February 9, 2023

From podcast: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/podcast/shine-anahata-ananda/

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:01:18] Podcast Sponsors

[00:05:24] Introduction

[00:10:25] Anahata Ananda's background

[00:15:59] Shamanic healing journey

[00:19:07] Becoming an instructor

[00:30:05] Podcast Sponsors

[00:35:34] The importance of breathwork

[00:49:42] The instruments used in shamanic healing

[00:55:31] Working with groups and companies

[01:02:06] The great Shine event in Sedona

[01:09:25] Things that are no in accordance to Christian faith

[01:19:03] How to take part in Sedona event

[01:21:16] Upcoming Event

[01:23:29] End of Podcast

Ben:  My name is Ben Greenfield. And, on this episode of the Ben Greenfield Life podcast.

Anahata:  Really what it comes down to whether it's individuals, couples, families or businesses, this is about internal attunement so that then whether it's lovemaking or as a parent or in your business in your personal professional life, you are attuned, you are aware, you are connected to whatever task comes next, whether that's business planning or date night, whether that is creative troubleshooting, a challenge within the family or the finances or your health, more of you and more consciousness is available and accessible. That's exciting because now we're living on purpose and we're able to solve, troubleshoot, and amplify in the direction that we want because we're all connected and there's internal alignment.

Ben:  Faith, family, fitness, health, performance, nutrition, longevity, ancestral living, biohacking, and a whole lot more. Welcome to the show.

Who doesn't want to start their day with superfoods? Hmm, superfoods that don't taste like crap. I mean, really you'd think that if were to put a bunch of vitamins and minerals and add antioxidants and stuff like moringa and ashwagandha and chlorella and all these hyper green alkalizing detoxifying superfoods that support the blood and the healthy response to stress and help as an anti-inflammatory and a hormone balancer to the body that we would all taste drinking and nasty bitter salad. But, the folks at Organifi have cracked the code. I'm drinking 11 different superfoods all at once, an absolute culinary adventure in good way, meaning that not only are their products 100% USDA-certified organic, jam-packed with all the stuff you'd normally pay, book a bucks for it like juicery, but it tastes amazing. I listed a few of the ingredients, but it also includes spirulina, beets, turmeric, mint, wheatgrass, lemon, coconut water, incredible energy boost, it's like drinking, I don't know, probably a few dozen salads. It's my highly scientific analysis.

Anyways, you get 20% off this stuff. You go to organifi.com/Ben. That's Organifi with an i.com/Ben.

Alright, so I'm a fan of putting a huge handful of blueberries in my morning smoothie. I'm a fan of eating pomegranates. Those are two things that I eat a lot of for my mitochondria. But, what a lot of people don't realize is these compounds, they produce postbiotics. Postbiotics are something that your body makes during digestion. It's like you got prebiotics that metabolize stuff, then they make post-biotics. Well, there's one postbiotic that they've recently discovered, it's called urolithin A. It's an anti-aging postbiotic. It kind of upgrades your body's cellular power grid, meaning it's amazing for your mitochondria. Now, clinical studies have shown that 500 milligrams of this stuff alone significantly increases muscle strength and muscle endurance with no other change in lifestyle.

So, here's the deal. There's this company called Timeline. They've figured out how to optimize the body's urolithin levels with three different products. They have a berry powder, that you can mix in your breakfast yogurt or your daily smoothie. They have a protein powder, which gives you all the muscle health benefits of whey protein added to the Mitopure. Then, they have soft gels, if you're on the run and you want a convenient grab-and-go choice. So, basically, they've figured out how to take all the stuff you get from blueberries, pomegranates, et cetera, and just concentrate it in high amounts into a powder and give you 10% off. So, you go to timelinenutrition.com/Ben. That's timelinenutrition.com/Ben. And, I highly recommend you start their starter pack that's got all three formats in. That's a good one to start with. So, check them out, timelinenutrition.com/Ben.

Let's talk nicotine, shall we? Everybody knows it's great for focus. I mean, you don't have to get it from cigarettes, but it is actually a pretty potent nootropic. I mean, it occurs naturally out of plants, most obviously the tobacco plant. You can get it without all the carcinogens. And, the way that you can get it and get it naturally from a company that makes natural products for people who want to use nicotine to relax or focus or unwind after a long day or boost the energy in the evening without keeping you up all night. It's this company called Lucy. They're modern oral nicotine company and they make gum and lozenges and pouches that are super tasty for any adults who are looking for the best most responsible way to consume their nicotine. And, it's a new year, so why not start it out by switching to a new nicotine product you can actually feel good about?

What you do is you go to Lucy.co. You can use promo code BEN20. I recommend their pomegranate, 2 or 4-milligram gum. That's the one I dig. I chew a couple pieces a day right now and it's amazing. Lucy.co and use promo code BEN20 at checkout. That's Lucy.co, use code BEN20 at checkout. Warning this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical, so be careful, my friends. Lucy.co and use promo code BEN20. Be mindful, be careful, but enjoy that little high that nicotine can give you because it's quite nice.

Hey, folks, what you are about to hear is an interview with my friend Anahata Ananda from Sedona. In the first part of this interview, you'll hear about her backstory and how she got into the unique form of breathwork and body alignment that she does down in Sedona and a little bit more about this really cool event that her and I have partnered up on to put on for you, March 10th through the 12th in Sedona. And, I'll put all the details for that at BenGreenfieldLife.com/Shine.

Got a little bit, I guess what I would describe as awkward towards the end as my own Christian beliefs kind of clashed with some of the things that were originally planned for that event like tarot card readings and some of the reiki healing and the shamanic healing journeys and some of the things that frankly I thought could potentially be confusing to you too or not really aligned with your own beliefs. And, I realize I have a wide range of listeners from a wide variety of religious and spiritual backgrounds, but I also have to be authentic to my own beliefs.

And so, after we recorded this podcast, I talked with Anahata and we decided that as a part of this big event that we're doing, we're actually going to make a couple of shifts just to make this a little bit more in alignment with what I'm comfortable with. So, tarot card readings were originally a planned part of this event and I'm not really convinced that tarot card readings and divination are something that I want to be involved with, so instead, we're replacing that with guided heart-brain alignment sessions. You may have heard of heart rate variability training. You may have even heard of the HeartMath Institute, which is the place for research and practice of heart rate variability training. They're going to have all their neurofeedback training equipment there that shows how to use software and monitoring to pair heartwave and brainwave shifts with breathing and meditation. Basically, you're going to learn how to achieve what's called heart-brain coherence, which is an amazing ninja skill to have for life for managing your nervous system. So, that's going to be cool.

The other thing that we are going to do is have a combination of what's called–well, it's called a cellular mind-body reset session. So, when you're at the event in the healing room space there at Shine, you're going to get to combine the BioMat, headphones with Hemi-Sync binaural beats, and aromatherapy for these deep rejuvenation sessions. And, we are replacing the reiki attunements with tachyon energy rods with that. Again, just to make it possibly a little bit less woo-woo and esoteric or whatever you want to call it, new agey but also really fantastic experience for you. 

So, we made those shifts after recording today's podcasts. And, I hope that makes those of you who are considering coming to this event coming to the VIP dinner with me and my family afterwards coming to Sedona to hike in between a little bit more palatable and interesting. And so, all of that's going to be at BenGreenfieldLife.com/Shine. It's coming up quick, March 10th through the 12th. So, get in while they're getting as good as they say. And, I hope to see you there.

Anahata, I want to welcome you back to the show.

Anahata:  As always, Ben. When we weave together, it just brings a smile to my face and warms my heart because we've had many journeys together. You've come to Sedona many times. And, each time, there's more magic, there's more depth and it's been so beautiful to watch your journey of transformation from when we first met and the shift in your energy as you've been really showing up to do your inner work to create more internal alignment and the willingness to go into shadow to go into imbalances and make a course correction humbly, graciously, courageously do the work. And, that's one of the things that I really appreciate about you that you go all in. And, not everybody does that. You historically have done that for sure with your fitness journey. And, it's so beautiful to watch you integrate emotional health and wellness as well.

Ben:  Well, when I first met you, I think I limped into your office as an Ironman triathlete obsessed with exercise and fitness. And, I think you met me kind of early on in my journey to realizing that that really wasn't the tippy top of the mountain. And so, I've certainly learned a lot since then. But, I remember after that first session with you, just like going under the hills behind your house and crying and sitting and asking myself a lot of tough questions. And so, there's something about what you do that really opens people up in terms of how they view themselves and the experience that they have with your breathwork.

And so, what I wanted to ask you actually from the get-go because I don't think I've ever really dug into, on the podcast at least, your history. I mean, we've had epic barbecues at your house and we've had breathwork sessions and we've talked a lot, but I want to learn a little bit more about your background and where you came from and how you can kind of came to develop the unique flavor of practice that you do now.

