Lisa, have you practiced Breathwork or pranayama before (Shamanic Breathwork and the Shamanic Healing Initiatory Process)?
At first I’m kind of like, “Hmmm, no not really” I told myself. “That’s an interesting question, but no.” Then as I was sitting here breathing, I felt into how I’ve always been attracted to prana, to breathwork. I remember experiencing it in Bikram yoga; I did Bikram yoga for a very long time when it first came to San Antonio, which is at least 15 years when Lisa and Steve took over or acquired the studio in Alamo Heights and have continued to grow. So, breath. I think it was that. And the getting hot, the heating up the body which I still do- I’m in the bath (chuckles), heating up and breathing- so I’m still doing it.
I remember an experience when I was studying ayurveda at the California College of Ayurveda, and I went out and it was my first experience of kundalini prana. We were all sitting there and we did this intense long breathwork that went up the chakras. I don’t even know how long we breathed. I was definitely out of it and I got very sick. Very sick. I think I went into detox. It was the first time that I did that kind of breathwork and my body went into detox and it started shedding and letting go.
In 2012 I was introduced by my very good friend, who is on the board of Third Eye Tribe, Becky Rosenthal who also does body work and energy work, to David Elliott and his technique of pranayama. I flew to Los Angeles for (I want to say) four sessions. It ended in the desert, in the beautiful Joshua Tree desert where (laughs) oh my god I’m just remembering this. Oh it was hilarious! It’s so funny, because I broke out in song in the canyon! I broke out in song. One, it’s my fear, or it’s my story: that I don’t sing, I can’t sing. Although I’ve been singing a lot lately! I sing a lot. I record myself, I sing. I sing in the bathtub, I drum and sing. I look back to where I was then and I broke out in song! We were all being creative and sharing from the big large rocks, it was beautiful.
So I think that’s such a beautiful question. It’s really made me feel into my roots with breathwork. It’s always been there. Even with giving birth to my children. Someone asked me the other night at breathwork, “Oh so the breath breathing in and out, in and out, cyclical breath- like lamaze.” I was like, “Yes, that’s it! Find your rhythm and breathe.” And I love it when my teacher says, “Breathe til you’re surprised.”