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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Breathwork is a holistic modality for mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being that is useful in the realm of self-regulation, self-healing, and self-realization.
Breathwork for Self-regulation
Self-regulation refers to the capacity for an individual to regulate their nervous system (NS). The NS comprises the brain, spinal cord and the associated neurons that run like mushroom mycelia throughout the body. The NS transmits signals between the brain and all the cells of the body. In this way, the nervous system’s activity controls the ability to move, breathe, see, think, and feel. The NS has two primary branches known as the sympathetic and parasympathetic, respectively. The two branches of the NS are the yin and yang of the body. The sympathetic being yang, associated with activity, using energy, and when this system is engaged the bodymind prepares itself for action by speeding up the heart rate and breathing, bringing blood away from organs to the skeletal muscles, and dilating pupils among others. Whereas the parasympathetic NS is related to resting, digesting, and relaxing and some its principle actions are to increase intestinal peristalsis, relax the system, and increase immune function.
A regulated or balanced nervous system is one that can dynamically move between sympathetic and parasympathetic at the appropriate times. If however, an individual is experiencing chronic stress, over-activity or under-activity, taking too many stimulants, is experiencing negative emotions or trauma symptoms, etc then they may exhibit nervous system dysregulation. A dysregulated NS is unable to adjust itself appropriately to maintain the optimal balance of body, emotion, and mind.
The relationship between your breathing and your NS is direct. Meaning that your breathing rate and quality directly reflect your current state of nervous system regulation, which is also a reflection of your body, emotion, and mind. The art and science of breathwork for self-regulation lies in that we can conscious choose to change our breathing and directly affect our nervous system which creates system wide benefits across the body, emotion, and mind. When an individual learns to appropriately choose breathing patterns that suit their current circumstance, they have the ability to stimulate their NS when needed for activity, to rest when necessary, and to become resilient to stress. NS regulation offers you a way to become resilient to stress of all kinds (physical, mental, emotional, chemical, electromagnetic, etc) and through the process it empowers you by resourcing you with inner tools that no one can take from you, that don’t cost a thing, and the more you use them the for more effective they become and the more intelligent you become.
Breathwork for Self-Healing
Through breathwork’s capacity to help us maintain regulation of our nervous system we can optimize the body and mind in many ways, one of which is the capacity to heal. Because breathwork is a holistic modality it recognizes that healing comes from wholeness. To become whole it is important to understand ourselves at the level of our body, emotion, mind, and spirit. First I’ll share some of the benefits across the various dimensions of Self, and we can explore the mechanism after.
Physical
– Increased immunity – Improved respiratory function and increase in lung capacity – Blood pressure balancing – Reduction in stress hormones
Emotional
– Release of negative emotions – Release of trauma or easing of trauma symptoms – Accessing elevated states – Enhances creativity – Increased contentment
Mental
– Mental clarity – Big picture view of life – Reduced addictive and repetitive thoughts/behaviours – Increase in optimistic outlook – Mental focus
Spiritual
– Greater connection to SELF – Connection with purpose – Deepening of relationships and their meaning
To name a few…
So then, by regulating our nervous system we can bring the body into deep states of parasympathetic activity where it can rest, digest, relax and repair itself mentally, emotionally, physically. Breathwork helps to bolster natural immunity and strengthens the body’s natural healing responses creating long term resilience and strength and no dependence. Further, the breath is the chief way energy comes into the body, and that toxins are removed.
The life giving, balancing, and healing properties of oxygen are well-studied. Improper breathing patterns prevent the oxygen from going into the cells. Most people have chronic over-breathing patterns which over-stimulates the NS preventing rest, digest, repair, and relaxation. For example, most people breath around 15-20 breaths a minute, which is in the realm of over-breathing and running the system inefficiently. With regular practice I help individual bring their breathing down to 5-10 breaths a minutes which is efficient and more effective for eliciting self-healing responses.
Breathing rate is one of the best predictors of longevity.
