conscious breathing – Beyond the Breath Online Magazine

In Events & Workshops

In-person Breathwork YORK, UK – The Elements Series – AIR

23/01/2025 No Comments

Drawing on whatever is happening for us in the moment. In this breathwork circle we’ll have time for learning, sharing, self-reflecting, and most of all BREATHING

Take a break from the weekend shopping and chores and join Sharyn with a Why from Breathing Space for a Conscious Breathwork Session in central York on the first Saturday of the month at 10.30am (2 hours)

In these monthly sessions, we spend time with the fundamental elements of nature – Fire, Earth, Air and Water – exploring what they mean to us, how they can support us and how we can support nature in exchange.

Bring a yoga mat or a blanket (or both), a notebook and pen, and some water. Gift yourself 2 hours dedicated totally to YOU

Venue

Quaker Meeting House, Friargate (Backhouse room)

Date and Time

1st February 2025 at 10.30am – Air – Our desire to explore new territories, learn and expand our consciousness.

AIR – Our balance and duality of our nature – in our curiosity and research as we interact with our world; our relationships with others; our freedom to express as part of a community

Tickets and Price

Tickets are £22 and you order them here on Eventbrite

In Breathwork Reflections

Breathwork: A Journey from Control to Acceptance

19/11/2024 No Comments

Breathwork changed my life in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. For most of my life, I was a chronic overthinker, always on alert, always afraid that happiness was something fleeting, a thing that would eventually slip through my fingers. Even in moments of joy, I was braced for it to end, and in every other moment, I fought to control the world around me. From school struggles to navigating
motherhood, I felt I had to manage every little thing, and that meant controlling not only myself but everyone else around me. It was exhausting.

Raising teens was the real turning point. My children, who I loved fiercely, were not interested in living life on my terms. They were on their own journeys, with their own dreams, fears, and choices. And my efforts to control them were met with resistance and frustration—from them and, eventually, from me too. This
was the wake-up call I needed, and it became painfully clear that I couldn’t go on this way. I was drained, burnt out, and anxious. I needed something different, but I didn’t know what that was yet.

Like so many, I first turned to meditation, but it didn’t connect with me in a way that felt sustainable or transformative. Then, I found the breath.

I started with the basics—simple breathing techniques I could incorporate into my day. These techniques were my first lessons in presence and control, a way to connect with myself in a way that I hadn’t before. Bit by bit, I started to feel different, as though I was rediscovering something about myself that had long
been buried. Slowly, my relationship with control began to shift, and it was only the beginning.

Then I discovered conscious connected breathing, and my world changed again. This practice took me deeper, helping me release layers of tension and emotion that I didn’t even realize I was holding. For the first time, I began to accept myself, not as someone trying to become or achieve something different but
simply as myself. Breath by breath, I found a sense of peace, and for the first time, I could sit with who I was without judgment or expectation.

The most transformative lesson of all was acceptance. I began to let go of old wounds and beliefs I had clung to for years. I found myself re-examining experiences I had long carried as heavy burdens, questioning the meanings I had attached to them. I was rewriting the emotions and perspectives that shaped my past. Little by little, I could see these experiences as steps on the journey rather than things I had to battle or overcome.

And here I am, still evolving but finally feeling at home in my skin. The journey isn’t about becoming someone new; it’s about meeting myself as I am, with all my imperfections, strengths, and weaknesses.
Breathwork has changed my relationships with others as well. As a mother, I’ve become more accepting, more open, less controlling. I see my children for who they are, and I trust them on their paths. As a teacher, I now focus on what matters most. Connection—real, honest connection—is what truly makes an impact. In my classroom and at home, I’m more compassionate, less self-critical, and more able to embrace both myself and others without judgment.

Learning to breathe was my first step to learning to live. It’s a journey of release, acceptance, and growth. And if I can offer one insight from my experience, it would be this: the answers we seek are often not in striving but in simply being—being with ourselves, our breaths, our truths.

Marie Doherty – Empowering Women to Breathe, Thrive, and Shine.

To find out more about Marie, take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breathwork Reflections

On trusting the breath and letting go of outcomes

18/11/2024 No Comments

I don’t know about you but I have sometimes lost my equilibrium as I stressed over issues I cannot control in my life, or imagined negative future events. On those days I need conscious connected breathwork more than ever. It’s also on those days that I resist this work more than ever.

Before discovering breathwork, I would sit in my familiar discomfort and gradually lose more and more stability. The consequences of not dealing with my emotions would make me edgy and unsatisfied with life, and then I would wonder ‘how did I get here’?

