Rebirthing-Breathwork PartIPosted onNovember 10, 2011byDeepti G GujarAbout 2 years back I underwent a Rebirthing-Breathwork training conducted by my teachers, Dr.Newton Kondaveti and Dr.Lakshmi Newton of the Life University in Hyderabad. Needless to say, it brought about profound transformations. But more than anything else, it gave me a sense of grounded-ness more than ever before.The techniqueRebirthing-Breathwork is a technique of continuous, conscious breathing. This breathing takes on a life of its own once you begin it, and goes into 3 stages in the span of 1-3 hours. This technique was discovered by Leonard Orr who has his own Rebirthing-Breathwork International school in the U.S. the reason it is called rebirthing breathwork, is because in most cases one goes into the in-utero stage the moment you start breathing. Hence, the very first thing one typically starts reliving and releasing is all the blockages one went through when one was in the mothers womb. Breath is therefore the whole and soul of this technique.[Leonard often cites it to be the modern form of kriya yoga, with Mahavatar Babaji being his guru as well]The experienceTypically once you enter a breathing cycle, one experiences a lot of energy movement across various parts of the body. This is what is known as per ancient science as thepranaenergy and its movement defines the differentvayusin the body. When this energy begins to move, it goes to those places first where there are maximum or most intense blockages, for it is the very nature of breath to dismantle blockages. Hence, the common experiences as a result of this energy movement are Tetany stiffening of the limbs which a rebirther guides the client to consciously breathe into. The rebirther makes sure that the tetany is released by the end of the session. However, tetany can come up in the forthcoming sessions as well, and it may take several sessions in some cases to completely be free of tetany as this is usually the result of a lot of emotional blocks clogged up in the body which get released layer by layer through every session. Feeling emotional distress and emotionally volatile our mind-body-emotions together form a cohesive vehicle and each is linked with the other. Breath works on all these 3 bodies (as per ancient Indian spiritual science, mental and emotional bodies are our subtle bodies ones we dont see but which do exist) simultaneously. Hence, if there are any specific emotions locked up in our psyche, they will be bound to be thrown up during the session. This is part of the cleansing process of breath. Feeling aches / pains / shivers / sharp twitching, tingling, etc though not all of these will happen to everyone, depending on person to person, a variety of these are observed in a person undergoing breathwork during the session.BenefitsIt is unfortunately a very less known fact that the experiences one has while in the mothers womb forever shapes a persons psyche. The imprints formed during this stage are known as limbic imprints and are often considered to be impossible to erase. Not just this stage, but also the way a person was born, the birthing process, is also known to have a forever impact on his/her psychological makeup. It is almost as if your brain gets hardwired with thought patterns at this stage. However, through personal experience I can say that Rebirthing-Breathwork is successful in clearing these patterns and you can immediately see the manifestation of these changes in all areas of your life.Breathwork can clear the 8 biggies of the human trauma 1. Birth trauma the trauma encountered as a part of the birthing process which creates deep psychological imprints. Many times the root cause of why a person attracts a traumatic birth is due to past life conditioning, i.e. experiencing difficult past lives.2. Death urge often due to birth trauma the baby wishes to die and go back to the soul form which was freer and gave it the sense of oneness. Complicated deliveries, complications during the mothers labor are the first signs of the babys death urge. Leonard Orr also says that people experiencing sinus is the sign of their subconscious death urge. Birth is decided prior to conception but death is chosen by a person at a subconscious level every moment of his/her life. In the simplest explanation, death urge is every anti-life thought. This urge reveals itself in a persons life through situations of lack, unhappiness, accidents, and in some cases, suicides.3. Past lives & specific past life conditioning healing past life traumas naturally happens through Breathwork. I have personally conducted regressions through the process of Breathwork successfully, after undergoing it myself. Through this specific past life issues like addictions, relationship issues, etc. are known to heal.4. Personal lie or specific negatives due to complicated births/labor, a person can develop specific thought patterns e.g. I am a burden to everyone, no one loves me, I am always alone, etc. which get reflected in all areas of life. Breathwork is known to heal these layer by layer.5. Parental Disapproval Syndrome disapproval of our parents can lead us to making choices that may be unhealthy for us like denying our unique individuality, leading to a dual personality, not feeling integrated with life, attracting destructive relationships that could even mirror our parents fears out of the subconscious urge of confirming to them in any way possible.6. Senility fears of going old and senile, which could also be a leftover from past lives, can be commonly experienced by people of all ages, something not many are aware of.7. School trauma our early childhoods are the foundation of our current