Breath, Pranayama and the art and science of breathwork with Yogi Mark Stephens | GATEWAYS TO AWAKENING

In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with internationally acclaimed yoga teacher, teacher trainer, and author Mark Stephens for a fascinating exploration of pranayama, the ancient yogic science of working consciously with the breath. Mark has been practicing yoga for decades, and his newest book takes a deep dive into the history, science, philosophy, and practice of pranayama.We talk about the difference between breath and prana, how breathing can influence our nervous system and state of consciousness, and why nervous-system regulation doesn't simply mean becoming calm. As Mark explains, a healthy nervous system is flexible: sometimes we need to settle, and sometimes we need to mobilize. The deeper question is how we can prepare ourselves to meet what the moment requires.We also explore alternate nostril breathing, Breath of Fire, breath retention, the bandhas, nadis, chakras, Kundalini, sleep, and the relationship between subtle-energy traditions and modern anatomy.In this episode, we explore:• What pranayama actually means—and why prana is much more than breath• How changing the breath can change our physiological and emotional state• The relationship between breath, consciousness, and the nervous system• Why nervous-system regulation isn't synonymous with relaxation• Breath of Fire, alternate nostril breathing, retention, and other pranayama practices• Kundalini, bandhas, chakras, nadis, and the subtle body• Where ancient yogic wisdom and modern science intersect—and where they don't• Why preparation and gradual progression matter in breathwork• The potential risks of intense or one-size-fits-all breathwork practices• How conscious breathing can help us become more present in our everyday livesWe're now opening a private Gateways Community membership for those interested in processing the podcast and joining live monthly calls to discuss the content. Learn more here. If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the ⁠Inner Knowing School,⁠ where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, ⁠A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life⁠, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.Best, 

Dear Friends In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with Tim Kelley, a global expert on purpose and author of the book (which just released today) True Purpose. Tim has worked with leaders and executive teams at organizations including Alibaba, Oracle, ING, and PwC, trained more than 1,000 coaches and consultants in his methods, and even explored purpose at the level of entire countries.We explore why so many people struggle to identify their purpose and Tim’s framework for understanding its different dimensions: essence, blessing, mission, and message. We also discuss why discovering your purpose is only part of the equation, and how fear, resistance, and our desire for safety can keep us from actually living it. We also explore projection, relationships, dreamwork, Internal Family Systems, and how to distinguish resistance that tells us something isn’t our path from the resistance that appears because something deeply aligned scares us.You can listen to the entire conversation here: Takeaways:- Purpose has multiple dimensions: who you are, how you impact others, your larger mission, and the message you are here to share.- Fear can keep us from living our purpose, even when we already sense what we are being called toward.- Shadow work brings unconscious patterns into awareness, helping us understand what may actually be driving our choices.- The people who trigger us can reveal our own projections and unconscious material.- Knowing your purpose isn’t enough. Purpose still needs a plan.“Give yourself permission to learn what your purpose is without having to do it. You’re just investigating. You’re just gathering information.” — Tim KelleyWe're now opening a private Gateways Community membership for those interested in processing the podcast and joining live monthly calls to discuss the content. Learn more here. If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the ⁠Inner Knowing School,⁠ where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, ⁠A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life⁠, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.Best, 

Dear Friends,In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with Canadian singer, songwriter, and composer Tammy Weis to explore the extraordinary world of Portuguese poet and philosopher Fernando Pessoa, the mystical energy of Portugal, the Fifth Empire, and the synchronicities that can unfold when we become open to receiving.Tammy shares how a chance encounter in Lisbon’s Alfama district led her to Pessoa’s poetry, and ultimately inspired Soul Whisper, her album setting his words to music. What followed were dozens of what she calls “Pessoa miracles”: unexpected encounters, collaborations, and synchronicities that completely changed the course of her life. We also explore Pessoa’s many identities, his vision of the Fifth Empire, dreaming and imagination, presence, intuition, frequency, and why his work feels perhaps even more relevant today.One of the central questions Pessoa’s work continually brings us back to is beautifully simple: “Who am I?” And perhaps Tammy’s greatest lesson from this entire journey: “I’m open to receive.”You can listen to the entire episode here: In this episode, we explore:- Fernando Pessoa and the many selves within us, and why his heteronyms were far more than pen names.- The Fifth Empire, Pessoa’s vision of an empire rooted in language, culture, imagination, intellect, and spirit.- The mystical energy of Portugal and why Lisbon seems to create such powerful experiences of synchronicity and connection.- How to stop overthinking and become more grounded in the body, intuition, and the present moment.- Dreaming and imagination as ways of experiencing realities beyond what is immediately visible.- Synchronicity and resonance, and what can happen when we stop forcing and become open to receiving.- Music, frequency, and intention and how Tammy intuitively heard music while reading Pessoa’s poetry.- Presence before explanation, experiencing life before immediately analyzing or judging it.- The deeper invitation of Pessoa’s work: to question who we think we are and become more open to the mystery of what we might be.Ultimately, this conversation is an invitation to think less, perceive more, and become open to the synchronicities already trying to find us. We're now opening a private Gateways Community membership for those interested in processing the podcast and joining live monthly calls to discuss the content. Learn more here. If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the ⁠Inner Knowing School,⁠ where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, ⁠A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life⁠, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.Best, -Yasmeen 

