This reflection has turned up in my inbox so many times. You’re not alone! 

The forward facing part of my work is science and physiology. I help people expand their vocabulary to include the basics of neurology so they can deconstruct stress/anxiety/trauma. But the truth is, these are just gateway drugs to a deeper experiment I am conducting. 

I believe we are underachieving—that our brains are working suboptimally. Western meditation practices are trying to help us expand our capabilities, but there’s still something missing. There’s a gap.

It turns out that unanswered questions in the West have curious answers in the East. For example: Our ears are capable of perceiving almost 1,500 separate sounds, but in the West we listen to music that falls only within 7 ¼ octaves (that’s just 58 sounds). If you listen to eastern microtonal instruments, you’ll immediately recognize what we’re missing. As I’ve learned to play the saz (not fluently), guzcheng, and ehru (kind of) it’s been fascinating to relax into “new” sounds. This same “gap” exists in the brain, breath, and body connection. The equation I developed helped me better define this gap—and understand how to close it.

The connection, or pattern, among the brain, breath, and connection is only the beginning. Patterns exist in every system—from the bees, to the worms, to how many plants fruit, to people. Since 2011, I’ve been taking intentional note of these patterns, as well as the archetypal patterns of humanity. (Archetypes have ancient origins and have been spun lightly in our last century by Carl Jung and Carolynn Myss). Studying archetypes creates a blueprint of the forces of enthusiasm. 

Enthusiasm defined by Webster is “possession by God.” I like to consider it the force of life that flows into you when you are timeless, not hungry, insatiably present in the thing you are doing. Italian artisans had another word for it—genius—and described it as the muse that lived within the walls of the studio and who would occasionally embody the artist who would show up and do the work consistently

My theory is that by both mastering the rhythms of the brain, breath and body and building our archetypal blueprint, we can stop “losing energy” and access the grander abilities we actually possess. If even a percentage of humanity had these tools, we would have problem solvers, creative thinkers, inventors, athletes with full focus, artists with infinite access to their imaginative capacities, business owners navigating their stress like professional sailors on the winds of life. This is the world I am trying to construct for the future generations. Please join me.

In Brain & Breath Connection, I outline the chronological connection between your brain, breath, and body that has been happening since your inception. The rhythm of your breath correlates to your brain wave state and the tension level in your body. 

For example, let’s pretend a big explosion goes off outside. There would be an immediate response in your body (that I outline in detail in Brain & Breath Connection) that makes you mouth-gasp for air into your upper chest. Now, let’s pretend you’re sitting down in your favorite pajamas, your house is perfectly clean, all your work is done, and you have your favorite beverage with you. The body naturally does a deep long sigh. 

These natural breath responses are coordinated with brain and body rhythms. By seeing these patterns laid out physiologically, you become a witnesser of the pattern and can start to influence it. For instance, when we breathe at a rate of 2-4 breaths per minute for 4 minutes, we begin to pull our bodies into a deeper brain wave frequency. For advanced students, we flirt with maintaining 1 breath per minute for extended periods of time.

By creating flow in stuck tissues, there’s an epic change in the body, joints, skin, digestion, and brain. 

What I have witnessed in myself, my clients, and my certified teachers, is that the fascia flowing can cause the brain to go into deeper brain wave states without tension. We’ve unlocked the ability to dream, enter intuitive states we experienced as a child, and enjoy more extraordinary states of meditation. 

My research and observations suggest that fascia adhesions create electrical impingements that obstruct our ability to flow and ground  brain waves through the body. When we open the flow in the fascia, we can experience higher brain states for longer.

Primarily, I don’t encourage hyperventilation that activates the stress response. For more details, please check out the FAQs on the Mighty Breath page.

Fascia is tube-shaped, collagen-based connective tissue that embraces our organs, blood vessels, bones, muscles, and nervous system. Over time and with injury, the fascia can be become bound, contributing to pain, mobility challenges, and poor cognition.

The most significant difference is that my technique is gentle to avoid tearing, ripping, or shredding the fascia fibers. For more details, please visit the FAQs on the Fascia Flow page.

I developed the equation you’ll see throughout my work, so there’s no book that reflects this information (yet!). But I’ve leaned on the many discoveries of researchers, scientists, artists, architects, such as:

-Fascia the Tensional Network of the Human Body by Carla Stecco

-Anatomy Trains by Tom Meyers

-Architecture of Human Living Fascia by Jean-Claude Guimberteau

-Yoga, Fascia, Anatomy, and Movement by Joanna Avison

-The Genius of Flexibility by Robert Cooley

-The Spark in the Machine by Dan Keown

-The Subtle Body by Cindy Dale

-The Endless Web by R Louis Schultz

-The Web That Has No Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk

-The Hidden Messages in Water by Dr Masuro Emoto

-The Five Elements of Self Healing by Jason Elias

-Fourth Phase of Water by Gerald Pollack

-Cells, Gels, and the Engine of Life by Gerald Pollack

-The Rainbow and the Worm by MaeWan Ho

-Energy Medicine by James Oschman

-Rolfing and Physical Reality by Dr Ida Rolf

Also, see experiments done by: 

-Dr. BJ Palmer

-Nina Kulagina

-Dr. Carla Stecco 

-Dr. Masuro Emoto (especially the rice experiment) 

-Jonathan Goldman (sound experiments on fascia)

-Nigel Stanford

-Arnold Ehret 

-Dr. Steven Levine

-Tom Meyers

-Coach Chong Xie 

And architecture/sculpture by:

-Kenneth Snelson 

-Buckminster Fuller