Hello Everyone, Welcome to the Spring 2007 Breath and Breathing Report. I just got home from France, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Bashkortostan. But the big news of course is that I am moving to Baja California Sur, to Los Cabos, Mexico! I’ve traveled to more than 40 countries in the past 30 years, and I can say that this place is one of the most beautiful on earth! Endless Summer. Pure cool mountain rivers and streams. Waterfalls and pools. Natural hot springs. Tropical, oak, and pine forests. A protected bio-reserve in our back yard. The ocean is 15 miles away. The international airport is 40 minutes away, and there are two exciting resort cities within an hour’s drive. A mature orchard with mango, avocado, yellow plum and guava trees; and now orange, lemon, fig and grapefruit, and several other fruit trees I’ve never heard of! The farm is in the midst of pure untouched nature, the soil begging to produce al we need to live, and air with so much life force that healing and renewal is practically spontaneous! It’s the perfect place to establish a conscious community, to build a teaching and learning center, a spiritual retreat. Our plan is to live intentionally, in harmony with nature, life, and each other; to practice sustainable agriculture and demonstrate environmental and social solutions. And you are invited to join us in living the dream of heaven on earth a Garden of Eden! We are 7 founders to date: Will, Andrew, Lee, Bruce, Fernando, Ambaya and me. And we want to invite 5 more people to join the core group. This land itself seems to be calling certain people. The earth herself seems to be choosing us one by one. And so if you’d like to make this a second home, or if you would like to support or participate in the creation of a Garden of Eden, then please contact me. I’ll be on the farm from May 16-31. And now a bit about recent events: The last few months have been filled with unique adventures. In Kazakhstan, we picnicked by a frozen lake up in the spectacular snow-capped mountains. Pure crystal blue ice, and yet the weather was like summer! We were also guided to a place with ancient stone circles and where ancient drawings were recently discovered on some of the rocks. In Lithuania, the energy was so powerful! And it was so wonderful to be with the group of resident breathworkers there. And it was especially inspiring to see families breathing together. We spent a day in a very wild place owned by a very wild artist... with a pyramid, a tipi, and other strange and wonderful structures; and with a half dozen wood-fired hot tubs scattered along the edge of a fast flowing river. It was such a great place to breathe. A peak moment was being deported from Belarus! It seems that Rebirthing is on the cult list there. And conscious breathers are suspected of being in some kind of radical religious sect! Our seminar was raided by 6 police and government “officials.” With video cameras running, they pushed open the doors and interrogated everyone. They questioned us about our income and occupation, our educational background and religious orientation; even our eating and sleeping habits! They confiscated samples of all the books, DVD’s and CD’s on display and for sale. In many ways Belarus is still mired in the old Soviet ways. There is little right to privacy or to free assembly. The media is controlled by the state. University students are forced to meet in secret or travel abroad to study democratic principles. “President” Lukoshenko is considered by the West to be the last dictator in Europe. A couple of people in the group felt quite frightened and intimidated, but everyone took the experience in stride, and with so much grace and humor. I traveled to Belarus on my Russian visa. (There is no real border between Moscow and Minsk.) The next day, more officials came to the apartment where I was staying and invited me to police headquarters where I was photographed, fingerprinted, fined $45, and banned from Belarus for five years. Actually several of the officials were very polite and really quite warm. It was easy to see that they were “just doing their jobs.” They even took a break to serve me coffee and sweets. Two of them were genuinely interested in breathwork; and asked for autographed copies of my book. In all, it was an outrageously fun and funny, and an unforgettable life experience! In Moscow our seminar was hosted by a very prestigious yoga school in the center of the city. And John Ebert dropped by. John is a former Massachusetts State Trooper and martial artist who came to Russia with me in 1991, and worked with Mother Theresa for several years. He is a breathworker and firewalker. He travels around teaching his favorite style of yoga. In Bashkortostan, another old friend Jenya Karev arranged for a trip to a small village called Shabagish. Our little group spent 4 days breathing and relaxing together, enjoying the sauna, the pool, the surrounding forest, and great home cooking. Another unforgettable moment came when I discovered that someone had gone into my bag and taken all the earnings from my trip: almost nine thousand dollars! It was a great opportunity for me to stay in love and practice forgiveness; and to breathe into some very uncomfortable feelings and sensations in my stomach. The local authorities were called in, and again I found myself surrounded by a team of police investigators: this time working on my behalf. (How quickly the universe seeks balance!) Within a few hours of their very thorough and professional investigation, the police handed me about 70% of the money. But it was a sad and shocking moment when my host and organizer for the past three years learned that her 17 year old daughter was the culprit. Maybe it comes from hanging around