About UKBA

Our association is dedicated to achieving professional recognition for Breathwork as a therapeutic and development tool, and providing a network of support for the profession

We aim to serve as a central hub for education, professional development, and advocacy of breathwork in the UK. We are seeking to build a community where schools and practitioners can continue the journey of raising the standards of practice and care. 

Our role is to foster a thriving community of practitioners who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to offer transformative experiences for their clients. We aim to connect breathworkers with ongoing training, supervision, and networking opportunities, while also empowering individuals to access qualified practitioners for their own personal growth and wellbeing.

We believe that breathwork can play a powerful role in supporting mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing, and our mission is to support its responsible integration into health and wellness practices around the UK.

Our Areas of Impact

Connect

We bring together breathwork professionals and trainers to create a vibrant community where knowledge and experiences are shared. By connecting practitioners with peers, supervisors, and clients, we help create a supportive network for personal and professional growth.

Educate

We are committed to promoting high standards of breathwork education by working with training providers to establish consensus on essential elements of breathwork curriculum across different modalities. We provide guidance on the different breathwork denominations and resources to deepen your learning journey of breathwork.

Elevate

Our goal is to elevate the field by advocating for best practices and highlighting the impact of breathwork on wellbeing. We work to raise awareness and credibility of breathwork as a professional discipline that can play a significant role in the healthcare sector.

Empower

We aim to empower both practitioners and breathers. For practitioners, this means helping you gain the confidence, skills, and support to build a sustainable practice. For breathers, we aim to provide information on different breathwork practices and provide a place to raise concerns or ask questions.

Our Ethical Framework &
Our Professional Standards

Our ethical framework and practical guideline is the result of years of collaboration with leading breathwork practitioners, educators, and wellbeing experts. It represents our commitment to establishing a strong foundation of professionalism, safety, and respect within the breathwork community. Developed through thoughtful dialogue and careful consideration, this framework guides both breathworkers and clients in cultivating responsible, ethical, and impactful breathwork practices.

With contributions from seasoned practitioners and industry leaders, this framework reflects a shared dedication to promoting high standards of practice. It serves as a living document, continually evolving to incorporate new insights and responding to the changing needs of our community. By adopting these principles, we aim to ensure that breathwork in the UK is delivered with integrity, compassion, and an  understanding of the powerful effects this work can have on individuals and communities.

We aim to review these documents annually, where members of our association are invited to join and participate in the evolution of our practice. 

Please read these documents linked in the blue bar below. 

Anyone who wishes to become a recognised professional breathwork practitioner associated with the UKBA must commit to adhering to these standards and ethical codes of conduct. 

Our CORE VALUES

The documents above and our core values offer a framework for us to work collectively to build a high-integrity profession. The standards have been created based on broad consultation as an appropriate starting point for establishing a standardised  level of care within the UK. 

Many people seeking out  breathwork as a therapeutic tool may feel challenged or vulnerable. Breathwork can be a highly effective tool at working with mental health conditions.

The most important task of a breathwork professional is to provide care. The relationship with clients involves deep exploration of inner worlds, and needs to have a foundation of integrity, trust and safety.

The ethical framework and values are an essential part of building and sustaining these conditions across the whole profession.

Integrity and Competency

Lawful practice, Responsibility and Professionalism

Respect, Rights and Dignity

Choice, Discrimination and Justice

Improvement and Development

Accessibility and Awareness

Our Journey

The Breathwork.org.uk website previously existed as an online directory of UK-based breathwork practitioners. This was created by some of the team of the Breathe Festival that has been running in UK annually since 2018.

As the practice has been growing, trainers, practitioners and clients have highlighted the need for an association oriented towards professional standards in Breathwork, and UK Breathwork Association (UKBA) is now a registered Community Interest Company.

The founding Directors were Hannah Kendaru, Helen Bradley and Mark Conrad. Professional membership is expanding and progress is underway to create an advisory board and ethics committee.