Now I know better. I find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and I start breathing. No pauses at the top, no pauses at the bottom. The first few minutes are really uncomfortable. As I move through the layers of my mental defenses, I feel as if I am ripping through myself. My mind does not want to give up control and I want to quit. I want my familiar dark. But I push and I embrace the uncertainty of letting go of my mind. It feels risky, but I am brave. Eventually, I surrender to my body and there is no more fragmentation. I become an ocean of waves rising and collapsing into myself.

My mind and body are one, sweet consciousness experiencing itself. What the breath brings I never know until it happens. Sometimes I desire a release but it doesn’t come. Sometimes I set an intention to bring clarity or resolution to a problem, but the breath delivers clarity on something else, unrelated to what I was fussing about. When I finish, the session I am strangely whole and relieved even though my wish for a specific outcome didn’t come to be. The darkness has dissolved. The confusion is gone.

I have come to understand that sometimes in order to resolve one thing, you first have to grasp another truth, which in turn resolves the one you were concerned with. Truth unveils in layers and in a kind of order sometimes. It’s not linear and it’s not black or white. I have learned to let go of outcomes and just focus and trust the breath to illuminate what needs to be revealed. The breath knows better. There is safety in this trust.

The breath is the light, not just on your truth, but on truth itself.

Jasmina

To find out more about Jasmina take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breathwork Reflections

The beginning

10/11/2024 No Comments

I attended my first conscious connected breathwork session early 2023 not really knowing what it was all about. Led by our very own weaver Shakti Tracy from Diamond Heart Network, I was blown away by the experience.

Having always been a seeker of ‘altered states of reality’ specifically in my younger years, I was fascinated by the concept of something as simple and accessible as our breath being able to support my journey of healing deep rooted wounding.

At first when I tried the continuous breath I struggled. I got a very dry mouth and was convinced I was ‘doing it wrong’. Imposter syndrome being a close companion of mine (we all know that one right?). We were journeying that day to meet our guides – divine masculine and divine feminine. I don’t remember who came through as my divine feminine in the first session (that I believed I was doing wrong!) as I was more concerned by ‘feeling silly’ and ‘getting it wrong’.

Before the second journey I sought out technique advice from my peers (whom I saw as much more knowledgeable!) I do remember thinking….’this wont work on me because my brain has been way too altered before by chemicals’ Self limiting beliefs were strong and I was resistant to allowing the natural flow.

We started the second session and I positioned myself more towards the corner of the room as I’d felt exposed in the first session being in the middle of room. I must add that the noises people were making during the session slightly baffled me. Screaming, crying, laughing, howling….what was going on that I just didn’t get? Nevertheless, I began breathing in earnest wiling myself to surrender and trust.

I can’t really describe what happened for the next hour. I was faced face to face with Thor and his mighty hammer along with a Minotaur. I came round a the end of the session wondering where the hell I was and what the heck had just happened. Pretty much like my first acid trip back in the 90’s. Just WOW! We all sat and shared and I was just so excited that I’d ‘got it right’ rather than focused on what the messages were for me. That processing came much later when in my own space.

My giddiness at my success overpowered the actual healing pathways it had provided for me. I knew then….I knew I needed more breathwork in my life.

My mum has raised me talking about how as humans we don’t breath properly and I’d often mused over her words but not really thought deeply about it. Having raised a son with chronic asthma, I knew he needed to breath deeper and I had often led mini ‘breathwork’ sessions with him when he was in hospital but suddenly all the pieces were coming together.

That summer I attended 5 wellbeing festivals leading Forest Bathing workshop sessions for folks in the conscious community and I made sure I attended as many breathwork sessions as I could. I paid for a 1:1 session with the amazing Julie Ann Horrox at LoveHerder “Getting High on Life” 2024 and she led me to shift some huge and painful blockages. She supported me with such love and nurture and the connection to her, her story and her presence filled me with joy. This consolidated my yearning to train as a breathwork facilitator. At Stone Cold Sober festival I was blessed to attended 6 sessions all with different facilitators and wow – this expanded my experience of how many ways there are to practice breathwork. I was hooked.

I became one of those people rolling around screaming, laughing, crying, chanting, howling and ultimately…releasing the stuff that wasnt even mine to begin with. Pure relief washed over me.

