Human Potential Movement

A broad twentieth-century movement focused on personal growth and experiential learning. Centers such as Esalen brought together contemplative practices, bodywork, group therapy, and altered-state exploration, providing a setting for modern breathwork schools to develop. It grew mainly in California in the 1960s and 1970s, influenced by humanistic psychology. Holotropic Breathwork was developed at Esalen by Stanislav and Christina Grof.