life and possibly even future lives. Having a harsh school regimen, experiencing a violation of our individuality due to unaware teachers, a distorted sense of discipline, forcibly changing a persons biological clock to fit school timings, curbing a childs creativity to fit the schools timetable, etc. can forever damage a persons self-worth and reflect in all areas of life.8. Religion trauma most of us across the world have experienced this by being forced to perform rituals that couldve led to suffering and pain, meaningless traditions leading to curbing our natural instincts and the fear/guilt created by it under the pretext of blasphemy, being forced to attend service / chanting / places of worship since childhood.More on Rebirthing-Breathwork continued in the next articlehere.PS:Dear seeker, Leonard Orrs trainers with whom I trained last year are coming down again in February 2012 to conduct Rebirthing-Breathwork workshop in Pune, India. Since I am co-organizing this 5-day workshop which has brought such tremendous benefits, I request you to mail me your details in case you are interested in attending the same atspirit.of.crea@gmail.com. We close our early bird offer by January 2012 and hence, request you to mail me at the earliest so that it is easy for us to host these trainers from Spain/U.S. Thank you!Love & Grace.Rebirthing-Breathwork PartIIPosted onNovember 10, 2011byDeepti G GujarContinue from the previous articlehere.ExamplesCiting personal examples here, one of my core birth patterns was the denial to come out into the world, because of which my birth had developed complications and the doctor in charge had informed my family that I might be already dead by the time I am delivered. This attitude of denial was evident in all areas of my life and I experienced difficulties committing to even the simplest things, such as a study course, relationships, projects at work, etc. Moreover, due to the intense difficulties experienced by the end of the labor term by my mother, a fear became imprinted in my mind that the end of any project, etc. will turn bad. As a result I have suffered from nervous spells and anxiety attacks all my life when my engineering course ended, projects ended, relationships ended, travelling assignments ended, which inadvertently developed complications. Typically one would blame the complications for the anxiety but that is not how reality works. The inner state creates the outer the subconscious was programmed with this pattern that endings are disastrous. However, within a year after my first breathwork workshop with the Newtons these patterns started healing and I felt a lot more relaxed towards accepting the natural flow of life when things came to an end.Weight lossThough I would sincerely not ask anyone to get into this technique for this purpose, weight loss is a natural fallout of the cleansing one goes through as a part of breathwork. The most common misconception today is that food causes weight gain. This is not true unless you have moved from a warm climate to a cooler one and your body is naturally accumulating the fat to keep itself warm. The truth about weight gain which I have experienced, and validated through so many fellow rebirthers and clients, is that emotions cause weight gain. As mentioned earlier, the mind-body-emotions are ONE cohesive unit. You cannot find a dysfunction in any one of them without finding its corresponding link in the other. The root cause is, of course, thought. Hence, weight is often the emotional buildup that has overflowed from the emotion-body into the physical body. So also, problems of people unable to put on weight inspite of trying hard to is because an emotional drain is happening due to which the body is feeding the emotion, more than it is feeding itself. In most cases, people lose the emotional baggage and hence the physical weight associated with it after a few sessions.Other Benefits HealthOur emotional framework is the basis for developing physical addictions of all kinds. This is the reason one experiences urges and cravings for specific foods, specific forms of mental excitement, which drive us and wear our physical body down. It has been observed that after experiencing breathwork sessions, suddenly certain habits fall off. Again citing my own experience, I loss the inclination towards alcohol. Another friend I know lost her constant hunger which used to drive her to eat every so often even when she wasnt that hungry. We naturally turned towards a more fruit-based diet. This made me realize that more than half of our meal is fed to our emotions and very little is actually required by the physical body. Going further, it made me turn toyogato enjoy my body more consciously, while since childhood I had been physically very weak and hence was averse to any kind of physical exercise.Other Benefits RelationshipsOne of the most obvious healing that takes place is that you end up healing the relationship with your mother not only your biological mother, but also earth as a mother. The former is a very powerful transformation that needs to be experienced to be understood as to how powerful the connection with your mother truly is, and how it affects every relationship of your life. Personally, I was driven into spirituality to heal my connection with my mother and I could see a tremendous transformation in this relationship for the first time in the one year following the workshop. The issues which made me suffer were deep-rooted anger that went into spells of rage, hatred, co-dependency and miscommunication. These emotions actually started healing in the workshop which I was unaware of until a year later it struck me how