BREATHWORK
“One breathwork session is equivalent to about two years of psychotherapy.” - Henry Rohrberg, Ph.D
The first time I heard of breathwork I was on a retreat in Italy a couple of years ago whilst I was still working in banking. The centre I was staying at had a load of different healing modalities on offer and, me being me, I decided to dive head first into them all – the first being breathwork. The rest is history. I came back to London after that retreat, booked in for a couple more one on ones and session by session, I felt my mind changing.
The sessions catalysed a number of enormous shifts in my life including initially asking for a sabbatical and subsequently leaving my career to start afresh. Despite having spent years in therapy and being an avid yogi, breath has given me more than any of those combined.
Through breath, I realised a huge amount of rubbish which I’d been suppressing for years and subsequently effectively freed myself from my own self-imposed chains. I became so fascinated with this work that I decided to train as a facilitator myself in order to be able to offer this incredible medicine to others.
The sessions catalysed a number of enormous shifts in my life including initially asking for a sabbatical and subsequently leaving my career to start afresh. Despite having spent years in therapy and being an avid yogi, breath has given me more than any of those combined.
Through breath, I realised a huge amount of rubbish which I’d been suppressing for years and subsequently effectively freed myself from my own self-imposed chains. I became so fascinated with this work that I decided to train as a facilitator myself in order to be able to offer this incredible medicine to others.
The transformative power of the breath
During breathwork sessions, we breathe consciously for an extended period of time to oxygenate the body – this has a multitude of benefits. On a physical level, breathing in this way allows us to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, shifting us out of our chronic stress states to stimulate better digestion, sleep quality & improved immune response. The physical effects are of course, hugely beneficial, but for me the real gold came in the form of emotional release.
Breathwork has the most wonderful way of gently allowing you to open up to any repressed emotional content. As a lot of us are taught not to fully express our emotions, we can hold a huge amount of emotional stagnation in the body. Emotion is energy in motion, if the energy isn’t allowed to move, it just gets stored as potential energy within our tissues. Breathwork allows us to open up to that repressed content, express it, in a safe & gentle way, and then move on with our lives. For me, this work completely shifted the way that I saw the world, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from me. The world looked somehow different, brighter, more exciting – all from just breathing….. madness, right?
Breathwork has the most wonderful way of gently allowing you to open up to any repressed emotional content. As a lot of us are taught not to fully express our emotions, we can hold a huge amount of emotional stagnation in the body. Emotion is energy in motion, if the energy isn’t allowed to move, it just gets stored as potential energy within our tissues. Breathwork allows us to open up to that repressed content, express it, in a safe & gentle way, and then move on with our lives. For me, this work completely shifted the way that I saw the world, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from me. The world looked somehow different, brighter, more exciting – all from just breathing….. madness, right?
The magic continues… As I’m sure you know, we live about 95% of the time in our subconscious. That means that our subconscious is driving almost all of the decisions we make on a daily basis and as such, effectively our lives. The challenging piece here is that for most people, the subconscious is exactly that, subconscious. We have no idea what is there and as such have very little idea of what forces are driving our lives. Breathwork can give us access to some of that subconscious content so that we can clearly see the hidden forces driving our lives and then make a conscious decision whether we want to continue to allow them to do that. The insights I gained through breath would have taken genuinely years of self-observation & meditation to get to. Breathwork shows you exactly what you need to see in a safe & gentle container.
I work with individuals and groups to share this wonderful practice. After a brief introduction, we spend an hour breathing followed by a long savasana (rest period) where you are gently brought back into the world before having the chance to share any experiences. The sessions last on average around 2.5 hours. It can take a little while for the body to open up to this work and as such I advise clients to start with 3 sessions in order to get the most out of the work, but of course, one offs are also available. For group sessions, please get in contact over email.
I work with individuals and groups to share this wonderful practice. After a brief introduction, we spend an hour breathing followed by a long savasana (rest period) where you are gently brought back into the world before having the chance to share any experiences. The sessions last on average around 2.5 hours. It can take a little while for the body to open up to this work and as such I advise clients to start with 3 sessions in order to get the most out of the work, but of course, one offs are also available. For group sessions, please get in contact over email.
Previous
Next
FAQ
– Soothes the Nervous System:
Because of our fast paced lifestyles, a lot of us live in a perpetual low grade stress response. I was totally unaware of this but definitely had periods in my life of living in a chronic stressed state. The result of this is that we breathe shallowly and quickly. Conscious connected breathwork activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the opposite to the stress response sympathetic nervous system, which kicks off our natural relaxation response. Try it briefly now, taking a couple of 5 count inhalations and 5 count exhalations and notice how you feel.
– Increase Clarity and Focus:
Conscious connected breathing helps to oxygenate the brain which in turn improves our clarity and focus. Most of us only use about 33% of our breathing capacity which means some of use are living in a state of low level deoxygenation. “Cells undergoing partial oxygen starvation send out tiny panic signals which are collectively felt in the body as a continuous vague sensation of uneasiness, dread or disaster. This low level generalized warning tends to get tuned out as mere ‘background noise’ by the individual experiencing it. Or, it is attributed to other sources of uneasiness … People rarely suspect that the constant vague feelings of helplessness, fatigue … uneasiness are symptoms of cellular oxygen deprivation.” – The Townsend Letter For Doctors. Breathing deeply and consciously can help to deliver more oxygen to the body.
