"The single most effective relaxation technique I know is conscious regulation of breath."

In many languages - the words for spirit and breath are one and the same (Sanskrit prana, Hebrew ruach, Greek pneuma, Latin spiritus). Native Americans, among others, believe that life enters the body with the first breath, not at the moment of birth or of conception. In this view the fetus and newborn have a kind of vegetative life, uninvested with spirit until the breath cycle begins.

Breathing is the bridge between mind and body, the connection between consciousness and unconsciousness, the movement of spirit in matter. Breath is the key to health and wellness, a function we can learn to regulate and develop in order to improve our physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

Breathing exercises can reduce stress, improve mood, and help you feel energized. Better yet, they are simple, easy, and can be done anywhere.

Enlightenment Through Breath

Breathing To Reduce Stress

Breathing exercises are a wonderful way to reduce anxiety, agitation and stress, while promoting relaxation, calm and inner peace. It may take some practice - and requires some commitment on your part to achieve results. However, the long-term benefits are well worth the effort - a calm and relaxed body and mind are less prone to health issues.

At the very center of our being is rhythmic movement, a cyclic expansion and contraction that is both in our body and outside it, that is both in our mind and in our body, that is both in our consciousness and not in it. Breath is the essence of being, and in all aspects of the universe we can see the same rhythmic pattern of expansion and contraction, whether in the alternating cycles of day and night, waking and sleeping, high and low tides, or seasonal growth and decay. Oscillation between two phases exists at every level of reality, even up to the scale of the observable universe itself, which is presently in expansion but will at some point contract back to the original, unimaginable point that is everything and nothing, completing one cosmic breath.

"Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders."

Since breathing is something we can control and regulate, it is a useful tool for achieving a relaxed and clear state of mind. I recommend three breathing exercises to help relax and reduce stress: The Stimulating Breath, The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise (also called the Relaxing Breath), and Breath Counting. Try each and see how they affect your stress and anxiety levels.

Hi Everyone!

I am in Russia, breathing and doing seminars.  If you are near by, come breathe with everyone here.  Check out my schedule page http://breathmastery.com/seminars.htm or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for locations

While I was here, 2 old newsletters that did not get published or added to the archives turned up. One of these was done 5 years ago at The Hill that Breathes in Italy,   A great place with great people! I am looking forward to breathing with them again June 24th - July 1

When new students showed up in Aikido class, one of my sensei's favorite questions was, "What have you come here to learn?"

When sensei asked such a question you could be sure he wasn't going to accept the first answer someone gave. 

I was intrigued to discover no one seemed to have a reply that was well thought out. Myself included! 

The longer I studied Aikido the more I felt sensei's question was a kind of Zen "koan”. A paradoxical question designed to show the inadequacy of your logical thinking. 

There was once a well-known scholar, who lived in a mountain in the Himalayas. Tired of living with men, he had chosen a simple life and spent most of his time meditating.

His fame, however, was so great that people were willing to walk narrow paths, climb steep hills, swim rivers - to meet the holy man who was believed to be able to resolve any trouble of the human heart.

Moses parts the waters

"Sometimes we get used to what we see in the movies, and end up forgetting the true story," a friend said to once while we were looking at the port of Miami, "remember the Ten Commandments?"

Of course I remembered. Moses, played by Charton Heston, at one point raises his baton and with that action the waters were divided and the Jewish people walked through it.

"In the Bible it is different," says my friend, "in the Bible, God orders Moses to do this by saying, ‘the children of Israel are to go forward,’ and only after they start walking does Moses raise his staff to part the Red Sea.

Courage in the path is what makes the path manifest itself.

I have known Tilke for some years and she has just published her book "The art of integrative therapy". You can read more about it below. She is offering a discount which you can also find below.

Geoffrey

Dear Colleagues & Friends,

As some of you may - or may not - know, I have spent the last years writing a book, called “The Art of Integrative Therapy – Healing the Past on a Soul Level”, which has now find its publisher. It is an account of my experience of over 30 years of working as a trainer and therapist.

I am writing to you, as it is my sincere wish to share my knowledge and experience with as many people as I can. I want to demonstrate how Breathwork enhances and deepens the traditional process of formal psychotherapy and takes healing to levels often untouched by traditional treatments.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
TherapyUmschlagEng.pdf	Book Cover	478 Kb

Here is the latest news about what's happening at GIC2010 the global get together for all interested in breathing as a healing modality.

The information is in the attached document, just click it to download it.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
gic2010mailingmarzoingles.png	Updated GIC2010 details	280 Kb