People At GTT

Tav Sparks is a teacher, consultant, and writer with over 25 years experience working therapeutically with people in non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Since 1986, Tav has conducted hundreds of trainings and workshops and supported thousands of individuals in their deep inner work. In addition to leading his own events, since 1990, he has co-led Grof Transpersonal Training (GTT), the only training program that certifies people as practitioners of Holotropic Breathwork, working alongside Stanislav Grof, M.D. (co-creator, with Christina Grof, of Holotropic Breathwork, and author of Psychology of the Future, The Cosmic Game, and When the Impossible Happens). In 1998, Tav took over GTT from the Grofs, and currently leads and oversees a network of seminars and events all over Europe; North and South America; and Australia.

Tav is the author of three books, a training manual, and a CD series. His most recent book, Movie Yoga: How Every Film Can Change Your Life, demonstrates how movie watching can be a deep spiritual practice. Stanislav Grof said Movie Yoga “is a unique instrument that could transform one of the most popular mass entertainments into an adventure of self-discovery, self-healing, and inner transformation." Tav's CD series covers four topics as they relate to Holotropic Breathwork: Getting Started on Your Inner Journey; Addiction, Recovery, and the Spiritual Path; A Modern Spiritual Method with Lessons for Practical Life; and Healing Stories from Holotropic Breathwork.

His work for four years in a traditional recovery environment, and his experience of the limitations of the current treatment model, were the inspiration for Tav’s first book, The Wide Open Door: The 12 Steps, Spiritual Tradition, and the New Psychology. In this groundbreaking text, he pioneered the wellness approach to addiction and recovery. International lecturer and author Rokelle Lerner calls the book a “stunning synthesis of psychology, spirituality, and Twelve Step traditions” and “an important contribution to the addictions field.”

His 1987 article in Revision Journal, “Transpersonal Treatment of Addictions: Radical Return to Roots” was the forerunner of currently accepted trends in treatment.

His pioneering work with addicts and others in transformational crisis is the practical and theoretical basis for Fires Creek Center, where Tav and colleagues provide a residential setting for those looking for a safe, supportive environment for their self-healing and recovery journeys.

Tav is also author of the training manual Doing Not Doing: A Facilitators Guide to Holotropic Breathwork. His poetry book Through Thunder: A Death Rebirth Journey, received much praise, and he has also completed seven screenplays.

He was program coordinator for three conferences of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and served as a member of the ITA Board of Directors.

Tav lives in Northern California and is the father of two sons, Ason and Bryn, and the grandfather of three boys.

Watch Tav's video on the inner healer in Holotropic Breathwork
Read Tav's Holotropic Breathwork blog on the AHBI website

Tav's Movie yoga website
Movie Yoga video1
Movie Yoga video2
Movie Yoga video 3
Movie Yoga video 4

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