Breathing and Self-realization
The above content is grounded in a wealth of science and verification. As we move into the territory of speaking about self-realization we move from objective to subjective. It Is important for me to discuss the bridge between the outer and the inner because it is the nature of breathwork. Our breath is the bridge between outer and inner, and breathing helps us to move from the conscious mind into the subconscious. The breath and nervous system is the bridge between energy and matter. And in speaking about the realm of things beyond the objective dimensions of things we can weigh and measure it is important to note that this is the subjective or personal domain. The language I use here is important as we all experience our inner reality, emotions, experiences, and our understandings of life, death, god, and other metaphysical things. But, I feel it necessary to speak to the metaphysical because it is part of breathwork, and perhaps the most important part.
Let me start here, how does breathing bolster multi-dimensional benefits? Because it connects you back to your True Nature. Our original nature is healthy, not plagued with negative emotion, limiting beliefs, trauma, and a sense of disconnection from SELF. Health, in the holistic perspective is the result of when we disentangle all the layers of negative emotion and trauma, limiting beliefs, and other pieces that disconnect us from love, from others, and from purpose and living in harmony with the planet. Breathing can be thought of metaphorically and literally as the process of your spirit coming into body. A disconnection from our breath is then a metaphor for a disconnection with the soul and the one spirit we all share in.
Our breath is our most fundamental relationship with life. How you breath is how you live, feel, and think. Your breathing pattern is then speaking the language of your spirit, and within the intelligence of the breath and how you breath, such as your breathing rate, and where you breath into or don’t breath into among other qualities indicates where you are open to receive and where you are blocked off. When I say receive I am referring to receiving life-force energy. Receiving the breath in the body enables us to feel. Blockages of the breath indicates blocks/resistance in the body, mind, and emotion. Mental blockages form from limiting beliefs we have that disconnect us from our True Nature and the Truth, emotional blockages are stored negative emotion or trauma, and physical blocks are the end result of prolonged mental-emotional blocks or physical injury.
the resistance and blockages of breathing are written in the legacy of the breath which is the story of our lives and where we have disconnected from our True Nature and Truth. The process of breathwork is then one of returning to our source and disentangling our attachment to negative emotions, past hurts, injuries, self-abandonment, addictions, limiting beliefs and stories, among other things we have been carrying. By letting go of these energies we have acquired we may then return to the limitless potential of our True Nature to write new stories, beliefs, heal diseases, and the sky is the limit to what is possible when we co-create with the universe.
Breathwork then, is not simply the missing pillar of health, though it will be a revolutionizing force in medicine. Breathwork is the key to self-mastery; to know thyself.
How to best prepare for your first session: Though I have just built breathwork up to be a revolutionary art and science, it is also important to know that each breathwork session is different and is exactly what you need in your present moment to move you forward in your evolutionary journey. In life and in breathwork you get what you put in. Your readiness and willingness to open to life, to see yourself, to know and feel what is real creates the conditions for alchemy. That being said, you don’t necessarily have to prepare for weeks for a breathwork session, or necessarily have any long rituals that may prevent you from taking part of breathwork. Yes, preparing for ceremony is good, but we are always breathing, and we are always in ceremony.
Some helpful tips:
– Eat light the day of breathwork (2-4 hours or more before session or fasted)
– Drink plenty of good clean water before so your cells are hydrated
– Movement before a session will often enhance your experience (yoga, qigong, walking, working out, etc)
– Reflecting on your intentions and current evolutionary challenges and areas for growth help (for example, what are you letting go of, and what are you inviting in)
What is the session like?
For most beginners I start them off with 1-hour of conscious connected breathwork done in a supine (lying down position). The practice can eventually evolve into other positions and styles of breathing, but a gentle conscious connected rhythm is a safe and effective way for individuals to get an understanding of the potential of breathing.
The conscious connected breathing rhythm I start individuals off involves:
– Continuous breathing wherein inhale meets exhale without pause
– Breathing in and out of the mouth
– Inhales are full and create dynamic expansion throughout the body utilizing the major diaphragms
– Exhales exhibit a relaxed quality or letting go without effort or force
This rhythm harmonizes both branches of the NS and is gentle yet powerful.
The session involves intuitive bodywork, energy work, guidance, coaching, and post-integration discussion of breathing session, patterns of breathing, and an offering of prescription breath patterns you can take home for continued work.
