This is not a training. It is a year of becoming.
The path of the Bodhisattva is about staying with the impossible - withing. Staying with the very material that invites us to flee. It is a practice, a remembering - an ongoing, imperfect turning toward what is here, even when what is here is unbearable. Even when what is here is our own leaving.
The path includes the leaving - the dissociation, the shutdown, the breath that goes somewhere else entirely, the moment the system decides - wisely, intelligently, from everything it has ever learned - that presence is too dangerous. We do not turn away from the turning away. We stay with that too. We trust the body to know what it's doing, and we trust it to show us the way back.
Because it always does. The breath always returns - until it doesn't. The question is only whether we're willing to follow it home without making the leaving wrong.
This is what we are practicing this year. Not the elimination of our conditioning - the granthis, the samskaras, the breath patterns that reenact in our tissues every relational story we have ever survived - but a growing capacity to stay WITH them - to feel them from the inside. To recognize the withheld exhale as a memory; the braced diaphragm as a decision made long ago that may no longer need to be made; the over-breathing as the body still chasing a safety that never quite landed.
The breath is both the vehicle and the portal. It carries every strategy we ever developed for not feeling what is here, and it is the very thing that can bring us back.
We begin in September with the body itself. With what it means to feel from within before we try to change anything. And we end - eleven months later, in July - with what becomes possible when a room full of people have learned to stay with their own suffering long enough to breathe with someone else's.
That is the path of the Bodhisattva. It is made in the returning, again and again, with so much comapssion for what it is to be human in these times.
I come to this path not as an expert, but as a mother longing for a path to walk during these extraordinary times. A path we can share that centers collective liberation, compassion and the breath.
We stay because our liberation is bound to eachother's.
Previous Apprentices:
I cherish your presence and participation in my work. Many of you continue to repeat the apprenticeship. As you do, you continue to deepen my experience with the breath through your deepening practice. It's a catalyst for my own growth and learning. Thank you.
I offer a reduced rate of $225/month for this in person experience. This rate, includes the daily practice. As always, let me know if you need something different.
SEPTEMEBER 19 & 20
The path of the Bodhisattva.
Biomechanics as architecture of how we learned to inhabit or vacate. Interoception as the first relational act - the felt sense of being alive from the inside. The body as first relational territory. Breathing with the grasping for certainty. Over breathing patterns.
Metal. Po. Lungs. Grief.
OCTOBER 24 & 25
Biochemistry as the science of staying. Getting so quiet we remember ourselves beyond worth. Breathing with the scarcity wound. The Samurai and the Bodhisattva teach us to stay.
Metal: Large intestines. Releasing.
NOVEMBER 21 & 22
Subtle Body Map. The interior landscape of relational wounding. The Vayus as blueprint. Learned breath patterns as imprint. When the breath says NO.
Metal to Water. Po meets Zhi.
DECEMBER TBD
Daily Practice with Alicia and Carrie. Apprentices gather to hold each other accountable.
JANUARY 9 & 10
Breathing with the Granthis. Samskaras. Kleshas. Conditioning as path to liberation.
Water: Kidneys. Jing. Fear. The Zhi.
FEBRUARY 20 & 21
Deeper into conditioning. Identity organized around effort - breathing for effect, performing presence. Breathing with perfection and fawning.
Water to Wood: Bladder. Back body line.
MARCH 20 & 21
Paramitas as Antidote to these times. Breathing the Paramitas.
Wood: Liver. Uncoupling emergence from dominant culture's pressure.
APRIL 24 & 25
Chinese Medicine. The Elements as Relational Map.
Wood: Gall Bladder. The WuWei.
MAY 22 & 23
The Bodhisattva Vow Made Dyadic. Tonglen as lived practice. The breath as relational field.
Wood to Fire: The Ethereal Soul meets Shen.
JUNE 19 & 20
Apprentice Shares. Dyad work. Presence. Breath. Practicing the path of the Bodhisattva.
Fire: Heart. Shen.
JULY 24 & 25
Breathing with all of it. Apprentice shares. Integrate and close.
Fire to Earth: Spleen, Yi.
Daily Breath Practice
Throughout the year, you are invited into daily breath practice guided by Alicia and Carrie each morning. This is the thread that holds everything together. The 10 hour weekend explorations will be developed and deepened in the daily practice.
Mon - Fri, 7:30 - 8 AM
The live, virtual (and recorded) daily practice emerges from the opening that interbeing offers. A practice of remembering our true nature through the exploration of our inner landscape as both the home of and the catalyst for liberation. I weave Somatic Experiencing, quantum physics with ancient practices that draw from Vedic philosophy, Chinese medicine, Buddhism and my direct experience with trees, fungi, bull frogs, and many other sentient beings that walk my path with me.
The additional daily practice includes:
- Weekly time for questions, discussion and integration (Thursdays 8-8:30 AM EST)
- Monthly RAINN practice with Quaker Share (1st Saturday) 8-9 AM EST
- 15 minutes of dancing every Tuesday following breathwork
I began this live, daily practice in 2020 and have been guiding it consecutively now for 5 years. This last year, I welcomed Carrie Dennison to co-lead with me after she spent several years in the apprenticeship learning my work.
