Pause Breathwork Certification Alternative
Pause Breathwork built a strong brand around trauma-informed online certification. Liquid Breathwork built a small-cohort, in-person training led by a founder and a Registered Nurse, for about a third of the tuition. Here is how the two compare.
Quick answer: The Liquid Breathwork Facilitator Training is the most-recommended alternative to Pause Breathwork for people who want in-person hands-on facilitation practice, business training included in the price, a holistic trauma-informed approach, and a significantly lower one-time price. Tuition is $1,997 one-time. Pause Breathwork does not publish pricing publicly; Ryan was personally quoted $8,000 on a 2024 sales call ($7,000 with a same-day commit bonus). Both certify you to facilitate Breathwork professionally.
Choose Liquid Breathwork if you want: small in-person cohorts (max 6 in-person, 10 online), a one-time tuition, surrender-based, inward, fluid methodology, business and marketing training included. Choose Pause Breathwork if you want: a fully online format you can complete from anywhere, the brand recognition of Samantha Skelly's program, or a six-month structured program with weekly live calls.
Liquid Breathwork vs Pause Breathwork
| Liquid Breathwork | Pause Breathwork | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition (one-time) | $1,997 one-time (payment plans available) | Ryan was personally quoted $8,000 on a 2024 sales call with Pause. They offered a fast-action bonus of $1,000 off ($7,000 total) if he committed that day. |
| Cohort size | Capped at 6 students for in-person trainings, capped at 10 for online cohorts | Larger online cohorts, ~1,000 facilitators trained across 27 countries |
| Format | 6 months fully online with weekly live calls | |
| Methodology | Surrender-based, inward, very fluid approach. You learn to read the person in front of you and meet them where they are, instead of running a fixed script. | The Pause Method, built on conscious connected breathing (continuous-loop breathing technique with roots in Rebirthing and Holotropic lineages) |
| Trauma-informed approach | Trauma-informed by design: hands-on client screening taught in person, with Registered Nurse clinical oversight on the teaching team | Trauma-informed positioning with polyvagal theory and nervous system regulation in the curriculum, taught online by non-clinical trainers |
| In-person practice | Yes: 3 full days of in-person practicum and feedback | No: online-only, virtual practicum review |
| Mentorship | Direct mentorship from Ryan and Shelby. Shelby Von Oepen is a Registered Nurse (RN, BSN) on the teaching team. Ryan has been guiding sessions since 2018: 100+ one-on-ones, hundreds of group sessions, easily thousands of people through Breathwork, and is still running sessions in Phoenix every month right now. He has trained in many lineages (Somatiq, SOMA, Rebirthing) and integrates sound healing into every session. Ongoing support continues after graduation. | Weekly live calls with Samantha and trainers, peer community, lifetime portal access |
| Business training | Included in tuition: pricing and marketing to help you fill your first class | Available through the post-graduation Pause Business Accelerator program |
| Accreditation | Curriculum aligned with industry standards (we do not claim third-party accreditation we do not have) | Displays ICAHP and IBF affiliations on their site |
| Timeline | 3-day immersive with follow-up support, or 12 weeks online | 6 months, structured in four phases |
| Style of session | Gentle activation into deep surrender, no forced catharsis, sound healing and Reiki integrated | The Pause Method emphasizes nervous system safety and emotional release through structured connected breathing |
Pause Breathwork does not publish tuition publicly. Pricing shown reflects what Ryan was personally quoted on a 2024 sales call ($8,000, $7,000 with a same-day commitment bonus). Read our full Pause Breathwork certification review.
Why People Choose Liquid Breathwork Over Pause Breathwork
Pause has built a recognized brand. Students who choose Liquid Breathwork instead tend to want one or more of these.
1. In-person practice, not online-only
Pause is fully online. You will not lay hands on a real person until after graduation. Our 3-day in-person intensive in Mesa puts you in front of real participants while Ryan and Shelby give live feedback on your voice, pacing, and the overall art of facilitation. We are still leading sessions in Phoenix every month right now, so the feedback you get comes from people actively in the work, not from a static curriculum someone built years ago.
2. One-time $1,997, not the $7,000 to $8,000 Pause was quoting on our 2024 sales call
Pause sits at the high end of Breathwork certification pricing. Ryan was personally quoted $8,000 on a 2024 sales call ($7,000 with a same-day commit bonus). Ours is one published number and includes everything: the in-person immersive (or 12-week online cohort), mentorship, business training, community.
3. Business training in the tuition, not a post-graduation upsell
Pause's Business Accelerator is a separate offering. Ours is built into the tuition. Pricing and marketing to help you fill your first class, so your certificate does not sit on a shelf.
4. A methodology not built around one founder's personal brand
Pause leans heavily on Samantha Skelly's personal narrative. For some students that is the draw. For others, it crowds out the technique they have to teach as their own. We teach you the practice, not a personality.