Early in Jan 2024, the universe served me another dose of health curveballs as my heart started to cry out with pressure. I listened but didn’t know what to do. Then I was released from a work situation that I hadn’t even realised had become very heavy on my shoulders (even though my neck was bad again needing surgery and I’d just had shoulder surgery – wakey wakey Lix!)

Once released from this time consuming role and with a long period of healing ahead – I had space open up in my life to again recreate and hone in on what I was being called to do. 1 week after my spinal surgery – I heard the call. I’d been growing closer with Shakti Tracy chatting about life, love and the universe and she mentioned that she was running a special April start course. She had felt the call to do an extra course this year and I took the sign. I signed up. Leapt hoping the net would appear. My finances being the worst they have been since I was young having had to surrender paid work because of my health.

I had been mediating hard on abundance, prosperity and more specifically doing a breathwork course for some time. My net appeared. Ok yes, it went more like ‘Dad? Please can you help me out?’

He has watched me since I had to leave my teaching career 3 years ago try to rebuild my life after my life changing injury at work and I know he chuckles at my ‘witchy’ ways but he had recently read about Breathwork in his daily paper and so he was ‘on board’ with this direction I wanted to take. He had only recently read this when I asked my favour….big ups universe.

So here I am now. A new neck, space in my life for a new venture, time and motivation to pour into the course and a really supportive network of wonderful authentic woman cheerleading me on.

2024 so far has been a wild ride of panic, fear, rejection, pain (mental and physical), confusion, challenges and heartache….but for each of those feelings it has brought authenticity, love, support, opportunities, huge joy, loyalty, progression, treasure and a vast wealth of excitement, growth and passion as all of it is a perfect sign of divine timing and absolute trust at the organic flow of our bloody beautiful universe!

Here I go with the truly transformational journey with my breath, your breath and the life with the universe breathes into us.

Lix from Elixir Breathwork – breathing is medicine for the soul.

To find out more about Lix take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breath and the Spirit

Led by my Father’s Breath

30/10/2024 2 Comments

I swear my father, frail and relaxed in an ICU hospital bed, was practicing breathwork before he left his body in 2017. It was the same style of breathing I am focusing on now as I train with Breathing Space to become a certified breathworks facilitator – mouth wide open, inhales pulling in precious air and exhales released with a sigh, his whole body involved in the act of breathing – even if assisted. His breathing continued this way for the longest minutes I had ever experienced well after life-support was removed.

Have you ever witnessed a human being’s final breath? That moment of ultimate release – the letting go of a life? It moved me deeply. I sensed a delicate breeze – the quiet readiness to move on, a freedom from the confines of a weary body. The experience inspired me to write a poem I titled Perfectly Unfinished, later published in Third Lane Magazine, an Indian publication that resonated with my father’s heritage and the poignancy of his passing.

In 2021, while visiting Costa Rica, I embarked on a transformative breathwork journey that I believe was guided by my father‘s spirit. Through this experience, I grasped – not merely intellectually, but in the very core of my being – how he departed from his physical form. All that remained was breath and breath-taking light.

I’ve deleted and rewritten paragraphs of this article several times describing the pulling sensation between my eyebrows, the blinding brightness of that light and the innate awareness that it is not my time to enter this loving passage – that is more life in store for me to be breathed. But really all of these words don’t seem to do the experience justice. And sometimes describing something profound almost feels contracted – as if it’s being packaged up in a tiny box rather than given room to breathe, to move freely through and around me.

Each of us has a unique human experience that influences our breathwork journeys, should we choose to undertake them. It is my heartfelt prayer that we all have the opportunity to explore such journeys in our lifetimes. One thing is clear: These are not just isolated experiences; they hold transformative potential if we trust their wisdom and keep them close to our hearts.

This, my first incredible breathwork journey, reshaped my relationship to aging and ignited my quest to explore lucid dreaming. The connection between lucid dreaming and death is well-established; over a thousand years ago, Tibetan Buddhists developed an entire science around awakening in dreams to prepare for death. They believed that if lucid dreaming was practiced enough, one could remain conscious at the moment of death and navigate the transition with awareness, evolving into the next phase of the soul’s journey.

I will forever cherish that breathwork journey with my father and the renewed perspective it granted me on life and death. It illuminated the boundless light and love awaiting us, and the freedom that comes from releasing fears of impermanence. The breath truly does guide us to let go. And to experience this before our final breath is indeed a profound grace.

As I facilitate and observe the conscious connected breathwork journeys of others, I am increasingly aware of how this practice reveals what we need to release, helping us lighten our burdens. With each session, as old stories fade, we emerge more liberated.