Anahata:  For me, it was the dark night of the soul that catalyzed my awakening, which is similar and common for a lot of people that are on the healing and awakening journey is that it often it is a pain, it is a catalyst, it's a diagnosis, a divorce, a death, a trauma where you got to do the work. And, for me, it was around 2000, a little bit before that where I was going through my dark night of the soul, I was going through a divorce, which I call a “marital liberation.”

Ben:  What'd you call it, a marital liberation?

Anahata:  Yeah, marital liberation. I had everything on paper, Ben, beautiful home, more bathrooms than people in the house, a big house, and twins like you, I had boy-girl twins that at the time were 2.5. And, I was not in the place my soul was meant to be. I had not done my inner healing work from traumas from childhood and young adulthood. And, I wasn't in alignment, there was a lot of sedating, there was a lot of working, a lot of unconscious communication in my relationship, a lot of blame, a lot of acting out on both sides and it just crumbled. And, in that process, I had a choice and I think what really happened is that having twins at that point when we were really divorcing, they were about three, it's like, “Look, if I don't get my shit together, it's going to flow downstream to my kids. If I don't make a change, if I don't do the inner work, if I don't release this rage and resentment and the guilt and the sorrow about the loss that I'm experiencing right now, the pattern of unresolved issues from my family bloodline is going to get passed on.” 

And, I knew at a heart and soul level that it was going to stop with me; however, traditional therapies were not working when I was going through counseling for our marriage. We were just getting at the tip of the iceberg and not at all dealing with the core issues and way too much in the shallow end that it was so frustrating we were just talking in circles and not getting anywhere and I'm like, “I cannot shift like this, this is not getting me anywhere.” And so, I sought out a shamanic healer.

Ben:  Where were you living at that time? Were you in Sedona?

Anahata:  I was living in Southern California at that time. And, a friend of mine recommended somebody in L.A., a shamanic healer in L.A., and I said, “Hey, I am desperate. I will try anything right now.” And, I was open to alternative things. I was into yoga and I was learning meditation. And so, I was really on this journey of getting my health together, but I had it and I had quit drinking, which was a really valuable choice. That was a real game changer for me so that when I was going through the dark night, I didn't have substance to lean on. And so, I felt the feelings instead of numbing them, which meant there was a lot of rage and sadness at the surface that then going into single parenting, I was like, “Look, I've got to release this for sure.” And so, when I went to my first shamanic healing journey with somebody in L.A. who's long since retired, this is 22 years ago, 23 years ago, the first emotion that came, Ben, was rage. And, what he did is he created a safe space for me to access that emotion without guilt or shame or oppressing those feelings because I was pissed, I was angry, I was hurt, but it wasn't just from the things that were happening in the marriage, it was from way before that childhood thing, young adult things, that had just been oppressed, and didn't have a safe space to process.

And, after the rage moved, which I could consider to be more fiery emotions, then the grief came which I considered to be more watery emotions, the sadness about the loss, the disappointments about how I wanted it to be, and the reality of the way it was. And so, I found that shamanic healing was profoundly impactful in my journey. What I felt was missing, when I went to my practitioner is that there was a lot of fire and not a lot of softness. So, I also sought out other healers that could bring tenderness and gentleness for the watery parts, for the wounded parts, that could help heal. There's a very powerful process of the emotional release, the anger or the sadness, but there's another piece that is really holding that tender place of the wound so that it can heal.

Ben:  When you say a shamanic healing journey, what is that exactly?

Anahata:  There's a lot of different forms of that. This one was getting on the table, and this particular healer working with different cue questions and allowing my subconscious to bring forward the answers, so different questions. He was using energy-clearing techniques, emotional release techniques in my belly, in different parts of my body to really get at the cellular trauma that was held in the body. So, triggering, he purposefully was going into places that would trigger the pain, the anger, the feelings in my body. And wow, I mean, he was so skillful, we could get to there very quickly. 

And so, I released a lot of that in that, but I felt what was missing was, “Hey, how can we go hold that inner child and be gentle with that part of you that is wounded?” And, I think the next big piece is the integration piece, which is, “Well, what are you learning? What are you re-establishing? What are you reclaiming that was lost in that process? Is it your voice? Is it your sovereignty? Is it your authenticity? What was lost in that experience, the trauma or the death, the divorce, the diagnosis? What created a fissure then because the release is just part of it?” Then, there's the tenderness of like it's okay and the softness that allows the healing. It's kind of like a Mother Mary vibration, Ben. There's the fiery shamanic energy that like, “Ah, let's get it out.” And then, there's this, “Okay, let me hold tenderness for the sadness.”

And then, there's another piece, okay, the integration. What are you reclaiming? What are you learning? What are you stepping into? What are you going to do differently? Where is their forgiveness? Where is their empowerment that can come from this? And, that's really where the activation happens. The release is just part of it. Because now, when you amend the soil, a new seed can grow and wholeness is returned, power grace intuition is returned. And, from there, that's really the catalyst for expansion and growth. And, that's the work that I do I call “shamangelic” because the shaman's not afraid to go into the shadow and stir it up. And, you know that with our work together like I'm not afraid to go into the darkness, I'm not afraid to be honest about it, I'm not afraid to face the fears, whatever we meet there can be addressed with consciousness and with tenderness and with courage. And, whatever's on the other side of that can also be met with compassion and forgiveness and grace. Alright, what are we going to do differently? What's going to change?

Ben:  Yeah. So, for you in terms of change, you went through this whole healing journey, when did you actually start to teach this stuff or become an instructor and the stuff? Was it right off the bat that you started spreading this to others or what did that look like?

Anahata:  First of all, I dove into my own healing. I went full force, not unlike yourself, it's like I was hitting that shamanic healing journeys, breathwork ceremonies. I went full-on in pulling towards me, the books, the teachers, the content, the ceremonies that really started going after my whole-body healing. I went into yoga, went to fasting and cleansing, neurolinguistic programming, meditation, working with different shamans on the land of Peru and North America. And, the truth is that whole situation catalyzed my soul path because I was like, “I want to study this. I want to learn this. I don't want this just for myself.” I was collecting so many tools and different modalities, and I started putting them together. And then, I started training in those modalities because it was a calling.

And, very quickly when I started training with different shamans and different spiritual teachers and master healers in emotional clearing, spiritual connection, meditation, yoga, all of these different things, it started to connect with me, it started to really deeply land. And, my healing gifts started to turn on. When I cleaned up my physical body, my emotional body, my mental body, my energy body, and my spiritual body, simultaneously. I was going after the cleansing of all of those things, which is really clearing all of the chakras to come back into alignment. 

What happened when I did that is that I decalcified my pineal and my pituitary glands, which are responsible for higher consciousness. And, what happened in that space is clairvoyance, being able to see, clairaudience, being able to hear, claircognizance, being able to know, and clairsentience, being able to feel, all kicked on for me simultaneously. So, it wasn't just that I was training in these different modalities, I was having access to soul blueprint and consciousness that was able to come in and help guide those modalities and intuitive spiritually guided way. And so, my gifts turned back on that had been dormant for decades. And so, it was really fast-tracked. And, that's when you do it all simultaneously: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic. It's really exciting. And, that's how I roll as I just went after it. And, the change, the amplification, the acceleration happened really fast for me. And so, I was learning all kinds of different things.

And then, I started my own healing practice where I was starting with what I call “shamangelic healing journeys” over 20 years ago. And, breathwork, I was trained in different breathwork modalities, and so I started facilitating breathwork and private healing sessions and I opened up a full-time practice. And, I've been doing it for over two decades now guiding tens of thousands of people through this process.

Ben:  You mentioned a couple of things as you were describing your history and how you came to practice the unique form of breathwork and healing that you do. Now, what was about the pineal gland, you mentioned that you decalcified your pineal gland. What's that mean exactly?

Anahata:  So, one of the things when we are asleep, meaning that we're not fully activating our higher consciousness. So, the pineal gland, which is associated with sixth chakra, it gets calcified from diet, it gets calcified from lack of use, and like a muscle that's not being used, it's like a pipe that just kind of begins to clog.

Ben:  Yeah. And, by the way, I've heard that fluoride is a huge issue too with calcification in the pineal gland, like they've done studies. I think most of the studies are rodent studies, but they've found that when they'll put animals on a fluoride-free diet that they see this regrowth of pineal gland cells and that in humans who consume a lot of fluoride and also a lot of chlorine get exposed to a lot of chlorine there seems to be an issue with things like melatonin production, this really powerful antioxidant in sleep-enhancing molecule that the pineal gland is largely responsible for producing that doesn't happen in the case of this calcification. 

And, it's really interesting that it develops these calcium spots, the same ways you can get a calcium scan score of your heart valves or your joints or breast tissue in women that's another problem. But, it's really interesting that the diet plays such a key role in this pineal gland calcification. And, you described how it's associated with the sixth chakra, so it can impact things like insight, your ability to meditate, your ability to focus. There's a lot that goes on when you don't care for that gland. I just don't think a lot of people are aware that you got to take care of it and aware that the huge role that fluoride can play and chlorine secondarily in that calcification process.

