Whole Health Project Breath Coach Training Review (2026)
The Whole Health Project review. The $429, 35-hour online breath coach training with a trauma-aware module, CPD accreditation, and our verdict.
The Whole Health Project is an online school run by Rachel Fearnley and Lucy Foster-Perkins, two yoga teachers who ran retreats in Bali until the pandemic closed them. Their first online course was this breath coach training, and the school says it has since trained more than 1,500 breath coaches. They also sell trainings in meditation, yin yoga, and somatics, and they co-wrote a book, Somatic Practices for Trauma.
The training teaches functional breathing: reading what state someone’s nervous system is in and choosing a calming, lifting, or steadying practice to match. It deliberately leaves out intense, cathartic methods such as rebirthing, holotropic, or circular breathing.
We think this is one of the better cheap starting points for coaches, yoga teachers, and therapists who want to add breathing practices to work they already do. It is clear about what it covers, and the trauma-aware module is a real plus at this price. It is still a short, self-paced video course with a light assessment, so treat the certificate as a first step.
Who Runs It
Rachel Fearnley is a somatic practitioner who has lived in Bali for more than 15 years, where she founded the Pineapple House surf and yoga retreat. She came to yoga teaching from a career on superyachts and now sees one-to-one somatic clients online. Lucy Foster-Perkins is a former contemporary dancer who began teaching yoga to surfers in 2013, ran Yoga for City Surfers in London for five years, and became a co-owner of the Pineapple House. She lists yin yoga, breathwork, and meditation among her studies, including with the teacher Rupert Spira, and lives in London.
Neither founder names a specific breathwork training of her own. The trauma theory in the course is taught by Begoña García, a clinical psychologist from Costa Rica who also works as a breath coach.
The Trustpilot reviews we could see were positive, and we found no complaints elsewhere.
How the Training Works
The 35 hours are two courses sold together, both pre-recorded in short lessons:
- Breath Coach Training (25 hours): the anatomy and physiology of breathing and its link to stress, nervous system states and the practices that suit each, spotting common breathing problems, a toolkit of techniques and how to coach them, and running one-to-one and group sessions
- Trauma Aware Facilitation (10 hours): what trauma is and how it shows up in clients, fight, flight, freeze and the window of tolerance, your scope of practice and when to refer someone on, how to respond to a trigger or an emotional release, and consent and boundaries in groups
A bonus business module covers finding clients and building a community. You also get six monthly live Q&A calls with the founders in your first six months, a private community where they answer questions, and lifetime access.
To certify, you fill in reflection forms as you go, then complete a practicum and a short quiz. An older sales page for the course describes the practicum as two videos: one of you coaching a simple breath practice with a client, and one of you explaining the benefits of breathwork. The practicum must be in English. There is no deadline, and the school says most people finish in a few weeks to a few months.
The Whole Health Project Cost
The training costs $429 in one payment, three payments of $157, or six of $82. That is about £320 or €375. Ignore the “total value” of about $2,670 on the sales page, which prices the 25-hour course alone at $1,200; $429 is what you pay.
There is a seven-day money-back guarantee, as long as you have not yet submitted for your certificate. The school also sells bundles with its meditation, yin yoga, and somatic trainings at a discount.
Accreditation
The course is accredited for 35 CPD hours through the CPD Certification Service, and approved for continuing education by Yoga Alliance (YACEP) and by NASM and AFAA (1.9 CEUs). The hours can count toward the yearly training requirements of yoga teachers and fitness professionals. That is not the same as meeting a breathwork standard: at 35 hours, the course is far below the GPBA’s 400. See our accreditation guide.
Things to Know
The assessment is light. The school says that by the time you submit your practicum, “it feels like a formality.” A recorded session and a quiz show that you can lead a simple practice, not that you can handle a difficult client. If you plan to work one-to-one, look for supervised practice as well.
It is self-paced video. Six live Q&As are the only real-time contact. You will not practice on fellow students under a teacher’s eye, as you would in a live training.
It stays within its scope. The course teaches gentle, functional breathing and says plainly that it does not cover intense, cathartic methods. That is the right call for a 35-hour course, but it means this is not a route into leading conscious connected breathwork journeys.
