Breath & Personal Transformation: An Immersive Summit

Join an immersive two-week retreat and training summit devoted to breath, body, mind, and personal transformation. Taking place from August 2-15, 2026, this experience is hosted by Dr. Paul Dallaghan and Dr. Elissa Epel, with master guests Dr. Carol Worthman, Dr. Eve Ekman, and Dr. Jack Feldman.

Designed as an experiential journey into breath-mind-body integration, this retreat brings together detailed practice in breath and pranayama, refined body asana work, meditation, and leading scientific perspectives on stress, longevity, and emotional resilience. Whether you have completed the Breath-Pranayama Teacher Training at Samahita or are simply drawn to breathwork and breath-based transformation, you will be guided through practice and inquiry that also weave in Buddhist psychology to support healthspan, self-discovery, and inner renewal.

What sets this gathering apart is the rare meeting of scholars and practitioners from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and contemplative science, alongside teachers rooted in living breath and yoga traditions. The result is a rich environment for both deep practice and broad understanding, exploring how breath influences cellular health, emotional balance, and lived experience. You will also examine the connection between contemplative wisdom and the science of longevity, with a focus on moving from burnout and depletion toward a Longevity Mindset.

Continuing Education in the Practice of Breath-Mind-Body (100 hours CE credits)

What You’ll Learn and Experience

• Science, Theory & Insight
• How breathing patterns affect autonomic balance and resilience
• The physiology of respiration, including neural circuits, gas exchange, and cellular energy
• The biology of renewal: chronic stress, cellular aging (telomeres), healing, and how breath supports deep rest
• Emotional intelligence and somatic awareness: recognizing emotional signals in the body and using breath to shift from reactivity to equanimity
• Developmental, anthropological, and clinical perspectives on breathing in human life
• Practice & Technique
• Foundational nasal and diaphragmatic breathing, plus alignment
• Ratio breathing (bi-, tri-, quad-ratio) for different states
• Dynamic techniques that support gut and brain health
• Classical pranayama, including Ujjayi, Bhramari, alternate nostril, and more
• Therapeutic breath protocols for stress, sleep, and performance
• Movement, posture, and awareness practices that support healthy breathing
• Integration & Application
• Meditation practices that emerge naturally from regulated breath
• The posture–breath–nervous system feedback loop
• Building a sustainable, evolving daily breath practice
• Mind-body micro-interventions: practical breath protocols and movement for real-time stress support and inner renewal
• Applying breath awareness to emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns, including tools for burnout prevention and sustainable compassion
• Self-assessment and adjustment strategies for breathing under stress

Rates

Fully inclusive of tuition, room, and meals.

Benefits: What You May Gain

• Greater stress regulation, emotional equanimity, and sustainable compassion
• Improved respiratory, cardiovascular, and cellular health, including telomere support
• Enhanced clarity, focus, and mental flexibility
• Practical tools to bring breath into daily life and challenging moments, supporting a Longevity Mindset
• Access to deeper meditative states grounded in physiology
• A wider understanding of how breath intersects with biology, development, and psychology

Daily Schedule

• 6.00am - Free time for the beach, sunrise, a walk, tea or coffee, or a short or full asana practice. A quiet space for self-care and body-love, all in silence.
• 7.30am - Course start: Breath-mind-body practice, light body movement and conditioning, meditative techniques, breath regulation, and full pranayama method
• 10.00am - Breakfast, free time, lunch
• 3.00pm - Practice: standing and sitting energetic movement and sound techniques
• 3.30pm - Learning: dedicated topics presented by guest teachers
• 4.10pm - Break for a smoothie, matcha, coffee, juice, or a homemade sweet treat
• 4.30pm - Expert Q&A
• 5.15pm - Practice: guided personal breath and pranayama
• 6.30pm - Dinner, beach, steam room, cold plunge, and free time

Each day is designed to balance depth and rest, theory and practice, with time for reflection and integration. Mornings focus on embodied breathwork, movement, and meditation, while afternoons from 3:00 pm onward feature lectures, dialogue, and experiential contributions from Dr. Elissa Epel and Dr. Eve Ekman, bridging practice with research in stress biology, emotional awareness, and breath science. Dr. Jack Feldman will share insights into the neuroscience of breathing, and Dr. Carol Worthman will explore how culture shapes biology.

Lead Teachers & Guest Faculty

Dr. Elissa Epel is a Professor and Sarlo-Ekman Chair in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at UCSF. She directs the Aging, Metabolism & Emotions Center and studies the links between psychological stress, metabolism, and cellular aging. She is co-author of The Telomere Effect and author of The Stress Prescription.

Dr. Carol Worthman is Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor at Emory University, where she also directed the Laboratory for Comparative Human Biology. Her work spans endocrinology, adolescence, and psychobiological development across cultures.

Dr. Jack L. Feldman is Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology at UCLA and Chair of Neuroscience. His pioneering discovery of the pre-Bötzinger complex identified a core neural generator of breathing, and his current work examines how breathing rhythms influence emotion, cognition, and health.

Dr. Eve Ekman is a contemplative social scientist, meditation teacher, and consultant focused on emotional awareness, compassion, and resilience. She co-created the Atlas of Emotions and helped design Apple’s first wellbeing products, including Fitness+ Meditations, State of Mind, Journal, Mindfulness for Vision Pro, and the Breathe app for Apple Watch.

Dr. Paul Dallaghan has spent more than 30 years immersed in yoga, breath, and meditative practice, and is known as a yogi, scientist, and teacher. His path has been shaped by intensive practice, silent retreats, and pilgrimages across India, Tibet, and Thailand.

This course is open to all interested participants. The structure is accessible for those newer to breath and pranayama, while also offering depth for experienced practitioners. It is especially valuable for graduates of past Samahita Breath Training courses and for those wishing to stay current with teaching and the latest science around breath and pranayama.

Who Should Attend

• Anyone curious about the integration of breath, body, and mind — no prior experience required
• Anyone wishing to immerse in breath practice and related techniques, whether learning or advancing
• Graduates of past Samahita Breath Training courses seeking deeper immersion
• Serious practitioners of yoga, meditation, or breath who want to refine their foundation
• Health, psychology, or wellness professionals interested in breath-based interventions, stress management, and burnout prevention