Hello Everyone, Welcome to the December 2010 Breath and Breathing Report. First the schedule news: January 25 to February 1, I will be in Santa Barbara California. On Thursday evening, Jan 27, we'll offer an evening seminar on the Freedom and Power that results from Breathwork. On Saturday, Jan 29, we'll hold a Day-Long Experiential Workshop. Both events will be hosted by The Center of the Heart in Santa Barbara. Before, after and in between, I will also be available for private sessions. For information and registration, please contact: linda@beyourbrilliancenow.com. February 19-25, we will hold the first ever "Spirit Quest" at Baja Bio Sana. Spirit Quest is a transformational intensive based on Breathwork in Nature. We'll draw on the healing elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, together with love and spiritual community. You will be treated to the healthiest organic fruits and veggies fresh from our gardens, and as part of the training, you'll enjoy hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, soaking in the hot springs and the cool streams. A group from Moscow will travel to the Baja for this special event. And people everywhere are invited to join them. In Russia, contact: olga.zakharova@hotmail.com. Everyone else, contact me. March 18 to 28, I will be in Johannesburg, South Africa on the Path of Breath Mastery. We will be offering Basic, Advanced, and Practitioner Training. The focus will be on reaping the physical, emotional and psychological benefits of spiritual breathing. For information and registration, contact me or Kobus at: innerray@yahoo.co.uk. April 1-6, I will be in Cape Town, South Africa for the first Breathwork and Tantra Retreat with Shakti Malan. Here is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in the beauty and perfection of your own being by opening to your breath and your sexual energy. And, as you can read in the detailed program brochure: expect naked hearts rather than naked bodies. Expect people breathing together in loving support, rather than any overt sexual activity. Come earlier or stay later, and enjoy a vacation in this spectacular part of the world! To register, contact me or: shakti@shakti.co.za. More details can be found at www.breathmastery.com/southafrica2011.htm April 20-25, I will be in Paris. April 29-May 8, I'll be in Brussels. From Mid May through August first, I will be in Russia and the Former Republics. (Shakti Malan will be joining me for some of the events there, so stay tuned for details!) August 11 to 18: I'll be heading back to the fabulous Hill That Breathes in Italy! And in September, it looks like I'll travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina again for a Rebirthing Breathwork Celebration. It feels like this will be the last year that I travel this much. I believe 2012 will find me spending most of my time in the gardens at Baja Bio Sana, writing and celebrating the book publishing projects. You may have noticed that during 2010, things really began to accelerate and intensify, and you can be sure that 2011 will bring even more awakening and transformation. The past year brought me some of the most joyful as well as the most painful moments of my life. And it also brought me some of the greatest opportunities and lessons on the levels of money and love. In many ways, 2011 will be a living harvest like no other! I hope you will join in the harvest at one of the gatherings somewhere in the world. One of the main things I am focusing on these days is the arty of maintaining integrity and harmony between body, mind, and soul. Conscious breathing of course a key to this. Honest, open, lasting relationships (I learned the hard way) is another key. Surrendering to nature and merging with the elements is another key, and so is healthy nutrition and maintaining an active productive lifestyle of loving service. To end this year, I am celebrating life at Baja Bio Sana: a place where you can pick a variety of fruits and vegetables from the orchard and the gardens twelve months per year! I am celebrating with family, friends, students and teachers from right around the corner and from all over the world. Our dream, our vision of Baja Bio Sana is definitely manifesting as actual reality! Some people think that creating a genuine spiritual and sustainable community means putting up a bunch of structures. But we have learned that certain intangibles are the key. Lasting success depends on faith, trust, genuine commitment, as well as the conscious actions we take. Our project here in Mexico is entering its fourth year, and it definitely has taken on a life of its own. And life has a way of pulling in and letting go of whatever and whoever is needed, or not. One of my new year's resolutions is to stop being disappointed when people I thought would be part of the dream turn out not to be; and stop being surprised when people I never imagined would be involved, end up front and center! Baja Bio Sana is meant to be a permanent home or a second home for some of us, a healing center or a spiritual retreat for others among us, and simply a vacation resort for the rest. The progress made in the first three years is amazing. Every season brings remarkable learning, changes, improvements and further developments. There are so many people to thank. But almost everyone finds that actually living, working and playing here is thanks enough! So, if you are feeling pulled to take part in this creative adventure, then just do it! SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT In March, One Sky International will launch the first ever Month-Long On-line Course in Breathwork. Tuition for this Level I Course is $450 USD. But if you register before January 15, tuition is only $150 USD. Sign up before February 15 and tuition is only $300. For more information, contact me. Act now! And please pass the word. On Breath and Breathing.... And now, here are some of the first steps and main points of study in Module 1 of the new Breathwork Practitioner/Coach/Facilitator Training Manual. You are welcome to comment on it, contribute to it, or to send me any questions you have about it. Thanks to Vidunnas, Marina, and Anatoli (the current student practitioners living at Baja Bio Sana) for their great note taking! 