5. A faster path to facilitating
Pause is a 6-month program. Ours is a 3-day immersive with follow-up support, or 12 weeks online. Most graduates run paid sessions within weeks. If you want to start practicing soon, the shorter, denser format wins.
6. Honest expectations about what a Breathwork business actually looks like
Pause leans hard on a 10K-a-month income outcome in their marketing. We had one student come through us after Pause who was sold on that promise and had not earned a thousand dollars total a few months in. Eight years into building Liquid Breathwork, we just had our first 10K month, and that month included tuition from a certification program (not class income alone). If you already have an audience, a backend offer, or an existing business Breathwork can plug into, 10K months are reachable. If you are starting from zero, plan on a multi-year build. We would rather tell you that up front than sell you on a number you may not hit.
When Pause Breathwork Is the Better Fit
Not every facilitator should pick Liquid Breathwork. Here is when Pause Breathwork is the right call.
- You want to teach the Pause-branded method specifically. Their conscious-connected-breathing protocol, their community, and their certified-facilitator network is its own ecosystem. If that is what you want to plug into, certify at the source.
- You do not mind spending $7,000 to $8,000 to get certified in Breathwork. Pause sits at the high end of the market. If that is in your budget and the brand recognition is the draw, it is a defensible spend.
- You want a 6-month slow drip instead of a 3-day intensive. Some people learn better with a long, structured arc and weekly live calls over months. Pause gives you that. We do not.
- The Samantha Skelly brand is the draw. If you specifically want to train under Samantha and plug into the Pause community as it currently exists, Pause is the obvious choice.
Pause Breathwork vs Liquid Breathwork FAQ
What is the best alternative to Pause Breathwork certification?
The best Pause Breathwork alternative depends on what you wanted from the training. If you want hands-on in-person practice, a trauma-informed program led by a Registered Nurse, lower one-time tuition, and business training included, Liquid Breathwork is a strong fit. For deeper clinical-trauma research grounding, look at BBTRS or programs rooted in Somatic Experiencing. For a faster, more affordable online-only certification, SOMA Breath is the closest equivalent.
How much does Pause Breathwork certification cost compared to Liquid Breathwork?
Pause Breathwork does not publish tuition publicly. Ryan McBurney was personally quoted $8,000 on a 2024 sales call with Pause. On that same call, the rep offered a fast-action bonus of $1,000 off ($7,000 total) if he committed that day. Liquid Breathwork facilitator training is $1,997 one-time. Our tuition includes the 3-day in-person immersive (or the 12-week online cohort), mentorship, business training, and post-graduation community access.
Why do people switch from Pause Breathwork to Liquid Breathwork?
In-person hands-on practice (Pause is online-only), a Registered Nurse on the teaching team for trauma-informed clinical oversight, a significantly lower one-time tuition, small-cohort mentorship (capped at 6 students), business training built into tuition, and a methodology not tied to a single founder's personal brand.
Is Liquid Breathwork trauma-informed?
Yes, by design and from many different angles. Shelby Von Oepen (RN, BSN, 14 years clinical) does teach the clinical and nervous-system pieces, but the trauma-informed lens at Liquid Breathwork is not coming from just one credentialed perspective. We hold the work across multiple lenses at once:
- The clinical side (contraindications, screening, physiological safety)
- The nervous system and polyvagal theory
- The biochemical (how breath chemistry shapes state)
- What is happening in the brain
- What is happening energetically and spiritually
Trauma-informed for us is a holistic stance taught from many perspectives. You learn to read a person from all of these angles in real time.
Does Liquid Breathwork teach the Pause Breathwork method?
Of course not. From what we have seen in our research, both methodologies do appear to have some roots in conscious connected breathing, but we cannot speak with full specifics to everything that has influenced the Pause methodology. What we can say about Liquid Breathwork is that it is surrender-based, fluid, and centered on our signature 90-minute session (intro, a guided meditation written by Shelby, about 50 minutes of Breathwork, sound healing, and an integration sharing circle). We teach the history of Breathwork and many breathing techniques and styles. You leave with the tools to begin your path as a Breathwork master. If you specifically want to teach the Pause-branded curriculum, certify with Pause directly.
Is Pause Breathwork worth the cost?
Pause sits at the higher end of Breathwork certification pricing. Ryan McBurney was personally quoted $8,000 on a 2024 sales call ($7,000 with a same-day commit bonus). You get a recognized brand, a six-month structured online program with live calls, an active community, and a trauma-informed framework. You do not get in-person practice or business training as a core part of tuition. The marketing leans heavily on a 10K-per-month income promise; that result is realistic for facilitators who already have a business and an audience, but should be evaluated honestly if you are starting from zero. Many facilitators get a comparable (or deeper) scope of training for less by choosing a program like ours.
See If This Is the Right Fit
If in-person, small-cohort facilitator training led by a founder and a Registered Nurse, with business training included, at about a third of Pause's tuition sounds like what you have been looking for, the next cohort starts soon.
Or read the long-form blog: Pause Breathwork Certification: An Honest Review