Rob Israel, PCC: From Deep Meditation to Your Growth Journey

My spiritual journey began as a teenager through exposure to Zen Buddhism, from my grandfather and Taoism, through martial arts.

Upon arriving at college, I intuitively knew that the answers I was looking for lay in the East. I took my first yoga class in 1984 along with an Eastern Philosophy and Religion class.

Shortly thereafter, I experienced a sudden and unexpected ego death, a concept my friends and I were unfamiliar with at the time. This “Spiritual Emergence,” a phrase coined by Dr. Stanislav Grof, triggered rumination and social anxiety compelling me to “quiet my mind” and teach myself Zazen (sitting Zen meditation) in my dorm room.

Through my 20s, I explored various yoga styles, but that practice never fully resonated. I continued practicing Zen meditation and in 1994 moved to Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate NY to study with a teacher. I trained intensively in the Mountains and Rivers Order for 13 years, participating in numerous multi-day silent meditation retreats and multiple extended residencies. I also helped establish and run Fire Lotus Temple in Brooklyn where I served as head of liturgy or teacher’s attendant in New York City from 1996 - 2005.

In 2000, I took on the Buddhist precepts and received the dharma name Seikan, meaning “returning to reality.” It was intense training and my primary focus and passion through my 30s.

When my primary teacher fell ill, I was teacherless for the first time in 13 years. From that point onward, my spiritual practice has been mostly self-led. Over the years, I have worked with many mentors whom I consider spiritual guides including my jazz teacher, an Alexander Technique teacher, my coaching supervisors and my plant medicine facilitators.

In 2015, I underwent a life-changing transformational training that introduced me to coaching and led me to earning a coaching certification with the ICF (International Coaching Federation), the largest and most respected professional association in coaching. I’ve been coaching professionally since 2016 and coaching full time since 2018.

In 2018, I discovered Re-birthing Breathwork and integrated it into my practice to help clients gain insight into the unconscious mind, thereby achieving greater well-being. I completed a rigorous 9-month program in 2020 and have since utilized Breathwork with both private clients and small groups.

My extensive meditation background made Breathwork a natural fit and extension of my passion for body-mind-spirit alignment. I also teach meditation, guiding seekers to find a practice that resonates with them.

Currently, I am expanding my offerings to include psychedelic medicine, the initial catalyst for my deep dive into meditation, and Eastern philosophy. I offer ceremony preparation and integration coaching, having become a trauma-informed space holder and coach through this training. This includes utilizing somatic processing techniques in both coaching and ceremonial contexts. With my expertise in Meditation, Medicine, Breathwork, and Coaching, I feel fully aligned and equipped to offer authentic, powerful modalities to anyone seeking personal, emotional, psychological, or spiritual growth.