On our recent Weekly Practitioner Coaching Call, I introduced a Spiritual Breathing Technique called “Still Point Breathing.” Like many genuine spiritual breathing practices, it came about not through intentional seeking, not from trying or effort, and not even by conscious choice.
It came to me through the Practice of Meditation, Relaxation, and CO2 Tolerance Training. It came about as a byproduct or a side effect of the practice of Breath Awareness and Conscious Breathing.
I learned Co-Meditation from psychotherapist Dick Boerstler, when he visited our Growth Center in Fairhaven, Massachusetts back in 1982. He was training nurses, counselors, clergy, and hospice workers around the country. He was helping patients, and their families cope with the stress and anxiety of terminal illness. And he gave them a very beautiful and practical way to deal with their very real fears and tensions.
This month, I’d like to share some information from the work of Stephen Elliott, author of “The New Science of Breath.” And I encourage you to dig into his work.
Stephen coined the term ‘coherent breathing’ in 2005 when he launched coherence.com and coherentbreathing.com. Coherent breathing refers to a specific breathing method to manage our internal state and balance our autonomic nervous system.
Coherent Breathing is a rate of 5 to 6 breaths per minute. And it is practiced in conjunction with relaxing the “six bridges.” The six bridges refer to the regions of the body where dual control (conscious and unconscious) exists.
This month I would like to focus on the highest benefits of Breathwork and the ultimate goal of Spiritual Breathing. Our Breathe India Tour has reawakened my original inspirations and has helped me to reconnect with the ancient roots and source of this practice.
Breathwork has finally entered the mainstream, and that is wonderful news. In fact, for me it’s a lifelong dream come true! But I am sad to say that today, many so-called elders, experts, leaders, and many people who profess to be ’breathing masters’ are not at all suited to this sacred work.
And so, one of the first things I want to say is that Spiritual Breathing and the Path of Breath Mastery is not for everyone. It is not for those who buy into or support victim mentality or indulge in spiritual materialism. It’s not for ‘wanna-be therapists’ or self-righteous, high-horse people with guru complexes. Read More
I have been a missionary for the breath my entire life. Breathwork has always been my passion (pass-I-on), and it became my profession (profess-I-on). In fact, I have been teaching breath and breathing exercises, techniques, and meditations, for healing and growth, self-improvement and spiritual development since 1970.
I have studied every ancient and modern school, style, approach, and method there is, and I have met every living master I could find, in India, China, Europe and Russia over the last 50 years.
Whenever I heard about someone who was teaching breath, I ended up breathing down their neck or kissing their feet! So far, I have travelled to 67 countries and as a practitioner, I have had my hands on over two hundred and fifty thousand people. Read More
I have been a ‘missionary for the breath’ since I resuscitated my first patient while training as an X-Ray Technician at Boston City Hospital in 1970. I went on to certify over 5000 CPR Technicians and Instructor Trainers in a half dozen states across the US, for the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association.
I practiced breath holding and taught breath control as a Medical Deep Sea Diver and an Underwater Rescue Specialist for the US Navy. In 1976, I was trained as a Rebirther and began teaching Breath Awareness and Conscious Breathing for “Stress and Coping” at the University of Massachusetts. The first workshop was for Red Cross Disaster Relief Volunteers.
I was recently asked how medical science understands or explains some of the benefits of Breathwork, such as the experience of colors, visions, and insights. And the question got me thinking and searching…
Here are some notes from my study and research: Read More
This month in Our Breath Mastery Training, we have been exploring the practice and process of Rebirthing Breathwork developed by Leonard Orr.
One of the first seminars in the Rebirthing program was called the Spiritual Psychology Seminar.” A central idea in Spiritual Psychology is the idea that “Thought is Creative.”
This means we create our experience of life and reality with our conscious and unconscious mind. And the principle is simple: positive thoughts produce positive results and negative thoughts produce negative results.