– Promote Restful Sleep:
Conscious breathing activates the pineal gland which is linked to our sleep patterns. Together with its activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, conscious connected breathing can really help to improve our sleep quality.
– Emotional Hygiene:
For some people, conscious connected breathwork sessions can provide them with much needed emotional hygiene. This practice can help us to get in contact with some of our more repressed emotional content and release it in a safe and supported space.
Because of our fast paced lifestyles, a lot of us live in a perpetual low grade stress response. I was totally unaware of this but definitely had periods in my life of living in a chronic stressed state. The result of this is that we breathe shallowly and quickly. Conscious connected breathwork activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the opposite to the stress response sympathetic nervous system, which kicks off our natural relaxation response. Try it briefly now, taking a couple of 5 count inhalations and 5 count exhalations and notice how you feel.
– Increase Clarity and Focus:
Conscious connected breathing helps to oxygenate the brain which in turn improves our clarity and focus. Most of us only use about 33% of our breathing capacity which means some of use are living in a state of low level deoxygenation. “Cells undergoing partial oxygen starvation send out tiny panic signals which are collectively felt in the body as a continuous vague sensation of uneasiness, dread or disaster. This low level generalized warning tends to get tuned out as mere ‘background noise’ by the individual experiencing it. Or, it is attributed to other sources of uneasiness … People rarely suspect that the constant vague feelings of helplessness, fatigue … uneasiness are symptoms of cellular oxygen deprivation.” – The Townsend Letter For Doctors. Breathing deeply and consciously can help to deliver more oxygen to the body.
– Promote Restful Sleep:
Conscious breathing activates the pineal gland which is linked to our sleep patterns. Together with its activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, conscious connected breathing can really help to improve our sleep quality.
– Emotional Hygiene:
For some people, conscious connected breathwork sessions can provide them with much needed emotional hygiene. This practice can help us to get in contact with some of our more repressed emotional content and release it in a safe and supported space.
I trained with world renowned breath practitioner Kaya Leigh and the Sacred Breath Academy. The Sacred Breath Method (SBM) was birthed from noticing a trend in the breathwork industry of focusing on ‘oxygen highs’ rather than really supporting the breather through what, for some people, can been a deep healing experience. The SBM is a trauma informed breathwork modality using a nasal inhale which activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is deeply relaxing and allows the breather to more gently meet with any emotional content arising during the session.
I have also trained as a yoga teacher, coach and reiki practitioner which I believe helps me support breathers fully through whatever arises in these sessions and beyond.
I have also trained as a yoga teacher, coach and reiki practitioner which I believe helps me support breathers fully through whatever arises in these sessions and beyond.
Yes! If you like the idea of working with a technique which can be used to:
– promote deep relaxation in the body and nervous system regulation
– restore safety and presence in the body
– connect with states of deep love, bliss, joy and connection
– release emotional blockages
– reconnect to the heart space
– allow breathers to uninhibitedly express repressed emotional content in a non-judging space
– physically release tension in the body
– correct restrictive breathing patterns
– tap into inner inspiration
– support through periods of grief or loss
– experience mystical and non-ordinary states of being
– reconnect to intuition
– reclaim self worth
That said, because of the potential depth of this work, there are some contraindications to be aware of, please get in touch if you are concerned about any of these:
– Pregnancy
– Severe PTSD
– On recreational drugs
– Taking any medication that alters brain chemistry like anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, etc
– Detached Retina
– Glaucoma
– Kidney disease
– High Blood Pressure
– Cardiovascular disease including angina, previous heart attack or stroke
– Diagnosis of aneurysm in the brain or abdomen
– Uncontrolled thyroid conditions
– Diabetes
– Severe Asthma – for mild to moderate asthma, we can discuss but you must bring your inhaler to the session
– Epilepsy
– Prior diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or previous psychiatric condition
– Hospitalisation for any psychiatric condition or emotional crisis within the last 10 years
– Any other medical, psychiatric or physical conditions which would impair or affect ability to engage in any activities that involve deep physical and/or emotional release
– promote deep relaxation in the body and nervous system regulation
– restore safety and presence in the body
– connect with states of deep love, bliss, joy and connection
– release emotional blockages
– reconnect to the heart space
– allow breathers to uninhibitedly express repressed emotional content in a non-judging space
– physically release tension in the body
– correct restrictive breathing patterns
– tap into inner inspiration
– support through periods of grief or loss
– experience mystical and non-ordinary states of being
– reconnect to intuition
– reclaim self worth
That said, because of the potential depth of this work, there are some contraindications to be aware of, please get in touch if you are concerned about any of these:
– Pregnancy
– Severe PTSD
– On recreational drugs
– Taking any medication that alters brain chemistry like anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, etc
– Detached Retina
– Glaucoma
– Kidney disease
– High Blood Pressure
– Cardiovascular disease including angina, previous heart attack or stroke
– Diagnosis of aneurysm in the brain or abdomen
– Uncontrolled thyroid conditions
– Diabetes
– Severe Asthma – for mild to moderate asthma, we can discuss but you must bring your inhaler to the session
– Epilepsy
– Prior diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or previous psychiatric condition
– Hospitalisation for any psychiatric condition or emotional crisis within the last 10 years
– Any other medical, psychiatric or physical conditions which would impair or affect ability to engage in any activities that involve deep physical and/or emotional release
