Transition Breath - June 2020 update

Hi there,
Welcome to Transition Breath's June 2020 update.

Offerings:

• Beyond the Mind: Group Breathwork Circle, 3pm to 5.30pm, Sunday, 28 June 2020. Subsdance Dance Studio, Kingston ACT. Exchange $55, limited places, register here.

• Breathing Club - a four-week online conscious breathing program starting Tuesday, 14 July (6pm to 7pm). Limited spaces and by donation, register here.

• Breathing Club (Advanced) - drop-in session, online, 16 and 23 June 2020. Exchange $15 per session, register here. This class is available to people who have participated in the four-week Breathing Club program.

• deepen your practice with personalised breathwork sessions in-person and online. Wednesday and Thursday evenings (from 6pm), Friday (9am to 6pm), Saturday by appointment. Book your two-hour session here.

What a few months it has been. I started writing this update back in late April and the words failed to manifest. Nothing seemed appropriate, and attempts re-open client work seemed premature. I never hit send and instead continued to use this time to process my own material and wait for the energy to give me that nudge needed to leave iso-land.

There is no need to rehash what has and is transpiring in our world right now, but I do want to extend my support and love to anyone who has lost their job or is under a cloud of job insecurity, feeling fearful of their physical and emotional health, isolated from family and loved ones and concerned about the future.

Transition Breath has re-opened, with personal breathwork sessions (both in-person and online), group breathwork, corporate breathing and well-being programs and Breathing Club. Please contact me if you wish to recommence or start your breathwork practice. Please note that special COVID-19 measures are in place, with a renewed cancellation policy, hygiene rules and social distancing.

In recognition of my ongoing development, investment and experience, the exchange for a two-hour personalised breathwork session is now $155, and $230 for a three-hour session. Further information about Transition Breath's fees and session times is available here.

Listen, watch and read:

• Very few people come close to the intellect and deep understanding of consciousness as Deepak Chopra, and if you have the intellectual capacity to keep up with this conversation (they lost me at the existence of 200 trillion galaxies in the Universe) then I recommend listening to Russell Brand and Deepak's conversation about science and spirituality (extract available here), full version via Luminary.

• My breathwork lineage originates in part from the work of psychedelic therapist and creator of Holotropic Breathwork, Stanislav Grof. He's now in his 90s, and in recognition of the generational change occurring in the field of consciousness research, the second wave of psychedelic research and the growth in breathwork, he has published an encyclopedia of inner journeys called The Way of the Psychonaut. The publication of these books is accompanied by a soon to be released documentary and an online course via the Shift Network. These resources are an invaluable contribution to the field of Transpersonal Psychotherapy, psychedelic therapy and breathwork (available here).

Breathe well, everyone.  

Joshua Alexander

Breathwork Practitioner , Transition Breath

Transition Breath January 2020 update

Hi there,

Welcome to Transition Breath's January 2020 update.

Upcoming events:

• February's Group breathwork session (6.30pm to 9:00pm, Tuesday 18 February @ BodyBeing (Giralang). Register your interest here)

• The Big Breathe, Saturday 23 May, Paddington Town Hall, Sydney (https://www.australianbreathworkassociation.org/big-breathe-mega-event.html)

• International Breathwork Foundation's Global Inspiration Conference, Sweden, 9 to 16 August (https://ibfbreathwork.org/global-inspiration-conference/)

• Save the date - The Breathe Australia Conference, 5-8 November 2020

What's happening:

When I first wrote this monthly update it started with "Two night's ago, I was reminded of the smell of rain".

Looking outside right now it's hard to believe we had that brief reprieve. Since then, Canberra was hit with one of the worst hail storms I've ever seen. And now we're witnessing our much loved Namadgi National Park burn, whilst people living on our city's fringes prepare to be evacuated. Heartbreaking and a reminder of how quickly our experience of the natural world can change.