Anahata:  Yeah, the pineal is connected to the crown. And, that is are connected to divine consciousness, our 5D self. And so, exactly like you said with different substances, different pollutants, it can get calcified if we're not meditating and using that channel and otherwise putting water through that pipe on a daily basis. Then, it also begins to calcify if we're not detoxifying it with breath and with meditation and we're not getting blood flow to that area. And, literally calcified thoughts, that's why I say it's also the mental body because when we're in this place where our glands, the pineal and the pituitary glands, are being triggered by rage and trauma, we have a different chemical makeup in our brain which correlates to a different chemical makeup in our neural nervous system and our physical cellular body, it's all connected. 

And so, when I was starting to cleanse the physical body with all kinds of different fasting, when I started to cleanse, the emotional body with letting go of rage and anger and sadness and grief, then the energy starts to flow. When I started meditating and doing daily breathwork, now I'm opening those channels that can connect to higher consciousness.

Ben:  Yeah. The other one, by the way, in addition to meditation and breathwork that I think could be really helpful for the pineal gland. Well, there's two things that I know of. One is a lot of these electrical modalities like electrical medicine is a big up-and-coming modality that could be pretty effective like the old school rife frequencies that you see produced by some of these modern devices like a BioCharger or there's a company called Ammortal that has one called a Catalyst. The electrical frequencies seem to do a really good job activating the pineal gland. I have a BioCharger, for example, you can set it in pineal gland mode and it apparently helps to via electrical signals, decalcify the pineal gland. 

But then, the other one is light. They've actually dissected pineal glands and found they have a photoreceptors on them that get activated by light. And so, when light isn't getting collected from the retina, particularly the brilliance of sunlight, people wear a lot of sunglasses, they're indoors a lot, maybe they've never really experimented with sun gazing or large amounts of natural light exposure during the day, all of that seems to also impact the pineal gland. And, of course, the big issue besides being able to meditate and being able to almost focus in that state of meditation and produce important biochemicals like dimethyltryptamine, DMT. The other thing that can happen with the pineal gland calcification is a little bit of insomnia like a lot of sleep deficits and then migraines. Both of those can be heavily related to pineal gland calcification.

Anahata:  This is all part of the healing journey is stepping out of the calcification, the toxification that has happened from emotional as well as physical toxins and traumas. And, if we're not clearing those out of the body, over time, they stay. That's part of the journey is moving that out of the body emotionally and energetically with breathwork and other things, taking care of the physical body. Yes, sun gazing. Yes, breathwork. Yes, meditation. Yes, different breathing techniques that balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Yes to all of that. And, what that does, it activates our higher self, our higher consciousness. 

When we're trapped in the emotional and energetic bodies of the trauma, that becomes a block that doesn't allow us to experience higher states of love, higher states of joy, and vitality and vibrant health. And so, that's why I chose this route instead of more western psychotherapy is because I really wanted to get deep and emotionally energetically cleansed. And, that's where I'm so excited to go into those deeper places with people one-on-one or in group settings to say, “Hey, if you are ready to step into truth, if you are ready to feel the fullest capacity of love, if you are wanting to return back to wholeness and to embrace your soul's fullest potential, we've got to go in and do some cleanup.” And, most of us have some residue because we're not trained in western society to clean as we go, to forgive as we go, to grieve as we go, and to have a safe space for anger, rage or sadness to be processed. 

And, I think this is one of the most powerful things that is happening now is that there is this openness and more of a common approach that is allowing and talking about emotional release and grief where before decades, not that long ago, decades ago for sure and on our parent's generation for sure that was shamed. And now, there is this new opening that is saying, yes, process your feelings. Yes, look at your shadow. Yes, heal your trauma.

Ben:  I don't think it's any secret, especially for those of you who have read my cookbook that I guzzle extra virgin olive oil. I use it in everything. Not only is it a myth that you're not supposed to cook with olive oil because extra virgin olive oil actually has a bunch of flavanols and polyphenols in it that allow it to be pretty heat stable, even for things like sauteing, baking, broiling, et cetera, but the health benefits of this stuff, I mean as far as lowering risk of heart disease, helping prevent type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, obesity. I mean, it's basically zero carb, low carb, ketogenic, friendly to a paleo lifestyle, a cornerstone of the longevity-enhancing Mediterranean diet, and as any chef will tell you, that's where the flavor's at. And, a really good extra virgin olive oil has amazing flavor. 

The problem with the ones that you buy at the grocery store is they're not fresh. After six months, the polyphenols and antioxidants in olive oil start to degrade. And, if you actually look at the bottle label at the grocery store of the olive oil that you're probably buying right now, it's older than six months, it's in plastic, it's not in that dark glass container. And, if they're already older than six months at the time that you buy them, that means they've sat in storage, then in shipping, then in a warehouse, then on store shelves, even years growing stale and rancid before you even put them in your cart, and then a lot of them have extra bad oils added to them, particularly canola oil. 

So, I go straight to the source and get not only the world's most delicious artisanal olive oil but real fresh, the real stuff extra virgin olive oil. I get it from this company called the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil club. I've been a member for I think almost 10 years now. I get three new bottles sent to me every quarter. They're hunted down by this guy who's been on my podcast twice, T.J. Robinson, “The Olive Oil Hunter,” who also does vinegars now by the way that are amazing. I have a podcast coming out about that. If it's not already out, you're going to hear it pretty soon. But, this stuff is the best olive oil I've ever used in my life, guilt-free, it's real, it's not cut with other stuff, it's not rancid, and it even comes with this cool little booklet where you could read about the farm, where it was harvested, who grew it, what it tastes like, tasting notes, recipes to use it in, better yet they're going to give us all a bottle for a buck. One bottle that's all for a dollar, so you can taste the difference for yourself.

Here is where you go for all this, GetFresh38.com. That's the number 38, GetGresh38.com. And, that's everything you need to get this extra virgin olive oil for yourself. It's one of the funnest clubs ever. So, check it out. Extra virgin olive oil, it's real artisanal stuff straight from olive oil hunter, T.J. Robinson, my friend, one of the best guys out there in the olive oil industry, getfresh38.com.

Alright, let's talk about the one supplement that I think is one of the most powerful supplements, it flies under the radar, that is good for building lean muscle, enhancing athletic recovery, naturally boosting energy backed by over 20 years of clinical research. And, this stuff is something I discovered when I was racing Ironman Triathlon and it just turns out that it is basically the building blocks of life. And, I'm not kidding, it's actually essential amino acids, all the ones your body needs because your body is 50% amino acids. And, the building blocks that amino acids give you, they're absolutely fundamental, not only for fitness, but for recovery, for satiating your appetite, helps me to sleep better. It allows me to go for really long periods of time without eating oodles of calories. It's the Swiss army knife of supplementation. It's called Aminos, Kion Aminos, K-I-O-N.

You go to getKION.com/Ben to get this stuff at 20% off of monthly delivery and 10% off of a one-time purchase. Fantastic flavors. I personally like the berry, the watermelon, and the mango flavor. Those would be the top three to try, in my opinion. And, you just put it in water. I mean, I dump the powder straight into my mouth pre-workout and it's like a shot in the butt to go out and crush a workout. But, it's great for a whole lot of stuff besides just a shot in the butt. So, check them out. getKION.com/Ben, getK-I-O-N.com/Ben to get my fundamental supplement for fitness, Kion Aminos.

I've worked to achieve many things in life, but my greatest yet most humbling work, I think, has been with my role as a father. Parenting is blissful. It's brutal. It's far beyond anything I ever could have anticipated. My sons are now teenagers. And, the people around us who engage with them often ask if I could write a book on raising children in education and legacy and discipline and all this stuff that goes into raising a good child, a good human. 

Now, I didn't feel that qualified to write a parenting guide, so I gathered a team of parenting superstars, dozens of my friends: entrepreneurs, authors, neurologists, psychologists, family coaches, a whole lot more. I got all their best tools, techniques, perspectives, habits on again, everything from education, to discipline, to travel, to rites of passage and beyond, and I put it all in one massive book that's like the guide to parenting. So, it's now available. It's at BoundlessParentingBook.com, and that's where you can pre-order your copy today. So, BoundlessParentingBook.com. It has been an absolute adventure putting this thing together. I think you're going to love it.

The one other thing that comes to mind when you talk especially about breath and the pineal gland is that you know how in many forms of breathwork you will do that giant inhale where you squeeze everything like the pelvis all the way up to the fist, the arms, the shoulders, the neck, the jaw, and kind of shoot all the energy up the top of the head. That type of pressure on the pineal gland, I think can introduce–and, this is all hypothetical, but I feel like there's this increase in blood flow that occurs to that area whether you want to call it the pineal gland or the third eye chakra or whatever that's really beneficial for a lot of people. I think a lot of people don't get that deep inhale on a regular basis, especially for people who don't do breathwork that often. 