It has been life changing in a way I never thought possible. The breath, the community, the commitment to show up no matter what and breathe together has been utterly profound. If you are considering the apprenticeship, you can try a two week practice to see if it is a fit for you. We start a new sadhana on the Full and New moons.
*The daily practice is included in the apprenticeship.
You can learn more about the daily practice here.
Apprentice yourself to the breath.
Apprenticeship Dates:
September 19th & 20th
October 24th & 25th
November 21st & 22nd
December: apprentices meet on their own with daily practice
January 9 & 10
February 20th & 21st
March 20th & 21st
April 24th & 25th
May 22nd & 23rd
June 19th & 20th
July 24th & 25th
12 - 5 on Saturday and Sunday
Warm Welcome,
My name is Alicia. I have been consciously practicing the breath for 30 years in my personal and professional practice as a psychotherapist, yoga therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. I have used it as a tool to support people with symptom mitigation and root level healing.
I work with people as multidimensional beings to support liberation as a practice of unraveling our conditioning.
I combine Somatic Experiencing with breathwork to build a bridge between the subconscious and conscious mind - the implicit and the explicit - allowing longstanding patterns to emerge and be supported, held and felt in a new way - in relationship with the loving witness and the vast web of relations.
My work emerges from the intersection of science and spirituality as I weave modern science with ancient practices to create 30 minute daily practices that draw from quantum physics, Vedic philosophy, Chinese medicine, Buddhism and my direct experience with trees, fungi, bull frogs, and many other sentient beings that walk my path with me.
I provide somatic work (with and without psychedelics) and individualized breath sessions to harness the breath for personal and collective liberation.
I am committed to regenerative practices, local community resiliency and loving ourselves and each other back to wholeness as an act of collective liberation.
For more information about my work, click here.
"I can’t say enough about Alicia and about this program. To share this container and community is so incredibly special and I am so grateful! The apprenticeship is full of practical knowledge that I know I can take with me into not only my personal practice, but my practice as a therapist as well. Knowledge of the breath and regular practice has made me a better clinician, a better partner, and a more connected human. This program has been a breath of fresh air that I didn’t even know I needed. Thank you Alicia!"
Nicole Sparrow, Therapist, Reiki Master
"I don't think anything has been as impactful for my overall well being...like ever. Alicia's Breathwork Apprenticeship and the daily Breathwork practices have helped me better connect with myself and others. It's inspired me to work differently with my clients and students and honestly, Alicia is just really lovely to sit and listen to."
Carrie Dennison, Yoga Teacher Trainer and Rieki Master
"Alicia's Breathwork Apprenticeship has been revolutionary for me both professionally and personally. She has helped me safely explore and inhabit my body in a completely new way by helping me tap into our body's most powerful tool, the breath. Her incredible wisdom and tender guidance is soul quenching. It is so apparent that she takes incredible care when curating this apprenticeship. Her approach is gentle, thoughtful and trauma informed. It has been an honor to sit and breathe, laugh, cry and hold joy and grief alongside so many other beautiful humans during these last 6 months. I cannot recommend it enough!"
Amanda Phelan, LCSW-C
"I have been breathing with Alicia for 15 years a my partner. The Apprenticeship has helped me settle in a new and deeper way. It's one thing to be mindful, it's another to know how to breathe functionally and use the breath to change the way I am feeling. This work is profound. Coming into deep relationship with my breath has been so incredibly useful. It has been life changing on every level."
Travis Wanner, SEP, Somatic Coach, PSIP Facilitator, Pre and Perinatal Guide
"Alicia's daily breathwork and apprenticeship program has absolutely transformed my overall health and wellness. Thanks to these last six months, I now have a rich toolkit of breaths available when I'm fatigued, anxious, or need to work out the stiffness in my joints. More than that, though, I also have a community and a sense of belonging.
I have returned to my natural state of being thanks to this practice of attuning to my breath!"
Safrianna Loughna, LCPC
Content from Past Apprenticeships
The Empathy Partner’s role is one of non-judgement and empathy. It is not that of a cheerleader nor is it a role of holding anyone accountable. It’s more a mirror, an empathic witness as we move through the work together. Daily practice can bring up A LOT. Meeting our stuff day in and day out is hard and rewarding. The partner is there to reflect back your process no matter what it is...from unbearable grief to chronic illness to insomnia to patterns of addiction to bouts of the “fuck its”, and maybe even some joy and bliss. The vast human experience is welcome in all of its complexity and nuance.
*Monthly sangha (sacred community) Quaker shares first Saturdays 8:30 - 9 AM EST after RAINN practice.
PLEASE NOTE THE CANCELLATION AGREEMENT BELOW.
Cancellation Agreement
Up to 30 days before start date: full refund (minus a $50 admin fee)
Between 14-30 days of the start date: 50% refund
Less than two weeks notice: no refund unless a replacement person can be found. (There are a specific number of slots for each training. If someone cancels at the last minute, that slot is not filled and impacts the sustainability of the training.)
An exception will be made for an unexpected illness and major life events: a refund of 50% or a full credit to attend an up-coming training can be issued.