My emotional reactivity to these events has been chaotic. Deep grief, fear, anger, rage, love, sadness, worry, frustration, hatred and happiness have all been felt. Sometimes I reacted by turning to social media and adding to the chorus of collective disbelief of the destruction. Other times I would remove myself to a quiet space and allow my emotions to be deeply felt and witnessed. Using breathing and meditative tools, I've managed to breathe into these challenging experiences and alleviate my reactivity and stress.

It's hard to know what will transpire in the months (and years) ahead; however, what these fires have shown is the power of the human spirit and collective action.

Mother Earth has demanded our attention, reminding us that we should take nothing for granted, including water, fresh air and blue skies. I feel these events will continue to shake the foundations of our collective human experience, demanding that we shed what is not in resonance. We can either collapse under the immense pressure of this evolution, or access our inner heart warriors and face these changes with equanimity, bravery, compassion and love. How we each achieve these qualities is a question we must ask ourselves.

Therapeutic breathwork

Transition Breath is open again for 2020! A one-on-one breathwork session is a powerful technique that allows you to access, amplify and release held material in your body. It fosters a healthy expression of emotions and physical sensations, and an opportunity to explore unconscious realities. If you feel called to try breathwork, then my usual session times are:

• Wednesday, 6 pm to 8 pm

• Thursday, 6 pm to 8 pm

• Friday, 9 am to 5 pm

• Weekends by appointment

Group breathwork

Group breathwork will recommence on Tuesday, 18 February. This event will be held at BodyBeing in Giralang from 6.30pm to 9.00pm. Very limited places available, so get in early if you feel called to attend. The exchange is $55. Register here.

 

Corporate program

In February, Transition Breath will re-commence its corporate program. This program is designed to support wellbeing programs within the corporate, government and community sectors by teaching employees basic, every-day breathing techniques to help navigate stressful situations. So far the Australian Senate, the Private Wealth Network, Equality Australia, the Attorney-General's Department and the Australian Government Solicitor have all signed up. Sessions go for 90 minutes, and fees vary depending on the sector. Reach out if you're interested in developing a program for your workplace or conference.

Community events

On 15 January, Transition Breath teamed up with Flow Yoga Canberra and ran a yoga and meditation night. We had no expectation on how many people would participate, or how much people would donate. Amazingly, we sold 32 tickets and raised $1400 (!!!!) to go towards the Australian Red Cross and WWF-Australia. Thank you to all that joined.



Finally, on the topic of climate change and the environment, here is an interesting read about the linkages between psychedelics and our relationship with nature, and how these medicines can be used to help enhance people's connection to the natural world: https://theconversation.com/could-psychedelics-help-us-resolve-the-climate-crisis-129639?fbclid=IwAR0zU4u8luuMShBShkqusCwLLuJP1qIo_0TJfCrOt2ZyWjJvvXPtmJ3T89w

That's it for now. Breathe well everyone,

Walking and breathwork meditation in Namadgi National Park

On 11 May 2019, Transition Breath is hosting a walking meditation to Yankee Hat in Namadgi National Park. The facilitator will guide participants to connect with their body, their breath and to consciously and silently engage with the beautiful landscape found at Yankee Hat walking track. Further information can be found here.

The day will proceed as follows:

10am- Participants will meet at Yankee Hat walking track carpark, where they will be guided to engage with their body and their breath. This will be followed by an intention setting discussion, smudging ceremony and rapé (pronounced ha-PAY, a sacred tobacco ash, optional).

11am- Participants will then, in silence, walk along the path to Yankee Hat, and are encouraged to remain present and be interactive with the Land (approx. 1.5 hour walk).

12.30pm- Once everyone has arrived at a Yankee Hat, the facilitator will conduct another meditation, followed by a discussion about participants' thoughts, feelings and interaction with the environment. Light snacks and tea will be shared before the walk back to the trail's carpark (approx. 2.5 hours).

3pm- A final debrief will be shared upon return, and thereafter participants are free to return to Canberra.