Pause Breathwork is Samantha Skelly's six-month online facilitator training in conscious connected breathing with a trauma-informed framework. Pause does not publish tuition. Ryan, founder of Liquid Breathwork, was personally quoted $8,000 on a 2024 sales call ($7,000 with a same-day commit bonus).
See how that compares in our breathwork certification cost breakdown.
Disclosure: I run a competing Breathwork facilitator certification (Liquid Breathwork). I have tried to be fair.
Pause Breathwork® is a registered trademark (U.S. Reg. No. 6,042,442) owned by Samantha Skelly. Liquid Breathwork® is an independent training provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or certified by any of them. Their programs are named here for identification and comparison only.
What Is Pause Breathwork?
Pause Breathwork is a facilitator certification founded by Samantha Skelly, a former dancer, author, and founder of Hungry for Happiness, who found Breathwork in Bali while working through her anxiety.
The method is conscious connected breathing, a continuous-loop technique taught for decades under names like Rebirthing and in parts of Holotropic Breathwork®. Pause wraps it in a trauma-informed framework: polyvagal theory, nervous system regulation, screening protocols, and emotional safety.
How the Pause Breathwork Certification Program Works
Pause runs six months, fully online, in four phases. Pause-hosted retreats are optional and not required for certification.
- Foundation and Safety: trauma-informed principles, safety protocols, client screening, and basic breathwork neuroscience.
- The Art and Science of Breathwork: the Pause Method itself, covering conscious connected breathing, breathwork anatomy, and nervous system regulation.
- Energetic Mastery: Energetic Maps, somatic integration, and holding space for release.
- Facilitation Excellence: group facilitation, personal embodiment work, and the final practicum.
What You Actually Get
You get weekly live calls with Samantha Skelly and other trainers, a peer cohort, practicum feedback, ICAHP and IBF affiliations, and lifetime access to the training portal (a real plus).
The Pros (Where Pause Earns Its Reputation)
- Strong trauma-informed positioning. It draws therapists and coaches who want nervous system safety built in.
- Six months leaves time to integrate. You are not rushed.
- Access to the founder. If you came in through her books, Samantha on the weekly calls is part of the price.
- Active community. Many graduates stay close to their cohort for years.
- Brand recognition. "Pause-certified" is recognized in coaching and wellness circles.
The Cons (Honest Critiques from Inside the Industry)
- Premium pricing. An $8,000 quote sits at the high end of the Breathwork facilitator certification market.
- Fully online, no in-person practicum. Facilitation skill gets built in a room with live feedback.
- Trauma-informed framing is stronger as marketing than as clinical standard. Independent reviewers caution that Pause is "not as clinical as the marketing makes it sound." The elements are real but lighter than Somatic Experiencing or BBTRS, and Pause does not publicly list Registered Nurses or licensed clinicians on its core teaching team.
- Heavy reliance on founder brand narrative. Pause is wound tightly around Samantha's story (dance, anxiety, Bali), which can crowd out the technique you need to own.
- Methodology is repackaged, not novel. It is a strong wrapper on an existing technique, not a new one, and some students feel oversold when they notice.
- Looser structure than the price implies. How densely the six months are packed varies by cohort.
- Business training costs extra. The Pause Business Accelerator is a separate offering after graduation.
- Marketing leans heavily on a "10K a month" income promise. One student came to us after Pause, sold on that outcome, and had not earned a thousand dollars total a few months in. That is not universal, and some Pause graduates do well. With an existing audience, 10K months are reachable. From zero, the promise oversells.
Who Pause Breathwork Is a Great Fit For
- Coaches, therapists, and counselors with an existing client base who want a remote breathwork coach certification.
- Fans of Samantha Skelly who want her teaching directly.
- People who prefer six months online to a short intensive, and want the Pause alumni network.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
Anyone who wants mid-market tuition, in-person practice, business training from someone filling four Breathwork classes a month right now, or deeper clinical grounding for high-trauma work.
How Pause Breathwork Compares to Alternatives
- Liquid Breathwork (our program): $1,997 one-time, 3-day in-person immersive in Mesa or 12-week online cohort, capped at 6 students in person (15 online), business training included, surrender-based methodology, trauma-informed by design.
- SOMA Breath®: $497 for the Facilitator Program, $4,497 for Instructor Certification, or $6,497 for Transformational Coaching Certification, published on their site in September 2026. Mostly online, music-driven protocol, below Pause on every tier. (See our SOMA Breath comparison.)
- BBTRS (Biodynamic Breathwork & Trauma Release System): $2,500 to $5,000+, multi-module in-person training combining breath with bodywork, movement, and sound. Best for body-based trauma release.
- Alchemy of Breath: $7,200 tuition on either path ($5,900 on the current online early bird), 8 months online or 21 days residential at their school in Tuscany, with the retreat and travel on top. See our Alchemy of Breath review.
- Holotropic Breathwork (Grof Legacy Training / Grof Transpersonal Training): ~$7,000 to $12,000+ over a multi-year, multi-module path with required in-person modules, ten consultation hours, and ten workshop attendances. Stanislav Grof's original lineage.
- Neurodynamic Breathwork (Michael Stone): $6,295, or $4,995 if you register within 3 days of acceptance, six months live online, drawing on Grof's holotropic lineage (their program page, October 2, 2026). See our Neurodynamic Breathwork review.
- Programs rooted in Somatic Experiencing or Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Not breathwork-specific, but for clinical trauma work these carry far deeper credentials than any breathwork program.
For all 11 programs side by side, see our 2026 best breathwork certifications comparison.
Bottom Line
I got on their sales call without planning to enroll. Their ads looked like a high-ticket coaching funnel and I wanted to see it from inside. I left thinking Pause may be better at marketing than at delivering the income it promises. I cannot prove that, and their scale says they are doing something right.
For context: eight years into Liquid Breathwork, we just had our first 10K month, and that included certification tuition, not class income alone. Replacing a job with Breathwork classes takes years.
FAQ
How much does Pause Breathwork certification cost?
Pause Breathwork does not publish tuition; pricing comes up in enrollment conversations. Ryan McBurney, founder of Liquid Breathwork, was quoted $8,000 on a 2024 sales call with Pause, with a fast-action bonus of $1,000 off ($7,000 total) if he committed that day.
Is Pause Breathwork certification officially recognized?
Pause displays affiliations with ICAHP and IBF on its site. No government body licenses breathwork in the United States, so Pause's recognition comes from its brand size, Samantha Skelly's profile, and roughly 1,000 facilitators trained across 27 countries.
A Pause Breathwork alternative taught in person
Our Facilitator Training is taught in person by a Registered Nurse, with business training included in one-time tuition (about a third of Pause's price), and a method that does not lean on one founder's story.
Sources and verification: Curriculum verified from pausebreathwork.com. Pricing is the quote Ryan received on a 2024 Pause sales call. Pause does not publish tuition. Accurate as of May 2026; may shift between cohorts.