much lighter our exchanges had become. They were further healed through the workshop I underwent for a second time a year later this time under Leonard Orrs school through the Breathwork course conducted by his highly experienced students in Pune, India. This was truly the main reason why I was so inspired to follow Breathwork as a lifestyle (more on this later).Other Benefits MoneyThough this might come as a surprise to many, money is your emotional hologram in life. The way money flows into and out of your life is a direct reflection of your emotional system. And what better way than the breath to heal it! I personally experienced that healing your emotions and especially the connection with your parents directly impacted my financial health. The time before breathwork I was at odds with my finances, running in debt all the time in almost every place and hated the very talk of money. However, it was acutely revealing when I saw how this was a reflection of my relationship with my mother. It seemed like out of thin air I was attracting free courses that year, following the breathwork program, about how to manage your finances and handle wealth in a spiritually aware way. This made a 180 degree transformation in my personal balance sheet. I could pay off a 3-year old credit card loan, invest, save, cut down my expenditures, get more tax-savvy, received a salary hike, donated to charity and became more generous as a person. At the core it struck me how the attachment to money kept me from enjoying my expenditures which caused guilt, which in turn led to incurring debt. This reflected the pattern with my mother how attachment to her caused me to feel excessively dependent on her, because of which I would block her from expressing her affection towards me, which in turn caused guilt, which made me feel indebted to her and caused me to believe that I would never be able to love her back. JOther Benefits CreativityDuring breathwork I experienced a reconnect to music I experienced myself humming in my mothers womb. I looked up on the net and yes science has validation that a baby makes sounds in the womb for various reasons. In my case, it was to heal myself. I would experience severe cramps in my legs right since then and to heal this, I would hum. The past few years prior to Breathwork I had been completely disconnected from music, inspite of having been trained as a singer since childhood. Breathwork made the connection so instantly that a few months after the workshop I became a part of the production of a music television show! But more profound than that, my voice texture was clearer than I had ever experienced, the sinus problem was greatly reduced and there was a feeling of oneness with life which had been missing all along earlier. Through another incredible creation, within a few months of the workshop, a part of my life journey written by me was published in a book by a Dubai-based publisher publicly for the first time in my life.Coming back to the point, I do feel Breathwork has made this turnaround possible. Healing the connection with the Earth-Mother means healing all associations of the material/physical world money, wealth, health, your physical environment, the kind of work you do to support yourself on a day to day basis, your creativity.Rebirthing-Breathwork sessionsInitially it is highly recommended to go through 10 dry breathwork sessions with an experienced breathworker, one with whom you are intuitively comfortable with. A Breathwork therapist is more commonly referred to as rebirther because one experiences a rebirth thanks to re-living the in-utero experience.After that, breathwork sessions can be taken in a bathtub known aswater rebirthingsessions which can be in warm water first and then cold water. The significance of the warm water is tremendous it is easy to trigger very vivid in-utero memories through a warm water session and can also be extremely intense. A person might feel the stillness/specific pain that he/she experienced in the womb hours after the session. Cold water is used to trigger fears and heal them. Since both these types can be very intense, it is very much recommended to undergo 10 dry rebirthing sessions first.In parallel to dry sessions, one can undergo sessions in the vicinity of anopen wood fire. These can be extremely powerful in healing childhood loneliness, abandonment and self-worth issues, and also burn away the minds toxicity the root cause of our destructive thought patterns directly. Excessive emotional inclinations also get greatly reduced through these sessions.Additionally, one can undergo a breathwork session in an open area, for e.g. lying in a hammock under a tree.Dr.Newton also conducts earth rebirthing sessions by one getting into a sand pit neck down and then doing the breathwork cycle.As per our trainers manual, a rebirther is essentially serving the role of a midwife in the olden days who would deliver babies. Hence, we are trained to practice non-interference with a persons natural breathwork cycle processing, gently motivating the person to breathe, whenever required. We dont touch the client unless he/she is going through a very intense experience, in which case we just gently put a hand on his/her shoulder after asking for permission to do so. Moreover, we are taught to be as gentle as possible.The Healing Power of Christ, the Magnetism of Mohammed, the Miraculous Power of Moses, the Charm of Krishna, and the Inspiration of the Buddhaall these were attained by Breath.~Sufi Master Hazrat Inayat Khan~ * ~THE BREATH IS YOUR BODYS PRIMERYour ability to adapt is directly related to your ability to control breath in movement. The Jamieson Mantra

