Breath

[Lyubov]

Wow, cool stuff! I have attended a holotropic breathwork seminar in person a few years back and it was really interesting. I know this stuff is really transformative. Maybe try to take it on as well as a daily practice. 

[Loving Radiance]

@Forestluv  Uhh, that's 0-1am for me. However thank you for the facebook group suggestion!

[Forestluv]

A great breathing session with Breath Church tonight. Erin is becoming one of my favorite facilitators. She has a great balance between Yin and Yang energy. At about 10 minutes in, I started going off into La-La land just as Erin said “Stay on track”. She said it with a stern tone and that stern tone for me has always been associated with some type of “You’re doing it wrong”, “How could you do that to me”, “You screwed up”, “You’re a disappointment”. It’s an energy of hyper criticism and antagonism. I’ve known this intellectually for many years, yet breathwork goes deeper than the intellect. There is greater awareness of mind-body energetics and dynamics. My mind-body had a response to this moment of sternness and I was never able to get into a breathing rhythm. Yet that’s ok because I gained deeper insight.

What I like about Erin is she has a great balance of firm and gentle. She is firm in a loving, supportive way. Not a judgmental, controlling way. 

As well, I’m now gaining insight into how my own mind uses a firm tone as a hyper self critical way that I’m not doing it right and I’m a disappointment to myself. I’ve realized that I don’t need to associate firmness with punishment and criticism. A firm tone can helpful in a supportive, loving way. And I realized this is the process of de-conditioning and re-conditioning the mind-body. 

[Forestluv]

A great facilitated session this afternoon. The facilitator was oriented toward trauma release, yet I went into some deep spaces of body awareness, various rhythmic breathing patterns, energetics, imagination, experience and seeing inter-connectedness from many vantage points. 

I’m rapidly advancing with breathwork and today’s session was on par with a moderate dose of 5-meo. It’s nice to know I can access that space on my own (with good facilitator). There was desire to bring everyone to these realization and experience. Yet I wonder how accessible it is for normies. I think my previous psychedelic experience may be helping me to advance quickly. 

I also learned that the facilitator has an impact. The evening session wasn’t as deep. The facilitator is too intrusive for me and is all over the place saying “try this type of breath. Or this type. Or breath here or here.”. Like he has ADHD. And he breathes heavily into his microphone, which is distracting.

Sunday night at 6pm NYC time (GMT -5) is one of my favorite facilitators, Sage Rader. If you’d like to try it out, DM me for the zoom link or request here: https://breathchurch.carrd.co/ . It’s free.

 

[Forestluv]

Angel Deer will lead a shamanic breath session tomorrow 1900 GMT

Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrc-6ppjMtEtBqxscnfABmeXr594-w3-N4

Website

https://www.thesanctuaryheal.com/

 

[Forestluv]

A great Shamanic Breath session led by Angell. He is very immersed in Shamanic ceremonies. For those interested, they are offering Shamanic Breathing Ceremonies at 7-9pm NYC time (GMT -5). (Free, donations encouraged). 

https://www.thesanctuaryheal.com/event-info/breathwork-ceremony-online-36

From the start, it had an Aya feel to it and I could tell he has experience in this area. He spoke about connecting to ancestors and guides. My reactionary thoughts were "This sucks without Aya. How am I supposed to connect to spirits without Aya? This isn't a real ceremony". It felt like being in college and going to a party and finding out there was no weed or alcohol at the "party". 

Yet, I was able to gradually let go. I did not go to places Aya can take me, yet I went to places that were deep - places that Aya couldn't take me. I think I'll try their first global online Shamanic Breath ceremony tonight. 

[Forestluv]

I worked hard in the ceremony tonight. Angell is so awesome. He encourages us to keep with it and climb to the top of the mountain so we can fly. Tonight, I had my most expansive breathing session so far. Expansive in the sense of body - belly, chest, shoulders expanding full with each inhale. I’m getting a sense of different directions. There is a long deep breath. Breathing sideways and up. I look forward to exploring each of those and integrating them together. I also hope to further expand the breathing into my limbs and head. 

[Forestluv]

Today's afternoon session with Integrative breath facilitator Rae Riedel. I had a lot of resistance because I did too deep, hard sessions last night and I thought there was no was no way I can do two more sessions today. Yet I took it easier, yet was still able to break through briefly. I discovered new breathing patterns and I'm amazed with the extradorinary amount of variation possible with body, mind, energetics, feeling and breath. Today, I went to the interface of the autonomic and somatic nervous system. Breath is the interface between the two. It is the bridge between the conscious and subconscious. My mind and body is flowing more during the session. There is a mind-body intuition that is arising and a sense of trust and knowing. I'm resonating so strongly with breathwork now. I'm so curious about exploring more. 

