Meet Dr. K Mari Castle, PhD, an experienced practitioner in Grof® Holotropic Breathwork and transformational coaching, whose journey from corporate life to spiritual healing has shaped her transformative approach to wellness. In her MysticMag interview, K Mari explores the essence of Grof® Holotropic Breathwork, her unique coaching methodology, and the insightful courses and books she offers, all rooted in ancient wisdom and personal growth.
Can you please share a few details about yourself and your professional journey?
My experience and training with Grof® Holotropic Breathwork back in early 2000 helped shape who I am today. I am still as passionate about facilitating breathwork as I was when I started twenty years ago. I also enjoy my role as a Transformational Life Coach helping people recognize their full potential. As a young adult, I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and traveled nationally as a retail auditor. After a serious auto accident in my early twenties, I began searching for natural healing modalities. The breathwork made me aware that I am more than my skin-encapsulated ego and that I can access my inner psyche for healing and transformation. This led me to learning more about the healing arts including Chinese medicine, Transpersonal Psychology, and ancient wisdom.
In 2023, I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. One of my Grof®® Breathwork colleagues was starting a graduate program for Stan Grof’s 60 years of consciousness research. He invited me to join him as Co-Director and Registrar of this program called Grof Studies Graduate program because we both earned our degrees from the same university that we are collaborating with – Ubiquity University. We currently have 14 students working toward an MA or PhD degree.
What is Grof® Holotropic Breathwork?
Grof® holotropic breathwork is a powerful technique that allows you to tap into the immense potential of your consciousness and embrace the wonders of organic healing. Dr. Stanislav Grof, a psychiatrist, and medical doctor, developed holotropic breathwork with his wife Christina. He is considered to be the world’s foremost authority on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and therapeutic breathwork. He is also one of the principal co-founders of transpersonal psychology. Harnessing the principles of deep breathing and intentional consciousness, Grof® holotropic Breathwork takes you on a profound inner journey that can unlock hidden emotions, promote healing, and ignite spiritual growth. Participants are encouraged to let go and allow subconscious material to emerge as they breathe deeper and faster while evocative, cross-cultural music is played. Occasionally energy release work or bodywork is needed to move past a blockage and assistance from a trained facilitator is provided.
What is your approach to transformational coaching and what can people hope to achieve through it?
I combine the wisdom of the Enneagram personality types with the five elements and chakra energy. These principles fall under the umbrella of Transpersonal Psychology to help people gain self-knowledge and feel balanced mentally, physically, and spiritually. This self-discovery often requires a deep look into the psyche and commitment to better understand the shadow or unhealthy patterns. At a soul level, we all truly desire to feel whole in life – whether it be enjoying a healthy relationship, feeling inspired and creative, practicing self-compassion, and/or believing in yourself – we all want to live life with passion and desire. I believe I can help people reach that sense of wholeness.
What courses do you offer?
My courses are focused on self-discovery. My most recent course: The Power of Myth and Archetype combines C.G. Jungs teachings of archetype with Joseph Campbell’s in-depth knowledge of mythology, to include the hero’s journey. My next course is taking these principles a step further. Connecting Nature with our Inner God and Goddess will involve a deep dive into the Sumerian culture (of 5,000 years ago) to understand why humanity turned from the matriarchal to the patriarchal perspective. We will also discover why we split our connection with nature. I also teach courses from the story of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna. All of this material emerged from my experiences with Grof® Holotropic Breathwork.
You have written two books. What are they about and why would you recommend them to our readers?
My books are about the ancient goddess Inanna. I experienced her archetypal energy many times In my holotropic breathwork sessions. My first book, Unveiling the Modern Goddess thru chakras, symbolism & myth correlates Inanna’s life story with the psycho-spiritual aspects of the chakra energy. This came together for me with C.G. Jung’s book: Psychology of Kundalini Yoga, written in 1932. His description of the chakra energy matched the symbolism in Inanna’s myth which offers women and men the opportunity to connect with their divine feminine nature.
My second book is called The Sacred Union: Connecting the masculine and feminine within. I juxtaposed Inanna as the divine feminine and Jesus as the divine masculine. This book is helpful for understanding our light and shadow aspects of the masculine and feminine energies (or Jung’s anima and animus) that we all possess. They can both be found on Amazon. I am currently writing a third book focused on healing ourselves and our planet from a collective perspective.
To learn more about Mari and her work, you can visit breathwork9.com
