Sekhem: Gentle Continuous Breathing and the Integration of Samadhi

Sekhem Breathwork and Samadhi

Teachings by Patrick Zeigler.

Breathwork can be a powerful culmination of the Sekhem practice. It is one of Patrick's favorite methods and is sometimes reserved for the end of a longer process because it can feel like a grand finale. Its possibilities should not become an expectation, however. Many factors influence the experience, and some can disturb the process. It can be life-changing, but that is not a guaranteed outcome.

Following the instructions is central to this approach. Within this teaching, doing so is understood to create a strong possibility of entering what is called samadhi.

There are different ways of entering that state: through breathing, through the mind, and possibly through drugs or other substances. The teaching identifies completely calming the mind as the safest route. With breathwork, physiological changes are understood to create an environment in which samadhi can arise.

An experience reached through breathing is not necessarily permanent. It offers an encounter with the state and a recognition of what is possible through the breath.

Gentle Breathing and Conscious Rest

Many forms of breathwork are forceful. They may be useful exercises, but this method is different: the breathing is very gentle. Its reference is the natural breath of deep sleep.

Sleep is often recognizable through the sound and rhythm of breathing, especially when someone snores. The body seems to take over. In this teaching, the fuller breath of sleep is associated with the mind getting out of the way, allowing the body to adjust, recuperate and rejuvenate after the day.

Usually this happens without conscious awareness. The distinction here is the possibility of remaining conscious. Within this understanding of samadhi, the body naturally returns to such a state each night, but the experience is not remembered because awareness has become unconscious.

Samadhi is described as a return to source. English does not fully convey the experience. It is also connected here with the delta experience, described earlier as the lowest brainwave state: peace, without form, time or thought. This is the bliss spoken of in yogic practice.

Through meditation, access to this state can become quicker and increasingly lasting. Breathwork and meditation offer different approaches to that same possibility.

Emotional Preparation and Integration

Emotional release, clearing and energy healing can prepare the way for breathwork. Earlier work may already have opened experiences of peace. When these processes are brought together, they support one another and can take the experience to another level.

Those who have not taken part in the preceding emotional work can still participate. Breathwork can work well on its own, and remains one of the strongest methods in Patrick's own experience.

The state itself is timeless. It might last five minutes, ten minutes or half an hour, but while within it, there may be no sense of how much time has passed.

The process described here leaves an additional hour and a half afterward for integration. If the experience is still unfolding when the guided process ends, remain with it and use that space to integrate.