But, I think it's almost stimulating to the pineal gland and it's something, for example, my family gathers for meditation about 7:00, 7:30 each morning and we will typically listen to or read a devotional, we'll pray, we'll read some scripture, we'll breathe for a little while together, but we always finish with this one big huge giant breath up, up, up, up, up to the top of the head. We hold it, we squeeze it, and then we let go with this audible vocal tone. And, sometimes we aren't doing a lot of breathwork besides just that final deep breath in, but it just feels like it changes the approach to the day in terms of just your focus, your mental stability, your resistance to stress. And, I mean, it's only maybe 20 seconds that that inhale is held up to the top of the head. But, even something as simple as that, if you have a breathwork practice really focusing on that process on the inhale, squeezing everything up to the top of the head, that seems to help out quite a bit with some of that pineal gland activity.

Anahata:  Yeah. I found in studying different breathing techniques that the yogic path that this is called kumbhaka, which is a breath hold. And, I also learned it from my shamanic teacher as well with breathwork. And, when we talk about breathwork, it's a big category because we have more the yogic breathing that can be nadi shodhana, which is balancing the left and right hemispheres of the brain when your alternate nostril breathing. That's different than shamanic breathwork, which is really diaphragmatic, deep powerful inhales and exhales to accentuate and potentiate the oxygen flow to the brain so that it can access that subconscious beliefs, subconscious trauma, which then triggers the body to find that where it's held physically and also if it's facilitated in a safe container, then permission and freedom to access what emotion or energy is held or expression whether the voice was oppressed. And, that's more of holotropic or diaphragmatic shamanic breathwork journeys a little bit different than calming the mind for meditation, which is really taking you more into the parasympathetic. 

I've learned with the breath lock that you're talking about, I use it in two different places. One, I found it really valuable and do this in the morning with my meditation is I do a lot of quick fire breaths before meditation, which is called breath of fire or kapalabhati in India. And, this is fast diaphragmatic breathing. And then, an inhale and a hold, and you're absolutely holding in your perineum or your root, the pelvic floor, your throat and your solar plexus, your belly, your diaphragm. And, what that does absolutely is it shoots it up to the top of the crown and it hyper oxygenates there. And, what that does is it absolutely clears the mind. It makes it so much easier for me to go into a deeper meditation when I do that kumbhaka, that breath hold for exactly like you said, maybe it's 10 seconds, 20 seconds. And then, when you slowly exhale, your mind is in a different state and I found deeper meditation happens there.

But, I also use it in breathwork when I'm doing journeys for the shamangelic breathwork journey, we're doing a lot of deep inhales and exhales to really get the oxygen ratio to shift to unlock that unconscious memory and belief systems, emotional and energy that's blocked and hidden from sight. And then, at different times during that, I will guide a breath lock that has a deep inhale and exhale, a deep inhale and exhale. And, on the third one, it's held, a deep inhale and hold. And, what that's doing, it's absolutely blasting that pituitary for the sixth chakra and the pineal for the seventh. And, it absolutely opens up those channels now for truth, divinity, peace, healing, love, whatever is needed to bring wholeness back to the body. That's where a whole other level of healing is happening I've found is when you clear out the emotional density, then after a while in the breathwork journey, go to that breath lock. Now, we're getting into the higher states of consciousness. But, if we go right to that first, we've missed the opportunity to clear those lower emotional dense energy centers. So, I think it's very vital to do the deep emotional release first like clear the pipes and then open with a breath lock to allow in wholeness truth, intuition, grace, healing, love, peace, whatever's needed to bring one back to wholeness again.

Ben:  We're talking about breathwork a little bit and I would love to take a little bit of a deeper dive into what you do during your breathwork sessions. But, before we do, I should also note that in addition to that practice that I do with the family where it's pretty simple, we just have that one breath in and a breath out, my sons and I have been using a few different apps, particularly one called Othership to do breathwork on a regular basis for a few reasons. I think it's really good for a young human to just learn how to control their physiology with their breath. I've said this before on podcasts, I think it should be a core part of any young human's curriculum to learn how to use their breath to upregulate or downregulate their nervous system. But, we're also preparing for this fun father-son freediving/spear fishing trip in April. And, I know that that's also going to be important in terms of them being comfortable with things like oxygen hunger and blowing off CO2 and having longer retention times, et cetera.

And so, on a few days of the week, I'm taking them through anywhere from 20 to 45-minute breathwork sessions, usually in the sauna for a little bit of extra heat stimulus. But then, what I also do in the mornings pretty early, and this has been a new practice of mine, but I wanted to share it just while we're on the topic of breathwork is I'll put on a really nice channel. Typically, I'll use Spotify. There's one I like called Soaking Worship. And so, I'll put on the Soaking Worship channel. And then, I do about one to two minutes of box breathing. 

And then, after I've done those one to two minutes of box breathing, I'll start into three to four rounds of that more intense almost like Wim Hof-esque breathwork where it's fully in, letting go, fully in, letting go, fully in, letting go, typically for 30 to 40 breaths. You kind of get to that point where the fingertips get a little tingly from the onset of nitric oxide and blowing off the CO2. And then, I'll take one deep, deep, deep, deep, deep breath in and then exhale everything and hold it and just sit in the silence. And, during that exhale, hold, I'll pray, I'll listen to the voice of God, I'll meditate, I'll dwell on things like my plans for the day, et cetera. And then, I finish with this giant inhale and I'll hold that as long as possible. And, sometimes that's as long as over a minute and then go back into my normal breathing. And, I do that three times. And, this has become a daily morning practice for me. And then, I finish with my own personal prayer time. 

And, there's something about breathwork that just shifts you into prayer that's just this seamless transition that's super special. And so, for me, it's this really cool practice where I've got the Soaking Worship channel, I've got the box breathing starting, and then I go into the Wim Hof, and then I finish with a prayer. And, that means that during that practice, I'm getting three of those intense, long breath locks. And so, it's a great morning practice. I just wanted to share with folks who are on the topic of breathwork kind of a little bit of a rabbit hole.

I haven't been to your new Shine facility. Now, it's been completed, right? So, I've done all my breathwork at your home office where you have this basement that's got all of your healing tools and your instruments and the mats that people lay on and everything, which I'm assuming you've recreated something like that at the new Shine facility down there. But, I would love for you to walk people through what the actual breathwork session with you looks like as far as the different instruments that you're using and the different tools and the different tactics because it's really unique and I've never walked out of an experience with you without feeling kind of like I do after my home breathwork sessions, but probably times at least three or four in terms of the openness and the new thoughts and the new ideas and a lot of the stuff people look for in breathwork. So, walk me through what's going on during a typical breathwork session with you.

Anahata:  Yes, Shine has everything, the sanctuary space there facilitating in that–the sanctuary is incredible. There are 14-foot golden wings in a spiral of the flower and the seed of life sacred geometry on the wall. There's angels, ascended masters, spiritual guides inhabiting protecting and guiding that space. There's crystals not only displayed but built into the walls. It's a high frequency venue to facilitate transformation healing and spiritual awakening. And, I I'm so excited to have everybody there when you come in March. And, what's exciting about when you come in March is that you're going to be teaching and demonstrating and guiding the whole group through these kinds of breathing techniques that you're talking about so that people can experience it real-time. So, I'm super excited about that.

What is unique about what I call Shamangelic breathwork, first of all, there's multiple things that you've experienced with me and that other people experience when they have a journey like this is safety, integrity, and trust. The container that is held by the facilitator and the venue is imperative so that the individual feels held, seen, is safe, and can trust the process that they are being guided by the facilitator for the highest good and that they can be safe in their vulnerability that they can go into those shadow spaces that they've never shared with anybody or that there hasn't been able to be the environment that allows for deep healing or deep release. And so, I think that that starts from the very beginning is building that rapport with somebody and permission to feel the feels without judgment, without oppression, permission to express rage and anger or sadness without any repercussions.

And, the skill I feel what it would differentiates what I facilitate is that there is a very deep presence with each individual. It's not just putting on a great playlist and shaking a rattle. That's not it. That's lovely; however, the real transformation happens when you have the ability to move into somebody's energy field without losing your own and be in complete presence with reading the energy field of what is needed. Do they need a hand to be held? Do they need a whisper that says you're safe here? Do they need a hand on the shoulder? Or, an emotional clearing technique that is catalyzing the release of a trauma, an emotion or an oppression somehow. And, the ability to read that doesn't come easy or natural to everybody and it takes skill and practice. And, some people have gifts but are not trusting them. 