with the wrong kind of people, or picking the wrong kind of friends. I imagine that they are now sporting the latest cell phones, i-pods, and designer jeans. And I think that the police may have kept some money for their trouble. In any event, I am so grateful and so blessed. At every twist and turn on this path, people have showered me with love and respect. Huge planetary changes are brewing. The call of our times is to awakening to something higher within us. Breathwork is a key to expressing and reflecting this something higher. Looking ahead, I can only wonder what wonderful surprises await me. Of this I’m certain: people will continue to be healed by the power of breath, and uplifted by the practice of conscious breathing. There just ain’t no stopping the honest-to-god-miracles that keep happening during the sessions and seminars—maybe at times because of me and maybe at times in spite of me! So, look over the schedule, and make plans to join us in the adventure. Summer and Fall Travel and Training Schedule Note: All these seminars qualify as part of any on-going Professional Breathworker Program. May 16-30: Baja Breathers Retreat and Farm Project. Individual Breathing Sessions and Breathwork Practitioner Training. Also: Join us in building the first structure on the farm: a Traditional Mexican Palapa. June 7-10: Paris: Taking a Quick Breather in the French Countryside Individual sessions and intimate group work. June 11-19: Estonian Nature Tour Baltic Sea Island Adventure. And Breathing by the Rivers and Lakes. June 21-29: Black Sea Breath and Breathing Festival: Crimea (Ukraine) Camping in the Hills along the Coast: Celebrating Earth, Air, Water and Fire! June 30-July 5: Istanbul, Turkey: IBF Global Inspiration Conference “Beyond Therapy and Release: Advanced Breathwork Theory and Practice” August 9-16: The Hill That Breathes: Italian Resort Retreat Drop whatever keeps you from loving. Feeling Good No Matter What. Now that’s Freedom! September 1-15: Guruji Mohan Visits the USA! From time to time, life leads me to someone I wish everyone I know and love could meet. It happened on my recent visit to India. Clear and bright, natural and loose, pure and simple: Mohan teaches and lives the only thing that really matters: Enlightenment and Self-Realization. Late September-Early October: Russia and Kazakhstan (Dates Tentative) October 4-14: Barcelona, Spain On my first visit to Central Russia in 1990, I met a very clear and bright psychiatrist and her delightful 4 year old son: Larina and Fedor. They now live and work in Spain, and have invited me to visit. And so, you are also invited to the first breathing training in beautiful Barcelona! November 1-30: Baja Breathing Retreat and Professional Practitioner Training. Fasting, Meditation, Massage, Karma Yoga, Spiritual Breathing, Healing Program. December: First Annual Baja Bio Sana Winter Getaway. Bask in the sun. Soak in the hot springs. Hike in the mountains. Feast on the fruit. Swim with the dolphins. Hike in the mountains. Tour the Mexican seaside resorts. The following interview was recently published in a Russian magazine. Why breathe? What are main principles of rebirthing? Breathing is happening all the time. You can go weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without breath. 70% of our metabolic waste is eliminated through breathing (with only 3% through defecation, 7% through urination, and 20% through perspiration). Healthy breathing is vital to healthy living. We usually breathe unconsciously 10 to 20 thousand times a day. Even a small conscious improvement in breathing will accumulate and result in profound improvement of health and well being. Breath is the rainbow bridge linking body and mind and spirit, it is the link between the conscious, unconscious and super conscious mind. It’s not a question of “why breathe,” it is a question of how fully and freely you breathe! The principles of rebirthing are expressed in what I call “The Formula for Transformation:” Awareness, Relaxation, and Breathing. Rebirthing is one method of applying this formula. Awareness is the consciousness factor; the message is “wake up!” Relaxation is the release factor; the message is “let go! Breathing is the energy factor; the message is “take charge!” Rebirthing is a specific way of using the breath as a tool for health, growth and change. It means breathing in a connected rhythm, where the inhale is active and the exhale is passive, and there are no pauses or gaps between the breaths. Breathing in this intuitive rhythm merges the outer breath which is air, and the inner breath which is spirit. It results in a remarkable experience of love and light, freedom and safety, peace and power, oneness and wholeness. How do practices such as Yoga, Chi Kung, Holotropic Breathwork, and the teachings of Buddhism, Osho and Babaji, influence your vision and teaching of rebirthing? Since I have studied with those teachers and practiced their methods, you could say that my approach integrates them all. My work is built on a synthesis of these and many other teachings and practices. Some of these systems are ancient and some are modern. They are all approaches to mind-body healing and spiritual growth. But for me the greatest value they hold is their use for self-realization. I have tried to distill the essence of each practice and apply it in a way that is suited to each person I meet. My style of rebirthing is unique; it is my own path. I call it “Spiritual Breathing, or the Art and Science of Breathwork. What personal discoveries have you made during this process? What is the synergetic effect of combining different practices in your experience? I’ve discovered that we are all meant to be a Buddha, a Jesus, a Lao Tse, a Krishna, a Moses, a Mohammed. I’ve