Zila (pronounced Z-ee-la)

To find out more about Zila, take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breath and Emotions

From Surviving to Thriving: A Journey with the Tree of Breath

30/10/2024 1 Comment

There comes a time in life when simply getting by just isn’t enough anymore. For many of us, the fast pace of life and constant demands can leave us feeling drained, disconnected, and stuck in a cycle of just surviving. I’ve been there and it’s not a pleasant place to be, so I know how important it is to find a way out of that pattern and into something more nourishing and fulfilling.

That’s what led me to create THRIVE with the Tree of Breath—a framework that goes beyond just coping and instead nurtures a genuine sense of thriving. Inspired by the growth of a tree, this approach weaves together breathwork, happiness practices, and gentle holistic techniques to help us grow stronger, feel grounded, and live with purpose.

Each part of the THRIVE journey mirrors a part of the tree, starting with roots that ground us, a trunk that supports us, branches that extend us, leaves that nourish us, flowers that connect us with others and finally, fruit that symbolises our empowerment. With our breath as our guide, this journey invites us to reconnect with our authentic selves, grow through life’s challenges, and rediscover the joy of simply being.
By rooting ourselves in intentional breath and aligning with our values, we can nurture resilience, discover deeper self-awareness, and, most importantly, create space to grow into the life we’ve always hoped for.

The Roots of the THRIVE framework are all about creating a solid foundation by grounding yourself in who you are and where you are right now. This stage combines Therapeutic Breath with reflective practices, like a life audit and values audit, to help you gain clarity on your current state and what truly matters to you. Here, we also focus on your breathing patterns, identifying ways to improve them because breathing well is at the root of all health—it impacts everything from your energy to your emotional resilience. Embracing your response-ability, or the power to choose how you respond to life’s challenges, is also key. Like roots stabilising a tree, this foundation grounds you, helping you approach each day with balance, strength, and a sense of possibility.

The Trunk of the THRIVE framework represents your inner strength and stability, the core that supports you through life’s challenges. At this stage, we focus on Happy Breath, a practice that nurtures emotional resilience and balance by connecting to the pillars of the body and heart. Just as the trunk holds up a tree, these practices help you find stability within, supporting your well-being in a way that feels solid and dependable. With techniques for emotional regulation and heart-centred breathing, the trunk stage invites you to cultivate calmness and compassion, building a strong core that enables you to weather whatever comes your way. This stage is all about standing tall, feeling centred, and rooting deeply into a sense of self-trust.

The Branches of the THRIVE framework symbolise growth beyond old limitations, stretching outward to reach new possibilities. This stage is all about Rewiring Breath, where we work on releasing limiting beliefs and patterns that may be holding you back. Just as branches extend outward, here we explore practices like NLP, Havening, EFT, and Conscious Connected Breathing to help you open up to fresh perspectives and transform your mental landscape. The branches stage invites you to reframe old habits and thoughts, creating space for new growth, flexibility, and empowerment. With each breath, you reach a little further, discovering the freedom that comes from letting go of what no longer serves you.

The Leaves of the THRIVE framework represent nourishment and renewal, drawing in light and energy to sustain your inner vitality. In this stage, we focus on Inner Nourishing Breath—practices that nurture your soul and feed your sense of well-being. Just as leaves absorb sunlight to sustain the tree, this stage invites you to take in what truly replenishes you. Through coherence breathing, flower essences, and connecting with your own inner wisdom, the leaves stage is about caring for yourself deeply and consistently. It’s a reminder that nourishment isn’t a luxury; it’s essential for growth. By tuning into what truly sustains you, you cultivate the resilience and vitality needed to flourish.

The Flowers of the THRIVE framework symbolise connection, beauty, and the joy of sharing who we are with others. In this stage, we focus on Vital Connecting Breath, using practices that foster empathy, compassion, and deeper relationships. Just as flowers bloom outwardly, this stage invites us to open up and connect with the world around us. Heart Coherence breathing and Loving Kindness practices are central here, helping you cultivate meaningful connections, both with yourself and others. The flowers remind us that true connection is a gift, bringing colour and vibrancy to life. By nurturing these bonds, you allow your relationships to blossom and enrich your journey.