Some people are making a playlist but do not know how to move seamlessly with integrity, with presence, and with a range that can meet somebody and catalyze rage and help it to move out and also know how to move into the softer field that's more Mother Mary that is what they need right now is just to be held in a little child's pose in a way in which they've never felt held before. And, that takes a lot of skill and ability to read it when somebody's going through their process and their journey and know how to catalyze a deeper experience. And, that's the one-on-one work. And, being able to go into shadow and also as masterfully into the light and into the heart and to know what will need to be tailored for a deeper experience for the person that's receiving.

Ben:  Yeah. And, you say rage, I think sometimes it can also just be pent-up emotions, angst, a lot of extra energy that you just kind of breath off.

Anahata:  Stress.

Ben:  Yeah, stress basically.

Where do the instruments that you use come in? Tell me a little bit about that.

Anahata:  The main instrument is the facilitator. The clearer I am, the clearer the facilitator is. Then, the instrument that is used that touch the words, the rattle, the drum is an extension of that, first of all, because it isn't the drum, it isn't the rattle, it isn't the tuning fork, that is doing the healing, it is the intention and the pure frequency of the person that is utilizing that. So, when I do my training and I've been training people on these modalities for over a decade is to really keep fine-tuning the individual instrument so that I'm coming from love and presence, first of all, so that I know what instrument, whether it's my voice or touch or a drum or a tuning fork will potentiate the journey deeper. So, that's first and foremost is tuning the individual instrument so that there is divine guidance to know what tool to use.

When we're in that shamanic release, I love the rattle, I love the drum because those are more primal sounds. So, those are great for shoeing out heaviness, stress, anxiety, resentment. Those are really beautiful for clearing along with what I use as a clearing mist that I've made that has palo santo and lemongrass–

Ben:  Yeah, I remember. That smells really nice.

Anahata:  It does. And, it's wonderful, those scents specifically are great in the shadow realms when you're clearing out density. And so, those are used and woven individually. And, when I've done breathwork for you and Angelo, as an example, with two people side by side, both of you are having different journeys. So, I might use the rattle on you, and then as I'm holding space with somebody else, it's a complete blank slate. What do they need, and then what tool would be best right now? 

So, when we're working in more the tender spaces in the heart, when we're doing heart healing, I love the tuning fork right on the heart, I love the scent of rose, which is more feminine and sweet and gentle. And, the touch is soft, the sound might be a little angelic chime, something soft and tender that really allows that sweet reset. Totally different. And, that might happen 10 seconds apart moving from one person's energy field, which might be the rattle and the drum to release density and then shifting over to honoring somebody's tears and the tone of voice would completely change, Ben, because now we're in this place of, “Okay, sweetie, it's okay. Let it out. You're safe here.” And so, then the instrument would be the voice or the touch or how one is holding. 

And sometimes, like you were saying, the tingling at the bottom of your fingers, when there's that hyper oxygenating, it might be very visceral, it might be very cellular. The density that might be held might be creating cramping in the body. It might be a pain in the neck. And so, sometimes peace and calming the essential oil and different touch helps people release stress and anxiety and fear, which is different than rage or grief. It's a tension that is where could you soften. And so, that might be essential oils that help people relax and get out of angst.

So, the tools, it's nice. And, what I teach is, “Hey, let's have this range of tools from essential oils, voice, touch, emotional clearing, drums, rattles, crystal bowls, gongs,” that can all potentiate a different experience if you are skilled at reading what somebody needs in a given moment.

Ben:  Right, right. Yeah, and you mentioned Angelo. And, by the way, just so people know, Angelo is my co-founder and CEO at the supplements company, Kion, and we actually went down hiking and doing a bunch of business meetings down in Sedona. But, as a part of that, we dropped in to see Anahata and did this full 90-minute intense breathwork session with her. 

And yeah, I'm sure you remember this, Anahata, we were screaming at the top of our lungs at certain points. We were sharing these amazing Ideas we had for the company throughout. We just had the creative portals ripped wide open. And actually, if you look at the current Kion logo on the bottles, all these energy swoops and this idea of taking your next step in life and the idea of weaving energy signatures, energetic signatures onto each bottle and under the website, all of that stems from the creativity that we generated. I remember after our breathwork session with you, we went on a three-hour hike the next morning just talking about all the ideas we had during the session. And so, it seems to just be this really cool way to tap into creative portals in a way that honestly, I think a lot of people rely on drugs to do. They'll go to Ayahuasca or smoke some DMT or maybe use some psilocybin or whatever. But, we did all this drug-free, substance-free, just using the breath and it was a really cool experience.

I actually wanted to ask you. Do you do much of that type of work with companies or corporations or businesses who want to bring their teams in for breathwork with you? Have you ever thought about doing something like that?

Anahata:  Absolutely. And, first of all, I really want to acknowledge that on your business strategy session that you chose not to just be in a conference room in a Hilton in Phoenix but you chose to be on the land, you chose to do shamanic clearing work, you chose to clear out your vessel and do that with your business partner, so that that way together, you could be more open to allow creative energy to come through. That's what's the real benefit, I think, the real pearl is when you come out of the breathwork, not just having released the energy, but then through that process of alignment and connecting to divine, creative inspiration, divine intuition, all of these things; visions, ideas, the truth about something, perspective change, that is a treasure chest of gold right there of like, “Oh, wow, this is the way I should go.” And, I remember when you guys came out of that, well, in the journey, I'm laughing because in the journey there was yelling and screaming, there was laughter, there was singing, there was crying, and all within an hour. That's the beauty of this and the connection that happened with the both of you after that. So, I love working with groups, with families. In fact, we're going to do this with your whole family when you come in March.

Ben:  Yeah. I'm looking forward to bringing my sons and my wife through the live experience, so to speak. And, that actually leads me to another question. My wife and I, we've actually been using some of these breathwork sessions in this app called Othership. They're like couple sessions. They're about a half hour. And, we use them, perhaps a little bit of TMI for some listeners, but we basically use them for foreplay like on a night where we really just want to drop in before sex and connect really deeply, we'll play this 30-minute session. Usually, you're lying beside each other in bed, sometimes you're sitting with your legs intertwined, eyes locked, almost like she'll breathe out into my mouth, I'll breathe out into her mouth. And then, in other times during the session, we're lying side by side on the bed holding hands and we're both doing the inhale lock holds and the exhales. And, as you would guess, by the time we finish 30 minutes of that, we're extremely ready to go on to the next phase of lovemaking. 

But, this idea of couple's breathwork is actually really cool. I mean, it's right up there with our quarterly planning retreats and our date nights as far as something that really brings us close together. Have you ever done much with couples in that space also?

Anahata:  Yeah. So, one of the things that you're talking about is tantric breathing practices.

Ben:  Yeah, yeah. I guess, that's what you'd call it, it's like a tantric breathing practice.

Anahata:  It's exactly what it is. And so, those are different ways to weave inhale and exhale and synchronize your breathing. And, this is really what it comes down to, whether it's individuals, couples, families, or businesses, this is about internal attunement so that then whether it's lovemaking or as a parent or in your business in your personal professional life, you are attuned, you are aware, you are connected to whatever task comes next, whether that's business planning or date night, whether that is creative troubleshooting, a challenge within the family or the finances or your health, more of you and more consciousness is available and accessible. That's exciting because now we're living on purpose and we're able to solve, troubleshoot, and amplify in the direction that we want because we're all connected and there's internal alignment. And so, you're absolutely right about tantric practices and breathing practices being able to bring people into alignment.

To answer your question about doing that with different companies, Aubry is one of those that the company culture is, yeah, let's work on our shit and be the best versions of ourselves.

Ben:  You mean, Aubrey Marcus from ONNIT?

Anahata:  Aubrey Marcus. Yeah, from ONNIT. And so, he would fly me out to Austin to work with his whole c-suite because that's the company culture is to, “Hey, do your inner work, so the best version of you can show up,” so that that way, they can be amplified in running the business of ONNIT. He would have his teams come out here to the ranch in Austin and he would send different employees out here to do that kind of work. And, different sub-teams would come out and do that kind of work because that's the company culture. Not every company has that culture. 

And, what I said earlier about it being a safe space, sometimes if you're the CEO or the CFO, it doesn't feel like a safe space to be processing emotional trauma or be talking about your feelings with your accounting supervisor or your director of human resources. So, it depends on the company culture. And, in those situations, what I recommend is the one-on-one sessions so that there is still a privacy and a safety that says, “Listen, this isn't a safe space for me to address this.”

And, with family dynamics, same thing, is sometimes a young adult is not the right–they're not at the right age necessarily to be processing a parent's sexual trauma. And so, that's important to look at what is the intention here. And, if there is an issue where somebody needs deeper private because shamangelic breathwork has the potential to really go deep, and not everybody in that collective container can hold space for that process. That's what the facilitator does. And, learning and listening to what's the appropriate environment here. And, when the deeper issues are uncovered, then one-on-one integration is really valuable, so that that way, it's processed in an appropriate environment.

