Dr. Richard P. Brown 

& Dr. Patricia Gerbarg 

Learning to Teach Breath~Body~Mind Practices

SAVE THE DATES for 2014

See more details and registration information below. 

Breath~Body~Mind® Workshop for Transformation and Well-Being

March 14 - 16, 2014

Dr. Richard P. Brown, Dr. Patricia Gerbarg

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Lenox, MA 01262

Based on extensive research, this workshop with medical doctors Richard P. Brown and Patricia Gerbarg combines a variety of effective breathing techniques to relieve stress and improve mood, mental focus, and heart and lung function. These benefits have been enjoyed by health-care practitioners, yoga teachers, military veterans, individuals with anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADD, cancer, Lyme disease, lung problems, toxic exposures, and victims of terrorism, war, and natural disasters. Many people who have practiced these techniques say they have been transformed, and that they never would have imagined something so simple could be so powerful and helpful.

This workshop includes movement, breathing, and relaxation techniques designed to:

• Increase your stress resilience and renew your energy
• Release tension, dispel anxiety, quiet your mind, and help you sleep soundly
• Increase lung capacity, oxygenation, and cardio-respiratory health
• Improve recovery from negative life experiences or trauma
• Connect you to your inner self and others
• Improve relationships and empathic abilities.

Dress in casual layers and eat lightly before opening night. Tuition includes manual and Breath-Body-Mind Level-1 CD.

Note Prior to this workshop Recommended reading, listening, practicing: Richard P. Brown, Patricia Gerbarg, book and CD set The Healing Power of the Breath

Coherent Breathing using Steve Elliot's CD Respire-1 Coherence, available at www.coherence.com

This program is eligible for CE Credits

Information and Registration: toll free: 1-800-741-7353 http://www.kripalu.org/presenter/V0004595/richard_p_brown

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Breath~Body~Mind© Workshop Level 1

Dr. Richard Brown and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg

Sponsored by Serving Those Who Serve (www.STWS.org)

Day 1: Sat. March 23, 2014 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Day 2: either March 24 from 3 - 6 pm or March 24 from 7 - 9 pm

Location: TBA in Manhattan

Open to the general public, the 9/11 Community, Veterans, Military personnel, survivors of Hurricane Sandy, survivors of school attacks, and health care providers

Breath~Body~Mind is a unique fusion of breath, movement and meditation techniques derived from yoga, Qi Gong, orthodox Christian monks, Buddhism, and modern science. These powerful self-regulation techniques relieve anxiety, improve focus and increase well-being. Coherent Breathing, Resistance Breathing, and Breath Moving enhance and optimize brain, heart, and lung function while stimulating the healing, calming, recharging parts of the nervous system. Open Focus meditation can be used to relieve physical and emotional pain. Bring mats, blankets, pillows, etc. to feel warm & comfortable sitting and lying on the floor.  

Registration:   www.stws.org. Contact: Nehemiah at 212-531-2276 or Jose at 212-580-8043

Serving Those Who Serve (STWS), a non-profit group provides services to people suffering from physical and emotional illnesses related to the NY September 11th World Trade Center Attacks. The 9/11 Community includes First Responders, Ground Zero workers, WTC workers and their families, and area residents. STWS sponsors our Breath~Body~Mind© program for relief of physical and emotional distress as well as for personal development. Workshops are open to the public and a portion of the profits are donated to STWS. In addition to positive feedback from participants, preliminary research data indicate significant improvement in anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

STWS also provides Ayurvedic herbs (at cost) to help detoxify people exposed to chemical fumes from the WTC attacks and from working at Ground Zero.  James J. Dahl, Ph.D., Research Director, Phoenix House Foundation, and Dr. Katherine Falk reported on a web-based survey of 50 people affected by the WTC attacks who were treated with Breath~Body~Mind and these Ayurvedic herbs. All 50 respondents had significant improvements in long standing, intractable respiratory symptoms, fatigue, and depression that had not responded to standard treatments. This article appeared in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Jan/Feb 2008; 14(1):24-48.  

2nd Annual Breathe and Heal....Children
with Dr. Richard P. Brown and Dr. Patricia L. Gerbarg

April 4 - 5, 2014
Friday 8:15 am - 6 pm & Saturday 9 m - 12 noon

Geneva, New York

Emotion dysregulation, attention disorders and behavioral problems have a negative impact on academic and social development. Teachers and healthcare providers need new tools to help students overcome the effects of stress, overstimulation and trauma. Breath~Body~Mind™ teaches simple movements, breathing and relaxation methods that can be used in classrooms, at home and in medical settings to enable students to feel calmer and more focused. 

Dr. Brown and Dr. Gerbarg will review scientific studies demonstrating that Breath~Body~Mind™ practices improve emotion regulation, stress resiliency, anxiety, PTSD, attention, cognitive function and behavior. They will also guide participants through experiential learning of the practices. School teachers will describe how they have successfully incorporated these techniques into their classrooms.