The Fruit of the THRIVE framework represents the harvest of your journey—embodying empowerment, fulfillment, and purpose. This final stage focuses on Empowering Breath, using conscious connected breathwork to help you embrace your strength and step into your fullest self. Just as the fruit of a tree contains the seeds of new life, this stage is about realising the power and potential you’ve cultivated through each phase of growth. Here, breathwork encourages you to feel grounded in your accomplishments, aligned with your passions, and confident in the path ahead. The fruit stage is your chance to savour the journey, embodying the wisdom, resilience, and vitality you’ve nurtured within.

The THRIVE framework is a journey through growth, resilience, and self-discovery, each stage building on the one before it. Like a tree, our well-being is rooted in a strong foundation, and from there, we reach upward, nourish ourselves, connect with others, and finally harvest the fruits of our inner work. Through intentional breath and thoughtful practices, the THRIVE framework guides us from simply surviving to truly thriving, honouring each step as part of a whole, living process. By tending to our roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit, we reconnect with ourselves and the world around us in a way that feels grounded, balanced, and deeply fulfilling. In every breath, we find a new beginning, a reminder of our strength, and a pathway toward a life of growth and empowerment.

Marie Doherty – Empowering Women to Breathe, Thrive, and Shine.

To find out more about Marie, take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breath and the Mind

The Power of Breathwork

28/10/2024 No Comments

In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, finding moments of true peace and clarity can be rare. At least that’s how I’ve felt for most of my life. My brain is often so busy that I can use the wrong words in a conversation because I’ve got so far ahead of myself that my voice can’t keep up with the chatter in my mind.

I tried so many things – reading, meditation, yoga, walking, music – but nothing really worked long term. I might get five minutes of distraction or hyper focus, but then my mind would start chattering again. And it was so frustrating! Where was this quiet, calm space in my mind that everyone has and I just couldn’t access?

It wasn’t until I found breathwork in 2022 that I understood I’d been going about it all wrong. I realised that I’d been trying to do something I didn’t have the skills for yet – jumping way ahead of myself instead of starting at the beginning. Five minutes of quiet mind space with no brain chatter is actually really hard without the “training” that leads up to it. And those people that can do it have been doing it a really long time!

Finding moments of daily clarity was the starting point for me. Because the mental quiet was so alien to me, my brain was finding ways to keep the noise going – it literally didn’t know what to do with the quiet, peaceful space. So just learning to stop, close my eyes and focus on taking a breath was so simple, yet so profound.

And as cliche as it sounds – it changed my life.

A simple breath can bring me out of the mental chatter and back into my body with very little effort. And over time, I’ve learned to lengthen those initial few seconds and sit with the quiet. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t – I have to keep reminding myself that I’m undoing a lifetime of chatter and it’s not the end of the world if I don’t get longer than a few seconds. What matters the most is that I take that conscious breath, and another, and another, and keep the momentum going.

The simple effectiveness of this snared my interest – if this worked for me, then what else was I missing? And of course, it wasn’t enough to just learn the techniques, I wanted the full on journey of learning for myself and then to take it out into the world. I was already a coach, so adding another string to my bow was a no brainer!

Over the course of the last year, during my breathwork facilitator training, I have learned so much more than I ever thought I could. More techniques, more clarity, and more personal development journey than I ever expected.

Learning to breathe consciously was the biggest game changer for me. Breath is the only automatic bodily function we can consciously control and it can significantly affect our emotional state. So learning to wield it as a tool as well as it being the thing that keeps us alive, is about the most useful thing we can ever do for ourselves.

I use breathwork every day for myself – keeping the simple breath, but also using coherence breathing to slow down, or even just noticing my breath pattern and changing it consciously so it supports me rather than running away with my emotions.

Every time I dive into breathwork for myself, whether I’m doing it solo or it’s being guided by someone else, it always feels like a fresh experience. It could be something as straightforward as a box breath to regulate my system, or a more intense conscious connected breath that brings about real energy shifts. Especially if you are being led by someone else – them holding space for you to grow and change feels so nurturing. And it’s an experience we often miss out on in adult life.

Because facilitating breathwork for someone else is always an honour – that person is putting their trust in me, allowing me to direct them into changing the very thing that keeps them alive. And even if it feels edgy or uncomfortable at the time, the after effects will always be the thing they need. The breath is clever like that!

And no matter the technique, breathwork is a seriously powerful practice. One that shouldn’t be underestimated, but one that we all should be taking seriously as a part of our everyday lives.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend just stopping, closing your eyes and taking a breath. One single breath. And see how you feel after. And if it feels good, take another. Then find the moments in your day where you can use it.

Taking a breath with you now.