What if reality is far more fluid than we’ve been taught to believe?In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with Cynthia Sue Larson, bestselling author of Reality Shifts, Quantum Jumps, The Mandela Effect and Its Society, and High Energy Money. Cynthia has a background in physics from UC Berkeley and has spent decades exploring consciousness, reality shifts, synchronicities, quantum phenomena, and what happens when our experience of reality doesn’t quite match what we thought was possible. She wrote the book about the Mandela Effect, which Cynthia describes as “collective alternate memory,” and why different people can seemingly remember the same events, words, places, or cultural moments differently. “We are the dreamer. We are in the dream.” - Cynthia Sue Larson We begin by exploring what Cynthia calls reality shifts, those strange moments when something appears, disappears, changes, or seems to exist differently than we remember, and her belief that consciousness plays a fundamental role in how we experience the physical world. Throughout the episode, we explore:- What reality shifts are and how to begin noticing them- Whether consciousness can influence our experience of reality- Quantum jumping and moving between possible timelines- Why our internal state and perspective matter- The Mandela Effect and collective alternate memories- Whether the past, present, and future are as fixed as we assume- Individual versus collective realities- Free will, destiny, and conscious agency- Why Cynthia asks herself every day: “How good can it get?”Thank you for listening! We're now opening a private Community membership for those interested in processing the podcast and joining live monthly calls to discuss the content. Learn more here. If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the ⁠Inner Knowing School,⁠ where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, ⁠A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life⁠, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.#quantumjumping #cynthiasuelarson #realityshifts

Dear Friends, In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with Gold Porter, founder and spokesperson for Artifact Guardians, and Marza Flowers, a Stanford scholar of archaeoacoustics and Egyptian sound consciousness, registered nurse, clinical herbalist, medicine woman, and longtime student of ancient civilizations and Indigenous medicine ways.Raised in Indigenous medicine ways, she carries ceremonial teachings connected to the sacred Door of the Ant and works across Egyptian temple studies, vibrational medicine, cymatics, plant medicine, and shamanic traditions.We explore ancient crystalline artifacts and skulls emerging from Mexico and Gold and Marza's experiences of them as objects carrying consciousness or information. Rather than approaching these artifacts through ownership, they describe their work through the lens of guardianship and relationship. Marza shares her perspective on ancient Egyptian sound technology, sacred architecture, portals, and the importance of approaching sacred sites with discernment and proper training. We also explore her views on timelines, the Mandela Effect and CERN, and why she believes humanity is being asked to evolve our consciousness alongside our rapidly accelerating technology.In this episode, we explore:- Ancient crystalline artifacts and what it means to become their “guardian”- Crystal skulls, consciousness and the possibility of information held within matter- Egyptian sound consciousness and sacred architecture- Ancient civilizations, portals and the importance of discernment- Marza's perspective on CERN, the Mandela Effect and overlapping timelines- Indigenous knowledge and our relationship with the Earth- Ancient intelligence versus artificial intelligence- Why our humanity must evolve alongside our technology- Prayer, heart coherence and unified consciousness“Everything for me is that word home—going inward and finding your inner compass.” — Gold“The thing that calibrates our humanity is our heart.” — MarzaThank you for listening! We're now opening a private Community membership for those interested in processing the podcast and joining live monthly calls to discuss the content. Learn more here. If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the ⁠Inner Knowing School,⁠ where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, ⁠A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life⁠, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.Best, 

