Anthony Abbagnano – Conscious Breathwork to Renew Your Wellbeing

The more you look inside your own being, the more you realize that your outer world is reflected within you. All the conflicts, pain, and suffering in the world exist in you too — in each of us — and most of the things that disturb us do so because they show us parts of ourselves that we may not want to look at, let alone embrace with the unconditional love of a parent.

As such, we’ll begin our journey by creating a safe and tender space for each other. Guided by Anthony with a dash of dry humor and a pinch of mischief, you’ll gather purpose, sharpen your will and focus, and cast off, using your breath to unlock new doors of perception.

You’ll be invited to use the chat box as a “pool of meaning” in which you’ll be welcome to express your thoughts, feelings, confessions, commitments, and sovereign claims.

We’ll explore the ancient concept of the Mandorla (an almond-shaped frame surrounding an icon), and how we get to play an active role in the healing of humanity by learning how to embrace polarity, and bring the opposites into convergence.

In this module, you’ll discover:

• How the breath can be your best friend
• A sense of bonding and connection with a like-minded community
• A readiness to embark on a new journey of discovery
• A new perspective on old viewpoints
• A fresh sense of purpose and direction that opens doorways for you
• A 35- to 40-minute breathwork session (using the conscious connected breath method) to explore these topics more deeply
• And a breath awareness practice that you can apply daily: The Balloon Breath

You have taken a particular path to being here. You’ve felt a call to change something — whether it’s to explore and connect with people of like mind, or to make big changes in your life.

Each time you respond to a call in your life, things start to happen — things that help you, things that stand in your way, or a mix of both. The strength of your will is often crucial to getting where you want to be.

But will alone is not enough. Our human journey takes a particular combination of will and surrender, and learning when to apply each can make the difference between peaceful closure and a debilitating sense of failure.

A key to moving forward with fierce grace is gathering the tools and the aid you need to get the most out of your journey. So in this module, you’ll examine what’s giving you guidance in THIS moment.

And you’ll discover:

• A new perspective that helps you meet challenges with patience and power
• What it’s like to move into the role of creator
• How to know when to push and when to rest
• Why your trials are not personal
• A renewed sense of ease, and an ability to interpret “disadvantage” as opportunity for growth
• A 35- to 40-minute breathwork session (using the conscious connected breath method) to explore these topics more deeply
• And a new breath awareness practice that you can apply daily: The Transformer Breath Level 1

As we open up the chambers to our inner worlds, as we confront the guardians of the shadow realms, we discover past versions of ourselves that have lain hidden behind our traumas.

As we appreciate the broken nature of our beings, and our human struggle to reach wholeness, we understand that striving for oneness can never bring a result until we become one within ourselves first. After all, how can a fragmented part of who you are experience true unity?

This module will be devoted to reclaiming your inner child, to making a gentle but deep journey to the events that caused you to harden against threat, to devise coping systems that are now outdated and that hold you back from your fullness. Your opportunity is to retrieve the “lost one” that has been abandoned — the little one who was wounded by the sharp edges of life.

Through a special Alchemy Meditation, we’ll make the journey back through the years, and build a bridge over which all broken parts of the self can converge back into the orchestra of your inner being. Separated from each other for years or decades, these parts of yourself will get to play together again.

Using awareness of the Internal Family Systems model, and informed by Anthony’s life exploration of inner child work, we’ll move through a simple three-step process to restore inner integrity.

And you’ll discover:

• A renewed connection with your inner child
• A restored sense of hope
• A tool for presence and equanimity
• The understanding of Inner Leadership
• Why hostile behaviour is not born of hostility
• A 35- to 40-minute breathwork session (using the conscious connected breath method) to explore these topics more deeply
• And a new breath awareness practice that you can apply daily: Transformer Breath Level 2

In this module, we’ll explore how our shadow self hides our greatest gifts.

If unconditional love is an ideal, that’s only because we haven’t learned to love ourselves in all our conditions. Underneath the blanket of anger, fear, and shame lie many jewels, but they can’t be appreciated if they’re smothered by our shadow self. This session, we’ll celebrate the raw energy that exists in this space, its benign nature, and its contribution to our capability and creativity.

This is a welcome to the dark side, where we’ll puncture the illusion that the shadow can be restrained, hidden, or stifled.

The shadow will out us if we don’t embrace it, so we’ll explore it in safety and confidentiality together. We’ll give it some air, so it doesn’t need to lie fetid. We’ll give it the chance to shout out its objection to containment, and to reveal the wondrous raw power that lies within it.

With exercises that are fun, tender, and revealing, you’ll uncover your most precious self, and discover:

• An appreciation of your own darkness
• A new understanding of shame and forgiveness
• A surge of personal power and will
• Loving ways to laugh at yourself with affection
• A deeper appreciation of your true creativity
• A 35- to 40-minute breathwork session (using the conscious connected breath method) to explore these topics more deeply
• And a new breath awareness practice that you can apply daily: The Combustion Breath

As we approach our spiritual maturity, we are often tempted by the ego to question our value in the world. If our self-worth has been nourished by how others see us, we are likely to enter the “great suffering” of clinging to youth in any way we can. Fast cars and facelifts cannot stop what nature wants to happen, but they can stop us dead in our tracks. Rooted in our insecurities, we see the lines on our faces and our changing bodies as condemnation, rather than the expression of the richness of our human story.