Because of the powerful nature of this modality it is important to assure there is good connection and safety in the therapeutic relationship of breather and facilitator.
After your session
Because sessions can be life-changing and transformative or gentle and relaxing, there is a wide variation on how you will feel after your session. It is always good to have some space after the session for further integration and the downloading of further insight into what came up. Though, you and your NS has an intelligence and it typically won’t bring up a large piece of unprocessed emotion if you plan on going to work right after.
You can enhance your integration by:
– Working with other somatic mindbody arts such as yoga, mindfulness, walking, qigong, dance, etc
– Journalling about your experience and your life processes
– Talking about your experiencing with friends or scheduling a follow up call
– Nourishing your body, emotion, and mind with good water, food, company, and information that supports your process
– Working interdisciplinary with other health providers
Final thoughts:
If you have any questions regarding your session, please don’t hesitate to message. The more comfortable, safe, and knowledgeable of the process you are can help the breathwork session. If you’d like further resources such as podcasts, youtube, and other information you can find my links below.
Please not that Masculine and feminine refers to two polarities, I would have used the words yin and yang, but there are already yoga styles named yin yoga and yang yoga.
Masculine teaching is assertive. Femine teaching is open and accommodating.
A good way to understand the Masculine style is the original 26 and 2, formerly known as Bikram yoga.
The class is yang, in that it is more external with lights and open eyes rather than internal with darkness and closed eyes. It is about straight lines and locked joints rather than relaxed bent knees.
The forms are the same and there is a script that is nearly always followed the same. It is straight forward and you know exactly what your getting.
The opposite would be if a feminine style teacher came in and started changing the sequence. Making it creative, flowing, and using words like juicy and spicy. Instead of simply directing you where to move your body and the benifits of the asanas, the feminine teacher may encourage or offer things you may feel or that you could open yourself to feeling.
Masculine and feminine teachers both have advantages and disadvantages. And it’s not that finding a happy place in the middle is ideal either!
Yoga is a living and open tradition for individuals to offer their energy into the practice and to use the practice for their lives.
As a yoga practitioner I practice all styles because there are times in my life when embodying my masculine is the best medicine for my life. For a period I may just practice masculine forms, perhaps in tandem with martial arts and the result will be that my whole energy and business decisions and life decisions will reflect this. The practice is my nervous system software.
On the other hand, it’s currently fall and the seasons are becoming more yin and balanced. So I’m currently practice more of an integration of masculine and feminine practices.
Which isn’t to say any one day I might not go hard in a yang way. It means that on the whole there is more balance. What I’m offering and getting at is a kind of movement intelligence that is like eating with the seasons.
Yoga is skill in action. It is about meeting the energies of the day/environment/season/cycle with intelligence.
Movement is medicine… it is a software for your bodymind. So as one becomes more intelligent with movement medicine they will have a repitoire of practices that prepare them for any energy. This is why yoga has practices that range from intense and hot to yoga nidra which is sleep yoga.
If you want an all natural medicine that can prepare your bodymind for any challenge, there’s a yoga for that.
That’s why I studied and regularly cycle between kriya, yin, vinyasa, kundalini, hatha, embodied flow, nidra, among others also including varieties of qigong, dance, martial arts, running, weight lifting, etc
Movement medicine and intelligence.
Now, it should be noted that my energetic type is balanced between masculine and feminine. There are individuals whose energy falls more towards one polarity.
Typically these individuals will pick a movement medicine that suits their type…it’s not that other styles wouldn’t bolster benifits, but if your extremely yang, a yin class may be difficult. Though…It may be their best medicine at the right time, if they are willing.
Final thoughts.
How you move and breath is a software for your bodymind.
Example. Got a bunch a linear tasks on your to-do list then go for a long linear jog.
Have a bunch of tensions from the work week and want to unwind on the weekend? Dance into freedom and ease.
Feeling soft and out of your power? Hit the punching bag.
Increase your movement intelligence by strategically thinking about your day/tasks and how you want to show up and choosing practices to embody that energy.
Each time you do you’ll strengthen your resolve, will, and movement intelligence.
If you’d like to learn more, consider booking a session today and learning to develop your movement intelligence
zkcoaching.ca 