IN PHYSICS, RESILIENCE IS THE ABILITY TO BEND BUT NOT BREAK. IN INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETIES , IT IS THE CAPACITY TO GO THROUGH DIFFICULT SITUATIONS WITHOUT BEING DESTROYED.The average adult takes 12,000 to 25,000 breaths per day; most of which is habitually taking place high their chest. In effect, this places great stress on the heart and nervous system.Breath in its simplistic nature, is what keeps us alive; without the breath, all organs, tissue and senses diminish and ultimately perish. Does it not make sense then, to include breathwork and conscious intention to breathing patterns as a primer for re conditioning healing and restoring the bodys precious structures.When we learn to master and apply healthy breathing techniques, we can immediately begin to betteradapt and transform our structure (inside and out). As we begin to feel better by breathing better, we start seeing the reflection of this optimal way of life in all other areas; our relationships, our livelihood, our creativity, our physical and mental fortitude etc.Breathing Patterns Are Like FingerprintsEvery physiological, biochemical, emotional, psychological, and physical state has a corresponding or associated breathing pattern or quality to it; which works in conjunction with all the other systems. The way we breath when sitting calming, meditating is different than the breathing patterns we use for solving a problems or making decisions at work and our breath changes when we go for a run in a steady state vs lifting heavy objects at the gym.At the most primal level, our ancestors understood that they had to attune and synch their breath to the hunt or for basic survival. If chasing after an animal, they needed to tap into a steady state of breath to correspond with long bouts of persistence hunting and stalking their prey, while at other times they required quick burst of energy to either flee from an area that posed a threat, or at the end of the persistence hunt, catch their dinner. This required multiple breath patterns that need to switch on and off and control the rest of our physiological systems.DID YOU KNOW:The average person reaches peak respiratory function and lung capacity in their mid 20s? As they continue to age they lose between 9% and 25% of respiratory capacity for every decade of their life! The findings resulting from a 5,200-person clinical study group observed over a 30-year span showed thatthe way a person breathes is the primary measure of potential life span.(FromFraminghamstudy)Eustress Vs Distress: Stress ResilienceFor instance; under conditions of imminent, unanticipated, or rapidly changing threat, activity in the thinking brain is shifted to the reactive brain, which generates the individuals emergency responseght, ight, or freeze. In TacFit this is called freeze, flinch, force or flow. Specific patterns people adopt when facing high levels of stress. These patterns (both breath patterns and brain patterns) can set in motion a series of stress related cycles in our body, even well after the threat is no longer there. The emotional trigger is; and therefore, establishing higher levels of resilience and instigating more positive coping strategies can greatly improve your ability to cope under stress and anticipate using breath work as a means to control your internal systems in times of stress.Not all stress is bad, but when we do not know how to cope or adapt to the changing landscape, it can do more harm to us, then we realize.In most psychology journals, psychologists describe four types of stress hyopstress, eustress, episodic acute/ hyerpsress and chornic/ distress:1. Hypostress: insufficiently low stress2. Eustress:sufficient, adaptable stress, positive stressors3. Episodic Acute /Hyperstress:recoverable, high stress, A type stress4. Distress:excessive, unadaptable stress, inability to recover or copeStress tolerance is the power to endure stress and much of the tension we feel during these periods can be tolerated, diminished and re structured for positive outcomes, when we control the breath. When we breath we begin to build, what I call Stress Resilience. This is the ability to anticipate stress, cope and adapt to the changing landscape while remaining neutral and calm through the use of breath work.In a more therapeutic sense; with practice, you can ultimately accomplish the same things that great yogis and Taoist masters can. You can control the function of your immune system, your endocrine system, your cardiovascular, digestive, and nervous system, by mastering the art of breathwork. Strength and inner harmony is not something you get from improving mere strength, applying load and force to the body or popping a pill, or rolling out a mat it is through conscious intention, breath and easing the mind of distraction. This is called Conscious Breathing.Conscious breathing techniques have been utilized in ancient Buddhist/ Taoist traditions to master the capabilities of the mind and physical body to find inner and outer harmony. As we become more aware of each breath, we are reminded that we can indeed, control the outcome and our responses to uncontrolled forces. Can you imagine that in any challenging situation, in any stressful moment, at any given time you had the tools and power to shift your life, adapt and transform?This can be quite profound.DID YOU KNOW:According to the ADAA, and the CMHA anxiety disorders are the most common illness in North America; affecting 40 million adults in the US ages 18 and older (18% of the US population), and 1 in 10 Canadians.When we breathe with shallow, constricted breaths, we are adopting one aspect of the emotional posture of anxiety.The Inner Breath and the Outer BreathBreathing has two levels: the outer breath and the inner breath. The outer breath is air: oxygen and carbon dioxide. The inner breath refers to energy. This subtle element in the air is often called spirit, or the breath within the breath.For example, the physical level has three levels of its own: getting breath into and out of the lungs; getting breath into and out of the blood; getting breath into and out of the cells. Our blood needs to be nearly saturated with oxygen if it is to supply life to all the tissues and organs and systems of the body, and the trillions of cells that require movement and contraction/response.DID YOU KNOW:The body goes to extreme measure to maintain an optimal level of pH (7.35 7.45 in the blood). The most powerful system for removing acidic stress & keeping the body pH optimal are the lungs.Breathwork can mean strengthening, toning and coordinating the breathing muscles to improve ventilation; which in turn improves systems integration. We use 3 diaphragms when we breath; vocal, respiratory, and pelvic. This second step in respiration depends on the partial pressures of gases,, the infusion of blood vessels in and around the lungs, and of course, cardio-vascular health and the ability to understanding that regulation and balance of intra-abdominal pressure through breathing stimulates our ability to engage and facilitate our core!Over-Breathing is just as stressful as Under Breathing:You have heard me talk a lot about deep breathing and the hyper around breathing to stimulate the nervous system. For example; many people are told that you can super-oxygenate your cells through deep rapid breathing. This is incorrect and can do more harm than good. Your blood is already 90% saturated with oxygen, so the likelihood of getting more O2 into your blood is slim. In fact, hyperventilation can actually reduce the supply of oxygen to your cells, because in the process of over-breathing, you blow off too much carbon dioxide. In turn, this can cause constriction of the micro-vessels, which prevents blood flow to the tissues and cells itself. The goal is to synch breath with movement and to learn how to put all of these puzzle pieces together to improve all systems, not just those involved with breathwork.DID YOU KNOW:Studies show you can reduce the supply of blood, and therefore oxygen, to the brain by 40% in just one minute, by hyperventilating. Deep rapid breathing is good up to a point, but beyond that point, you can actually starve your body of oxygen.This is a great seg-way into how to breath with strength and conditioning.