discovered that we are far more powerful than we have been led to believe. We have creative potential far greater than most of us have imagined! I have come to realize the breath is a key, a door, a bridge to our highest potential. I’ve also discovered that breathing patterns are like fingerprints: unique and constantly changing. Every spiritual, psychological, emotional, physiological state has a specific corresponding breathing pattern. When your state changes your breathing pattern changes. And vice-versa: when you change your breathing pattern you change your psychological, emotional, physiological and spiritual state. Within the breath is vital energy, life force. We can heal the body with mind and breath and we can heal the mind with body and breath. Your seminars and sessions result in physical, mental, and spiritual transformation. Can you say more about spiritual aspect? Breath is life. The words inspiration, expiration, respiration, they contain the Latin root “spiritus:” the animating principle of life. So, breathing is directly and exactly a very practical yet profound spiritual activity. We are all connected. The breath proves this to be a fact in reality. Sitting together here, the breath that is in me now was in you just a few minutes ago. The breath that is in you now was in the bird flying overhead yesterday, and will be in the dog walking on the street tomorrow. It is not just a pretty spiritual idea: the breath literally connects us. The breath connects us to each other, and it connects us all to God. Every great spiritual teacher has taught us that the nature of breath is something sacred. In my own searching I have found that the most spiritually advanced people are also the most conscious; and the most conscious people are also the most spiritual. To be spiritual is to be conscious; to be conscious is to be spiritual. Every breath can be a prayer. Every breath can be a blessing. Every breath can bring healing and transformation. All that is needed is for us to bring consciousness to every breath. Miracles can happen when we breathe consciously. You have worked with Olympic champions. What is the connection between breathing, health and sport. Have you any advice to future Olympic champions? I worked with Greco-Roman wrestling champion Alexander Karilin in 1992. That year the Olympics were in Barcelona. He was such a powerful athlete, awesome, capable of pushing forward against great odds, capable of overcoming tremendous forces. And yet when we met, he had the flu. He was sick and tired, and really needing to rest in bed, but he honored me by keeping his agreement to meet. I was so impressed with his strength and his power. I Said: “Sasha, look at you! You can pick me up and break me in half! You have defeated the strongest men in the world. Yet, a little tiny virus, microscopic bacteria can knock you down and send you to the hospital! Isn’t that strange?” I’ll never forget the look on his face, or the way he said: “Da!” I wasn’t able to help him with his wrestling techniques, but I was able to help him build up his immune system, and recover from illnesses and injuries more quickly. And the breathing techniques helped him between matches. By practicing certain breathing techniques, by being aware of one’s breathing patterns, one can gain an advantage over the competition, and one can remain in peak performance states. Breathing helps one to focus awareness. It helps one to maintain a state of poise and grace of balance and power. Who among the Russian spiritual leaders is closest to you? Those who teach peace. Those who practice love. Those who value freedom. Those who keep learning! About people in different countries: did you have to adapt your teaching methods to different psychologies and cultures? I have found that people are the same everywhere I go. There are differences on the surface; but this work takes us to the deepest levels of being, where we are all the same. Of course different cultures and different people have their own unique story, their own history, and I try to honor that. I try to meet people at the level they are on. I try to frame my work and words in ways that people can understand, based on their cultural conditioning, and their particular mindset. Actually one of the most beautiful things about this work is that it can bypass the mind. I teach from the heart, to the heart, with the heart. And this place is open to us all, no matter what our social, cultural, religious or intellectual background. But sometimes it does require a leap. It can mean letting go of one’s past, letting go of one’s inherited limiting or negative beliefs. And in some cultures this can be a real challenge. It may even be taboo! What are short and long term plans? To fulfill my purpose in life: to live it. To surrender to the Spirit of Breath, to be guided by the Angel of Breath. My plan is to trust the energy of the moment. My plan is to live, love, learn, and serve on higher and deeper levels. My plan is to breathe fully and freely forever! I see myself traveling for another year or two, and then settling down somewhere in the world to create a garden: an earthly garden with delicious fruits and vegetables, and a spiritual garden, where Buddha’s and Krishna’s and Jesus’s and Lao Tse’s can grow! And I plan to invite the people I meet along the way to join me in building that community. Our magazine is for people seeking perfection in all areas of life. What is perfection? Perfection is realizing who we really are. It is awakening to our essence, our true nature. It is living a state of peak performance, optimum health, and ultimate potential. To be perfect is to be a unique reflection and expression of our source and our destiny: it is being pure love, pure light, pure awareness!