Turning Air into Magic, 20 Minutes at a Time
Ready for a breathing practice that goes beyond the quick fix?
Coming Up
Pranayama 101 Begins Monday, February 10 — Weekly Meeting (Mon 9am ET) to learn, and chat about your breathing experience, and a 20 min daily (M-F) practice at 7:30am ET. Everything is recorded and available for 3 months.
I’m not a person who thinks that any practice is magical. Yoga doesn’t dissolve all your troubles. Breathwork doesn’t elevate you to a higher plane. Vagus nerve stimulating practices don’t remove your trauma. But it’s hard to figure out how to invite people into a practice without having a magical solution to their problems.
I’m not saying that these things don’t help. Doing the work is absolutely helpful, but maybe not for the reasons you’ve been told.
Quick fixes and magic pills have always been a draw for folks who are suffering. Pain, physical or emotional, can be all-consuming, driving people to try just about anything. We’re told in marketing webinars, “Tell people how you’re going to solve their problems.” You’re in pain? Take this course.
The answer to a problem is rarely so simple, and often what’s really required is something less exciting. Come and do the work with me every day, and although the discomfort may still be there, over time it may diminish, and may be more tolerable.
It’s a matter of commitment, of settling in for the long haul, of doing the hard work. It’s being present, and expanding your capacity for the challenges.
Difficulties. Pain. Discomfort. There seems to be a lot of that right now.
I’m not going to invite you to a 2 hour Breathwork class where you can escape from it all and have a magical experience.
I am inviting you to a daily practice of being present with yourself and your breath. It’s not nearly so sexy an invitation.
Pranayama classes begin next week. There’s a little bit of learning each week — understanding from a left hemisphere perspective, looking at the science behind practices, helping you to buy in to the process. We’ll also, of course, talk about Pranayama from a traditional Yogic perspective.
But mostly, this is an experience of breathing.
Being present with the breath, noticing the subtleties over time. Being in the right hemisphere of the brain, where we notice, connect with the world through the senses, and where we make meaning of it all.
Come and be with other people each weekday for 4 weeks (or 12 if you decided to do all 3 months). We start simply, which isn’t to say it’s easy. Being with a beginner’s mind with your breath can be challenging. But it’s also grounding, and really rewarding over time.
Classes are recorded so if you can’t be there live you can practice on your own schedule. But you can also come back and do the practices again that you found the most helpful.
I can’t offer magic. I can offer:
Context
Come to learn about pranayama and the science around breathing. Why might you do this practice, or that one?
As well, we are breathing within the context of what is happening around us, and all of the chaos is impacting your breathing. We can unpack that by taking the time to be with it.
Consistency
I will be on a call with you 6 times each week (1x Meeting, 5x Practice). Every week day, if you want to commit to a breathing practice, I’m here for you for 20 minutes each morning. Breathing changes happen slowly over time, and consistency is key.
Connection
Not only will there be opportunity for you every weekday to practice, but I’m on the calls live, and there are always a couple of minutes at the beginning and end of the practice to ask questions or just touch base. ALSO *new* is an online Community page for folks in the course. Ask questions between sessions, let others know how you’re experiencing the breathing practices. You might be surprised at how that question you have puts into words someone else’s experience. Community makes everything better.
And, actually, isn’t that where real transformation happens? The alchemical changes that happen, requiring the heat of practice, the energy of community, and the spark of true wisdom through experience — isn’t that truly magic?
Pranayama 101 — use the code MAGIC for 5% off until Thursday, Feb 6.
The Pranayama Bundle is available until February 8.