Breath Controls Heart Rate:Once of the benefits to working with a coach, is the opportunity to put breathwork into real time action. In order to adapt through our workout from warm up, to peak to cooldown, the first step is getting air in and out of the lungs; so that it can signal the rest of our systems to react; which involves muscular, anatomical, structural conditions and dynamic response. It is here where work can be done to increase lung volume and respiratory capacity. Many studies prove that the greater your lung capacity is, the longer you will live, the longer you can tolerate stress (both positive and negative) and the healthier you will be.The most important factor in a clients success; whether they are training for a marathon, a fight in the ring, preparing for active duty or merely overcoming the obstacle of substantial weight loss is HRV. Heart Rate Variability (HRV)is the physiological phenomenon where the time interval between heartbeats varies. It is measured by the variation in the beat-to-beat interval. We can use this as a bio marker in training, but we must first distinguish between the Autonomic and Voluntary (or Somatic) nervous systems first.In the TacFit Certification Course Manual 2013, page 36, Scott Sonnon describes this perfectly. Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)controls the bodily functions necessary for survival (includes breathing, digestion, heart, blood pressure, organ function etc) Voluntary Nervous System (VNS)involves the consciously controlled daily functions like exercise, work, sport, yapping etc.He then offers the sub divisions or sub-branches: of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic systems which exist to better respond, control, adapt to our fight or flight, primitive patterning, genetically coded in our DNA. Sympathetic System (SNS)controls the fight or flight reflexes. When we encounter stress, it increases physiological performance, from slow release drip when we perceive skills equal to the task, which gives you access to what sport psychologists call The Zone or Flow-State. Or it triggers a fast-release dump when it perceives your skills re ineffective or insufficient, what combat psychologists call The Vortex or The Suck. Parasympathetic System (PNS)balances the SNS alarm systems of fight or flight. This system dictates how much we recover from training and stress. This is the yin/yang in constant flux, which is a primary factor in regulating our health.Heart rate changes with every breath .When we exhale our PSNS sends signals to slow the heart rate, and when we inhale, that PNS signal dissipates and the SNS tone returns, causing the HR to increase yet again. It is a constant cycle. This ebb and flow offers us a look a the state of our autonomic nervous system.FACT: When the rest and digest PSNS response triggers, we find a higher HR variability; but when fight or flight reflexes usurp our ANS, then HRV is lower. That variability accurately reflects your current degree of adaptive recovery from the sum total stress you are facing and the threshold youre currently able to accept. TacFit Certification Course Manual, Page 36