Information and registration: http://www.haveahealthymind.com/images/Breathe_and_Heal_Children-4-14.pdf

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The Cape Cod Institute

National Seashore at the Nauset School, 100 Cable Road, Eastham, MA

Evidence-Based Breath~Body~Mind Techniques

 for Personal Transformation, Stress-Resilience, and Wellbeing

Richard Brown & Pat Gerbarg

June 23-27, 2014

Turning on the body's innate healing systems is the most effective, sustainable approach to mental and physical health.  Through scientific study, specific mind-body techniques are being developed to rapidly and safely relieve emotional distress, psychiatric disorders, physical illnesses, and pain, and to enhance emotion regulation, interpersonal relationships, and performance in school, work, athletics, and the arts.

Breath~Body~Mind programs teach Qigong movements, breathing practices and meditations for self-development and for work with mental health patients, military groups, medical patients, and adults and children affected by mass disasters. Children in hospitals, schools, and special educational settings have also benefited. The neurophysiological basis for the effects of breathing practices will be discussed in concert with relevant clinical studies.

Participants will learn the core Breath~Body~Mind movement, breathing, and meditation practices. Each session includes didactic and experiential components.

Monday: Voluntarily Regulated Breathing Practices and Experiential

• Voluntarily Regulated Breathing Practices (VRBPs) open a portal to the autonomic nervous system, whereby it is possible to send messages through interoceptive systems that have profound effects on perception, cognition, emotion processing and regulation, and stress response systems
• Experiential: Qigong Movements - 2 Golden Wheels and 4-4-6-2; Breathing - Coherent, Resistance (Ujjayi), Breath Moving, "Ha" breath; Body Scan, Open Focus Meditation, Group process

Tuesday: Neurophysiology and Clinical Studies and Experiential

• Neurophysiology of PTSD and Clinical Studies of Breath~Body~Mind for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Military PTSD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Schizophrenia (Genomic and Cognitive Effects)
• Qigong Movements 3 Golden Wheels and 4-4-6-2; Breathing - Coherent, Resistance, Breath Moving, "Ha" breath; Body Scan, Beginning Open Focus Meditation with Heart Focus

Wednesday: Mass Disasters and Experiential

• Clinical studies of breath-focused programs following mass disasters: 2004 Southeast Asia Tsunami, 9/11 World Trade Center Attacks, Gulf Horizon Oil Spill, war, and slavery in Sudan. This presentation includes film clips of programs for disaster relief following the earthquake in Haiti, liberation of slaves in South Sudan, and work with polio victims in Sudan 
• Qigong Movements 4 Golden Wheels and 4-4-6-2; Breathing - Coherent, Resistance, Breath Moving, "Ha" breath; Body Scan, Open Focus Meditation for Dissolving Pain

Thursday: Neuro-psychoanalysis, Trauma, and Bonding and Experiential

• Clinical cases of rapid, permanent resolution of long-standing trauma formations and PTSD symptoms-anxiety, disconnectedness, numbing, and somatic delusions-illuminate processes through which breathing practices activate innate neuro-psycho-immuno-endocrinological systems involved in neuroplasticity, healing, homeostasis and resetting of the nervous system to 'normal'
• Qigong - 4 Golden Wheels and 4-4-6-2; Breathing - Coherent, Resistance, Breath Moving, "Ha" breath, Vibrational Breathing; Open Focus Meditation for Dissolving Pain, Group process
• Demonstration of how to teach breathing practices to patients. Participants practice teaching breath techniques with faculty supervision

Friday: Practice Teaching and Healing with Sound

• Qigong - 4 Golden Wheels, 4-4-6-2; Breathing - Coherent, Resistance, Breath Moving, "Ha" breath, Vibrational Breathing; Open Focus Meditation for Pain
• Participants practice teaching breath techniques with faculty supervision
• Group Healing Process using sound

See: http://www.cape.org/2014/richard_brown_patricia_gerbarg.html#sthash.fETTOTR9.dpuf

See: http://www.cape.org/about.html#sthash.zM6OEtx9.dpuf

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July 17 - Aug 1, 2014

Dr. Richard P. Brown, Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, Heather Mason, Joy Bennett

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health  Lenox, MA 01262

Training for therapists, healthcare providers & yoga therapists at Kripalu Center for Yoga in Lenox, MA. This is a 6-day certificate training program with CEUs for yoga teachers, therapists, health care providers, and disaster relief workers with Dr. Richard Brown, Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, Heather Mason (The Minded Institute), and Joy Bennett (Joyful Breath Yoga Therapy). Learn how to incorporate healing techniques into your personal practice and therapeutic work. Learn how to practice and teach trauma-sensitive movement, breathing, and meditation. Watch for listing/registration at www.kripalu.org.