[Loving Radiance]

@Forestluv Today's morning breathwork by Rebecca Coales wasn't really shamanic breathing but still mind blowing nonetheless - mind blowing in another dimension.

I think I will try out freediving in the future.

What an experience. On the 3rd dive I fell into the darkness beyond the end of the line. Just beautiful.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Loving Radiance

[Forestluv]

1 hour ago, Loving Radiance said:

@Forestluv Today's morning breathwork by Rebecca Coales wasn't really shamanic breathing but still mind blowing nonetheless - mind blowing in another dimension.

I think I will try out freediving in the future.

What an experience. On the 3rd dive I fell into the darkness beyond the end of the line. Just beautiful.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience. 

I missed this morning's session (It was 5am here). I'm glad they recorded it and made it publicly available. 

The 21 day challenge has a wide variety of breathing forms. Every session is different. This one looks pretty far out there. I'm curious. 

Did you do tonight's evening session with Emily Rae Henderson? She is traditional breathwork and very good. Her voice is smooth as silk and she gently guides up and down the mountain. 

For those who don't know her, Rebecca Coales is a record holder for underwater freediving. 

 

[Loving Radiance]

@Forestluv  I only attended those morning sessions (11am here in Germany). Was the session with Emily recorded?

Rebecca was one of few facilitators I had a good feeling with. I don't know if it's an ego-backlash of feeling disconnected to some facilitators (thought masked as feeling) or if it's truly a dissonance on an energetic-intuitive level.

[Forestluv]

Both of today’s sessions were highly attentive to the breath and technique and imagining. I’m starting to get a sense of what breathing from the sides feels like and breathing 360 degrees. The image tonight was that my mid-section was like a balloon that expanding and then deflated. 

Sage is a unique facilitator. He focuses on a relaxed exhale. Sometimes he tells us to inhale like we are sucking through a straw and then drop the exhale like a rock. Yet he goes so fast, I can’t see how he is getting in deep breaths. I felt like I got a rhythm a few times then lost it. Like a kid learning to ride a bicycle. 

At one point doing rapid short breaths, I lost track of whether I was inhaling or exhaling. Whether I was pushing air out, sucking it in or letting it go. The breath got weird - like I didn’t know how to breath. It felt kind trippy.

One nice thing was toward the end, I got into a rhythm that felt like a massage of internal organs. It went all the way down to my groin. It’s like the exhale was a massage wave that went all the way down to my groin and there was some sort of “flick” at the end. Maybe muscles. Whatever it was, it felt good and it’s nice to know I can do that.

The main distraction tonight was when Sage commented about the beautiful rhythms others were in (but not me). This gave me the sense and thoughts that I wasn’t doing it right. He said something about how a couple breathers were at some type of equilibrium. I need to ask Megan on Wednesday about that. 

@Loving Radiance Emily’s session was recorded, yet I don’t know if they will make it available. I’ve been recording some sessions off my sound card, including Emily’s. Let me know if you want to share it.

Some recordings are given on the FB page for a limited time. They can be downloaded. 

For those interested in a facilitated Shamanic Breathing, here is an audio of Angell Deer’s session. Yet, I don’t think it has the same “umpf” as when he is giving it live video with a group. He gives a free live session every Saturday night.

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/QSiUuhUllNmqMdNM23vfkvOLdHdohQfsh3-j-44eb89kFXjKDvJW31yIArvPlCONsk4BoubI1atg5Ww.r-L4vlNA6kx1pSsX?startTime=1610824891000&_x_zm_rtaid=t-tHaKdpTHqgfwWO3U72Iw.1611016647442.c88d40ac0a53d62d9faa04400cbdfcd1&_x_zm_rhtaid=889

[Forestluv]

A deep full hour breath session with Lisa McNett. She offers a free intro course to breathing and a free breathing session every Tuesday at 8:30pm NYC time (GMT -5).  https://www.breathewithlisa.com/

I'm learning so many different breathing patterns. One key is to relax on the outbreath. Just keep relaxing on the outbreath and various patterns, energetics, insights, flows arise. One of the most memorable ones in which the breath became a swing, swinging in a meadow on a warm sunny day. There was joy, love and peace. 

