Ceremony Meditation
60-minute group session, $25; ceremonymeditation.com
Coach Daniela Gil has students fill their lungs to about 80 percent capacity—just beyond a standard inhalation—then let the air escape at a regular pace. After seven minutes of this, everyone holds an inhalation as long as they can, which “supports circulation of energy through the body,” says Gil, who trained with master breathwork guru Dan Brulé. This is followed by a few minutes of normal breathing. The process is repeated two to five times; participants should soon experience a calm mind and enhanced clarity. Attendees wear eye masks during the class, but for those who can’t fully relax around other people, private sessions are available.
The Art of Living
Three-day (nine-hour) workshop, $395; artofliving.org
This nonprofit, which has locations in 154 countries, teaches Sudarshan Kriya, a technique that’s said to increase feelings of well-being through rhythmic breaths at varying speeds. (The name means “proper vision by purifying action” in Sanskrit.) New York-based coach Ruchika Lal, a graduate of the organization’s 400-hour training program, says the sessions pair breathing with yoga and meditative practices.
BlissPoint Breathwork
90-minute private sessions, from $350; blisspointbreathwork.com
A thumping megaclub doesn’t sound like the most relaxing place, but BlissPoint instructor Lisa de Narvaez insists the house music has its benefits. “When we listen to a rhythm, our heart and our breath begin to sync with it,” she says. As the music pounds, Narvaez’s clients are instructed to breathe through their mouths in a continuous “wavelike” motion, originating in the belly and expanding into the chest, with no pause between inhale and exhale. In addition to working at the company’s studio in Los Angeles, BlissPoint instructors attend to participants at Summit Series entrepreneur conferences as well as Burning Man-style retreats run by the Habitas festival series in Ibiza, Spain; Tulum, Mexico; and Simi Valley, Calif.
