Breath of Light Reflection

Article By: Kelly Torres

The Breath of Light event, hosted by Jordan Poyer’s initiative Luminate and led by Christopher August from Beats and Breath, was more than a wellness gathering, it was a communal symphony of breath and human remembering.

If you’re here looking for facts, statistics, and outcome measures, I’ll point you toward the program evaluation report I performed on the event. It breaks down how modalities like cacao ceremony, movement, breathwork, and sound healing scientifically link to states of flow, nervous system regulation, emotional release, and more. It also includes the data-backed findings showing how participants experienced measurable shifts in flow.

But this isn’t that article.

This is for the people who want to feel what happened that night, a fly-on-the-wall account, written by someone who stood between the stage and the crowd and watched the energy in the room change.

If you attended, you may remember me. I was the one in all white, standing behind the booth trying to convince you to complete my survey. It was my first day working with Luminate, so I came in with three intentions.

1. Get at least 50 people to complete the pre- and post- event survey because science doesn’t run on vibes alone.

2. Observe the people on stage, Jordan Poyer, Christopher August, Kayla Pope, and Jennifer Denali, because one day, I hope to be up there alongside them creating experiences that shift human consciousness.

3. Observe the people on mats, the heartbeat of the room. What did they carry in with them? What did they let go of? And what quiet transformations would unfold?

I failed at my first intention. Once the free shirts were gone, convincing people to fill out a fiveminute survey suddenly became the hardest job in the room. Why is that people! A t-shirt is what five minutes of your time is worth now? Whatever happened to doing something out of the goodness of your heart or at least for the Buffalo Bills, or maybe for science?

But the 14 humans who showed up, twice, and completed both the pre- and post-event surveys… You are my people. You know who you are. Thank you. You carried this research on your back.

That was my tiny rant, had to get it off my chest. Back to the purpose of this article.

My second intention was met. The team on stage created a beautiful environment. One of calmness, ease, serenity, peace, you name it. It was a space where strangers became softer, walls dropped, and being yourself wasn’t just allowed, it was invited. Over 250 people of all ages, backgrounds, and stories packed the room. The crowd was beautifully diverse; one thing is for sure though, not a single Kansas City Chief fan walked in. It was Bills Mafia country that night. Shout out Buffalo, y’all showed up.

The space filled quickly, shoulder to shoulder, mat to mat. Jordan kicked it off with his story, his voice, his heart for this work. Then came Kayla’s gentle movement, which started as stretching and evolved into a dance party. That flowed into a cacao blessing, grounding the room and setting intention collectively. Then the real journey began, forty minutes of conscious breathwork, led by Christopher August. His style is one of a modern, grounded take on Wim Hof-inspired breathing, but with his own soul stitched into it. Layered over it was Jennifer’s angelic voice and the resonance of bowls, drums, and gong. These sound waves that didn’t just fill the room, they moved through it.

This wasn’t a show or a performance. It was a ceremony, one that somehow felt ancient and brand new at the same time.

I’m not sure if I fully accomplished my third intention. I tried to balance being both a participant and an observer, so my perception may be a bit skewed. I took note of the people who dropped in immediately, eyes closed, bodies still, completely absorbed. The ones who fidgeted, opened their eyes, whispered to their friends. The ones who were lit up the second the music started, and the ones who laid stiff, probably wondering, What the hell did I just sign up for?

But what caught my attention most were the people who left.

Working with Luminate, of course I don’t want people to walk out. But as someone who deeply loves this work, I get it. These practices aren’t passive, you don’t just show up and watch. Breathwork isn’t a movie or entertainment. It’s a mirror. It shows you yourself. And not everyone is ready for that. Looking inward takes courage. Letting go takes courage. Staying takes courage.

These modalities take you into altered states, states where your body releases stored tension and your mind drops identity. Sometimes even I catch myself thinking about my responsibilities during meditations or even the occasional “Damn… am I about to pass out?” And then I remember: These are merely thoughts. Give them no power. I am safe. I am breathing. Go deeper. Trust. And that’s when it happens, the drop. The portal. The shift.

So yeah, some people left. Maybe it felt unfamiliar or too intense, maybe it brought something up. We were literally just breathing together, but breath tends to uncover what talking often hides. Meanwhile, others had breakthroughs that words barely hold. People released, people loved, people reconnected with themselves, with friends, with life.

This event was designed to stir emotion. To soften armor and to challenge the ego. To remind us of something most of us forget in the noise of modern life. That we already have everything we need to heal: the breath, intention, and community

The data from the study shows that flow was cultivated, but what numbers can’t capture is that it wasn’t created alone. It was co-created. It was collective. Everyone in that room had a hand in building something invisible yet undeniable, an energetic field we all felt but none of us could see. That’s the magic of this work. It belongs to all of us.

And maybe that’s the real point, not whether I hit my intentions, but that 250 strangers walked into a room as individuals and walked out a little more connected. Connected to themselves, to each other and to something much much bigger.

In the end, it wasn’t the music or the story or the breath alone that made the night. It was us. A room full of humans choosing presence. And maybe that’s what this world needs more of, spaces where people remember themselves. Spaces where the breath brings us back home.

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