Dear Friends, In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with my new friend, David Lorimer, writer, poet, philosopher, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network, and Chair of the Galileo Commission. We recently met in the South of France, while I was on Dr. Nicola Amadora's Mary Magdalene tour. For decades, David has been at the forefront of conversations exploring consciousness, science, spirituality, near-death experiences, and the deeper nature of reality.We begin with David’s lifelong “quest for wisdom” and why true wisdom cannot be separated from love, compassion, discernment, and direct experience. We also dive into the research surrounding near-death experiences, survival of consciousness, and the possibility that death is not an ending, but a transition into another mode of consciousness. David shares decades of experience studying these phenomena and the recurring patterns reported by people who have come close to death.“We have to wake up, and we have to try to use our lives to contribute to the larger common good, and to grow in love and wisdom.”— David LorimerKey Takeaways- Wisdom is more than knowledge. True wisdom integrates discernment and deeper understanding with love and compassion.- Intuition is fundamental to discovery. Major scientific breakthroughs often begin with intuitive insight before the analytical mind works out the science.- Our current scientific understanding of consciousness may be incomplete, opening the door to a much larger exploration of the nature of mind and reality.- Death may be a transition rather than an ending. Near-death experiences show striking recurring patterns, including peace, out-of-body experiences, beings of light, and life reviews.- We may be expressions of one consciousness, raising profound questions about interconnectedness and the nature of the self.- The mind and heart need to develop together. Intellectual or spiritual knowledge alone does not necessarily create an integrated human being.- Mary Magdalene offers another lens on the Divine Feminine and the integration of sacred masculine and feminine principles.Our lives can serve something larger. The invitation is to wake up, expand our consciousness, contribute to the common good, and continue growing in love and wisdom.Thank you for listening! We're now opening a private Community membership for those interested in processing the podcast and joining live monthly calls to discuss the content. Learn more here. If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the ⁠Inner Knowing School,⁠ where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, ⁠A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life⁠, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.For all resoures, check here: https://linktr.ee/gatewaystoawakening

Dear Community, we're opening up a private Community membership for those who are interested in processing the podcast. Learn more here: https://linktr.ee/gatewaystoawakeningWhat if sound is one of the fundamental forces shaping our bodies, our consciousness, and even the world around us?In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with legendary sound healer, Grammy-nominated musician, author, and pioneer Jonathan Goldman, who has spent more than 50 years exploring the transformational power of sound. We dive into Jonathan’s newest book, Ascension Harmonics, and his exploration of the Divine Name, an ancient sequence of sacred vowel sounds he describes as a “hotline to the Divine.”“It is not only the frequency of the sound that creates its effect. It is also the intention of the person making and receiving the sound.” — Jonathan Goldman In this episode, we explore:Why Jonathan believes everything can be understood through vibrationHow sound may help restore the body to resonance and balanceThe principle Frequency + Intent = HealingWhy love, gratitude, kindness, and appreciation transform the way we use soundThe science and practice of hummingWhy every person is a unique vibratory beingThe ancient Divine Name and Jonathan’s work with sacred vowel soundsSound, the biofield, and what Jonathan calls the “Gaia Matrix”Collective intention and planetary healingThe relationship between sound, water, and DNAJonathan’s extraordinary experience of sound becoming lightWhy silence is just as essential as soundAnd why healing ourselves and healing the planet may ultimately be the same actJonathan leaves us with a beautifully simple practice: take a breath, hum, and then become silent. In a world filled with noise, the space between sounds may hold some of the greatest gifts of all.We would LOVE to hear from you! What did you learn? Tune into Gateways to Awakening for more conversations with leading thinkers, scientists, mystics, entrepreneurs, and consciousness pioneers exploring the future of human potential.If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the Inner Knowing School, where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.

Dear Friends, I am excited to announce a new monthly membership for listeners of Gateways, called Gateways to Inner Knowing, where I'll be sharing reflections, takeaways, meditations, live calls, occasional guest drop-ins, and more. You can learn more here: In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, I sit down with Dr. Sue Morter, internationally recognized teacher, speaker, bioenergetics expert, and author of The Energy Codes, to explore the relationship between consciousness, energy, the body, and our deeper spiritual nature.Sue’s work brings together ancient wisdom, energy medicine, meditation, and our understanding of the human body to ask a profound question: How do we move from intellectually understanding who we are to actually embodying it?“The body isn't something we need to transcend in order to awaken. It may be the very instrument through which awakening becomes embodied.” - Dr. Sue Morter Big thank you to my soul brother Bruce Cryer for the introduction! We explore why so many of us live primarily from the mind, what it means to bring our awareness back into the body, and how our energetic patterns can influence the way we experience ourselves and the world around us. In this conversation, we explore:What The Energy Codes are and how Sue developed the frameworkWhy consciousness and embodiment must work togetherWhat it means to live from the Soulful Self rather than the Protective PersonalityHow energy moves through the body and why the central channel mattersThe relationship between breath, the nervous system, and consciousnessWhy intellectual insight alone doesn't always change our patternsHow our bodies can carry unresolved energetic and emotional experiencesWhat it means to embody rather than simply understand our spiritual natureWe would LOVE to hear from you! What did you learn? Tune into Gateways to Awakening for more conversations with leading thinkers, scientists, mystics, entrepreneurs, and consciousness pioneers exploring the future of human potential.If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the Inner Knowing School, where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.

