Breathwork is the generic term for modern holistic healing techniques that use the breath to increase physical and mental wellbeing. They derive mainly from two techniques developed in California in the 1960s and 70s - Rebirthing, by Leonard Orr and Holotropic Breathwork by Dr Stanislav Grof. Since then a number of breath-related therapies have derived from these two techniques, in all parts of the world. Despite their simplicity (a guided change in the breathing pattern for Rebirthing and a ‘spontaneous' breathing pattern initiated by music for Holotropic Breathwork) they are able to create major physical and mental transformation and trigger life-changing experiences.

An article from the Observer newspaper in the UK by Lucy Gilmore takes a look at what is fast becoming a "name" in places to heal and mend The Hill That Breathes. The article is reproduced here without permission.

A hilltop retreat in the Italian countryside swears it can teach you how to de-stress by letting go. Lucy Gillmore learns not to give a...

In this case the title of the newsletter is not right. Since in the previous Warrior of Light Online I said refused to write about the reasons why men love woman (I would be considered a male chauvinist South-American writer who despises the liberation movement of the opposite sex), a reader called Julia decided to do it for me. So now we have the feminine version of why we love women. Of course, I don't agree with everything, but this is a (relatively) free tribune. Let's see what Julia has to tell us:

This is a nice deep relaxing exercise to try when you want a good nights sleep

1. Breathing from your abdomen, inhale slowly to a count of five (count slowly "one...two...three...four...five.." as you inhale)
2. Pause and hold your breath to a count of five.
3. Exhale slowly, through your nose or mouth, to a count of five(or more if it takes you longer). Be sure to exhale fully.
4. When you've exhaled completely, take two breaths in your normal rhythm, then repeat steps 1 through 3 in the cycle above.
5. Keep up the exercise for at least five minutes. This should involve going through at least ten cycles of in-five, hold-five, out-five. Remember to take two normal breaths between each cycle. If you start to feel light-headed while practicing this exercise, stop for 30 seconds and then start again.
6. Throughout the exercise, keep your breathing smooth and regular, without gulping in breaths or breathing out suddenly.
7. Optional: Each time you exhale, you may wish to say "relax", "calm", "let go", or any other relaxing word or phrase silently to yourself.

Allow your whole body to let go as you do this.

In Breaking the Death Habit : The Science of Everlasting Life, Leonard Orr presents some revolutionary yet practical ideas about death. While his ideas may seem new and beyond all tradition, they are actually steeped in old-age historical Truths which can be found in the roots and 'myths' of every known religion. Breaking the Death Habit is a fascinating study of the human mind and its unlimited relationship with the Divine. It presents the information that death is not inevitable or ordained by some mystery beyond our personal creative power.

To my Breathing Family and Friends,

Some of you know that I planned to be on the East Coast after Amarillo, and that I suddenly canceled everything. I had a dream in which it was clear that I was going to Santa Barbara. I don't get dreams like that very often, and in the morning, the same feeling/thought was still with me, so I made a few phone calls, offered some apologies, threw away my ticket to Boston, and flew to Los Angeles instead.

A client, Bill, recently came to me to help him sort out a problem he was having with his presentations not being understood by the audience. Bill is a highly respected executive manager for a large international finance organisation here in Belgium, and he has many presentations to give, so this was a serious problem and he was very concerned about the situation. In fact it was his boss that had pointed out the problem to Bill in the first place. Bill knows exactly what the message is he wants to get over in his presentations, but his audience was ending up confused because he spoke to quickly.