Strength, combined with focused breath = evolutionFor instance, in Movement Coaching and Corrective Program Design, I find higher degrees of flow-state and improved movement patterns when the client understands this methodology. In my S&C hours, I find better results and performance when the client understands that the transition from exercise to exercise and recovery breath is just as important as the lift of drill itself.For example in Movement Coaching: breath enables stabilizers to be more efficient in facilitation. When your stabilizers efficiently align your joints, there is crisper coordination and crisper contraction. Sometimes its not that you become stronger in your prime movers, you became more efficient in your integrity of movement and breath. And efficiency is another way to get stronger.In S&C (Strength and Conditioning):When load or stress is applied to the officer or athlete; immediately, the elicitation of SAPS, fine and complex motor skills deteriorate, . The mind starts to get distracted and lose focus. When a client rapidly approaches HRmax, they become winded and out of gas, breathing rate increases. This is an evolutionary survivable reflex, but only useful for gross motor control, not fine or complex motor control. Therefore, training the client from survival breath to recovery breath technique is vital. This enables the client to anticipate HRmax and to apply this technique; which trains the client to recover the inhale (which switches off the reflex ofhyperventilation) and then reclaim the exhale. (refer to Scott Sonnons Breathing Gift for techniques). This allows the client to start mentally focused, adapt to the work load, start responsive to technique and coaching cues and have better recovery leading into their desired set.Breathing TechniquesDuring your workout, there will be various techniques you should use to ensure you receive optimal results, recover more effectively and use as little energy as possible in good form with higher levels of effective training. We can recover and become stronger if we are able to increase this understanding. The five sequence technique of Resilience Breathing cannot be described as a singular technique, as it involves a series of techniques strung together to produce a synergistic effect. They address the challenge of reclaiming breath from involuntary reflex back to voluntary control while counter-acting the reflextive breathing elicited by distressing situations.For more information on Resilience Breathing and techniques please download this free gift from Scott Sonnon and Rmax International:http://www.breathinggift.com/DID YOU KNOW? When given an optimal diet and exercise program, the respiratory system is responsible for eliminating approximately 70% of our metabolic waster materials! The remainder is eliminated through perspiration (19%), urination (8%) and by going number 2 (3%).Now, thats a great note to end on isnt it! Moral of the story:master your breathSources: Breathing Gift: Resilience Breathing, by Scott Sonnon:http://www.breathinggift.com/ International Journal of Psychological Studies: Applied Journal of Psychology: PDF Brock University Studey:http://www.brocku.ca/health-services/health-education/stress/eustress-distress TacFit Certification Course Manual 2013 (Spring) Dan Brule: Breath Mastery: Breath Energy Training:http://danbrule.com/ Leslie Kaminoff: The Breathing Project:http://www.breathingproject.org/leslie.shtml What is rebirthing ( conscious connected birthing)