I also noticed the impact thinking about stuff has on me. At one point, I was thinking about how I need to schedule a medical procedure and find a friend that can sit there for three hours. I may trade some 5-meo for it. Yet, I only have a little 5-meo. . . Then the mind started going into story and planning, yet I was too far into the breathing session and got pulled back. I observed dynamics of self-centeredness and greed. Then that was let go of. When I came back to the breath, I realized I was no longer in the smooth, relaxed cyclical pattern. I was able to re-enter it. That was a cool realization and ability. 

During the comedown, she asked if our Self would like to send a message to our self. What came to mind was "Relax" and "Trust". It seemed to refer to breathing. Relax on the outbreath and trust it. Let go and trust the breathing, mind, body and spirit. Yet the message will likely arise in daily life now.

It feels good to be getting the hang of breathwork. It feels like I am learning new ways to breathe and going to deeper levels. Yet some of these deeper levels seem to be somewhat normal. Today's session was a "whoa", yet almost like it was normal. It wasn't like a "OMG!! What just happened??!!" whoa. Perhaps that is part of the integration process. Today's session probably would have floored me a month ago when I was first starting breathwork. 

[Forestluv]

I'm resonating so strongly with breathwork right now. Some nights take work. I'm just not into it and it takes effort. Other nights, like tonight, are effortless. I'm entering interfaces between subconcious and conscious. Between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Between the autonomic and somatic nervous systems. I've done 5meo about 40 times and I'm now entering areas comparable to 5-meo. There are similarities, yet breathwork zones have some uniqueness as well. Both have value. 

I'm now entering deeper zones of mind-body awareness during breathwork. I'm unable to discuss the nuances with my breath group. They don't have the level of fluency - in this area. 

Tonight I was reminded about Leo's video on how learning is making distinctions. A novice can only make a few distinctions. An expert can make many distinctions. For example, I am a novice at carpentry. I couldn't even tell the difference between different types of wood. Yet becoming an expert carpenter involves practice, paying attention and being aware. A trained carpenter can make hundreds of distinctions between different woods. . . It is similar with Breathwork. When I first started, the facilitator would say "drop the outbreath". I only had one form of "dropping the outbreath". I would just let it go. Yet over the past six weeks of daily breathwork and paying attention, I've become aware of about 10 different forms of "dropping the breath". They are inter-related, yet I could create about 10 forms in my mind. This is learning new distinctions as we become an expert.

This week, I've also become aware of the physiological process during a breathwork session. Clearing the mind-body of past traumas and attachments allows the mind-body to become present and go deeper. I was fortunate that I had nearly a month to focus on breathwork and yoga. I wasn't working and I don't have a gf or kids right now. It's like have a full month to immerse yourself in learning Spanish. . . . 

A few observations: most breathwork facilitators go hard and try to breakthrough. This could be could for people that have a lot of resistance and baggage, yet not for a "breath ninja". Starting off with intense open-mouth breathing to get under the hood has value, yet there will be A LOT of nuances missed and they won't breath well. It would be like a marathon runner sprinting from the start or someone that just wants to play guitar fast. They won't become a master runner or guitar player. 

A few things I've learned:

 At the beginner stages, it is critical to relax on the out-breath. Most breathers try to go too hard and they are NOT relaxing on the outbreath. For begginners, it is MUCH easier to relax on the out-breath if you don't take full in-breaths. Just take a comfortable in-breath and "drop" the out-breath. Focus on completely letting go and surrendering on the out-breath. No effort. Observe different ways you can release the breath. There should be a feeling that there is release on the out-breath. An "ahhhh" type of feeling. It's like the body is a mound of sand that dissolves into the beach. On the in-breath the mound of sand rises up and on the outbreath the mound of sand completely dissolves into the sandy beach. Likewise, the body dissolves into the ground. Taking fuller in-breaths can allow deeper letting go, yet be careful. Another image is an accordion - going back and forth. . .  Trying to fully expand on the in-breath creates other physiological effects which can make it difficult to maintain a relaxed out-breath. The out-breath should feel deeply relaxed. 

Secondly, it is critical to have a "circular" breath. No long pauses at top of bottom. Smooth. Not jagged. . . Imagine sobbing - that is jagged breathing. . . Another way to imagine it is a pendulum that swings back and forth. Once you get it, there should be an intuitive sense that the breath is circular and relaxed on the out-breath. At first, the mind may question "Am I doing it right? Am I pushing out the breath?". Yet good signs are feeling like "The body was breathing itself" or the "breath was breathing itself". Yet this may be difficult to hold in the beginning. You might only get 1min and the mind starts wandering or distractions enter like worries, emotions, memories, tingly, tetany. In the case of emotions and memories - that may be the purpose of the breath session. It may be about releasing and working through repressed emotions / memories. Yet if it is purely physical, such as physical tension / tetany - you are probably not fully relaxed on the out-breath and are going to hard. There is some value in pushing through, yet imo it should not be the standard practice. Focus on fully relaxing on the outbreath and circular breathing - even if you have to slow down. 

