Brown Bag Philosophy Seminar Series | Spring 2026

Professor Geoff Asthon will be presenting. Research shows that people in modern, high-stress, sedentary environments endure chronic stress largely because they breathe inefficiently and have bad posture. Not coincidentally, suffering is the main concern of Buddhism, and its meditative practices are primarily concerned with observing the breath and sensations of the body and mind. In the case of Japanese Zen, traditional Buddhist meditation was adapted in terms of a somaesthetics of gravity. Zen trains us to breathe from the lower abdomen, with an erect spine and relaxed body, in order to sharpen our attention to a specific full-body sensation: the sensation of gravity. From this, the practitioner learns how to generate and move vital psycho-physical energy (Japanese: ki; Chinese: chi) along the vertical axis of the body. What’s more, breathing well (which requires good posture) transforms grief into gravitas, or the capacity to help others face suffering.

For more information please contact the Program Assistant for the Philosophy Department, Brandon Marsh at bmarsh@usfca.edu