REBIRTHING (Conscious Connected Breathing) "He who knows others is learned. He who knows himself is wise." Lao Tse

"Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain" Old Chinese Saying

Rebirthing (CCB) is a modality wherein the client learns to breathe in a manner that stimulates the release of emotional, mental and physical patterns; creates joy and aliveness in the body; and gives the client a feeling of empowerment and self-control, and creates energetic relaxation. (10 sessions suggested)

"Someday you'll remember who you are--the seed within a bright and shining star." John Denver "Wandering Soul"

WHAT IS REBIRTHING? (AN ESSAY)

Take a breath, and another, and another; connect the inhale with the exhale; feel your body, feel your feelings; let all the tension and negativity in your body go; then, experience the flow of peace and relaxation within your body. If you have experienced all this and more, you have just completed a Rebirthing session.

Sounds too good to be true? Not so, Rebirthing is a simple breathing technique that can transform your body, mind, spirit, as well as your perception of who you were, who you are, and who you will be. How does it do this? First, let's look at the word "spirit," or "prana," or "ki," or "chi," or "geist,"or "genie," or whatever you call the force that enlivens the body. In every one of these languages, the traditions in which you find these terms, the meaning of the root word is either "breath" or "wind." In fact, in Genesis, God breathes into the dust he has just molded to spiritualize it, making it in his own image. So breath, religiously and mythologically, is a very significant concept. The root word for Spirit or breath, spiritus, exists everywhere in our daily lives. Besides your having spirit itself, you perspire, respire, inspire, conspire, aspire, suspire, and transpire. You point at the spire of a church, you receive inspiration from the preacher, you observe spiracle objects, and finally, when death approaches, you expire-you know that one last, long breath, when spirit leaves the body. On the more mundane level, try holding your breath and see how significant it is. A lot of people play around with how much they eat and drink. Do you notice that no one is doing a breath fast. Breath is the force that moves every single system of the body.

Yet, although you do not "breath fast" you certainly do hold your breath-when you are frightened, angry, resentful, or any time you don't want to feel your feelings or people to see them. By not breathing you suppress feelings. Many times your body tries to get around you by yawning or sighing. Watch someone on the verge of tears who does not want to cry publicly and see how much he or she sighs. Your body is always trying to look out for you, but your ego thinks it knows better, so you repress the desire to express, creating an ever more dense and diseased body. After all if you don't "ex" "press," which simply means "to push out," you "sup" "press," which means "to push down." Where do you think you push all of that emotional material? When you can't digest food properly because of some bodily dysfunction, you get heartburn, indigestion, colitis, diverticulitus, etc.; yet, you fail to understand that all of your half-digested emotions help create the physical havoc in your body.

