the movement
honor ancestors, serve descendants, nourish all
Image: Leland and I posing like starfish in front a Trojan Horse statue at the Archaeological Site of Troy near Çanakkale, Turkiye.
What Does Coherence Mean To You?
My pal Leland and I are in the pool. We are blowing bubbles underwater, preparing our long exhales for another round of swim drills. The late afternoon sun rays slide sideways through the surface of the water. Through the layers of our goggles, water, and light beams between us, we sense an erupting giggle sending us to the surface to laugh out loud. Moments later we catch our breath and regroup for our next exercise.
To me coherence looks and feels like this swim session with Leland—being in sync with another being to the extent that we can focus in and work intently together, lean out into laughter, relax back into focused intention, and repeat. Each shift lasts but a few nano seconds. The transitions feel seamless; no one entity has to push or pull the other(s). All parts are in flow. An hour later with wrinkled fingertips and jelly-like muscles from the effort and ease of water play, my buoyant spirit floats on to the rest of the evening.
Coherence Pervades the Pancha Kosha
The roots of yoga teach us that we are Pancha Kosha (five sheaths): we are body, breath, mind, wisdom, and spirit. We are far more than only a physical body (a meat sack) existing in just a material world.
Broadly speaking, our cellular structure is the ‘grosser’ sheath, and the breath, mind, wisdom, and spirit are increasingly refining ‘subtler’ sheaths. But even our body—the ‘gross’ sheath—is neither static nor dense. Animation is a trait of living beings. Blood circulates, electrical impulses fly along nerve lines, chemical messengers are sent and received through the endocrine system. There is movement of breath.
Feel for yourself:
Take a deep breath in and exhale all the way out. What do you sense from within? Possibly an inner sensation of inflating like a balloon on the inhale and deflating on the exhale.
The ancient sages advised we observe the breath in relationship to our state of mind. There is a dialogue between the sheaths of body and mind. A scattered mind often reflected in a shallow breath. A united consciousness often reflected in a slow steady breath. Our ancestors knew the mind and body could affect each other and that importantly the breath was the thread to stitch together the disparate parts and bring about coherence.
Image: Practicing Garudasana (Eagle pose) while walking in the woods in Northern Virginia, September 2021.
Coherence is the Cornerstone for Growth and Healing
Coherence is communication. Every cell of your body is intelligent. Every cell knows how to grow and heal. The better all the cells of the body communicate, the better the whole of you can grow and heal. Coherence comes when we shift into a relaxed and regulated state. A state of healing.
The roots of yoga teach that we (human beings) thrive in connection and coherence within ourselves and with all that surrounds us. Our human connection to everything in existence may be far larger than we have ever thought. Take a moment to expand your definition of what it is to be human: you are not isolated and small; you are part of a wholeness, an expanding, interrelated, interconnected, wholeness.
The ancient sages taught ‘self-realization.’ After decades of study, I’m starting to get a foot hold in ‘self-realization.’ I realize the stuff that hurts me and those around me is the stuff that is invested in being separate. When I can let that (part of my ego) go, when I can recognize my innate interbeing, there is peace—there is coherence. Our individual consciousness is one with cosmic consciousness. When we are in a regulated state—when we are in coherence—we have the opportunity to heal and grow.
Image: Thriving coral is the result of a coherent relationship between microscopic plants and tiny animals. The reef in this photo is off the north shore of Bali near Dencarik.
What is Coherent Breathing?
Coherent breathing is where you inhale and exhale at an equal, steady rate. Ideally it is a 5.5 second inhale and 5.5 second exhale.
Try it out for yourself. No need to get hung up on the exact timing of 5.5 seconds. I’ve experienced the benefits of this technique when it was cued as:
‘5 to 6 seconds breath in, and 5 to 6 seconds breath out.’
Or
‘Slow 5 count breath in, slow 5 count breath out.’
The slower breath pattern shifts the whole being into a deep state of calm. Anchoring your mind to the steady even rhythm aids in breaking any loop of negative mind chatter. Physiologically the rhythm synchronizes your heart rate, blood pressure, and nervous system into a harmonious state.
Tips for practice: Pranayama and breath exercises are most beneficial when done with a tall relaxed spinal posture. Do your best to align your pelvis, ribcage and head. I invite you to close your eyes. If you prefer to keep your eyes open, relax your gaze. I suggest putting a timer on for 5 mins.
Asana Practice; Coherence is Coordination.
Imagine you are in a yoga asana class. The teacher asks you to rest your awareness on your breath. You are invited to maintain a slow steady breath pattern throughout the practice. Step by step the sequence moves through your body from head to toes. You are encouraged to synchronize breath and movement. Your smooth, controlled, and efficient actions are the result of your nervous system and muscle groups and joints engaged in a real-time sensory feedback and synchronous neural signals.
Can you approximate how many cells have to work together to enable you simply to breathe and move? It’s more than you think. Current estimates estimate that an adult human body has 30+ trillion cells (the figure varies based on a variety of factors such as age, size, sex, health status, etc.). I bow to the majesty of coherence that brings trillions of individual cells into a well-connected, unified whole.
I invite you to experience the Coherence Collections in the OnDemand library. Each collection includes an 8-min Coherent Breath practice and a series of Asana classes. Your practice offers an opportunity to explore how all the parts of you fit together, feel together, and flow together. Feel for yourself how you get the trillions of cells of your body and your whole being (Pancha Kosha, five sheaths) in coherence.
October 2026
Coherence in Nature
Nature abides by rhythm. All living things function faithfully, following interrelated timings or patterns. Have you witnessed groups of animals such as a school of fish or a flock of birds move as one through the sea and sky? Can you imagine how the elegant and intricate systems of forests and rivers act in support of each other? Do you sense your own inner clock which matches the cycle of day and night? Coherence is connection and is essential in nature. The match of rhythm allows activity to be in balance.
Image: Starling birds in flight, a moment from the two min BBC video, How do starling birds flock? - Life in the Air: Episode 3 Preview - BBC go to youtube video