What is Clarity Breathwork?
Clarity Breathwork is a contemporary therapeutic breathwork practice founded by Ashanna Solaris and Dana Dharma Devi DeLong (formerly Dana DeLong) as a branded evolution of Rebirthing Breathwork. The modality employs conscious connected circular breathing—a continuous, circular breathing pattern without pauses between inhales and exhales—to facilitate access to non-ordinary states of consciousness, release stored emotional and physical tension, and activate what practitioners describe as internal healing energy. Unlike cathartic breathwork styles, Clarity Breathwork is characterized by its gentle, feminine approach, often integrating sacred music, kirtan chanting, light body meditations, somatic experiencing, and movement practices.
Origins & Lineage
Clarity Breathwork evolved directly from the International Breathwork and Rebirthing Community, originally founded through the pioneering work of Leonard Orr in the early 1960s. Orr discovered the method in 1962 while taking extended baths, during which he spontaneously connected his breath and experienced profound relaxation and healing. Rebirthing Breathwork was subsequently advanced by Sondra Ray, who co-authored Rebirthing in the New Age (2007) with Orr and wrote over fourteen books on the practice. Dana DeLong trained extensively within this lineage, working and traveling with Sondra Ray for many years.
By the 1990s, DeLong and Solaris began co-developing what would become Clarity Breathwork, drawing on over thirty years of combined experience in breathwork, energy healing, somatic therapy, and sacred arts. The name “Clarity” was chosen to signal an evolution beyond Rebirthing’s original focus on birth trauma toward a broader framework encompassing an entire lifetime of experiences, emphasizing presence, aliveness, and expanded awareness. The practice has since trained hundreds of practitioners worldwide through a structured certification program.
How It’s Practiced
Clarity Breathwork sessions typically follow a three-part structure. The session opens with an interview or intention-setting conversation, during which the practitioner and client discuss current life situations, patterns, and goals for the breathwork journey. The second phase is the breathwork itself, lasting approximately one hour: the client lies down in a comfortable, safe space and engages in conscious connected circular breathing—breathing continuously through the mouth or nose without pauses, in a rhythmic, relaxed pattern. The facilitator provides one-on-one guidance, verbal cues, light touch, and somatic support to help release tension, stress, limiting belief systems, and suppressed emotions. Sacred music, mantra, or guided meditation often accompany the session. The final phase is integration: the client shares their experience with the facilitator, processing insights and embodying the shifts that occurred.
Group sessions are also common and may incorporate live music (particularly Dana DeLong’s flute and harmonium), kirtan, guided light body meditations, dance, and movement processes. Sessions may be repeated in a series—traditionally ten sessions—until the client feels they have addressed what needed healing and achieved greater well-being, energy, and aliveness.
Clarity Breathwork Today
Clarity Breathwork is encountered today through private one-on-one sessions with certified practitioners, group workshops, multi-day immersive retreats, and a tiered professional training and certification program (Levels 1 through 5). Trainings are offered online and in person at retreat centers in locations such as Bali, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Mount Shasta, and India. The practice is taught through The Shift Network and other conscious-community platforms, often in collaboration with musicians, movement teachers, and somatic therapists. Guided Clarity Breathwork audio journeys and meditations are available for download, and practitioners maintain a worldwide directory. The modality is increasingly recognized within the broader breathwork resurgence of the 2010s and 2020s, sometimes called “the new yoga.”
Common Misconceptions
Clarity Breathwork is not a pranayama practice, though it draws on ancient circular breathing techniques used in yoga and other spiritual traditions. It is not primarily a performance-optimization or athletic technique like the Wim Hof Method or box breathing; its purpose is therapeutic and spiritual. While it evolved from Rebirthing, it is not solely focused on birth trauma—practitioners work with a wide range of emotional, relational, and existential material. Clarity Breathwork is also not a cathartic, high-intensity modality like Holotropic Breathwork; it is described as gentle, safe, and nurturing, though profound emotional release can occur. It is not a substitute for medical or psychiatric treatment and is contraindicated for individuals with certain cardiovascular, respiratory, or psychiatric conditions. The practice requires trained facilitation, particularly for beginners, and should not be practiced unsupervised when exploring deep emotional or somatic material.
How to Begin
Those new to Clarity Breathwork can begin by booking a private session with a certified Clarity Breathwork practitioner through the worldwide practitioner directory at claritybreathwork.com. For those seeking an immersive introduction, the four-day online Level 1: Sacred Breath & Embodiment training offers foundational experience in a group setting. Guided Clarity Breathwork audio journeys led by Ashanna Solaris and Dana Dharma Devi DeLong are available for individual practice, often paired with mantra music and meditation downloads. Practitioners recommend entering with openness, a willingness to explore the subconscious, and no expectations—allowing the breath to reveal what is ready to be transformed.