The Chemistry
of Memories
A neuroscience-inspired mini-course on breath, music and emotional updating — without hyperventilation.
Join Martin McPhilimey and Sage Rader for a 3-part behind-the-scenes exploration of how breath science, music, rhythm and novelty can be translated into a safer, subtler music-led breath experience.
Includes: 3 video sessions · 2 original audio tracks · student workbook
· guided listening protocol · bonus workshop replay
12 months access · Education only · No certification
A Different Direction for Breathwork
Much of modern breathwork has become focused on intensity.
More breathing.
More catharsis.
More emotional release.
More biochemical disruption.
More breakthrough experiences.
But emotional depth does not always require force.
Many intense breathwork experiences rely on hyperventilation to create altered states. For some people, that can feel meaningful. For others, it can become overwhelming, destabilising, or unnecessarily intense.
The Chemistry of Memories opens up another possibility.
Can music, rhythm, novelty, nasal breathing and felt safety create conditions for meaningful emotional reflection without pushing the nervous system into overwhelm?
Can prediction error come from the music rather than from biochemical disruption?
Can a breath experience be subtle, intelligent and emotionally meaningful without relying on forced catharsis?
Not more intensity.
More precision.
Not more force.
More attunement.
Not chasing catharsis.
Creating conditions for safety, synchrony and emotional updating.
Memory is not fixed. It is continually updated.
Every time a memory is retrieved, it may be influenced by the state we are in now.
Our breathing, physiology, emotional state, sensory environment and felt sense of safety may all help shape how an experience is recalled, reappraised and made sense of.
This is where music becomes powerful.
Rhythm creates structure.
Melody creates emotional movement.
Silence creates space.
Novelty captures attention.
Nasal breathing supports felt awareness.
A subtle shift in sound can act like a small prediction error — a moment where the brain notices that something has changed.
In the right context, with enough safety and enough novelty, these moments may create an opportunity for emotional reflection, reappraisal and updating.
Not through force. Not through overwhelm.
But through synchrony, rhythm, breath, felt awareness and the artful use of sound.
What You’ll Learn
This mini-course takes you inside a live creative-scientific process exploring how breath, music, rhythm, novelty and nervous system state may interact to support emotional reflection and updating — without relying on hyperventilation or forced catharsis.
Memory & Emotional Updating
Explore why memory is not fixed, and how state may influence the way experiences are recalled, reappraised and made sense of.
Prediction Error
Learn how subtle moments of novelty, surprise and change can capture attention and create opportunities for learning and emotional updating.
Breath, CO₂ & Safety
Explore why this course avoids hyperventilation, breath holds and strong biochemical disruption — and why breath chemistry matters.
Nasal Breathing & Felt Awareness
Understand why gentle nasal breathing is central to this approach and how it may support interoceptive awareness and a clearer sense of internal state.
Music, Rhythm & State
Explore how rhythm, melody, silence, syncopation, repetition and stereo movement can shape attention, emotion and felt experience.
Gentle Disruption
Learn how emotional depth may emerge through subtle musical shifts, novelty and timing rather than intensity, overwhelm or forced catharsis.
Creative Translation
Watch how scientific ideas are translated into sound through bass, percussion, silence, movement, tension, release and musical choice.
Ethical Scope
Understand what this course is — and what it is not — so the work remains educational, reflective, safe, clear and responsible.
A 3-part behind-the-scenes journey from science, to sound, to embodied experience
Watch the theory, creative process, audio reveal and practical application unfold through live conversations between Martin and Sage. These are conversational, behind-the-scenes video sessions rather than a heavily scripted studio course.
The Science Brief
A live conversation exploring memory updating, prediction error, breath chemistry, nasal breathing, emotional learning, rhythm, trance, nervous system state and the safety concerns around intensity-led breathwork.
The Track Reveal & Creative Breakdown
Experience the original audio track and watch Sage break down the creative choices behind it: rhythm, bass, percussion, silence, stereo movement, novelty, emotional tone, tension and release.
The Integration & Application Conversation
Explore how the track felt, what changed in the listening experience, and what this may mean for breathwork, somatics, coaching, meditation and creative practice.
Also included
2 Original Audio Tracks
Includes an instrumental version and a breath-led version with gentle suggestions from Sage.
Student Workbook
Key concepts, listening prompts, reflection questions, safety notes and application exercises.
Guided Listening Protocol
A clear structure for experiencing the audio with gentle nasal breathing, somatic awareness and no hyperventilation.
Bonus Workshop Replay
A deeper workshop with Martin and Sage exploring the experience, science, creative choices and student reflections.
Gentle, subtle — yet deeply felt
Early listeners and practitioners have described the Chemistry of Memories experience as calming, emotionally clear, time-altering and surprisingly powerful — without relying on hyperventilation or forced catharsis.
“It felt gentle and safe.”
One participant described being able to stay with a memory without needing to talk it through or relive it in the usual way. The experience felt calm, safe and less emotionally heavy than expected.
“I finally understood without the extra noise.”