Ben:  Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

I want to talk a little bit about this thing that's going on at Shine in March. I'm going to come down and give a big presentation on breathwork and on a lot of other stuff like biohacking, air, light, water, electricity. We're going to do a big Q&A. We even have a kind of this intimate VIP dinner gathering with me that night where me and my family are going to actually prepare a bunch of recipes from the Boundless Cookbook and serve them to people. My sister who lives down Sedona, she's going to be there doing live music and we have this five-course dinner that we're putting together for people at our Airbnb down there in Sedona. But, during the day, leading up to that point, we are doing this whole event at your place. 

There's a few things going on there. One is a sound activation journey. What exactly is that?

Anahata:  So, we've got a whole weekend planned. What we're doing, Ben, I'm so excited to weave all of this together is it's this wellness biohacking body and beyond ultimate experience for people to, first of all, come to Sedona who's the frequency is healing the vortexes here are the space holders for accelerated healing and awakening. So, we're in the right space, Sedona. That's her mission to hold that kind of space, Shine, a beautiful venue for this to happen. And then, you're going to dial in in the morning all of this offering, which is live in person, there's limited tickets, live in person, on the 11th, which is Saturday, March 11th. And then, I'm going to be offering breathwork in the afternoon, so that's a sweet combo for people. Plus, we've created an alliance with Cryotherapy, which is just a couple doors down.

Ben:  Yeah, that's like that biohacking facility next door.

Anahata:  Yeah, which is perfect because as part of the ticket price, you'll get to experience some of their modalities, cryotherapy or the compression pants, or the red light therapy. So, we've included that in the ticket price different options to go and experience things there.

Superfoods. We've got superfood gifts and organic juices coming your way. And, those that are wanting the VIP experience will come and get book signing, the “Boundless” books signed and photo ops. And then, we'll do breathwork in the afternoon.

Ben:  And, a drinking cacao ceremony. You can't skip the chocolate part.

Anahata:  Yeah. Oh, for sure. Then, the VIP dinner at night that your whole family is creating. What we've done to make it an expanded weekend for those that come in before is that on the 10th, there's going to be a group sound healing that's with John and Jade that's didgeridoo, crystal balls, gongs, drums, flutes, two master sound healers. So, that's going to be a sound journey on Friday night. Plus, we have practitioner realms that are going to be offering reiki and astrology and card readings the day before. So, you can come in and get a taste of Shine and get some one-on-one support or come to the sound healing the night before, you're teeing off Saturday with this epic two-and-a-half-hour immersion where you get to experience all of these things. So, the Saturday, your talk Ben will be available in person in Sedona, limited tickets, and also available live stream.

Ben:  Yeah. And, Sedona is an interesting place to do it because this concept of a vortex, I think some people think that's a little bit woo or esoteric, but I mean, there actually are what are called ley lines, L-E-Y lines. And, that's where the Earth's natural electromagnetic field seems more concentrated. Of course, I know you've heard of this, Anahata, but a lot of people may also be familiar with grounding or earthing. And, I've done several podcasts on grounding or earthing and how the Earth emits this now natural healing frequency that can do things like shut down inflammation or improve joint pain or improve sleep or realign the circadian rhythms. 

And, I mean, there's places like everything from Stonehenge to some spots in Spain and Glastonbury, England where the Earth actually emits what seems to be a higher frequency of the magnetic field. And so, if you go outside barefoot in Sedona, if you use grounding or earthing mats there, even if you're standing indoors in a room that has a concrete flooring, you actually exhort a lot of that energies. And, it's really interesting, meditation seems different, breathwork seems different. A lot of spiritual experience seem a little bit different. And, there are certain things we don't really understand when it comes to the branch of physics concerned with our universe. But, this idea of electromagnetic energy produced by the planet being more highly concentrated in some areas is just absolutely fascinating to me.

And, I can't explain all of it scientifically, all I know is when I take off my shoes and go outside barefoot in Sedona, you feel this way different energy than you do anywhere else. And, I know that as part of this experience, we're going to have the opportunity for people to join virtually or via video live stream. And, there's some different packages available, like you mentioned. But, man, if you're listening and you wanted to go to Sedona to experience this or maybe you're already in the area and just want to come and do something cool, it's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be in Sedona. And, I would recommend anybody that come tack on a couple extra days to hike the trails there because it's one of the best hiking spots in my opinion in the country. We took our sons there on a big hiking trip last year.

Anahata:  I've got a couple hidden treasures to show you, Ben. And yes, on that Sunday morning, I'm taking a group, those that are signing up for that for a Sunday morning vortex hike. We will absolutely go to a hidden treasure. We will absolutely take off our shoes and do a sacred grounding ceremony. The vortexes here, vortex is an intersection of ley lines. There's also high concentrations of minerals, crystals in the soil. Not woo-woo, but legit crystal quartz in the soil, which is a conductor and an amplifier. Plus, all of the minerals from the volcanic activity are also accelerators or potentiators, so it's kind of like turns the dial-up, so the energy here measurably, scientifically different. And, we're going to leverage that for sure.

Ben:  Yeah. That might be one of the reasons too is not just the slightly higher electromagnetic signal or at least a higher frequency than 7.8 hertz, which is that natural healing frequency known as the Schumann resonance that the Earth puts out. But, it might also be some of the actual geological formations in the soil there or the crystals that you mentioned which are pretty highly dense in the earth in Sedona that are acting as better conductive agents in the same way that I wear Earth Runner sandals that have copper plugs in the bottom of them to allow me to be earthed or grounded even if I'm not barefoot. You could imagine that if the ground had a bunch of copper plugs in it naturally, you would be able to ground or earth a little bit more efficiently. So, I love that you're doing some stuff outside as well.

I have a lot of listeners, and I know people are going to ask, and so this is important for me to point out, I think, and maybe kind of awkward to bring up. But, I have a lot of listeners who are Christians who might not want to do tarot readings or may not want to do some of the things that might be painted as a little bit more new agey when it comes to Sedona activities. 

If people want to opt out of those type of things, if it doesn't really align with their belief patterns, this is one of those things where you get to kind of choose your own adventure. 

Anahata: There's the opportunity to come just for your lecture on Saturday. There's the opportunity to enjoy this dream team partnership where you've got the lecture and the workshop in the morning and then I guide the breathwork, the shamangelic breathwork in the afternoon. And so, there's the option to pair those together. The sound healing is non-denominational. I mean, this is sound frequencies being able to move through the body.

Ben:  Oh, yeah. That's the music of the spheres, by the way. I'm a big believer that God is the Creator and created the universe using sound and the Earth and the entire universe is specifically designed to conduct sounds, and our bodies are tuned as a receiver for sound. So, I don't really consider sound healing or aromatherapy or breathwork or a lot of the other things that we're talking about even connecting with the natural frequencies of the earth to be anything that would rub people of a different denomination the wrong way, But again, I want to emphasize that if you want to go and say tarot card readings in up your alley, that's not something that you have to include as part of the experience.

Anahata:  In connecting with the vision and the mission of Shine, it was very clear that this is for everyone; everyone just starting out, everyone from different walks of life, different processes, different beliefs, that Shine welcomes people where they are and embraces and can tailor what it is that you need for your journey right now. And, sometimes it's just the one-on-one session if it's, “Look, hey, I'm not into astrology or card readings or anything like that” no big deal. Sometimes, it's just a deep relaxation session that is aromatherapy Hemi sync sound going through headphones on an amethyst crystal BioMat in our healing womb space where you just get to have a journey where your physical and emotional and body can just reset. It's like a cellular reset. There's no spirit guides involved, there's just presence so that you can get into that parasympathetic relax state to allow your mind and body to heal itself and rebalance itself. And so, those will also be available.

Ben:  I sometimes catch some flack for this because there is this ancient kind of practice of Gnosticism that teaches that there's some hidden source of knowledge and hidden secret to be able to connect with God. And thus, if you're using grounding or earthing or crystals or aromatherapy or heat or cold or breathwork or anything else that you're somehow crossing the line into some sort of new age practice that completely contradicts, say a Christian practice or a connection to God. 

But, for me personally, even though I don't think any of that stuff is necessary, like I mentioned, when I do my prayer and devotions in the morning, our family meditations, we burn incense and we do breathwork. My own personal devotion and prayer practice, I'm using essential oils. Usually, I'm sitting on some kind of a PEMF or crystal mat or outdoors. I am doing the breathwork. Like you mentioned, I'm typically playing some sort of sound frequency or using some kind of a sound healing tool. And, I actually think that people who practice Christianity like myself shouldn't necessarily shun a lot of these tools that I think can deepen. They're necessary for, but I think they can deepen a spiritual experience. I think that sometimes though it gets painted as full-on new age like don't go near it or touch it when in fact I think that a lot of these tools, Christians, in particular, could benefit from. This is something that I've discovered at least in my own practice.

Anahata:  Well, frankincense and myrrh were the most precious gifts given to the king, bring into the Divine to be brought by the kings.

