1,666
Payment plans are available.
A limited number of scholarships are available for Portuguese citizens living in Portugal. Please contact us for more information.
Food and accommodation are not included in the training fee.
Accommodation at Casa Colab is mandatory during the in person part of the training.
DATES
Online:
October 2, 2026 · Opening session, 3 hours
October 3 & 4, 2026 · full training days
November 7 & 8, 2026 · full training days
In person in Portugal:
October 19 to 25, 2026
BEFORE YOU JOIN
Because this training involves personal process as well as professional learning, we want to make sure the Earth Module is the right environment for you.
Before joining, you will complete a short application and have a conversation with us.
This gives us an opportunity to understand your background, previous experience, current physical and emotional wellbeing, and what is bringing you to the training.
It also gives you space to ask questions and feel whether SVARA is the right training for you.
PREREQUISITES
Before joining the Earth Module, we ask that you have already experienced our work.
This can be through:
• 1:1 work with Mela
• A retreat or workshop
• One of Mela’s monthly group breathwork sessions
The Nervous System Essentials Online Course is also part of your preparation and is included in the training.
If you’re unsure whether your previous experience meets the prerequisites, you’re welcome to contact us before applying.