In this episode of Gateways to Awakening, Yasmeen Turayhi sits down with Dr. Edith Ubuntu-Chan, Chinese medicine doctor, consciousness pioneer, founder of the Luminous Human Institute, and one of the leading voices exploring blindfold vision, intuition, and expanded human perception.Dr. Edith shares the remarkable journey that led her into the world of blindfold vision after witnessing children seemingly perceive information beyond their ordinary senses. What began as curiosity evolved into years of research, training hundreds of families, and exploring how these practices may unlock far more than the ability to "see" without sight.Together, Yasmeen and Edith explore the intersection of intuition, telepathy, consciousness, education, and the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence. They discuss why joy, play, coherence, and relaxed awareness appear to be essential ingredients for expanding human perception, and why cultivating our inner capacities may become one of the most important skills of the future.In this conversation, you'll discover:What blindfold vision (or Mindsight) is, and why it's about much more than seeing without eyesightWhy Edith believes intuition and expanded perception are innate human capacitiesHow children often access these abilities with remarkable easeThe surprising relationship between blindfold vision and telepathyWhy coherence, play, and curiosity unlock greater perceptionHow parents are transforming alongside their children through this workWhat these practices reveal about education, consciousness, and human developmentWhy our greatest challenge in the age of AI may not be technological—but deeply humanHow cultivating our "inner technology" may become one of the defining skills of the futureWhether you're curious about intuition, consciousness research, telepathy, education, or the next frontier of human potential, this conversation invites you to consider a profound question:We would LOVE to hear from you! What did you learn? Tune into Gateways to Awakening for more conversations with leading thinkers, scientists, mystics, entrepreneurs, and consciousness pioneers exploring the future of human potential.If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the Inner Knowing School, where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.Thank you,

I'm celebrating my 300th episode today! I am also launching the ⁠⁠Gateways to Awakening Patreon community ⁠to share behind-the-scenes voice notes and live monthly online gatherings to process the episodes. [Just launched!]I just returned from one of the most profound experiences I've had in years, a pilgrimage through Southern France exploring the teachings of Mary Magdalene with Dr. Nicola Amadora, renowned spiritual teacher, holistic psychologist, women's leader, author, and speaker. I was so deeply moved that I knew I had to invite her onto Gateways to Awakening.In this conversation, we explore what it truly means to embody the Divine Feminine. We talk about why so much of modern spirituality has become disconnected from the body, our emotions, relationships, and the fullness of our humanity, and why awakening isn't about transcending our human experience, but learning to inhabit it more fully."You don't become enlightened by escaping your humanity. You become more fully alive by inhabiting it." - Dr. Nicola Amadora "Take your meditation cushion into the world." - Dr. Nicola Amadora Nicola shares a radically embodied perspective on spirituality, reminding us that the sacred isn't somewhere "out there" waiting for us to find it, it's already here, alive in our bodies, our hearts, our relationships, and the natural world. ​​We also dive into the life and legacy of Mary Magdalene, her role as a teacher, healer, leader, and embodiment of the sacred feminine, and explore the history of the Cathars, the Way of Love, and why these teachings feel so relevant in the world today. Dr. Nicola also spent time with Mother Teresa, Amma, the Tibetans, Thich Nhat Hanh, and so many wisdom teachers, and is truly one of the most embodied teachers I've met. In this episode, we explore:What the Divine Feminine actually is, and why it's so often misunderstoodWhy embodiment is essential to authentic awakeningThe relationship between spirituality, shadow work, and emotional healingHow to move beyond spiritual bypassing and fully inhabit your humanityMary Magdalene's teachings and her role in restoring the sacred feminineThe Cathars, the Way of Love, and their extraordinary legacyWhy love isn't something we transcend into, it's something we embodyDr. Nicola Amadora is an internationally renowned spiritual teacher, holistic psychologist, women's leader, author, and speaker who has spent more than 30 years guiding thousands of people worldwide in the revolutionary path of love, liberation, and embodied spirituality. Rooted in the ancient wisdom of the feminine and the teachings of Mary Magdalene, her retreats, professional trainings, and transformative programs invite people to awaken their deepest life force and live from greater authenticity, courage, and compassion. She is the author of Love Unleashed and the founder of a global movement dedicated to the rise of the feminine, inspiring profound personal transformation and a more heart-centered world.We would LOVE to hear from you! What did you learn? -----------------------------------------------------------------------Tune into Gateways to Awakening for more conversations with leading thinkers, scientists, mystics, entrepreneurs, and consciousness pioneers exploring the future of human potential.If this episode resonates with you, you may also enjoy Yasmeen's work through the Inner Knowing School, where she teaches intuition, energetic mastery, multidimensional awareness, and nervous system regulation through private immersions and executive cohorts. You can also explore Yasmeen's latest book, A Glitch in the Matrix: 10 Energy Codes to Become the Main Character of Your Life, available on Audible, Kindle, and in print. The book explores intuition, consciousness, timelines, emotional regulation, and how to manage your energy instead of your time.Thank you, -Yasmeen