Sekhem Conscious Breathing: Staying Present Through Expansion

One Hour of Conscious Breathing

The one-hour breathwork practice is simple. For one hour, breathe consciously, followed by a half hour of integration. The breath is not exaggerated or forced. It is safe, natural breathing, like the breathing that happens during sleep.

At night, when the mind goes off and the body takes over, the body knows how to breathe. This deeper, rejuvenating breath is needed in order to feel good in the morning. If the body breathed during sleep in the same way it often does during the day, the result would not be the same. There are many breathwork methods, but this practice returns attention to the way the body naturally breathes when the mind is not directing it.

The essential instruction is to remain conscious of every single breath. Make each breath a full, complete breath, without strain or exaggeration. For many people, paying attention to every breath for an hour is something they have never experienced before.

The Body’s Restorative Breath

The breath has a healing quality because it changes the chemistry of the body. When there is a headache, doing the breathwork may shift it by moving that chemistry. The practice is not based on forcing an unusual breath. It follows the body's own restorative rhythm.

Patrick Zeigler learned this through observing a man in a coma. A woman asked whether he could come and do a healing for her father, who was in a hospital. Patrick went to the hospital and saw that the man was not on a respirator. He was simply lying there in the coma, while those around him seemed to be waiting to see whether he would die. They did not want to continue the situation indefinitely, but they also did not want to actively end his life.

Patrick placed his hands on the man and watched his breathing. What he felt and observed showed him exactly how the body was meant to breathe for healing. The same pattern can be seen in animals. When an animal becomes sick, it lies down, and its breathing expands. This natural expansion is part of the body's healing process.

The breathwork uses this same principle while adding conscious attention. The breath remains natural, but awareness stays with it.

From Sustained Breath to Deep Peace

When every breath is followed with attention, an awakening, samadhi-type experience can arise. For someone who follows the instructions, this may be an experience that ordinarily could take years of meditation practice to accomplish. The experience is not permanent. It usually lasts between five and fifteen minutes, but during that time it can become a state of total bliss.

Patrick remembers being in a Kundalini Yoga ashram for about a year. The practitioners rose at four in the morning, took cold showers, did yoga, and practiced many forms of breathing. In India, a cold shower can feel good, but in the United States during winter it becomes a difficult discipline. The morning routine involved repeatedly pushing through discomfort and effort.

After that year of Kundalini Yoga work, Patrick took a course in this breathwork. In one hour, he experienced more than he had experienced during the entire year of that practice. The point is not to create a permanent condition or to compare disciplines. The point is that a simple, consistent breath can open a direct experience.

The experience can be remembered. On a difficult day, the breathwork gives a way to shift the state of the day. With familiarity, the one-hour practice can become shorter. It can become possible in ten minutes, and the morning meditation can also lead to the same state as understanding develops.

The key is direct recognition. When the vibration is not felt, breathe. When there is a desire to connect, return to the breath. Once the way is understood, deep peace can be entered with increasing certainty. Through meditation, closing the eyes and returning to Source can be enough to remember and enter that peace instantaneously. The beauty of the work is its simplicity.