Laura

To find out more about Laura, take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breath and the Body

A Gentle Path Back to Ourselves

25/10/2024 No Comments

Trauma-Sensitive Breathwork as a Bridge to Body Wisdom.

In a time where fast transformations and intense experiences are often praised as the path to personal growth, I have chosen a different approach: a gentle, trauma-sensitive way of connecting back with ourselves through our breath.

The Power of a Gentle Approach

Perhaps you know this feeling: You sense a deep longing within yourself.
But longing for what exactly? For a greater meaning? For your personal purpose?
I believe most of us are (unconsciously) searching for a connection with ourselves.

And while we’re searching, it’s often not that easy to restore this connection (even when we’re aware that it’s missing). More often than we would like, our bodies don’t feel like safe places. At least, that is my experience.

Many transformative breathwork practices (such as Holotropic Breathwork or classical Connected Breathing) that aim for cathartic experiences can be overwhelming for our systems and may create an even bigger distance to our bodies instead of creating the desired connection.

This is where my trauma-sensitive breathwork approach comes in. It’s based on the deep conviction that true healing begins in a gentle and safe contact with our innermost being. Through the integration of Somatic Experiencing techniques, we create a space where you can follow your own rhythm and explore the connection to your body step by step, slowly restoring it at your own pace.

The Difference to Classical Breathwork Practices

Traditional breathwork methods often work with a very intense breathing rhythm and aim for powerful “breakthroughs.” While I generally work with connected breathing techniques as well, my approach takes a different path:

Gentle Approach: Instead of seeking cathartic experiences, we approach your inner world gently and safely. We explore step by step what your body is ready to reveal, allowing you to truly perceive what’s happening within you and giving you the chance to consciously experience emerging sensations and feelings.
Regulation Instead of Overwhelm: We avoid flooding your system with stimuli and repeatedly create moments of calm and relaxation. This ensures that your system can integrate the experiences long-term rather than just experiencing another moment of euphoria that ultimately doesn’t change much in your life.
Your Pace: You decide on the pace of your exploration while being mindfully guided. This might seem unusual and strange to many at first — after all, we’re all looking for quick solutions. However, real change typically requires time and a conscious awareness.

The Bridge to Body Wisdom

So, what exactly does our breath have to do with all this? Our breath is like a bridge between our conscious and unconscious self. Through trauma-sensitive breathwork, we use this bridge mindfully to ensure several things simultaneously:

Establishing Safety: Through gentle breathing techniques, your nervous system learns that it’s safe to relax. This feeling of safety is so important because it’s the only way your nervous system can leave the “fight or flight” mode and release experiences that previously drove you into and perhaps kept you trapped in this state.
Perceiving Body Sensations: Only when your system feels safe will it open up to new experiences, feelings, and body sensations. And only within this (safe) setting can you come back into deeper contact with your body and yourself.
Building Trust: The experience of being okay and safe to allow feelings and to sense your body more consciously will gradually build and strengthen trust in your body and its natural wisdom.

Practical Integration in Daily Life

While I consciously design my work as a breathwork coach and facilitator to be trauma-sensitive, trauma-sensitive breathwork is so much more than a technique – it’s an attitude of gentle self-care.

At this point, I’d like to share three ways you can integrate this approach into your daily life:

Micro-moments of Mindfulness: Take small moments throughout the day to notice your breath – without trying to change it. This doesn’t take long, and often you don’t even need to stop what you’re already doing. You can observe your breath while walking, washing dishes, or during a conversation. Briefly sense where you feel your breath (at your mouth or nose, in your chest or abdomen) and how your breathing is flowing (fast, slow, deep, shallow). Also notice briefly how your breathing feels (calming, halting, strained?).
Creating Safe Anchors: Explore your personal resources that help you feel safe and grounded. Resources can be internal or external anchors that you can connect with physically, emotionally, and mentally to help your system find calm. These might be objects that hold special meaning for you (e.g., photos, vacation souvenirs, or a stuffed animal), the thought of someone you love, or a positive memory that brings a smile to your face.
Using Your Senses: Often we’re so much in our heads that we don’t consciously perceive where we are. Allow yourself to consciously activate your senses from time to time and use them to experience the here and now: What can you see right now? What can you hear? What do you smell or taste in this moment? What objects can you touch, and how do they feel?

A Path to Sustainable Healing

The trauma-sensitive approach to breathwork might initially seem less spectacular than intensive breathing practices. Yet it’s precisely in its gentleness that its transformative power lies. It enables us to build sustainable connections — to ourselves, to others, and to the world around us.

