Breath Of The Golden Eagle
Dalai Lama & Juan Ruiz Naupari
We all have a presence that extends beyond the confines of our physical body. In yogic anatomy, this is the purview of the koshas, the energetic layers. When we breathe, in fact, our breath extends both without and within the boundaries of the physical self. There are moments when this presence feels palpable, something that we could touch with as much solidity and energy as is contained in our skin, an electric current that pulsates. And there are moments when walking into a room, the very air vibrates with the presence of a person.
This is the case when sitting in same room as Juan Ruiz Naupari. Born in Cuzco, Peru, initiated into the sacred teachings in his youth by his grandfather, he now shares secrets of plant medicine as well as the teachings of the breath that generate consciousness. Juan Ruiz Naupari himself generates a field of consciousness around him that is both powerful and subtle, and one that threatens to induce a trance state in the people sharing the energized space.
It’s not surprising that this might occur, and there are times when as a shaman, Juan Ruiz Naupari cultivates the healing energy that can emanate in a trance state. But it’s not only the trance state that he finds interesting; in addition to shamanic study, his explorations have also continued in the scientific realm. In the U.S. and Europe Ruiz Naupari has studied holotropic breathwork, transpersonal psychology and musicology. His personal multicultural studies and synthesis has inspired his worldwide activity, much of which centers on activities, teachings and initiatives that span and even unite traditions. He sees similarities among the core teachings of the high mountain cultures, those of the Andes and the high Tibetan plateaus. For nearly two decades, he has been directing a preservation effort also focused on disseminating Tibetan culture with Tibetan monasteries Gaden Shartse and Keutsang Rimpoche and in 2004, when the Dalai Lama traveled to Puerto Rico, Juan Ruiz Naupari was the one who coordinated the visit.
The breath is central to his teachings, just as our inhalation and exhalation are the focal point of our own lives. The breath is at the heart of his Pneuma System: The Path of Knowledge, a culmination of his own exploration within and understanding of wisdom traditions from around the world, from sea level to the teachings of people who literally live in the sky. Through the breath as it is understood from a variety of vantage points, and the literal eagles-eye view of his guide, the Golden Eagle, we can live within our heart in an expanded state of consciousness.
Pneuma Breathwork: The Experience of Divinity
Throughout his spiritual journeys, Juan Ruiz Naupari has touched upon important mystical experiences. He tells us of marvelous encounters with God and the Goddess, with love and lack of love, with everything and the All. In his passage through and contemplation of the invisible universe, he was admitted as a student of the Golden Eagle, the name of a society conformed by celestial masters from every lineage, who are guiding humanity through the current transition. Within this process he received teachings which the masters called the Legacy of Pneuma (a Greek word meaning spirit); the principle objective is to create equilibrium within.
According to Juan Ruiz Naupari, these teachings allow one to comprehend the mechanisms that lead one to the knowledge of the essential elements of the transcendence of the ego and provide the cartography for the knowledge of the spirit and its most clear interpretation within the experiences of amplified states of consciousness.
Through the expansion of consciousness, we can touch the other (invisible) realms of reality, generating mystical experiences of inner opening and cleansing of energetic blockages on all levels of the psyche, aiding the process of self-knowledge and self-discovery. Through this inner work, through the process of illumination, we can verify for ourselves that God is indeed breathable.
Juan Ruiz Naupari is facilitating a Pneuma Breathwork session in Malibu on June 27. Other upcoming events include a Mystical Death and Spiritual Rebirth in September in Ojai at the house of Krishnamurti. With monks from the Thubten Dhargye Ling Monastery, Juan will offer a Pneuma Breathwork session at the Leaders Causing Leaders Conference, in Long Beach, November 6 – 7. For more information, write: ciela@goldeneaglecircleofla.com.
By Felicia M. Tomasko, RN and Ciela Wynter
Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.