Sensei Al Rapaport will lead a Zen Breathwork Retreat from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., March 18, at Open Mind Zen Naples. Participants will learn this powerful method of experiencing the vibrant life force which can contribute to physical, mental and spiritual liberation.

The two-hour morning session features a simple technique that helps deepen participants’ yoga and meditation practice while providing increased clarity, joy and bliss. Following lunch and a break, this experience will be integrated into the traditional Zen format of zazen and kinhin, alternate rounds of sitting and walking meditation, with optional private sessions with Rapaport. The event will conclude with a dharma talk and discussion. No prior experience in yoga or meditation is necessary.

“In the yoga sutras, there are references to the Kundala, or serpent energy, that lies dormant at the base of the spine,” says Rapaport, an authorized Zen teacher and certified breathwork facilitator and director of the Open Mind Zen Center, in Melbourne, Florida. “When this energy is liberated, it travels up the spine through the chakras (or nerve plexes) of the body.”

Suggested donation: $50 for members and $40 for students. Location: North Trail bldg.., 1250 Tamiami Tr. N., Ste. 205. For more information or to register, call 239-961-2491 or visit OpenMindZenNaples.com.