This type of work creates a space where all experiences and feelings are welcome. A space where you can be exactly as you are. Because I am convinced: True healing begins where we feel safe enough to meet ourselves – with all our stories, fears, and hopes.

In a world that often searches for quick solutions, I invite you to choose the gentle path. A path that leads you back to yourself breath by breath and allows you to walk your own healing journey at your own pace.

If you’d like to learn more about my work, feel free to visit my website.

With love,
Svenja

Svenja (she/her)

To find out more about Svenja, take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breath and the Mind

Breath is the Bridge, Breath is the River

22/10/2024 No Comments

‘Become aware of the breath, the sensation of the air passing in and out through your nostrils. As you focus in on this sensation, let everything else in your mind slowly fade away. Let all the things that have happened to you today and all the things that you have to do, all your cares, all your worries, all your troubles, slowly melt away. All you become aware of is the in and out of your breath. In…. and out…. in….. out….’

The journey from Meditation to Breath

I was sitting cross-legged in a Buddhist Gompa, listening to my teacher give instructions. It was very comforting; a still and quiet refuge from the craziness of the outside world. Whenever I stepped into the temple, the thick red carpet and scent of nag champa incense burning made me immediately relax.

While my teacher was speaking I found it very easy to concentrate. Her steady voice had a certain authority, and my mind naturally did as she asked. I focussed in on my breath, its slow steady rhythm and the in–and-out of air on my throat. My concentration narrowed, tightened, focussed. In…. and out…. in….. out….. .

I felt I could really train my mind in such a space, tame my monkey mind by improving my concentration. Make it like a smooth still lake, untroubled by ripples. Make it like the clear blue sky, untouched by clouds. Meditating on my breath was working on becoming enlightened – just as Buddha had – and that was definitely a goal worth striving for.

‘There is the outside world,’ my teacher said, ‘and the inside. Your breath is the bridge between them. You know what the outside is like; full of suffering and delusion, but do you know what the inside is like? What wonders lie inside? Remember, your breath is the bridge between them. In… and out…. In… out….’

And indeed there were wonders inside. Oceans of stillness, of peace, of strength, of love and compassion for all living beings. Big mind and big heart. Buddha mind, buddha heart. Enlightenment.

But when my teacher stopped speaking and let me meditate in silence, my meditation ended. My concentration wandered, my focus slipped. My monkey mind was back, jumping around all over the place, going anywhere but my breath. I was on the bridge and trying to get back inside, but it seemed a titanic wind was pushing against me, and the more I pushed on, the harder it pushed me back.

It was even worse when I left the refuge of the temple and tried to meditate at home. Not only was there that same wind beating me back – refusing me entrance to my inside world of wonders – but the craziness of the outside world, drenched in suffering and delusion, made the bridge feel like a dangerous place, an untethered, flapping rope bridge to cross a raging torrent. One slip and the waters would swallow and drown me.

After a while, I stopped meditating. I stopped going to the Gompa, I stopped following my teacher. Although my lack of progress in my meditation was not the primary reason in my decision, it definitely played a part. The glimpses that I had of my inside world became just memories. Enlightenment seemed again unattainable. I stepped back from the breath, from that bridge of terror, and became immersed again in the outside world.

A few years later, by chance I found myself at Conscious Breathwork in Bali, Indonesia. My experience of Buddhist breath meditation had left me cynical yet longing for something to happen. I wanted to try and cross the bridge again, but I had lost the faith that I – or even anyone else – really could.

For those of you who have experienced a Conscious Breathwork, you will know that it is nothing like a Buddhist breath meditation. There is no concentration, no focussing, no mental component at all. Just breathing, Conscious Breathing. Within a few breaths of my first session, amazingly, magically, without any effort, without even really listening to the teacher, I found myself back at the bridge, staring towards my interior world of wonders. The wind was as strong as before, perhaps stronger, the bridge more unstable, and the waters below more akin to a deluge than a river, but I was back, looking at something I thought lost to me forever.

This time though, standing at the start of the bridge, I felt strangely calm. With a flash of insight I knew what I had to do. Rather than force myself across, I took a different path. For a moment, I stood up tall and faced the wind, feeling it wrap and buffet my body. Then I let myself fall backwards into the river, letting the waters engulf and sweep me away.

You see I realised that my breath was not just the bridge, my breath was also the river. And if I just let myself go, if I abandoned my fear and followed my breath it could sweep me away not just to my inside world of wonders, but to places that I could not even imagine. A place where there was no difference between inside and out, where there was not any difference between suffering and enlightenment.