The Breathe Festival each August continues to provide a physical venue for meeting and energising the professional community, along with our quarterly online meetings open to all professionals.

We have been grateful for all inputs in supporting this work. By integrating insights from seasoned professionals and incorporating evidence-based best practices, we have developed a comprehensive set of standards that empower practitioners to approach their work with confidence and clarity. These guidelines are reviewed annually and updated to stay in line with the latest developments in the field, ensuring that our community has access to the most relevant and reliable guidance available.

A huge thank you to all who have convened with us over the last few years. 

For more clarity, or if you have any questions, please send us an email: info@breathwork.org.uk

Latest News

UKBA Key Learnings From Recent Events June 2026

This document outlines some key learnings from recent conflicts within the UKBA and UK Breathwork community. The past 4 weeks have revealed gaps in UKBA organisational communication, decision making and transparency. These insights were gathered from a team meeting held on Monday 13th July 2026. Please note, this is work-in-progress. Communication Channels Boundaries UKBA and Breathe Festival Distinction Trust and Transparency Resourcing

PSA Update May 2026

Our current intention is to begin the PSA ‘Standard 1’ application in July this year. Standard 1 is the entry point to creating a new voluntary register, serving to establish in PSA’s judgement if the professional work being considered has sufficient substance as a practice or set of practices, and sufficient evidence of effectiveness to go forward to the further stages.  Passing through the Standard 1 is also useful should we decide that the initial best option is to join an umbrella register.  The reason for the July start is that the PSA processes are being improved and somewhat quicker and simpler this year and July is the launch date for the new system. Once we begin the process we will doubtless be appealing for assistance in gathering required data and research.

Concerns about Breathwork in the Public Arena

UKBA team has received several notes of concern about both online courses and public workshops offering breathwork sessions that appear to be somewhat less aligned with the standards and guidelines we adhere to. We value and welcome the active witnessing of the field by our members: raising concerns and calling out questionable practices. We are grateful for the passion that you have in attending to client safety, care and professional standards.  Within every profession there is understandable frustration with those who offer a service that sounds similar but is done with less care, less training and looser guardrails for clients.   It’s worth clarifying that only in legally regulated professions such as medicine, dentistry or law does there exist the possibility to put forward a complaint in the public interest and expect it to be acted upon by government bodies. Also, it should be noted that organisations such as the IBF and GBPA have no power to restrict the activities of anyone offering breath practices. In professions with a PSA-accredited voluntary register, as UKBA intends to become, the approach is necessarily different. As our membership grows and awareness of Breathwork as a specific therapeutic profession builds, our standards will become a reference point for the public and an aspiration for students of Breathwork. The rapid expansion of large group Breathwork activities is a testament to the power of the practice which has for the most part been a niche activity for people who were ‘in the know’ during the last few decades.  We see that as Breathwork flourishes, so will those who offer it what some may feel to be an ‘over-enthusiastic’ fashion.  For some this is a cause for alarm, while others welcome the expansion and recognise that everyone can choose how to start working with the breath.  UKBA is not in position to shut down or otherwise control practices of non-members, even though we are aware that there are practices being offered that may not be suitable for everyone. A role that UKBA can and does play here is to make that choice real by raising awareness of the qualities that define good breathwork practice. By strongly advancing Breathwork as having a recognised professional path and promoting public awareness of the availability of practitioners and schools that have committed to high standards, we will achieve our goal of raising the bar.  

Peer Support

UKBA has now established regular peer support sessions for Professional members to undertake case and practice discussions. These sessions will run at different times of day and be 90 minutes in length. UKBA plans that attendance of a small number of these each year will become a requirement for continued Professional membership. Professional members will receive regular updates and schedules by email.

PSA Conversations

UKBA admin team has been in discussions with the Professional Standards Association about the pathways to having an accredited register. There are decisions to take about joining an existing register of allied professionals or creating a new register purely for Breathwork. One key conclusion so far is that we need to build our numbers. Once we get to around 200 members we have a realistic chance of having the resources to begin to undertake the registration process.