Breath of Life
Scientific synthesis of breathing. A journalist and modern science takes on the task of delving into ancient traditions to discover how the way we breathe affects the way we feel, think, act and its impacts on overall health. The results are remarkable.
Purpose
To gain a comprehensive understanding of how the way we breathe affects every aspect of our physical, mental, emotional, and psychological wellbeing; and learn to apply ancient breathing techniques to improve overall health and everyday living.
“Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.”
- James Nestor Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. Riverhead/Penguin Random House May 26, 2020
· We will meet online via Zoom every Thursday from 1800-1900PST
· We will be reading the book Breath by James Nestor
· All participants will have the chance to communicate ideas or questions regarding Breath, and discuss the effects of the breathing techniques learned within using group chat on WhatsApp throughout the duration of the Breath of Life circle.
Veteran Rites is happy to provide support to participants needing support in requiring a copy of Breath by James Nestor. Please email Ryan Mielcarek at council@veteranrites.org with your request.
Bio of MItchell R. Brookman
I am an enthusiastic 34-year-old balanced adult male, very happily married with two children. I surf every chance I get and enjoy spending meaningful time with my family, and outdoors. I am also a combat veteran with two tours in Iraq, resulting in four broken vertebrae, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress. I was medically retired on December 7, 2012, and within a few months, I was hospitalized for three weeks suffering from a seizure disorder. A week after being released from the hospital I had a massive seizure resulting in three strokes and a cardiac arrest. My ex-wife who was a combat medic found me dead on our couch. She resuscitated my heart, and I suffered six more cardiac arrests within the following hours. My family was told I had no brain activity and to make preparations. I woke up four days later, partially paralyzed, unable to care for myself, and told I would never walk again. I never gave up hope, I made a miraculous physical and cognitive recovery, however psychologically my world was shattered, I was shattered. For seven years I lived in nerve shaking anxiety and depression, oftentimes suicidal, with severely addictive and self-destructive coping strategies. Enduring several life-threatening illnesses and undergoing nine major surgeries, I consistently fought to stay alive. Believing that I would one day be healthy. Through all of the traumas, and illness I would literally tell myself I may not be better today, but I might be better tomorrow. This attitude kept me alive. Through Veterans Rites Rite of Return, I found a healing that defies medical science. I am currently a whole and balanced healthy adult with no physical, cognitive, or psychological deficits from my past. I am now helping to build veterans and first responders outreach program with a close friend, the Searching for Warriors Foundation.