If you have the opportunity to try a Conscious Breathwork, and if you then find yourself standing in front of the wild elemental rivers of your own being, then you might find yourself letting go as well.

You could even go there right now, if you are brave enough. It’s easy. Just breathe. Consciously breathe.

In…. and out…. in….. out….

Benedict Beaumont – Founder of Breathing Space

To find out more about Benedict, take a look at his profile in Practitioners Corner

In Breathwork Reflections

Falling in love – with Breath work

06/10/2024 No Comments

There is a huge difference between the point of infatuation that you feel when you first meet a potential partner in life or even just for a season vs the gentle falling in love process that happens over time as you get to know that person, begin to share yourself with that person and then to see how you weave and create together.
It’s a great analogy for my relationship with breath work thus far. My first experience was explosive. Very much like that lightening bolt of infatuation or attraction, the magnetic pull that leads you in ever deeper.
But like most relationships, at some point the deepening becomes more important than the emotional reaction to the chemical synapses.

“I encourage you, in fact it’s a requirement of graduating the course, to have a daily breath work practice” says my breath work teacher. I roll my eyes heavenward. The infatuation period is over.
I have always struggled with a daily practice. Prayer or bible reading when I was religious. Daily visualisation and manifestation techniques as I began to explore spirituality. Daily exercise .. ever! Daily posting on social media as I started my business. Getting up early and finishing your day before everyone else has started. Daily juicing – I could go on, the list of these daily must do’s is exhausting!
I give a big sigh! Another ‘daily’ to fail at. Consequently, I make a very half-hearted attempt. I recorded my singing bowls to utilise in 3.6.5 breath inspired by a fellow facilitator. I bribe myself, no coffee until you’ve taken conscious breath outside for at least 5 minutes etc etc. Nothing works.

Eventually, in a fit of pique akin to a two-year-old tantrum I screech “I will NOT” (inside my head obviously!!) or in adult speak, I release the ‘trying’ and let it go into the alchemy of natural change.
What I noticed as I did this, was quite miraculous.

Nothing happened immediately of course, but as I forgot my childlike tantrum and forgot about my resistance, over a period of time, I found myself turning to and integrating breath into my everyday life. When I took a walk, I began counting my breath and so I introduced what I call Square breathing, but others may recognise it as Box Breath. As I prepared to read or prepared to write I found myself naturally starting with a few rounds of conscious connected nose breathing. When I was struggling with learning a concept or making a connection, I turned to conscious connected open mouth breathing. When I needed to explore my inner senses, I sparked my creativity by breathing into my 3 inner brains – instinct, intuition, and intelligence – employing felt sense to guide me. When I felt scattered, I took a few deep breaths to gather myself back in. When I wanted to connect with people, I encouraged breathing together.
Without actually ‘doing’ or ‘trying’ anything, simply by being natural, I was incorporating so much more than a contrived daily practice into my life. Conscious breathing was becoming an integral part of who I am.
As I reflect on this, I return to my analogy of falling in love. No longer a frenzy of infatuation, conscious breathing is becoming the love of my life. A deep connection that I miss when it’s not there, something I turn to in times of need, something I turn to in times of celebration, something I can’t help but speak about whenever I get the opportunity, and anyone will listen!

This blog was first written as part of my facilitator training with Breathing Space, the school where I now teach. This next paragraph is a recent addition.

Like a relationship with a person, I began to take breath for granted, and forgot to appreciate and to engage with the breath quite as regularly. This coincided with a very stressful time in my life. Where the support of the breath would have been so welcomed and was certainly needed! Unlike some of our human relationships, the breath is nonjudgemental and is there for me whenever I return, offering the same sage wisdom, and sharing the experiences that I need in the moment. Every time.

I’m learning the radical act of self-love (to let go of perfectionism) and to be kind to myself, reminding myself of my mastery in this field and letting myself return gently to that place of constant connection. So, if as you read my earlier words you thought “That’s ok for you, I’m not there yet!” Trust me, nor am I, nor will I ever be. I’m learning though, that I don’t need to be ‘there’ I just need to turn up. Wherever I am. Right here. Right now. And as long as I show up, the breath will meet me there.

PS – thankfully most of my humans have supported me during my stressful times too. So, thank you one and all from my heart to yours. You each know who you are. xx

Sharyn-With-A-Why

To find out more about Sharyn, take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner