The breathwork market is flooding.
Breathwork can benifit anyone who breaths…so it is no wonder every coach and their grandma wants to integrate and/or facilitate this practice.

With breathwork trainings being anywhere from a 1 day online course to 1000+ hour programs, there is a radically difference in quality of facilitators…and the public does not know the difference.

And there are drastically different breathwork practices that range from short and gentle breathing to 1-3 hour long continuous breathing sessions that can be psychedelic in nature.

When I entered this field I knew it was important to distinguish myself …but, more importantly it is because I see breathwork like being a mix between a doctor and a shaman. Both take 10-25 years of intensive study and practice to read a high level.

So beyond training with multiple teachers in dozens of styles of breathwork, I put myself on the path to becoming a traditional and shamanic Chinese medicine doctor (TMCM)- yeah, it’s a thing…and I start my masters this year.

I specialize in medical qigong, which is the oldest branch of TMCM created by shaman, mostly woman shaman named the Wu. So if your wondering why I’m so woo-woo, it’s because I’m in the lineage of the Wu!

Medical qigong includes the tai chi-like flowing movements, but that’s not its primary focus. Its primary offering is energetic treatments that combine breath, meditation, movement, massage, among other holistic practices.

It’s a multi-thousand year old art and science that is the foundation for my holistic medicine clinic. It is both coherent with western science, and adds a whole other energetic and esoteric understanding of energy.

Because breathwork is energy work…to just speak about breathwork in the language of western science is limiting and insufficient to explain the experiences individuals will have. It is neccesary to have a verbage for the transpersonal domains breathers will experience.

So I study TMCM …AND the yogic sciences, and I apprentice with several indigenous cultures, among other esoteric meditation schools like Light Body. Because shamanic traditions have an understanding of the energy body in an intricate and sophisticated way that our western science has yet to explore in great detail.

A peripheral understanding of breathwork and basic training can give a facilitator tools to take people into deep experiences. This speaks to the power of breathwork…and, if a facilitator is not well-versed in trauma, psychotherapeutic models, transpersonal awareness, and other domains they risk re-traumitizing a client, or giving individuals a bad experience which may turn them away from a good practice.

You can’t be a quality breathwork practioner unless you practice. I’ve never seen it. I won’t see it. This is not childs-play. There is a responsibility of a practitioner to do there work. This is why I say it must be treated with the seriousness of a doctor or shaman.

Breathworkers hold the space for individuals to move through vulnerable and powerful experiences, they have to be rooted in embodied wisdom that only comes from direct experience.

Further, if a breathworker doesn’t have a sophisticated knowledge of breathing patterns, they can actually encourage dysfunctional breathing…and how we breath is how we live, so they can increase negative tendencies in those individuals. The breath can retrain your mind, so you want to be assured your coding in a functional pattern.

I hope that makes sense.

Breathwork is on the rise, it is beautiful because more people are learning inner tools to self-heal, self-regulate, and self-realize… but, it’s important to find someone who understands the breath and mind to get the most benifit.
After 10,000 hours in breathwork, yoga, and soon to be Qigong … I know the power of these practices and I do my best to share them to their highest

All my relations

Visit my links to learn more
Linktr.ee/zkcoaching

The woman I fell in love with is named Trust.
When she told me I did not believe her.

We met when we were ready to meet ourselves.

She was in the last place I looked.
Buried deep in a carved wooden cupboard, under a jumble of old stories I wrote when I was a kid.

She’s not how imagined her to be.
She’s free.

Her mind is like the gentle stream I use to sit by to find peace.
Her smile blossoms like the garden my mom would grow each year.

….

We were walking one day on a rainy spring afternoon. I remember it well, the sky was grey and the rain drops were small and timid, except every once in awhile a big ol’ heaven’s tear would sploosh on my nose.

There was no conversation in the air.
There was an empty silence I thought I’d never know in the company of another.

I’ll never forget that day.

On another occasion… I think it was mid-june…. I can’t quite remember. She’s got a mind for dates. Maybe it was July? I’ll have to ask her later.

Somewhere between June and July…. it was another rainy day. The rain was symphonic then, and we had both forgotten our jackets. While we were walking down the trail along Adler’s pond she stumbled over a rock and nearly tumbled into the old green water.

The moment she stumbled – not a second before or after, im sure of it – my body sprung into action to leap and catch her. Gratefully she caught her own balance as I would have been too slow to catch her fall.

I remember it well because I didn’t choose to act… and it was not a simple reflex…because my heart opened as I moved. Love guided me then, and has for many years… and we’ve always walked just a little bit closer after that day.

…

Before I met her, I use to spend a lot of time.
Do you know what I’m saying?

Time was money.

When I found Trust, I remembered play time.

…

I’d like to share a practice we have…
We start off by standing about a meter apart.

We look into one another’s eyes and with our hands up we feel into each other’s mental field and through heart coherence we tune into what’s been going on with the other.

Sometimes I get the sense her mind has been weighed down by a limiting belief. I simply hold the field with love.
Then we take a step in and feel into the emotional field. Sometimes I can feel her frustration buzzing… or the heaviness of sadness

We take another step in till we can almost touch, and we focus on the physical energy field.

We stay in each field in so long as we need to to feel a shift. The shift is an internal transmutation of the energy in the presence of bring held in love.

Sometimes it takes awhile to get close because there’s so much under the surface. When we are ready to touch, there’s nothing in between us.

This practice is special to me.

And it’s just one of the ways love has taught us to purify our minds to show up in our highest.

….

She sometimes teases me about the first moment we met when I didn’t believe her name was Trust.

And I make fun of her when she didn’t trust me that my name is Surrender.

In this model I’m sharing there are 7 dimensions of experience, which can be thought of as 7 different realities your consciousness can journey into.

These 7 realms and our journey to them depends on our choices. This model will help you to assess your life and choices and can lead you towards greater liberation.

Each of the realms is associated with a chakra, but it’s not neccesary to believe in chakras to benifit from this article. Simply know that these 7 dimensions are inner dimensions. The lower 3 dimensions I’ll share carry the most bondage for individuals who are making unconscious decisions.

Allow to explain by starting with the first dimension.

1st dimension – is that of saftey and survival – decisions made at this level are choices you make in your life that give you security. Do you work a job just because it gives you money to survive because you ‘have to’? This is a survival based decision.

In each dimension or chakra we aim to have openness. Openess here refers to our capacity to have liberated choice.

Given the above example, if you have the capacity to choose to spend your time pursuing the other dimensions and you are not caught in making decisions because you have to, this indicates a liberated choice. There is an increased level of possibility in a liberated choice, and not a sense of bondage.

So then, how many decisions in your life do you make which are based around survival? Is there freedom in this choice?

This system offers that our capacity to increase our liberated choice depends on us… it is internal, and we are not a victim to circumstance.

The second dimension – the second dimension is one of sensual pleasure. Remember how I said the lower 3 dimensions can be associated with bondage? If our desire for sense pleasure (food, sex, drug, drink, etc) exerts a strong force on our decisions then we are trapped and we limit our liberated choice.

How many decisions in your life are focused around sensual gratification?

The third dimension- the third dimension relates to power, and the ego. When we make decisions that empower our ego, we strengthen this dimension.

Becoming a successful business man or movie star are examples. This is empowering to a degree…but, if too many of our choices go into strengthen our ego and not of experiencing the higher dimensions listed hereafter, then we limit the possibility of our life experiences.

The force dimension – is all about love and the giving and recieving of it. When this dimension of our life is undeveloped we are blocking the giving and recieving of love.

How many of your decisions are based on the pursuit of love vs survival… or chasing sense pleasure over love inspired actions?

The fifth dimension – relates to truth. When we make liberated choice here we pursue truth.

The truth will set you free. Making decisions in accordance with universal truths is not always easy, but it will always empower you and your capacity to make more liberated choices.

The sixth experience- relates to your life’s vision. In order to experience and live your life’s vision there must be a certain ordering in the lower dimensions. In order to create your life’s dream and live it you must have your mind liberated enough from the bondage of unconscious choices and conditioning to know your love and truth, which will reveal your path.

Many of us make liberated choices in love, and truth, and taste our life’s vision, but it takes a certain consistency and devotion to live at this level of experience.

Do you know your purpose? Do you have a dream for your life, and are you making decisions that lead you there?

The seventh dimension – is that of the divine and universal connection.

To experience the seventh dimension is to surrender all decisions. It’s paradoxical in that up till this dimension we have been working on expressing greater choice in accordance with our love and truth and the vision for our life… then at the seventh we surrender all choice …which ends up being the decision with the highest level of liberated choice.

To give everything away opens us to recieve everything.

The first dimension and the seventh are related in opposite ways. We start out in the first dimension living out of unconscious survival and all decisions are made for us, then we empower our decisions and at each step we as an individual gain more power and choice … then at the final step, we surrender all power, and realize all our decisions are made for us, but at this level we are fully conscious and can simply enjoy all the dimensions with freedom and love.

The highest choice is to surrender all decisions to the highest with love in your heart and an earnest desire for truth. This dimension of experience creates the greatest possibility and to live in this way creates life as a never ending awakening of possibility. It is paradoxical unless lived.

It comes with a sense of inner peace and ease. It is not grasping or seeking outside the self. It is not a victim to circumstance. To live here is to dance with life. I am not saying you must or will dance. I am referring to the graceful movements of a dancer. Or the quick draw of a improv comedian works as a metaphor to. Whatever arises is immediately met with love, gracefullness, and laughter.

May you all know this dimension of life, and all dimensions of life in their fullest.

Only the sound of breath.
A continuous and circular river of life giving energy.
Inhale penetrates into exhale.
Exhale gives way to inhale.

The effort on the inhale is the body saying YES to life.
The inhale opens so that she may receive.

The exhale is the great surrender.
She exhales with grace as a preparation for her last breath.

Lying supine.
Her back body is rooted on the earth.
Her front body meets the sky and air.
Above and below.

As the breath rhythm continues, it begins to stabilize, and she can soften her effort and allow the breath to breathe itself.
Natural Breathing.
Her attention and awareness are pointed within. With love, curiosity, and equanimity she scans her mind onto and into her body where she opens herself into a world of feelings and sensations.
The life pulse begins to vibrate and tingle.
Rolling waves of sensation wash over her like breathewaves.

Truth is revealed.
Not scripture. No Gita, or Koran. No bible, or Torah.
Direct transmission of truth. Beyond language and mentation.
Truth is what is happening right now….not as she wants it, but as it is.

In her attention she is confronted with many sensations that are full, open, and inviting.
Other parts of her body feel held, restricted, blocked, and ugly.
In the ultimate practice of self-love she listens to her body. Like a true lover, she does not try and fix the problems as they arise, but simply wraps them in her tender compassion.
If she reacts to every unpleasant sensation old habit patterns of the mind would take over.
If she tried to control, fix, or change her state every time unpleasant sensations arise, she would not give them the space to share their wisdom….her wisdom…universal wisdom.

She surrenders.
Becoming soft.
It takes immeasurable strength to remain soft in the height of pain.
It takes resilience to maintain connection to love when anger arises like a wild-fire from within.

Surrender is only complete when there is no desire for what is happening to end. So then…she casts herself wholly into the river of sensation. Her attempts are not complete…as she is still attached. The tethers to the past are too deep. Her bondage is too much to let go of in this instant.

So she returns to her breath and this practice. Again and again.
The practice chips away the rigid layers of ego and the mind’s identification with the false self.
Humility and surrender melt these false layers and her breath becomes deeper with every shedding.

She has to work continuously.
The practice is called conscious connected breathwork.
Translated as, becoming aware of the relationships of life.
By maintaining connection to the sensation and breath, one tethers their attention in the present.
Transcending the mind’s tendency to live in the emotions/stories of the past.
Not entertaining positive and negative projections into the future.

The present. Where all of life lives simultaneously.
The whole spectrum of high and low, heaven and hell, and ecstasy and suffering live here.
And if one is surrendered in the present, they give no preference for which sensations arises within.

Only the courageous remain present.
It’s much safer and comfortable to live in the wake.
It appears easier to live in fantasy, maybe then there will be a happily ever after.
Appearances aren’t always true.
You can’t avoid life’s fullness. Time will catch up to you. Here or hereafter.
Death is coming.
Truth is knocking at your door.

Each breath is a preparation for death.
The surrender of the exhale is a mini dying for you to see how much your holding onto.

She breaths continuously.
Her heart beats a steady rhythm like a calvary marching band.
Amidst the discomfort and tension she is feeling, she is stable.
Anchored in acceptance.

She is still holding on to many attachments and yet, she is able to hold herself in love.
As the sessions comes to its close she has released much….but still there is more.
She is not weighed down by what she is carrying. There is more work to be done… and it is her labor of love.
The final part of the practice is to remain completely still. The breath naturally becomes shallow…as if hardly breathing at all.

Her mind drops into her center. The same center we all share.
In her still quite state, she can feel as one with the all. A taste of the limitless.
For a time she remains here….
Then time begins to tick again and she moves back into the multiplicity of ten-thousand things.
As she moves back into the world she is restored.
Like a birth, she is now open to receive life refreshed.

She rises till she is ready to rest.
Her breath flows in and out with ease and allowing.
A piece of her is anchored in the stillness.
One foot in life, the other in death.
Between these two doors, the breath.

The end-less.

Six Fundamental Relationships Self Questionnaire

This questionnaire has 6 categories which reflect the 6 foundational principles of holistic health. Read through each category then determine your score out of 10. Please note that this questionnaire is to help bring awareness to your foundational patterns and to determine if they are optimal. The questionnaire can help encourage your thought process, but it is by no means a conclusive test for determining what is best for you. Please use it as guidance and without judging yourself.

1. Breathing

0 to 2:

I don’t have a conscious relationship to my breath and my breathing is subconscious.

3 to 4:

I have some relationship to my breath and I notice it sometimes such as when I’m holding my breath. I don’t practice breathing methods or conscious breathing.

5 to 7:

I have breath awareness through parts of my day and I practice conscious breathing methods some of the time.

8 to 9:

I have good breath awareness and I am aware of my breathing pattern most of the day and I practice conscious breathing.

10:

I am nearly always aware of my breath.

2. Moving and Body Awareness

0 to 2:

I have little conscious awareness of my body throughout the day and my movement patterns, and I am quite sedentary.

3 to 4:

I have some awareness of my body and movement patterns throughout the day. I sometimes walk or exercise though I am aware that I don’t move enough, and I live quite sedentary.

5 to 7:

I have good awareness of my body and movement patterns. I have a few movement patterns such as running, working out, and simple yoga.

8 to 9:

I nearly always have body awareness and I have a large repertoire of movement practices. I have good strength, speed, mobility, and flexibility.

10:

I am always aware of my body and my nervous system is nearly always regulated and I choose from a wide variety of movement practices which I excel at.

3. Eating

0 to 2:

I have a poor relationship with food and most of my eating is automatic and routine.

3 to 4:

My relationship with food is okay. I don’t eat with a high level of conscious awareness. I find myself eating to suppress emotions and I don’t choose the best foods for myself most of the time.

5 to 7:

I have a good relationship with food, and I do my best to eat good food most of the time and have a conscious practice to eat mindfully.

8 to 9:

I have a good relationship with food I choose the right foods for my body almost always and I eat mindfully.

10:

I eat mindfully and my nutrition has a high precision for exactly what I need all of the time

4. Drinking

0 to 2:

I have a poor relationship with water. I consume it unconsciously and I never give thanks for it or pay attention to the quality of water or how much water I am drinking.

3 to 4:

I try to drink water throughout my day, but I don’t pay attention to how much I drink or the quality of the water.

5 to 7:

I do my best to drink good quality water and drink enough good clean water to give my body what it needs and I have mindfulness as I drink water.

8 to 9:

I give thanks for my water. My water is purified and clean and I almost always drink exactly the amount of water I need.

10.

I have a professional filtration system for my water or another way of sourcing optimal water and I drink mindfully and drink exactly what I need.

5. Sleep

0 to two:

I don’t pay attention to my sleep cycles or go to bed at regular times, and I often watch screens before bed and have bright lights and caffeine throughout the day into the night.

3 to 4:

I do my best to sleep 8 hours a night but often sleep 5 to 7 hours and my rest is not deep. I often use electronics before bed.

5 to 7:

I do my best to sleep at regular times getting 8 hours of sleep, but I often use my phone or have bright lights in my home before bed.

8 to 9:

I have a regular sleeping routine and I get the amount of sleep my body needs and I practice having a wind down period without bright lights before bed.

10:

I have optimal sleep every night I wake up rested I have good sleep routines before bed

6. Thinking

0 to 2:

I don’t have a relationship with my thought process and my thinking happens automatically and I am not aware of thinking patterns.

3 to 4:

I don’t actively monitor my thinking process. I am aware that I often think too much, and I often have negative thought patterns.

5 to 7:

I am aware of my thinking patterns some of the time and I do my best to choose good thoughts that are dream affirmative.

8 to 9:

I have a conscious process or practice that allows me to monitor my thinking and I pay attention to my thought processes and I choose good thoughts most of the time.

10:

I am nearly always aware of my thinking process and I consciously direct my thoughts towards positivity and/or I have the capacity not to get caught in negative thought patterns when they arise.