Ben:  Yeah, a big, big part of ancient Jewish worship as well.

Anahata:  Exactly. And so, I think it's valuable to be open and discerning is to be open-minded because one of the benefits that I think that has helped me in my spiritual journey is to be able to come home back to Christ, Mother Mary, God, to come back home to those as guides, as teachers, and to be open to hear different practices, different concepts so that I can be open-minded to lots of different things and yet discerning if, “Hmm, that feels too far,” or “It doesn't feel right,” or “It doesn't feel true to me,” giving complete authority to myself to be in alignment with what my beliefs and comfort level is today. And, that has brought me to learn from many different traditions and spiritual cultures. And, it all comes down to love. That's the one thing all spiritual practices have in common is love.

Ben:  Yeah.

Anahata:  And, I think that that's what Shine is founded on is that it's a sanctuary for you to find love, feel love, emanate love, create forgiveness within your heart for yourself and for others and to emanate that frequency of love. That's a non-denominational truth that we are holding this space for to meet anyone in their process, wherever they are in the journey, and how we can support that love frequency raising. 

And, that's why that rose essential oil is so valuable because it is that essential oil that we associate most with compassion and the unconditional love of say Mother Mary, and frankincense that unconditional love from Christ consciousness. Those two oils I use a lot in my healing practice and others because they can help us access the frequency that those guides those spiritual masters and teachers embody in the physical form: scent, sound, prayer, song, has been a part of all spiritual traditions to help us access those higher states of consciousness. 

And so, I'm right with you and I appreciate you bringing that up so that people that are listening know that we got you and we're welcome and we're excited to have this wonderful journey with everybody at Shine. And, if they can't come that particular weekend, maybe they want to come to Sedona at a different time. Well, they can come and visit Shine at another time or tune in virtually. And, we've got all of these wonderful things that we've packaged together for the weekend, superfoods from EarthEcho, and organic juices and smoothies from Local Juicery, and the cryotherapy sessions and–

Ben:  I love that place, by the way. Local Juicery is amazing. My heart left for joy when I saw they were going to be part of it.

So, yeah, I agree. I mean, I'm probably not on the same or I should say I'm probably not, I'm not on the same page as you are when it comes to my truth. I don't trust myself enough to have my truth. That's probably why the Christian faith appeals to me so much. I believe in absolute morality and that there's one truth. And so, I use the Bible as my own handbook. And so, I filter everything through that versus generating my own truth and just because this is my podcast and I got to get up on my soapbox. I believe that sometimes the idea of having your own truth can lead to a flaky morality where people could eventually say, “Well, I believe that doing X, Y, and Z horrific atrocity is right,” because that's my truth versus having some sense of absolute morality.

I'm reading actually a great series on the Torah right now by Dennis Prager that just goes into the origin of the Ten Commandments and how it lends itself to societal stability and this idea that truth is not fluid, it's basically a consistable, unavoidable reality like gravity is that simply exists as one truth from on high and from God. I guess, what I'm getting at is that if you are one of my many, many Christian followers and you want to come to this event or be a part of it and perfectly okay with you coming in with your truth and having that be your truth because that is God's truth, I just want to make sure that I clarify that to my listeners because I know people are going to ask me about this stuff. And so, I can't not say it.

But, that being said, I know that we're running short on time and I haven't even mentioned and how people can get into or be a part of this event. So, here's what I'm going to do, I'm going to put all the shownotes as well as all the previous podcasts that I've done with Anahata at BenGreenfieldLife.com/Shine. So, if you go to BenGreenfieldLife.com/Shine, I'll have all the details about the event, I'll have the previous podcast I've done with Anahata, links to a lot of her stuff. You can go surf the page. You can see the different options for attending, everything from a very basic taking part in the virtual video conference to go in there in Sedona and be in boots on the ground with cacao celebrations and the VIP dinner gathering and the breathwork healing ceremonies and a lot more. So, it should be a super cool event. And again, it's March 10th through the 12th, so it's coming up pretty soon. I would say if you're listening to this podcast at the time that it comes out, then I would get on it and go check out the shownotes at BenGreenfieldLife.com/Shine.

In the meantime, Anahata, it's been another fascinating discussion with you covering everything from pineal gland decalcification to energy vortices, so thanks so much for coming on the show again and sharing your wisdom.

Anahata:  It's my pleasure and I'm excited to have yet another beautiful journey with you here in Sedona, this time adding the whole family. I got to meet the boys last time. And, I'm super excited to get on the land, again, have another breathwork session, have a wonderful weekend. And, thank you so much for doing the work that you do with such authenticity, such integrity, and such tenacity. Beautiful to watch your journey evolve and you grow as a man, as a leader, as a teacher, as a father, and as a partner. And, so grateful to be walking this planet with you and for the work that you do and how many people that you help with with all the ways that you do, so thank you.

Ben:  You give me a big head now. Alright. Well, folks, I think that's a wrap. So, until next time. I'm Ben Greenfield along with Anahata Ananda from Sedona signing out from BenGreenfieldLife.com. Have an amazing week. And, I hope to see you at this Shine event in Sedona in March. I'll talk to you later.

Just imagine a hotel surrounded by nature, vineyards, and gardens, this forest classified as a historical garden in a very special country at a hotel located in the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. Imagine this place has a state-of-the-art spot, 2,200 square meters, 10 treatment rooms, an indoor pool with underwater sound and chromotherapy. Imagine a kitchen team that brings to the table not just delicious food at this place but values environmental sustainability and wellness and local sensitivity and global sensibility. Imagine being able to be bathed in luxury and being able to be local, to buy a local and to eat local, not caged off of some fancy tourist but it's a part of the community and part of the torar of the region. 

Well, that's exactly what you experience in Portugal at their Six Senses luxury retreat. And, I'm going to be there for a special event that you can read up on at BenGreenfieldLife.com/SixSenses. It's called the Boundless Retreat. And, at BenGreenfieldLife.com/SixSenses, you can see everything we're doing. Every day starts with a healthy farmhouse breakfast, morning movement session with me, you get access to three different 60-minute spa treatments that you can choose from throughout the day, indoor pool and vitality suites, meditation, sound healing, an alchemy bar with Kokodama and yogurts and pickles and sprouts workshops, retreat meals all made from locally sourced organic produce, Q&As and sing-along sessions with me. This is going to be an amazing remarkable once in a lifetime experience. You get four nights full board accommodation in a deluxe room there at the facility. And, this thing, as you can imagine, is going to fill up fast. It's in Portugal at the Six Senses retreat in Portugal.

Again, all the details are at BenGreenfieldLife.com/SixSenses. And, the dates are February 27th through March 3rd, 2023, February 27th through March 3rd, 2023. I hope to see you there.

More than ever these days, people like you and me need a fresh entertaining, well-informed, and often outside-the-box approach to discovering the health, and happiness, and hope that we all crave. So, I hope I've been able to do that for you on this episode today. And, if you liked it or if you love what I'm up to, then please leave me a review on your preferred podcast listening channel wherever that might be, and just find the Ben Greenfield Life episode. Say something nice. Thanks so much. It means a lot.

 

 

Anahata Ananda has been expertly guiding profound journeys of core healing and spiritual awakening for more than 20 years.

A special friend of mine, Anahata blends the depth of compassion and tenderness of an angel with the unparalleled wisdom and strength of a healer.

With an intention of acquiring knowledge of energy healing, shamanic teachings, emotional release, and self-empowered living at a more expansive level, Anahata made significant efforts in training with shamans, energy healers and spiritual teachers from North America, Peru, India, and Asia. As a result of this commitment and professional mastery cultivation in the last decade, she has become well revered as a master healer/teacher in various healing modalities as well as breathwork facilitation techniques.

Anahata has been on the following two podcast episodes and also contributed a fantastic guest article:

• Altered States of Consciousness, Energy Vortexes, Breathwork Vs. Psychedelics, Dangers of Plant Medicine, Pairing Fasting With Prayer, Meditation & Breath, & Much More With Anahata Ananda.
• Magic Chocolate, Holotropic Breathwork, Grounding, Earthing, Vortexes, Crystals & More With Shamangelic Healer Anahata Ananda
• Breath Vs. Psychedelics: How Breathwork Journeys Can Release DMT For A Psychedelic-Like Experience, Clear Emotional Trauma, & Re-Energize Your Body.

Her most recent endeavor is as the founder of the brand new “Shine” – Sedona’s Sanctuary for the Soul where transformational programs, trainings, and sessions are offered year-round by world-class facilitators. This March 10-12, I'll be joining Anahata in Sedona for a special event open to the public at her new Shine facility. I'll be there sharing my favorite protocols to defy aging and optimize your body. You'll learn about various breathing techniques, simple hacks, and scientific strategies for vibrant health – all designed to enhance your energy and improve your quality of life.

