SEEING BREATHING PRACTICE

Seeing breathing practice is an experimental methodology that activates the visual, movement and respiratory systems to encourage connectedness to the self and others. Developed by integrating techniques from the fields of neuroscience and diverse somatic and meditation practices, seeing breathing seeks to create spaces of empathy through embodiment.

Seeing breathing practice includes works across media, including sound, painting, sculpture, performance and body and meditation based practices. Please scroll down for documentation of works and previous activations.

I Inhale You Exhale (Score for Breathing With Another) is a collaborative sound work by Kaj Schlicht and Jamie Denburg Habie that invites two or more people to synchronize their heartbeats through shared breathing. The piece guides participants to breathe in for five seconds and out for five, following a breathwork pattern known as “coherence breathing.” This practice activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting a state of calm and receptivity. 

As participants breathe together, their heart rates may lower in unison, inviting an exploration of the boundaries of self through attunement to the body of another. The sound work alternates between spoken breathing cues, recordings of inhales and exhales, and ambient soundscapes, subtly playing with language and meaning: by repeatedly hearing the phrase “I inhale, you exhale” while breathing in unison, the distinction between “I” and “you” begins to blur.

PAST EVENTS

 July 16, 2024. 19:30h

GlogauAIR

Glogauer Str. 16, Berlin

Join us a seeing-breathing practice led by Jamie Denburg Habie, part of the summer cohort of artists in residence at GlogauAIR, and Gerjet Efken, cofounder of Inner Space Breath. The practice explores themes that Jamie will be investigating during her time in Berlin, particularly the use of art as a tool to create non-dual experiences for healing.

What to expect?

A 1.5 hour journey that flows through movement, breathing exercises and a guided meditation designed to catalyze a state of connectedness to yourself, others, and the air around you.

More about seeing-breathing practice

Seeing-breathing is an experimental practice that I will develop over the course of three months while in residence at GlogauAIR in Berlin. It is not one thing, but rather an intention to leverage the visual system’s brain dominance towards meditative practices. Specifically, seeing-breathing is a practice in consciously linking the visual and respiratory systems to create the conditions to experience non-duality, or a sense of connectedness to others and the world around you. 

The first experiment in seeing-breathing is a 1.5 hour collaborative workshop with Gerjet Efken that will blend various somatic techniques known to produce states of interconnection, in combination with the activation of a large-scale serpentine painting which functions as a score for linking movement, breath, and sight.  

Why

It is my belief that non-dual experiences spark feelings of interconnectedness and healing. The more we live in a space of dualism, on the other hand, the more likely we are to act violently towards ourselves, others, and the earth. Along these lines, I am curious about the potential for art to spark non-dual states, thereby creating feelings of connectivity and new frameworks for releasing a fixed sense of selfhood. 

The goal of this first seeing-breathing practice is to test proven techniques from the fields of breathwork, somatic practices and meditation in combination with an experimental activation of a painting score. Participants completely new to these practices will walk away with proven tools they can incorporate into their daily lives. For those familiar with breath and somatic techniques, the visual component will provide a new framework for practice. Advanced and novice practitioners alike will have the opportunity to experience (and co-create) an experimental artwork that lives in the space between performance/time-based art, meditation and somatic practice. 

In addition to creating an experience of connection for others, I am also motivated by the desire to test the painting scores as much as possible during my residency to further the development of the seeing-breathing practice.

This first experience will serve as the point of departure for my research this summer.