Italian Program Series

The Breath Inside The Breath

Facilitators: Ellen Watson & Pius Leutenegger

Kabir : 17th Century Indian Poet

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.

You will not find me in Indian Shrine Rooms, nor in Mosques,

Not in masses, not in kirtans, neither in Synagogues nor in Cathedrals

Not winding your own legs around your neck and eating nothing but vegetables.

If you really look for me, my shoulder is against yours; you will find me in the tiniest house of time.

Kabir asks, “Student, What is God?”

God is The Breath Inside The Breath

Join Ellen and Pius, both elders with years of inquiry into the nature of being human, for an immersion into and an exploration of following your breath, activating your breath, falling in love with your breath, dancing with your breath, moving with your breath.

Ellen writes, “Regardless of the practice I studied in my early years at Esalen, breath was integral to the body of work..indeed, foundational.  From Yoga, to Qi Gung, to 5Rhythms® and other forms of Conscious Dance, to Sound Healing, to Singing Gestalt™, to Esalen®Massage, Grof®Breathwork, Clinical Hypnosis, Emilie Conrad and Susan Harper’s Continuum®, to Gestalt Awareness Practice….and onward goes the list, each involved activating, following, and engaging breath.

In addition to being ‘the breath of life’...without which no human can sustain life, our inhalation is called ‘Inspiration or ‘bringing Spirit in’.  Our inspiration leads to our larger metaphysical Inspirations, to our Epiphanies, both large and small.  

Of equal value is learning to empty oneself of breath upon Exhalation, to abide in the space between the breaths, before consciously refilling all lobes of our lungs with Inhalation; thus riding the rhythm of breath inward and outward.  Foundational to Mindfulness Meditation, is riding this rhythm of breath.  Adding to this breathing rhythm comes sensory awareness, allowing awareness and attention to shift from the five physical senses of hearing, seeing, tasting, touching and smelling, to internal sensing of our belly, heart and head centers. This continuum of awareness and attention is foundational to numerous of our practices.

In this program you will be guided by Ellen and Pius in  various practices, from early morning sitting with sensory awareness meditation, to  walking and moving meditation practices, to the Vibrance Collective’s Practice of Dance, Sound & Song, through a facilitated session of Grof® Breathwork, to the more amniotic “Jellyfish’ or Continuum breath and sound palate.  Another day might include Breath and Sound influenced by the Neo Reichian map. Yet another might include restorative yoga and yoga nidra at the day's end, a perfect invitation to deeply resting throughout the nighttime.

And, in our hands-on healing practice, “Touching Essence”  we begin with awareness of our own breath, and giving attention to our partner’s. This practice continues throughout the session and indeed informs the session. Touching Essence is a multi sensory, multicultural, neo-shamanic approach to healing through touch. We will introduce Touching Essence to you during this program.

With this rich and full palate, our days will have the common thread of Breath, of consciously Breathing, while we explore and experience these time honored practices.