Closing out the event – and available to a select few (whether you are able attend the main event or not, you can still go to this dinner – will be a VIP dinner featuring a home-cooked meal prepared by me and my family. You'll receive a signed copy of my cookbook as well as entertainment provided courtesy of my talented younger sister Aengel Greenfield. I'd love to see you there, but register soon as space is limited!

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-Introduction…05:25

• Sedona Shine event
• Shifts made after recording this episode
  • The event has been adjusted to Christian beliefs
  • Tarot card reading has been replaced with guided heart-brain alignment sessions
    • HRV training
      • The Single Biggest Contributor To Poor Health And How To Combat It With Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training.
    • HeartMath Institute
    • Heart Brain coherence
  • Cellular mind-body reset session
    • Biomat
    • Headphones with hemisync binaural beats (Holosync)
    • Aroma therapy
      • Essential Oils That Boost The Brain & Heal The Body: 5 Steps To Calm Anxiety, Sleep Better, & Reduce Inflammation To Regain Control Of Your Health.
    • Tachyon energy rods

-Anahata Ananda’s background…08:40

• A Nice life, big house, twin kids
• Everything crumbled, divorce
• Lot of rage and sadness
• Unresolved issues could be passed on to the children
• Traditional therapies weren’t working
• Sought out a shamanic healer

-Shamanic healing journey…14:10

• First shamanic healing was in L.A.
  • First emotion was rage
  • The shaman created a safe space to process it
  • Second emotion was grief
• What is shamanic healing journey?
  • Working with different questions and bringing answers from the subconscious
  • Energy clearing techniques/ emotional release techniques to get at the cellular trauma
  • Triggering the release of feelings
  • Gentleness and softness for healing
  • Integration – reclaiming what is lost, wholeness is returned
  • Healing journeys – changing things

-Becoming an instructor…19:08

• Went full force into healing; body healing ceremonies
• Working with different shamans and master healers
• Healing gifts turned on simultaneously with the body cleansing
• Decalcifying the pineal and pituitary glands – responsible for higher consciousness
  • Clairvoyance – being able to see
  • Clairaudience – being able to hear
  • Claircognizance – being able to know
  • Clairsentience – being able to feel
• Calcification of  the pineal gland
  • The pineal gland is calcified from diet and lack of use
  • Affects ability to meditate, to focus
  • Affects connection to divine consciousness
• Study: Fluoride and Pineal Gland
• BGL article:
  • How To Make Your Own DMT Naturally: Tips, Tricks & Biohacks To Activate Your Third Eye Pineal Gland.
• Started healing practice – Shamangelic healing journeys
• Cleansing opens channels for energy to flow
• BioCharger
• Ammortal Catalyst
• Activating higher states of consciousness

-The importance of breathwork…35:35

• Breathwork and the pineal gland
• Shamanic breathwork vs. calming breathwork
• BGL article:
  • Breath Vs. Psychedelics: How Breathwork Journeys Can Release DMT For A Psychedelic-Like Experience, Clear Emotional Trauma, & Re-Energize Your Body.
• Anahata’s breathwork routine
  • Quick fire breath (breath of fire or kapala bati)
  • Inhale and hold
• Othership app
• Ben’s breathwork routines
  • 7 Easy Ways to Incorporate Breathwork Into Your Life, Plus My Top Recommendation for Making It a Daily Habit.
  • How To Blast You (And Your Child’s!) Physical, Mental, & Spiritual Resilience Through The Roof With Breathwork.
• Soaking Worship
• BGL article Devotions

-What is Shine and what is Anahata’s typical breathwork session?…44:41

• Shine sanctuary space
  • Crystal altar and crystals built into the walls
  • Sacred geometry wing murals
  • High frequency venue to facilitate transformation healing and spiritual awakening
• Shamangelic breathwork
  • Safety, integrity, trust and guided to go to shadows places
  • Permission to feel without judgment and express sadness and anger without repercussions

 

-The instruments used in shamanic healing…51:02

• The main instrument is facilitator
• Rattles, drums, tuning fork, etc.
  • Great for clearing heaviness, stress, anxiety, resentment
• Scents, voice, touch, essential oils, etc.
  • great for soothing and calming
• Essential oils help people relax and get out of angst (use code BEN to save 10%)

-Working with groups and companies…57:03

• Angelo Keely, CEO of Kion
  • Altered States of Consciousness, Energy Vortexes, Breathwork Vs. Psychedelics, Dangers of Plant Medicine, Pairing Fasting With Prayer, Meditation & Breath, & Much More With Anahata Ananda.
• Alignment and connecting to divine Creative inspiration, divine intuition, visions, ideas
• Working with couples
  • Tantric breathing practices
• Othership app
• The goal is to deeply connect and bring people into alignment
• ONNIT (use code BEN to save 10%)
• Podcast with Aubrey Marcus:
  • The Meaning Of Life, Making Friends, Plant Medicines In The Bible, Daily Spiritual Routines, Rites Of Passage & More With Ben Greenfield & Aubrey Marcus.
• Shamangelic breathwork goes very deep and when deep issues are uncovered it should be processed in appropriate environment

-The great Shine event in Sedona…1:03:53

• 5-course meal prepared from recipes in Boundless Cookbook
• Shine Sedona: Ultimate Biohack with Ben Greenfield – A Weekend Wellness Immersion March 10-12, 2023
• Wellness, bio-hacking, body and beyond ultimate experience; healing and awakening
  • Group sound healing with John and Jade – didgeridoo, crystal balls, gongs, drums, flutes
  • Ben's lecture and Q&A
  • Anahata’s breathwork session in the afternoon
  • Boundless book signing
  • Cacao drinking ceremony
  • VIP dinner with Ben on March 11th
• VIP dinner in the evening
• Earthrunner
• Superfoods from Earth Echo
• Organic juices and smoothies from Local Juicery

-Things that are not in accordance to Christian faith…1:11:33

• People can choose to opt out
• Christians can use some tools to deepen spiritual experience
• It’s valuable to be open-minded
• All spiritual practices come down to one thing – love
• Shine is a sanctuary to find love
• Ben’s message to his Christian listeners

-And much more…

Upcoming Events:

• Six Senses Retreat: February 27, 2023 – March 3, 2023

Join me for my “Boundless Retreat” at Six Senses from February 27th, 2023 to March 3rd, 2023, where you get to improve on your functional fitness, nutrition, longevity, and the delicate balance between productivity and wellness. Complete with a healthy farmhouse breakfast, yoga spa sessions, and sound healing, you learn how to live a boundless life just like me, and I'd love to see you there. Learn more here.

• Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

– Anahata Ananda:

• Shine Sedona Ultimate Biohack with Ben Greenfield – A Weekend Wellness Immersion March 10-12, 2023
• Shine Sedona
• Altered States of Consciousness, Energy Vortexes, Breathwork Vs. Psychedelics, Dangers of Plant Medicine, Pairing Fasting With Prayer, Meditation & Breath, & Much More With Anahata Ananda.
• Magic Chocolate, Holotropic Breathwork, Grounding, Earthing, Vortexes, Crystals & More With Shamangelic Healer Anahata Ananda.
• Breath Vs. Psychedelics: How Breathwork Journeys Can Release DMT For A Psychedelic-Like Experience, Clear Emotional Trauma, & Re-Energize Your Body

Episode sponsors:

Organifi Green Juice. Start your day with essential superfoods that help detox the body, lower cravings, reduce stress and reset your morning. Contains a clinical dose of Ashwagandha. It supports healthy cortisol levels which aid in weight management. Go to organifi.com/Ben for 20% off your order.

Timeline Nutrition: Timeline is offering 10% off your first order of Mitopure. Go to timelinenutrition.com/BEN and use code BEN to get 10% off your order.

Lucy Nicotine Gum: If you are looking for a cleaner and tastier alternative to other nicotine products, Lucy is for you. To save 20% on any order, head over to lucy.co use discount code BEN20.

Fresh Pressed. The world’s most delicious artisanal olive oils, direct from gold-medal-winning small farms, right at harvest time when the oils’ flavor and nutrients are at their peak! Try a bottle for just $1 and taste the difference yourself. Just go to GetFresh38.com

Kion Aminos: Aminos are building blocks for muscle recovery, reduced cravings, better cognition, immunity, and more. Go to getkion.com/ben to receive 20% off on monthly deliveries and 10% on one-time purchases.

Boundless Parenting Book: Everything you need to know about family, parenting, and raising healthy, resilient, free-thinking and impactful children. Go to boundlessparentingbook.com and pre-order your copy now.

Six Senses Event: Join me in this beautiful 19th-century wine estate in Portugal and enjoy treatments that go beyond the ordinary in Six Senses Spa. Ten treatment rooms and an indoor pool with chromotherapy and an underwater sound system offer a unique and layered wellness experience. Try delicious food made with local sensitivity and global sensibility. Head over to  bengreenfieldlife.com/sixsenses and claim your spot today.