The next stage is what I call "The corpse". The body is so relaxed it is like a the lungs are breathing in a dead corpse. There is a circular rhythm that is effortless (yet may take a bit of effort to stay in the zone). This is also the stage in which the in-breath becomes relaxed. Both the in-breath and out-breath are relaxed (in a corpse). Here the body may start taking fuller 360 degree breaths. Yet keep in mind, it is much harder to maintain relaxed corpse breathing with expanded breaths. 

I started to consistently hit the "corpse zone" about a week ago. One can stay in this zone with moderate breathing. There are plenty of insights to be gained here. Or one can go more intense by fuller breaths and starting to pull harder on the in-breath - like taking a big gasp of air. Yet keep in mind, it will be MUCH harder to maintain relaxed breathing. It takes practice. Most people try to start off this way and they don't notice how tense their body is. I would recommend to first reach "corpse" level and then seeing how far you can expand / quicken the breath while still maintaining relaxation. Scan your body. Are muscles in your neck and shoulders tensing a bit? Is your lower back starting to arch?. . . Imagine your body as a mound of sand dissolving into the beach. Imagine your body as a corpse. . . This assumes there are not emotions / memories / abstractions arising. Sometimes other stuff arises and that takes over. For example, the body might want to make sounds, pound the ground, cry or contemplate life situations. Or go on a fantasy voyage. . . I would just be mindful that the breath is relaxed and circular. After doing breathwork everyday for a month, my body could automatically breath full, relaxed and circular. In some of my breath sessions, the mind may contemplate how I can better teach my students. The mind may enter a zone of creativity. Then I come back and my body hasn't missed a breath. It's still a full, circular, relaxed rhythm - yet I will check in on it. 

If the mind is in a zone of pure body awareness, it will not stay in "corpse mode" for long if there are rapid in breaths. Remember that the out-breaths are relaxed (this cannot be stressed strongly enough). The next stage is that after a few minutes of quick, expansive, 360 degree in-breaths there are physiological changes. (Imagine quickly filling a balloon with air and then letting it all out). . . The physiological changes are more intense tingles and tetany - not just in the hands, it starts spreading through the arms and legs. As well, there is the appearance of shivers. It will seem like the body is cold and shivering. That was my first impression and I think that might be part of it. Yet I also think something else is going on. I paid particular attention to this tonight. There are also shivers, yet also tremors that aren't cold related. Almost like the whole body has Parkinson's disease and is trembling. I'm actually curious is cranial substania nigra and dopamine pathways are being altered, similar to Parkinson's. .  . At any rate, it is much harder to maintain full, smooth, circular, relaxed breath with all this shivering and tremors taking place. Tonight I tried to let go into it, yet it was like my chest muscles were also shivering/trembling. 

I became aware that I could take this further such that my entire body was severely trembling / shivering. Yet I remember the yoga saying of "take it to your edge". So I took it too my edge. Just to the point in which the breaths were not quite smooth, circular and relaxed. That is the zone I focused on to improve my skill. This is where I entered the interface of subconscious and conscious. Between the autonomic nervous system (involuntary) and the somatic nervous system (voluntary). It was almost like being in a lucid dream. I was present and aware and had some participation, yet there was also subconscious mind-body activity. Through controlling the depth and pace of the breath, I was able to maintain being at this edge through the rest of the session (about 15min). I'm curious if I can maintain it longer. . . This was an area in which deep body awareness and subconscious is revealed. I think there is great possibility to consciously become aware and communicate with subconscious - somewhat similar to a lucid dream. I also think there is potential for self-healing and re-wiring in this zone. 

[Forestluv]

Upcoming events:

Rebecca Llewellyn is offering a facilitated breath session / healing circle this Wednesday night (Feb 10th) at 8pm EST (New York City time), (GMT -5). It's free, yet donations are encouraged if you can afford it. I've done a breath session with Rebecca - she is pretty good. 

Link for info / registration

Neurodynamic Breathwork is offering a free 2hr session (60 breathing) on Friday Feb. 12th at 6pm EST (GMT-5). I haven't done a session with the group, yet it looks interesting to me. 

Link for info / registration

The Breathing Festival from February 11-28, 2021. This festival is coordinated by one of the top masters in the field, Dan Brule. They have a list of some of the best facilitators in a wide range of breathwork. The cost is $11 for the entire festival. All daily sessions will be released at 10 am US Eastern Time / 3 pm GMT and available for 48 hours to allow for you to watch at your leisure. 