1. Begin with a ritual, a prayer, an intention, an affirmation, declaration, invocation, etc. 2. Gathering attention... Collecting scattered energies, and becoming inner directed. 3. Meditative Awareness... Brining attention to the breathing... Focusing awareness on the breath... What moves when you breathe? What muscles are used? 4. Engaging the exhale... Releasing the exhale... Setting the exhale free... Letting the exhale go... 5. Adding to the inhale... Including body awareness... Relaxing muscles... Releasing joints... Softening, loosening, opening... Making the in-breath longer and slower, deeper and more expansive. 6. A bigger inhale triggers a bigger sigh of relief on the exhale. No matter how long the inhale is, the exhale is always quick and complete.) 7. Eliminate the first pause (between the in-breath and the out-breath) Focus on the turning point of inhale to exhale... Clear away any holding or hesitating between the inhale and the exhale. Let the inhale turn into an exhale in a smooth connected way. 8. Notice feelings and sensations that are activated... Watch the thoughts, sensations, and emotions that arise... And observe your reactions to these things. 9. Keep returning to Conscious Breathing... Give yourself a big cleansing breath from time to time: a long slow inhale, expanding from front to back, side to side, and top to bottom... Then exhale a big luxurious sigh of release. 10. Eliminate the second pause (between the exhale and the inhale) As soon as the exhale is over, begin the next inhale right away without pausing... Now merging inhale to exhale and exhale to inhale... Like a wheel... A connected circle of breath. 11. Make use of the three breathing rhythms: fast and full, slow and full, or fast and shallow. 13. Make use of all three breathing spaces: Upper Space (from the chin to the nipple line), Middle Space (from the nipple line to the navel), lower space (from the navel to the perineum) 14. The inhale is active: pull it in consciously. The exhale is passive: let it go deliberately. Breathing is active and powerful, yet gentle and relaxed... Settling into an intuitive connected breathing rhythm. 15. Breathe and relax into the strongest feeling, tracking subtle moment to moment changes in your energy. 16. Letting the body feel whatever it needs to feel... Keep the breath moving... Relaxing as the body adjust as you invite and welcome more and more energy. 17. Some people breathe too hard, activating too much energy; and some people breathe too softly and don't activate enough energy. Balance is the key, intuition is the guide.) 18. Inhale and exhale through the same channel. That is in and out the nose, or in and out the mouth (but not in the nose and out the mouth) 19. Toward the end of the session, or at certain points key points during the session, you can choose any breathing pattern or channel.) 20. Using sound...soothing relaxing comforting sounds (ooh...ahhh, etc.) 21. Turning body onto the side, to help with integration in the second half of the session. 22. Breathing into joints and limbs while gently moving and stretching, to complete or wind down from a session. 23. At the end of the session breathe quietly, calmly, slowly, gently. Sometimes, another cycle can spontaneously occur at the end of a session. Often because in the end, people finally relax!) 24. After the session: make use of drawing, journaling, meditating, sun bathing, showering, dancing, etc. (Each person integrates in their own way) 25. Sharing thoughts and feelings, observations and insights, experiences with coach/facilitator, breathing partner or group 26. Complete the post session report/evaluation within 24 hours) 27. It is not uncommon for people to accidentally induce tetany during the first few sessions. This is not a problem, but some people are afraid of the sensations and need special coaching to relax into the experience. 28. People often feel cold during sessions. And the temperature of the room may have nothing to do with it. However, it's always a good idea to keep a blanket handy. 29. Effortless breathing is energy breathing. You can move air with muscles but not energy. Energy moves with consciousness. It increases and expands when you consciously relax and let go. 30. Children's sessions can take as little as 10 to 20 minutes. Adults average 45 to 90 minutes to complete a session. 31. A complete session is one that results in a complete energy cycle. Some sessions may contain several small energy cycles. (The analogy of a fire works well to describe the life cycle of a good session). 32. Many benefits of the session are only felt after the session is complete. Certain energy sensations may continue for hours or days, and the process may continue for some time following a session. 33. It is important to watch for signs of Birth Trauma and Death Urge in the early sessions, and to process these diligently. 34. Consciousness work, body work, counseling, making lifestyle changes, etc. between sessions is an important part of the transformational process. 35. Bringing the practice and the lessons of Breathwork into daily life is the key to creating permanent benefits. So, that's the end of another year of monthly Breath and Breathing Reports! I started publishing these reports after my very first rebirthing session in December of 1976, as part of my degree program at the University of Massachusetts. Some of you may remember those first few reports, and you have loved and supported me in my mission through all these years. To those early co-pioneers, I can only say thank you, thank you, thank you! Om Namaha Shivaya! In Truth, Simplicity and Love, Dan (Guchu Ram Singh)