Preparation: It is highly recommended that you complete at least one B~B~M weekend workshop and practice the breath techniques regularly prior to this training (see March-June Workshops above). Alternatively, you may choose to learn and practice the techniques by studying The Healing Power of the Breath. An additional practice CD is the Respire-1 CD available at www.coherence.com.  Exceptions can be made for those with prior experience in teaching breathwork.

Registration: http://www.kripalu.org/presenter/V0004595/richard_p_brown

This Program is eligible for 22 CE Credits 

Recommended reading: RP Brown & PL Gerbarg, Non-Drug Treatments for ADHD. 2012 (WW Norton). Winner 2013 Nautilus Gold Book Award.

RP Brown, PL Gerbarg, and PR. Muskin, How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care 2009 (W.W. Norton). Winner National Best Book Awards 2009 - Health Alternative medicine -First Place; Living Now Book Awards 2010 - Health/Wellness -Bronze; International Book Awards 2010- Health: Alternative Medicine - First Place

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Live and On-Line Webinar Breath~Body~Mind®

August 15-16, 2014

Dr. Richard P Brown & Dr. Patricia Gerbarg

Fellowships of the Spirit, Lily Dale, NY

LifeForce Yoga® Practitioner Training 

for Depression and Anxiety: Level 1

Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health

Amy Weintraub LifeForce Yoga®

Dr. Richard P Brown and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg will serve as guest faculty on Thursday July 11.

Registration and information: http://www.kripalu.org/presenter/V0000253 or 800-741-7353 

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Featured Teachers - Amy Weintraub and Samuel Jakob Kirshner

 New Research

Poster No. P1064. 78th Annual Meeting American College of Gastroenterology, 

San Diego, CA 10/14/13  

The Effect of Breathing, Movement, and Meditation on

Psychological and Physical Symptoms and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial

Vinita Jacobs MD, Patricia Gerbarg MD, Laurie Stevens MD, Brian Bosworth MD, Richard P. Brown MD, Fatiha Chabouni MD, Ersilia M. DeFilippis, Ryan Warren, Michael Harbus, Paul J. Christos DrPH, Ellen Scherl MD

Jill Roberts Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, Dept of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, NY, Dept of Psychiatry, New York Medical College, NY, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Weill Cornell Medical College

Background: Conventional treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) focus on ameliorating symptoms and inflammation through pharmacological interventions and patient education to enhance medication adherence. Due to the limitations in the efficacy of conventional medical treatments, many patients turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Although studies have found that mind-body practices can reduce symptoms and inflammatory markers in medical conditions, there are very few studies of their effects on IBD.

Objective: To evaluate, as adjunctive treatments, the short and long-term effects of the Breath-Body-Mind Workshop (BBMW) followed by weekly follow-up sessions on QoL, anxiety, depression, perceived stress, physical symptoms, and inflammatory markers in patients with IBD in comparison to an Education Seminar.

Methods: 30 patients with IBD were randomized to either the BBMW intervention group or the Education Seminar (ES) control. Patients continued their conventional treatment regimens throughout the study. BBMW provided 9 hours of group instruction over 2 days, including gentle Qigong movements, Coherent Breathing at 5 breaths per minute and a brief relaxing meditation. The control group received education sessions on IBD management for the same number of hours as the BBMW intervention. The following measures were obtained at baseline, 6 weeks, and 26 weeks:

                Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) - 18 items assess physical and psychological symptoms. 

                Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) - 21 items. 

                Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (IBDQ) 

                Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) - 21 items. 

                Perceived Disability Scale (PDS) - 10 items. 

                Perceived Stress Scale (PS) - 30 items.

                Fecal Calprotectin and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) - inflammatory markers

Results:Median change in scores from baseline: There was significantly greater improvement (reduction) in BSI at 6 and 26 weeks in BBMW group compared to ES control. At 26 weeks BSI scores worsened in ES group. There were significant improvements in mean scores on BSI, BAI, and IBDQ for BBMW group at week 6 and improvements persistent at week 26 in BBMW group compared to the baseline. There were statistically significant improvements in mean scores on PDS and PS at week 26 in BBMW group compared to ES control.  At week 26, Mean C-reactive protein (CRP) values showed significant improvement in the BBMW group compared to baseline (p = 0.01). No significant change occurred in CRP in the ES group.

Conclusions: Breathing, movement, and meditation interventions that emphasize Voluntarily Regulated Breathing Practices (VRBPs) may have significant and long lasting benefits for IBD symptoms, quality of life, anxiety and depression, as well as inflammation, as indicated by a significant reduction in C-reactive protein. The Beath~Body~Mind™ workshop is a promising adjunctive treatment for IBD that warrants further study.

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Presented at 14th International Schizophrenia Congress, Orlando, Florida, April 22, 2013.