Breathing in a circular fashion for a length of time in the presence of another first relaxes the body, then the mind and spirit, and before you know it, the emotions of a lifetime begin to surface. Not all at once, of course, or you would explode. The body again has its own wisdom. What comes up first is usually what needs to be addressed in the present. If a traumatic past unresolved emotion comes up, it probably is the cause of something in the present that needs addressing. So little by little you get clear of all the excess baggage your subconscious mind, your spirit, and your body have been carrying around for a long time. Finally, having fully digested or integrated these emotions, you can use them consciously to respond to the world instead of reacting to it. The word, "de" "pression" also means "to press down," and what is pressed down is your life force that is burdened with so much subconscious debris you cannot consciously understand. Then you wonder why you are unhappy, unfulfilled, spiritually barren, and lonely. You have no idea what you are hauling around. So you think the fifty pounds of extra flesh is your only uncomfortable baggage? The multitudinous sorrows, fears, and other unexpressed, unfelt emotions you have held on to for years weigh you down interminably.

Looks easy! Why do I need a Rebirther? Believe me, when thirty years of anger begin bubbling to the surface, your first reaction may be fear. It is nice to know someone who has gone through this process is by your side to let you know that there is nothing to fear and to support you in getting rid of that which you may dread. Maybe nothing comes up for you except a deep relaxing feeling. You may want to doze off. Your Rebirther won't let you, nor will he/she let you leave your body because you really don't want to experience those old feelings even if it means experiencing them for the last time. Your Rebirther is a breath coach and a support team, someone who has been trained not to let his ego interfere with your process, someone who helps you through whatever emotion, thought, pain, numbness, or bliss you are experiencing.

Ahh, bliss. Yes, that is the goal of Rebirthing. For example, not knowing how to relax your body, you go for a massage. If the therapist is good and you respond, you may feel totally relaxed for the first time. You now know what it means when someone says, "relax," and you can begin to return to that state at will. The same holds true if you meditate. You don't know what a meditative state feels like until you've been there. How many of you have truthfully felt blissful in your life? If someone told you to feel bliss, would you know what to feel? Probably not. Society does not promote blissful feelings. You should feel duty, obligation, responsibility, guilt, commitment, love, friendship, etc., and those terms are not defined too well for you either, but Bliss? What is it? Until you feel it, it cannot be described. A successful series of Rebirths, usually at least ten, can help you shed enough suppressed material to feel true aliveness, your bliss, for the first time in your life. You may begin to connect the inhales and the exhales so effortlessly that what at first seemed like hard work becomes easy and joyful as though someone else were breathing for you.

That experience, that feeling, is amazing, and although Rebirthing is not an immediate panacea for your or the world's ills, it reminds you of the way the Universe intended you to feel from the beginning before you felt separate from it and other people, getting bogged down in the muck and mire of society and daily living. That feeling reminds you, when you think you are drowning, that there is a rescue team-inside yourself-for renewal and compassion so that you can face whatever the world puts before you with true unconditional love and a desire to act in a unified and purposeful manner to solve all those important dilemmas. They are no longer dilemmas when you can face them with bliss; they simply "are," and you can laugh at the foolishness of thinking they were something so big. You can laugh and act, making you a true child of God, peacefully tending your life and your earthly garden.

"Lost and alone on some forgotten highway, traveled by many remembered by few. Looking for something that I can believe in, looking for something that I'd like to do with my life. There's nothing behind me and nothing that ties me to something that might have been true yesterday; tomorrow is open, right now it seems to be more than enough to just be here today; I don't know what the future is holding in store. I don't know where I'm going; I'm not sure where I've been. There's a spirit that guides me, a light that shines for me. My life is worth the living; I don't need to see the end. Sweet, sweet surrender--live, live without care, like the fish in the water, like the bird in the air."

"Sweet Surrender" (Words and music by John Denver, Walt Disney Music Company and Cherry Lane Music Company, Inc., 1974)10