Pros and Cons
What works well
- Low price - $429, with payment plans and a seven-day guarantee.
- Trauma-aware module - Scope of practice, referral, and handling emotional releases, taught with a clinical psychologist.
- Clear scope - Gentle, functional breathing, with no cathartic methods.
- Counts as continuing education - CPD, Yoga Alliance, NASM, and AFAA hours.
What doesn't
- Light assessment - A recorded practicum and a short quiz.
- No live practice - Pre-recorded lessons and monthly Q&As only.
- Founders' breathwork training not named - Their backgrounds are in yoga and somatics.
- Inflated "value" pricing - The sales page lists a $2,670 value for a $429 course.
The Whole Health Project Market Comparisons
The Whole Health Project vs. ReWild Breathwork
ReWild’s Trauma-Aware Functional Breathwork Certification costs $497, is fully online and self-paced, and most people finish it in four to six weeks. It covers breath biochemistry, nervous system anatomy, pattern assessment, session design, and safety, and it is accredited by IPHM. Choose ReWild for a more physiology-heavy curriculum and a path into its 200-hour practitioner training. Choose The Whole Health Project for a slightly lower price, a dedicated trauma module, and Yoga Alliance and fitness CE hours.
The Whole Health Project vs. Oxygen Advantage
Oxygen Advantage’s Level 1 Functional Breathing Instructor certification costs €449 (about $520) for about 55 hours on nasal breathing, CO2 tolerance, and the BOLT breath-hold test, built on the Buteyko method. Choose Oxygen Advantage for a widely known brand in sport and health and a more evidence-led method. Choose The Whole Health Project if your clients come to you for stress and emotions rather than performance or breathing disorders.
The Whole Health Project vs. SOMA Breath
SOMA Breath’s $497 Facilitator Program is 10 self-paced hours that teach you to lead SOMA’s ready-made, music-led journeys, within a large international community. Its $4,497 Instructor Certification teaches you to design your own sessions. Choose SOMA if you want to lead energizing group journeys under a known brand. Choose The Whole Health Project for more hours of training at a similar price and a gentler coaching focus.
Who This Is For
- Coaches, yoga teachers, and therapists - You want to add simple, safe breathing practices to your existing work.
- Budget-conscious beginners - You want a credible start for under $500.
- Professionals who need CE hours - The course counts toward CPD, Yoga Alliance, NASM, and AFAA requirements.
Who Should Pass
- Aspiring journey facilitators - See conscious connected trainings in our best certifications guide.
- People who want live, supervised practice - This is self-paced video.
- Anyone who needs a professional breathwork standard - 35 hours is a start, not a full facilitator training.
The Whole Health Project Verdict
The Whole Health Project’s breath coach training does what it says. It teaches gentle, functional breathing practices and how to use them safely with clients, with more attention to trauma than most courses at this price. For $429, with a seven-day guarantee, the risk is low.
Its limits come with the format. It is self-paced video, the founders do not name their own breathwork training, and a recorded practicum is a light test. It works best as an add-on for someone who already works with people.
Bottom line: A good-value first credential for coaches, yoga teachers, and therapists who want to bring breathing into their work. Not a route to leading deep breathwork sessions.
Still deciding? Take our 2-minute quiz to find the certification that fits your goals and budget.
Other independent online schools we have reviewed
- Breathing Space: the most affordable GPBA-certified 400-hour route we have found in the UK, fully online (from £2,700)
- Embodied Breath Academy: Rebirthing-based training from Bali with 30 required client sessions (AU$5,500)
- Holistic Breath Academy: a 10-week survey of breathing traditions from Los Angeles ($2,800)
- One Breath Institute: a GPBA-accredited online training with a year of business coaching (price not published)
- Sacred Breath Academy: a gentle, ceremonial 400-hour conscious connected breathwork training led by founder Kaya Leigh, mostly self-paced online ($4,444)
- Seven Directions: a GPBA-accredited, ceremony-rich 10-month training with an unusually strong guest faculty (about £4,450 all in)
- Transcend Breathwork Academy: a Clarity-rooted, GPBA-listed online practitioner training from Vancouver with 25 practice sessions and a business module ($5,550)
For the full picture, see our guide: Best online breathwork certifications.