Mastery can only be embraced when we are at peace with who we are and the changes we go through. What do you need to “drop” to travel lightly towards your mastery?

In this module, we move towards Kingship and Queenship — to discover the treasure that lies inside us behind the challenges we face. We learn to embrace our maturity, to include the broken parts of who we are, and to be ready to accept our changing lives — and bodies — as we show the signs of age.

We will explore where true beauty lies.

And in a world that so sadly lacks wisdom and leadership, what is your role? This is the age where people look up to us, whether we’re aware of it or not. It’s also a chance to plant seeds of hope for humanity, to lead by example.

In order to carry the mantle offered to us, we need to master the balance of humility and leadership. What is the gift you bring as a result of the challenges you’ve faced?

In this module, you’ll discover:

• How to cross the midlife chasm
• New ways to understand menopause (male and female) and seize its opportunities
• How to accept the beauty of being who you are
• A fresh chance for individuation
• The pathway to mentorhood
• A 35- to 40-minute breathwork session (using the conscious connected breath method) to explore these topics more deeply
• And a new breath awareness practice that you can apply daily: The Hummingbird Breath

Discovering the treasure is well and good, but if you’re stuck on the island, it’s not worth much! It has to be brought back for our journey to be complete — but this entails travels through temptation, distraction, and risk.

Our claim to mastery is only as valid as our commitment to service. What legacy would you wish to leave for those who follow you?

The best way to sustain our accomplishments may be through our own Servant Leadership, but to be ready, we have to face our own reckoning. What does this mean to you? What are the resources you’ll need for this phase of your life? What does atonement and forgiveness mean to you?

The exercise of this class will be to write a letter to your current self from your deathbed. As you imagine that moment, and dwell in it, what would you write back to yourself as you are now?

In this module, you’ll explore:

• Individuation and the power of discernment
• The power of courageous truth and fierce grace
• The will to embrace uncertainty as your learning
• A compassionate understanding of your protective systems
• A compassionate embrace of your ego
• A 35- to 40-minute breathwork session (using the conscious connected breath method) to explore these topics more deeply
• And a new breath awareness practice that you can apply daily: The Transformer Breath Level 3

In this module, we’ll celebrate. As you look back on your point of departure, you’ll take stock of the differences you’ve noticed along the way. This is also a powerful last chance to shed what no longer serves you so you don’t have to carry it anymore.

As we travel the path from mastery to the mystery of death, we get to embrace our aging that will take us toward our final passage. What aspects of ourselves do we need to embrace? What of the legacy we’ve created? Will our attention be consumed by the diminishing sense of power that comes from overidentification with our body, our successes, or our failures? Can we learn to accept our aging with grace, or must we maintain supreme effort to stay in denial?

As we navigate these realms together, both elders and the young will have a chance to find solace and support to consider that much of what we have done in the first part of our lives will be what we have to account for in the last part of our lives. Now more than ever, we need the benefit of radical acceptance, the ability to hold all of who we are with compassionate embrace.

There may be a gentle sadness at the closure of our course, but also a joy to be ready for our new lives, together with resolute determination to make conscious choices about what will come next.

And as you stand in your power, you’ll step away knowing exactly how to keep the echo going.

In this module, you’ll discover:

• A newfound sense of purpose (and accountability!)
• Refreshed will and inspiration
• Self-acceptance and the ability to surrender
• How to embrace the inevitable with grace — and the breath
• A changed life view, as a humble creator
• A 35- to 40-minute breathwork session (using the conscious connected breath method) to explore these topics more deeply
• And a new breath awareness practice that you can apply daily: The 27 Breath

Shame. The word itself weighs heavy in the belly. And when our belly is heavy, our breathing is impaired. The decreased breath and the shame block us from flowering into our fullest being. Yet we have become so used to hiding it from ourselves that we’re unable to experience a true sense of inner peace.

Instead of living with the burden — and the consequences it creates — what if there’s another choice? Anthony discusses how you can use breathwork to review and renew the scripts of life that you live by, and make conscious choices to change them — and transform yourself into the richest version of you that you can be.

In this session, you’ll:

• Experience a renewed sense of hope, and understand that there is another way
• Learn to think differently
• Discover your ability to transform shame into gain

Jessica Dibb is the founder, spiritual director, and principal teacher of the Inspiration Consciousness School, dedicated to promoting personal, relational, and planetary wellness. Over the past two decades, she has designed and facilitated unique workshops, classes, and ongoing experiential trainings grounded in a highly integrated model of psycho-spiritual healing and development to support self-actualization.

Ever heard the expression “drink coffee and do stupid things more quickly?” This short breath practice will not just wake you up, it will get you in the fast lane without the negative side effects.

Sometimes we can’t help bring the problems of the day home with us. Use this short practice to create closure with the pace of the day. Come home to your centre and resource yourself and those you love with this powerful, yet balancing breathwork.

This little book is designed to give you the tools you need to get back in control of your life. The more familiar you become with these practices, the more you’ll rely on them as your greatest allies, as each life situation that puts you out of sorts can be improved simply with the use of conscious breath.