September is a threshold. It straddles the transition from summer to fall. It is a month full of transitions as children head back to school, summer breaks end. The Jewish High Holy Days often fall in September, this year erev Rosh Hashanah falls no the night of our breathwork. The wild growth of summer isn’t quite finished. Harvest is in full swing, and while the cool evenings might be upon us here in the Northern hemisphere the true chill of Autumn is still a ways off.
We are between one thing and the next. Flush with beginnings, replete with endings. Thresholds are moments of powerful possibility. In this group we will bring our breath and our lives together in this threshold moment. Leave behind what you are ready to let go, set intention, alchemize, integrate, now is the time for whatever transitional work is waiting for you.
What is Breathwork?
For most of human history there has been an understanding that we are whole beings (or meant to be.) But in the last few hundred years Western thought divided the body, from the mind or self. This is why we have health care, and mental health care as separate fields. But we are slowly relearning just how integrated we are. Our brain (or mind) doesn’t exist in isolation and science is beginning to show us what our ancestors knew, that our gut has more to do with our mind than we could have imagined. Our vagus nerve connects nearly all our bodily systems, and we cannot address mental healthcare without addressing the rest of the body as well. Breathwork acknowledges that we cannot address our emotions, or our spirit separate from our body. They exist as one, and we can only heal as one.
Breathwork is a tool for self-discovery and healing that engages the whole person: body, mind and spirit; and it belongs to you. The breathwork used in this group is a three part active breathing meditation that helps us listen to our bodies, explore trapped emotion and allows our whole selves to come together in a way we head-centered modern people rarely experience.
Each group will involve an opening drop in practice to set an intention for your breathing practice that week and a check-in as we support each other in the group. We will then spend 30 minutes in the active breathwork portion of the work, and 10 minutes of rest and integration before coming together for the last portion of the group where we will process our experience as a community.
This is a virtual group and will meet on Zoom. If the cost is causes a hardship or barrier please email me!
We use a three part breath in this practice which consists of two inhales and an exhale. I always demonstrate the practice before we begin and will answer any questions you may have. This practice is done lying down, create a comfortable safe space for yourself. I like to have a blanket to wrap up in, and an eye pillow to rest the eyes (a folded t-shirt works great!). Create the space you need to be comfortable and supported.
Time: 4pm Pacific Time, 7pm Eastern Time