“During your session, that message came through with such clarity and non-emotion, so I finally understood without the extra noise. It was beautiful, clear and extra special.”
“I was surprised something so gentle could feel so powerful.”
A participant who had experienced more intense breathwork described being surprised that a gentler approach could still feel meaningful. They noticed sensation in the throat without feeling uncomfortable.
“She was able to express herself and was not afraid.”
One listener described feeling calm through the music, even when memories and emotions appeared near the end. They were able to express what came up without feeling afraid.
“It felt like about two minutes.”
“I didn’t have any idea if it was two minutes, 20 minutes, an hour or 45 minutes. I just embraced that. It felt like about two minutes.”
“The music did something to time.”
“By the end, I was feeling very light. The patterns of the music really did something to time.”
“I felt my breath change.”
“When the stringed instruments came in, I felt my breath change. I started to breathe more deeply by instinct. That element of surprise was definitely positive.”
These reflections are from people who experienced the music-led breath protocol live or in practice settings. They are not clinical outcomes or therapeutic claims. Individual experiences vary. This mini-course is for education, reflection and personal/professional development, not therapy, trauma treatment or certification.
Is this mini-course right for you?
This course has been created for practitioners, facilitators and creative professionals who want to go behind the scenes of a live collaboration between breath science, music, memory, nervous system science and ethical experience design.
This is for you if…
- You are a breathwork facilitator, somatic practitioner, coach, meditation teacher, music therapist or creative practitioner.
- You want to understand how breath, music, memory and nervous system state may interact.
- You are interested in a safer, subtler alternative to catharsis-led breathwork.
- You want to explore how rhythm, novelty, prediction error and nasal breathing can shape state.
- You want creative inspiration and principles to reflect on within your own professional or personal practice.
- You are curious about the future of breathwork, where science, art and ethics meet.
This is not for you if…
- You are looking for a certification.
- You want a train-the-trainer programme.
- You want to be certified to deliver this protocol with clients.
- You are looking for intense hyperventilation, breath holds or cathartic release work.
- You want a step-by-step trauma-processing method or therapy protocol.
- You want a heavily scripted studio course rather than a live, conversational, behind-the-scenes exploration.
This mini-course is for education, reflection, personal experience and professional development. It offers principles, context and creative inspiration — not certification or permission to facilitate this exact protocol with clients.
Where breath science meets sonic artistry
The Chemistry of Memories brings together Martin McPhilimey’s scientific lens on breath, nervous system regulation and emotional memory with Sage Rader’s creative approach to music, metaphor, state design and embodied experience.
Martin McPhilimey
Martin brings the scientific framework behind the mini-course, drawing from respiratory physiology, nervous system regulation, sleep science, interoception, predictive processing and breathwork education.
Across the conversations, he explores how memory, prediction error, nasal breathing, breath chemistry and emotional learning may help us understand a subtler approach to breath-led state change.
Sage Rader
Sage brings the artistic translation, using music, rhythm, silence, stereo movement, metaphor and creative cueing to explore how sound can shape attention, state and felt experience.
Across the mini-course, he shows how scientific ideas can become sound, and how music can create moments of novelty, emotion, containment and gentle disruption.
A collaboration between science and art
This is not a conventional breathwork training. It is a behind-the-scenes exploration of how a scientific idea can become an embodied listening experience — and how the future of breathwork may become more subtle, ethical, creative and precise.
Designed for education, reflection and personal experience
The Chemistry of Memories is a neuroscience-inspired mini-course and behind-the-scenes experiential exploration. It is not a certification, clinical training, trauma-processing protocol or licence to facilitate this work with clients.
What this is
- An educational mini-course on breath, music, memory, prediction error and nervous system state.
- A behind-the-scenes look at how science can be translated into a music-led breath experience.
- A personal listening and reflection experience using gentle nasal breathing.
- A creative and professional development resource for practitioners, facilitators and artists.
- A glimpse into a safer, subtler and more ethical direction for breathwork.
What this is not
- It is not a breathwork certification.
- It is not a train-the-trainer programme.
- It is not a trauma treatment, therapy method or clinical intervention.
- It is not clinical training, therapy training or psychological supervision.
- It does not certify, licence or authorise you to deliver this exact process with clients.
The breath practice is intentionally gentle
Please approach the audio experience gently, remain within your own capacity, and stop if anything feels uncomfortable or unsafe. Individual experiences vary. This mini-course is for education and reflection only.
Explore breath, music and emotional memory in a safer, subtler way
The Chemistry of Memories is a 3-part neuroscience-inspired mini-course for practitioners, facilitators and creative professionals who want to understand how rhythm, prediction error, nasal breathing and music-led experience may support emotional updating — without hyperventilation.
The Chemistry of Memories
A neuroscience-inspired mini-course on breath, music and emotional updating.
Education only · No certification · No hyperventilation · No breath holds
This is not a train-the-trainer programme, therapeutic protocol, or clinical certification. It is an educational and experiential exploration of what breathwork may become when science, music, safety and subtlety meet.