SOMA breath (Naik)

Domain X · Body, movement, breath & physical · Niraj Naik

What it is

SOMA Breath is a commercial breathwork system created by Niraj Naik, who describes himself as a former pharmacist ("The Renegade Pharmacist") and a music-technology and breathwork coach. The school calls it "a complete holistic system of breathwork techniques" that blends modern breathwork with…

Format

• The Awakening: a single guided group or online session described as a ritual or ceremony that moves through rhythmic breathing to music, toning, retention with meditation, and visualisation, with the sequence repeated so the experience builds. The school's pages give different session lengths; no…
• 21-Day Awakening Breathwork Journey: an online "virtual retreat" with an introductory period (reflective exercises and a video tutorial on the technique), then three weekly stages named Initiation, Awakening and SOMA, each built around a guided audio breathwork meditation that becomes progressively…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• SOMA offers a Breathwork Facilitator Training Certification (online, and in-person facilitator retreats described as 11-day events), a Transformational Coach Certification, a free instructor masterclass, an application route via a "Master Trainer" call, and a "Global Breath Network" of certified instructors. The school markets the facilitator course as "the fastest breathwork certification".
• Accreditation claims: ACCPH, CPD (the About page says "pending") and Yogi Times. The CPD Standards Office directory lists SOMA Breath as provider 22439 with one accredited activity, "SOMA Breath Transformational Coaching", aimed at health coaches, yoga teachers, therapists and counsellors and others. Published pages give no training hours, prerequisites or assessment methods. CPD accreditation recognises a learning…
• Informed discussion and decision: SOMA's own exclusions, the medical contraindications and the evidence status are discussed. Move on only if the client has no exclusion, has medical clearance where needed, and chooses to proceed with a certified instructor.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• School's claims: stress relief, lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduced inflammation, stem-cell activation, lymphatic cleansing, help with depression, anxiety and trauma, clearing "negative imprints and traumas from early life (0-7 years)", "divine downloads", and that dependency on medication…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• symptoms easing within minutes signals hyperventilation settling; persistent or escalating symptoms need medical review.
• facilitators who discourage medical advice, promise cures, or dismiss the school's own exclusions. Working when the client has concrete answers.
• plans to practise in the bath or pool, during commutes, or while caring for children. Working when the client can repeat the rules and their stop plan.
• health claims attached to categories ("Detox", stem-cell "Longevity") that the evidence does not support; clients using forceful techniques when anxious.
• clients who blame themselves or are told by a group that symptoms are "releases" to push through. Working when the client is assessed and safe, and practice is paused.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.