Link for info / registration

[Forestluv]

For those interested in exploring Breathwork for mysticism, insights and emotional healing, I would recommend trying online breathwork sessions with a facilitator and group. There are expert facilitators that offer some free sessions. Nearly all resources also offer classes and one-on-one private sessions. Some resources that I am engaged with:

 A facebook group that posts lots of Breathwork events (both free and donation). 

Breath Church: Sundays at 6pm (New York Time) at this zoom site. They employ various breathing methods. 

One Breath Institute: Facebook page and website. Led by Lisa McNett and Debbie Shirmann. They offer free breathwork sessions every Tuesday at 8pm and Sunday at 11am (New York Time). They are more into using breathwork for healing. They employ conscious connected breathing. 

Angell Deer at the Sanctuary: Saturday nights at 8pm. He employs Shamanic Breathing. 

Make Some Breathing Space: Offers free online sessions: Tuesdays 9:30pm (New York time) registration, Thursdays 8:30 pm (UK time) registration, Thursdays 8pm (California Time) registration and Fridays 1pm (UK time) registration, 

Rebecca Llewellyn at Divine Roots. Rebecca is perhaps the highest level facilitator that I've breathed with. She goes into realms of Divine Feminine, Mother Nature, Mysticism, Shamanism, healing, Native Tribes, plant medicines, Tarot, energetics etc. She employs a combination of conscious connected breathing and Shamanic Breathing. She only offers one free ceremony per month online, which is listed on her website events. 

As well, I have some recorded sessions I can share with you via Google Drive. If interested, DM me. 

 

[Forestluv]

A few reflections on my breath session last night and a potential new portal opening. . . 

Over the last week, I've been accumulating some negative energy, lethargy, apathy and ickyness. The first 20min of the breath session felt uncomfortable. My breath wasn't full or flowing. It felt labored and restricted. Then, I felt an impulse to get up and move. So I did. Then, all sorts of 'crazy' energy started appearing. Flashes of energy through my limbs. I was moving in chaotic ways. I was making sounds like an animal. Yet there was no rational thinking. There were no thoughts of "This is weird. What's happening to me? What would other people in the breath group think". That form of consciousness wasn't there. I was in that realm. Images of being in a tribe in a jungle arose. There was feeling it and being it. It was like I was in a tribal dance being moved by spirits. And some of it felt very primal. At first, it was like a ritual to express and shake out dark energy spirits. Then it started to clarify and it was like I had another ability I've never had. I was moving energy. The thought appeared "This is shamanism" and there was a knowing of what shamanism was like. 

As I know reflect, I can go into an intellectual mindset in which I analyze and deconstruct it. I can analyze whether it was "real" or "imagined". I can create concepts about what an "experience" is. Or I can go into an empathic mind-body feeling realm with it. In this realm, I feel extreme gratitude because I was touched by grace.

Recently, @Etherial Cat posted a video of Adyashanti discussing if some people are wired for certain sensitivities and others are not. For example, are some people wired for mystical experiences and shamanism? If so, can those not wired for it learn it. His answer was that wiring likely plays a role, yet many people greatly limit themself through beliefs and if they can simply let go, phenomena may arise through grace. It feels like thats what happened to me. I don't have any beliefs for or against Shamanism. For me, attending a Shamanic ritual would be like attending a dance performance. I would be an observer. I've been to Shaman-related ceremonies in Peru and was very moved by them, yet still a 'visitor' energetically. Yet for about 15min last night, it was like a tribesman or Shaman that *got* what it's like from the 'inside'. Yet I wouldn't say I'm 'wired' for it. It was more like a moment of Grace in which I was given a gift, that then fluttered away like a butterfly. Now that I've got a taste of it, perhaps it will appear more often. 

This also gives contrast to intellectual and empathic / energetic forms of knowing. Both have value, yet they are different wands. 

[mandyjw]

Sorry, no getting around it, you're wired for it. 

[Forestluv]

52 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

Sorry, no getting around it, you're wired for it. 

Hmmm.  . . I'm glad you mentioned that. Perhaps less thoughts and more feeling + LOA can create anew. 

[mandyjw]

@Forestluv ❤ Thoughts are great, just not the ones that limit who we are.  You are prior to any wiring or any thinking. If I'm wrong and we're thinking and we're thinking wiring is important then I'd say that knowing you, and knowing how genuinely curious about this stuff you are, then you got the wiring. So either way, from where I'm standing, you got it made.