We learned that as soon as we change our thoughts and beliefs, our experience of the wo Read More
During one of our recent Online Breath Mastery Training sessions, we played with a wonderful style of Breathwork created by Jim Leonard called Vivation. I also teach this practice in the O2 Fundamentals Course. And this month, I invite you to master it.
There are a couple of very powerful concepts in Vivation. The first one is that “joy is inherent in existence.” This means that all you need to be happy is to exist. And it also means that if you are not experiencing happiness, then you must be doing something to block the natural joy that comes from simply being alive.
When it comes to emotions, most people think there are two choices: either expression or suppression. Vivation teaches us a very practical and transformational third option. And that is “Integration.” Read More
This month I’d like to share with you one of the Breathing Drills that I teach in the New 6-Month Breath Mastery Training.
This is being called my ‘Legacy Training’ because it contains the most important exercises, techniques, and meditations, and the most popular lessons, taken from all the seminars and workshops I’ve done over the past 47 years.
By the way, it’s not too late to enroll in this Online Training. In fact, because you are a Breath Mastery Subscriber, we will extend the early bird discount if you enroll in the next two weeks. Read More
I’m a Missionary for the Breath and a teacher of Breathwork because it gives everyone with a belly button a way to eliminate or prevent an immeasurable amount of human suffering. But the main reason I teach and preach Breath Awareness and Conscious is because it is an irresistible and unavoidable calling. It is a personal mission and the main purpose of my life.Breathwork can awaken us to the truth, and to reality, and it can connect us to the source and essence of our being. It is truly transformative. It offers us a beautiful and powerful way to love and serve humanity and to support and uplift each other. It is a genuine spiritual path and a practical method of personal and planetary healing and growth.
Read More
As some of you might know, in the mid 80’s, I visited Communist China to study Chi Kung (Also called Qigong) with Master Hu Bin. And I wrote a small book—a training manual—called Chinese Medical Breathing Exercises: A Brief Introduction.
Hu Bin was a perfect teacher for me because he was not only the greatest living Chi Kung Master at the time, but he was also a medical doctor and a university professor. For several years, he served as the head of the Public Health Department in Beijing. And he combined Traditional Chinese Medicine with Modern Medical Science.
The use of positive affirmations is a very important part of healing and growth, and an important part of Breathwork training and the Breathwork process. Good Breathworkers are good at creating positive affirmations for themselves and their clients. And we encourage our clients to get good at creating affirmations for themselves and others.
Affirmations are meant to neutralize, dissolve, replace, or cancel any negative or limiting thoughts that we have taken on about ourselves, life, others and the world. Affirmations are like seeds that we plant in our consciousness to soothe, strengthen and uplift ourselves—in mind, body and spirit. Read More
For three years in a row, Breathwork has been the leading trend in wellness globally. It seems that everyone is jumping on the Breathing bandwagon these days. And I say: It’s about time! Because it’s basically impossible to be a healthy human if you are not a healthy breather!
Just about every physical, emotional, and psychological issue or problem can be linked to dysfunctional breathing habits and patterns. In fact, respiratory health and breathing capacity is one of the strongest indicators of life expectancy and longevity. And did you know that up to 60 percent of 911 ambulance calls in America’s largest cities are related to breathing disorders? Read More
Breath hold training is a big part of breath mastery. But it’s not just for breathworkers, it’s for modern yogis and extreme athletes, it’s for meditators and martial artists, for special forces, high performers, and first responders, and it’s for healers, helpers, coaches, and kids.
In fact, it’s a good practice for almost anyone with a belly button! Breath hold training helps ordinary people to cope with extraordinary changes, and to navigate everyday emotional issues, physical problems, psychological challenges, and of course, global pandemics! Read More
I love it when people tell me that their breath changes whenever they put their attention on it.
For most people, when they put their attention on the breath, in that moment their breath behaves differently. This is normal, and it proves that you are human!
All great teachers have said that our deepest work is on the level of consciousness, and breathwork is a perfect way to awaken, deepen, refine, purify, and expand our consciousness. Our normal everyday mode of consciousness disturbs our nature. And so we need to develop a different quality of awareness. Read More
Recent Comments