Effects of Yoga on Cognition, Psychiatric Symptoms, Weight and Biochemical Changes in Chronic Schizophrenic Patients

Robert C. Smith MD PhD, Merlyn Mathew BA, Lawrence Maayan MD, Patricia L. Gerbarg MD, Richard P. Brown MD, Elizabeth Visceglia MD, Henry Sershen, PhD, Abel Lajtha PhD, Sylvia Boules MD, James Auta, PhD, Alessandro Guidotti, MD, John M. Davis, MD

National Kline institute for Psychiatric Research, Dept Psychiatry NYU Medical School, Psychiatric Institute University of Illinois, New York Medical College, Columbia University Medical School

Introduction:  A few studies have suggested that Yoga may be effective in improving psychiatric symptoms, quality of life, and cognition in schizophrenic patients. Studies in non-psychotic patients with type -2 diabetes show Yoga effects on weight reduction and improvement in glucose-lipid parameters.  Studies in non-psychotic patients have also shown reduction in cortisol, TSH and alteration in ACTH response. Studies of response in glucocorticoid receptors in brain and blood cells have shown that behavioral treatments related to maternal care, maternal depression or stress and childhood abuse can alter glucorticoid receptors and their epigenetic control. We present results from a preliminary study of the effects of Yoga on these multiple aspects of clinical, cognitive, and biochemical response in schizophrenic patients.

Methods: We conducted a study of Yoga in 21 chronic schizophrenic outpatients (schizophrenia or schizoaffective diagnosis) who participated in 12 weeks (1-hour sessions 3x/week) of Hatha Yoga (group 1) or later a modified Yoga concentrating more on Qigong movements and procedures (group 2). Both groups practiced Coherent Breathing, gentle breathing at 5 breaths per minute with equal inhalation and exhalation. Patients entered had BMI ≥27.5, and/or fasting glucose >100mg. Subjects were evaluated at baseline and end for a) Cognition (RBANS), b) Psychiatric Symptoms (PANSS), c) glucocorticoid receptor mRNA in lymphocytes, and  d) appetite measures in response to a test meal. They were evaluated monthly fore) fasting glucose and lipid measures, f) cortisol, ACTH, TSH, and g) weight and waist measures. Statistical analysis used paired sample t-test and repeated measures analyses of variance.

Results: 3 months of 1-hour Yoga treatments 3 times per week produced significant  increases in Cognitive Scores  on  RBANS Total Scores  and Sum of Index Scores (P=.001) and increases in RBANS sub-scores of  Attention, Delayed Memory, Figure Copy, Visual- Spatial Construction, Semantic Fluency and Language Index.  There were no significant changes in PANSS scores, although there was a trend for decrease in Depression factor (P=.08) and PANSS General Factor (P=.06), and other scores showed a slight trend for decrease. There were no significant changes in weight or glucose and lipid measures, but Waist and Hip circumference significantly decreased (P=.001). In test meal volume of meal consumed as decreased after Yoga treatment. There was a trend (P=.2) for increase in serum ACTH and a tendency for increased cortisol in Yoga group 2. Serum cortisol and ACTH were highly correlated at baseline (r=.69, P=.001), but not correlated by 8 or 12 weeks of Yoga treatment (r's= 0.07.-.0.13). In preliminary analysis of data from Yoga group 1, 9 patients showed approximately 50% increase in lymphocyte glucocorticoid receptor mRNA (GR mRNA 4.51 vs. 2.08, P=.030).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that Yoga improves cognitive function in schizophrenic patients and may modify glucocorticoid receptor function.  Studies with appropriate controls, including exercise controls, are needed to further specify these effects. Longer periods of breathwork while walking may produce stronger effects.

 Scientific Insights on some Healing Effects of Mind-body Practices

Breath~Body~Mind workshops teach natural methods to enhance stress resilience, mental and physical energy, and connectedness to the true self.  Coherent Breathing and Breath Moving awaken the three important energy centers for wisdom, love, and vitality.

Whenever we adapt to change, stress occurs, depleting energy reserves and leaving impressions within our mind-body nervous systems. Accumulated stress creates layers of reactions and defenses that block access to our true, natural self and interfere with our perception of others. Gentle Qigong movements, Breath Practices and Open Focus meditation enhance mental clarity and awareness of our self and others.

Breath practices provide a portal to directly communicate with the body's interoceptive (internal sensory) network, the moment-to-moment dialogue between the mind and the body. By changing the pattern or our breathing we can change the messages sent from the body to the brain and thereby influence how we think, feel, perceive, and regulate autonomic functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, energy utilization, immune function, and stress response.

For more in-depth scientific information, see our books, radio interviews and articles listed in our biographies on this website.

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 Scientific Notes on some Healing Effects of Mind-body Practices

 Book Awards