I have a long-standing interest in health and wellness. Not in a do-it-for-the-gram-green-juice-and-yoga-mats-as-a-personality-type way, but as a genuinely curious human being with health issues who’s trying to live a bit longer. Which means my Instagram feed is a fairly predictable mix of Pilates studios, supplements and people promising nervous system regulation in 90 seconds.
No surprise then, that Innercamp had been targeting me with ads for months.
The same imagery kept popping up on my feed – and it’s hard to miss. Intense breathwork. Big emotional releases. People screaming, sobbing, shaking. It looked powerful, but also… a lot. I don’t actually enjoy screaming so I wasn’t entirely sure it was for me, and kept scrolling. Until…a friend randomly called and said she fancied going for her birthday. There was a Black Friday deal on which was pretty good value – so we booked a fancy hotel and off we went.
I did find it interesting that other than a big social media ad campaign; lots of positive reviews on TrustPilot and InnerCamp’s own website; I couldn’t find many personal reviews of people’s experiences.
So after attending the three-hour somatic breathwork session in early December, I decided I’d write the review I couldn’t find. No hype. No affiliate links. Just an unfiltered personal account.
First Things First: The Screaming
Let’s address the elephant in the algorithm.
Yes, some people screamed.
Yes, some people groaned loudly and released things with “enthusiasm”.
Yes, you have headphones on and aren’t supposed to be paying attention to what others are doing but you can’t help it.
No, not everyone in the room makes loud noises.
In fact most don’t.
My friend and I definitely didn’t.
We lay there quietly, breathing, looking externally calm while internally doing some fairly serious recalibration. The ads focus on the most dramatic reactions because they’re visually arresting.
They are not the full picture.
Why I Went
Over the years I have tried every type of holistic therapy that’s put in front of me. I’ve also had Grief Therapy, CBT, Trauma Therapy, Hypnotherapy, EMDR and more. I do the inner work, I love breathwork and do daily meditation – but mostly, I was curious.
Somatic breathwork works directly with the nervous system, bypassing the thinking brain. Less narrative. More sensation. That made it interesting.
Plus I wanted to see if people did actually scream – because who wouldn’t?!
What It Was Actually Like
First off – this is a very professional set up. We were in a huge room in the Birmingham’s Conference Centre, and it’s a bit of a military procedure just to get in, with people checking tickets, then more people checking disclaimers (at least 5 times by various people, which I found interesting), before finally entering the space. I guestimated about 200 yoga mats perfectly spaced out, with branded headphones ready and waiting. There is also a consent card which is a really important touch. This tells the facilitators whether they have consent to physically comfort, support or adjust you whilst you have your headphones and blindfold on. Consent is everything, kids.
If you’ve ever done a breathwork session before – expect something a little different. The breathing itself was a fairly simple, connected rhythm….but added to that are binaural beats, encouragement, and lots of other layers coming through your headphones at the same time. It takes a bit of getting used to but stick with it. There are various phases and you go deeper as the day goes on. There’s also a mini aerobics session in the middle to get your body moving. If it all sounds weird, it is a bit. But not in a bad way.
You are guided very clearly and given a lot of information before anything starts – as I say, it’s incredibly professional, with touches of humour and lots of personality. And then, the breathwork (that they don’t call breathwork but it’s breathing a lot) begins.
I was half expecting not to connect to the experience. I was tired, and had recently recovered from pneumonia so I was a bit scared of breathing, to be honest. But, when I let myself go and stopped any residual resistance, I started to enjoy myself.
For me, there weren’t any massive emotional fireworks but I did receive some very clear, settled statements that arrived without effort:
- I will no longer be afraid to be myself
- I am safe to be successful
- No more negative inner judgement
They didn’t feel dramatic. They felt factual. Like something quietly clicking into place rather than exploding open.
There was imagery too, symbolic rather than mystical. Strength. Steadiness. Support. The kind of internal signals the nervous system understands far faster than language.
How I felt Afterwards.
I felt a bit odd. Both my friend and I were very quiet ( for us!) and quite tired. We slept well!
For a few days afterwards, I was a bit wired. I knew I was processing and letting my nervouse system settle.
This is the part rarely shown online. Integration. No big insights. No captions. Just letting your system recalibrate without rushing to analyse or label the experience.
What Actually Shifted
I don’t feel like there have been any huge transformations, but as I said earlier – I have spent the last few years working on my mind and spirit quite relentlessly. However, I definitely came away with a sense of safety and clarity about some limiting beliefs. A clear message that it was time to show up slightly differently. And that was enough.
The Honest Take
Somatic breathwork isn’t guaranteed screaming, healing or transformation. It’s not a performance and it’s not a shortcut.
Some people release loudly. Some don’t. It’s weird hearing other people howling and it can make you wonder if you’re doing it wrong.
You’re not.
For me, it wasn’t life-changing in a cinematic sense. It was quieter than that.
Would I do it again? Yes. But not for some time.
Would I trust the Instagram ads alone? No – each experience is different and I don’t want anyone to think that if you’re not howling at the moon you’re missing out on something.
I feel like I got results, in a subtle, that’ll do kind of way. And that’s enough for the £50ish it cost me.
Find out more about InnerCamp and find their next events here.
j
