The interplay between elements, cycles, breathing, and meditation represents one of the most foundational aspects of spiritual technology across ancient traditions. In today’s lesson we will cover the basics:
The Elements & Your Energy Body
The four elements (fire, water, air, earth) or five (including metal/ether) represent different qualities of energy within your body:
Fire (hot/dry): Expansive, active energy associated with transformation and metabolism
Water (cold/wet): Contractive, receptive energy associated with cohesion and fluidity
Air (hot/wet): Mobile, communicative energy that connects and mediates
Earth (cold/dry): Stable, grounding energy that provides structure
Ether/Metal: Subtle energy that permeates all space (fifth element in some systems)
These elements describe energy states within your body that can be felt, manipulated, and balanced through conscious practice.
The Cycles & Your Optimal Timing
Three primary cycles govern your energy:
Circadian cycle (daily):
Programming period: Noon to midnight
Manifestation period: Midnight to noon
Lunar cycle (monthly):
Programming period: New moon to full moon
Manifestation period: Full moon to new moon
Annual cycle (yearly):
Programming period: Summer solstice to winter solstice
Manifestation period: Winter solstice to summer solstice
Understanding these cycles helps you know when to introduce new practices (programming) and when to execute them (manifestation).
How Breathing Works
Humans breathe both involuntarily and voluntarily. While involuntary respiration is fundamental to life, modern Western medicine has, through research, acknowledged the benefits of conscious, voluntary breathing exercises, known anciently as Prānāyāma, for promoting health and vitality.
The two types of voluntary respiration or conscious breathing are:
Observation of breath
and Manipulation of breath
Paying attention to your breath is a key practice. It allows you to dedicate time, energy, and focus to recognizing the what, when, where, how, and why of the various elements, patterns, and rhythms existing both inside you and in your surroundings.
A conscious breathing cycle where you manipulate your breath consists of three parts:
Inhalation
Exhalation
and Retention
Breathing consists of a three-part cycle: inhalation, exhalation, and retention. Inhalation is an active process where the chest or diaphragm expands, filling the lungs with fresh air. Exhalation is a passive recoil of the chest wall, expelling stale air and emptying the lungs. Retention is a pause at the end of both inhalation and exhalation. This breathing cycle directly influences the heart rate; holding the breath for extended periods slows the heart rate, providing increased rest for the heart muscle.
Respiration may be classified into four types:
(a) High or clavicular breathing, where the relevant muscles in the neck mainly activate the top parts of the lungs.
(b) Intercostal or mid-breathing, where only the central parts of the lungs are activated.
(c) Low or diaphragmatic breathing, where the lower portions of the lungs are activated chiefly, while the top and central portions remain less active.
(d) In total or prānāyāmic breathing, the entire lungs are used to their fullest capacity.
The core components of manipulating respiration are controlling the movement, the pattern and regulation of your breath and body in unison.
The Movements
Inhale (Expansion, Push)
Exhale (Contraction, Pull)
Retention (Hold)
There are two main types of breath retention:
breath retention after inhalation
breath retention after exhalation
These holds aren't just about oxygen—they’re about creating pressure, stillness, and mental focus. By holding the breath, you:
Create a pause in the flow of energy, allowing it to accumulate and concentrate
Direct that energy to specific energy centers depending on your posture, body holds, or intention
Pattern Types
Diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing)
Thoracic breathing (chest breathing)
Box breathing (equal counts of inhale, hold, exhale, hold)
Alternate nostril breathing (used in yogic pranayama)
Hyperventilation (rapid, shallow breathing)
Buteyko method (slow, nasal breathing with breath holds)
Wim Hof breathing (cyclical deep breaths with breath retention)
Forms of Regulation
Regulation can be seen as subtle physical gestures or energetic body locks that are often practiced during or after breath holds. These are techniques to direct, concentrate, and "program" energy within the body. Examples:
Perineum: channels energy upward from the base of your body
Abdominal: directs energy up through the spine
Chin/Throat: contains and balances energy in the heart and head
Fingers: hand gestures used to direct energy flow, enhance meditation, and communicate specific spiritual or psychological states.
When combined with breathwork, these holds or locks:
Act like code or commands in an energetic “language”
Program the direction, quality, and purpose of energy flow
Amplify internal awareness and help unlock deeper states of meditation and transformation
Breathing & Elemental Balance
Breath is the primary tool for manipulating elemental energies within your body:
Inhalation: Brings in yang/electrical/fire energy (activating)
Exhalation: Releases yin/magnetic/water energy (calming)
Retention: Builds and concentrates energy (transformative)
Different breathing patterns (programming) activate different elemental qualities:
Fire-activating breath: Quick, forceful inhalations with emphasis on the upper chest (Kapalabhati, Bhastrika)
Water-activating breath: Long, smooth exhalations with emphasis on the lower abdomen (Zazen)
Air-balancing breath: Equal inhale and exhale with smooth transitions (Nadi Shodhana)
Earth-stabilizing breath: Extended pauses after exhale (Kumbhaka)
Meditation & Consciousness Ascension
Meditation practices use the breath to move energy and consciousness through different levels or divisions of the spirit:
Physical body: Begins with physical awareness and stabilizing energy through proper breathing
Mental body: Uses breath to activate and balance personal energy centers
Spiritual body: Uses refined breath control to elevate consciousness beyond personal identity
The Integrated Practice
Here's how these elements work together in practice:
Align with timing: Choose practices appropriate to the current cycle
Morning (manifestation period): More active practices
Evening (programming period): More receptive practices
Similarly with lunar and annual cycles
Diagnose elemental balance: Determine which elements need balancing in your system
Excess fire: Irritability, inflammation, overactivity
Excess water: Lethargy, congestion, emotional heaviness
Excess air: Anxiety, scattered thoughts, insomnia
Excess earth: Rigidity, stagnation, resistance to change
Select appropriate breath technique: Choose breathing patterns that balance your elemental needs
To calm excess fire: Water-activating breath
To energize excess water: Fire-activating breath
To ground excess air: Earth-stabilizing breath
To loosen excess earth: Air-balancing breath
Layer with meditation: Once breath establishes elemental balance, meditation guides consciousness upward
Begin with body awareness (earth)
Move to energy awareness (water)
Progress to thought awareness (air)
Culminate in pure awareness (fire)
Integrate in non-dual awareness (ether)
Practical Application
A basic practice integrating all elements might look like:
Begin with awareness of your current elemental state and the current cycle
Select a breath practice that aligns with your needs and the cycle
Establish rhythm through consistent breath pattern (3-5 minutes)
Deepen awareness by following the breath into increasingly subtle levels
Allow transformation as the elements balance and consciousness elevates
Remember that the ultimate goal is balance - not permanently increasing any single element, but rather creating a dynamic equilibrium where you can consciously shift elemental qualities as needed for different situations and stages of development.
This balanced state allows you to function as a conduit between heaven and earth, bringing higher consciousness into physical manifestation - the essence of spiritual technology across all traditions.
Exercise example
Place one hand on your heart and the other hand on your stomach.
Now we are going to practice a technique of using your hands to control your breathing. When you breathe in, extend your hand on your stomach out in front of you as if you were creating a space in front of you between you and your higher self. As your hand extends outward, fill your belly up with your in-breath.
Now breathe out, and retract your hand back to your stomach.
Extend your awareness to your nose.
Extend your awareness to the flow of your blood
Now visualize yourself stepping outside of your body, observe your body being calm, in control, in a state of peace.
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