July 30, 2024 • 25 mins
What if you could unlock profound healing and release deeply held traumas through your breath alone? Join us as we journey with Megan, and discover her life-changing encounter with conscious connected breathwork. Megan is the founder of Unity Breathwork and a passionate, caring, intuitive, and highly experienced Breathwork Facilitator and teacher. Ever since her life-changing first Breathwork session 7 years ago, she has made it her mission to bring this profound self-healing modality to the world and to help make Breathwork as accessible as yoga.
Through this practice, Megan was able to confront and heal childhood trauma and bulimia, leading to a transformative shift in her life. Her story shines a light on the power of breathwork in accessing altered states of consciousness and her mission to make this self-healing tool available to everyone, much like yoga.
Guest: Megan Ashton
Website: http://www.unitybreathwork.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi Megan, Hi Susie, how are you?
I'm good.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Good thanks, hi.
It's nice to meet you on thisonline platform.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yes, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yeah, no worries.
Where are you from?
Where are you located?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So I'm from Canada, just outside of Toronto, and I
spend about maybe four months ofthe year here and then the rest
of the time in Salida Mexico.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Okay, so what made you decide to go there, to that
part of Mexico, like what kindof brought you there?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I had actually spent basically my entire adult life
over 15 years traveling theworld and I was ready to put
down some sort of roots.
And of any town I had ever beento, this town Salida had the
most I was looking for.
It was like this beautiful vibeof a warm, welcoming community,
lovely weather, beautifulsunsets and a lot of wellness
and spirituality vibes, and it'sjust really easy living.
You don't need a car, and itwas kind of just it's what I'd
been looking for all along.
So I figured it was time to putsome roots down.
(01:03):
Plus, it's really convenient tobe so close to my family, with
direct flights back and forth toToronto.
And that was about three and ahalf years ago and I've been
living there most of the yearsince then.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Okay, and what kind of got you started on your
journey?
Because I was I was reallyinterested in like the type of
work that you're doing.
Can you speak?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
a little bit more about that.
Yeah, have you tried consciousconnected breath work before?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I haven't no Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
So, along with all of my traveling all those years, I
was also on a little bit of aconcurrent healing quest, just
trying everything.
Basically, I had a lot ofchildhood trauma that was very
much just suppressed.
So I was just kind of living ina state of numbness and then,
to like put everything on top ofthat, I also was struggling
with bulimia for almost 15 yearsand then I had some adult
(01:55):
abusive relationships.
And so over the 15 years Itried a lot of things.
I had become a clinicalhypnotherapist, a holistic
nutritionist, I got my yogateacher training, I got
certified in Reiki.
I obviously spoke to some talktherapists, I did some shamanic
healing.
I feel like I just tried somany things but nothing gave me
that healing breakthrough that Iwas looking for.
(02:16):
And so, even with all mydifferent wellness
certifications, I didn't feelreally authentic offering them.
And then I was living in Baliand a friend just told me you
have to try this breathwork.
And she told me straight upshe's like you know, this
actually cured my bulimia.
And I was like wow, that's,that's a big statement and I've
been trying for 15 years.
So I'll try anything.
And I remember being likeslightly skeptical because
(02:37):
during my yoga teacher training,I had a lot of resistance to
the breathing practices, to thedaily pranayama we had to do.
I was like I don't like this,this is boring.
Like when is this over?
I had all that ego resistanceso I'm like I don't know about
these breathing things.
But I thought, you know, I justshow up with an open mind and
give it a try and within 10 or15 minutes I was in this altered
state of consciousness.
I was brought back to like mylittle two-year-old self and I
(02:59):
was just like bawling out mymother's love and affection and
like I want to side note she didthe best she can.
She's a wonderful mother.
But this was my own innerfeelings of what was happening
and it was stuff that I hadsuppressed and not allowed
myself to feel.
And so I went back and I feltit fully and I did it in this
really safe container where Ihad, you know, a breathwork
facilitator there to offer methe supportive touch that, like
(03:21):
my inner child, always longedfor and the care and affection.
And after that session I just Iwas exhausted that night from
crying so much.
I'd cried more than I had myentire adult life, it felt.
But the next morning I feltreborn, I had more confidence, I
didn't care as much peoplethought about me and I was able
to kind of feel more feelingsLike I used to rely on alcohol
(03:43):
to feel happiness.
And I was able to kind of feelmore feelings like I used to
rely on alcohol to feelhappiness.
And I was able to start to feelmore happiness without alcohol.
And within a couple of weeks Iwas in the teacher training and
it's a 400 hour training and aspart of the training we did
weekly breathwork sessions and Iwould say after about like
after that first session, thebulimia already started to lose
its grip on me, but after acouple of months of doing this
weekly it just no longerresonated, already started to
(04:04):
lose its grip on me, but after acouple months of doing this
weekly it just no longerresonated and for once, like
finally in my life, it didn'thave a calling on me.
Even when things got tough, Ididn't feel called towards it.
It just like was something.
It just kind of switched off.
And since then I've just beenso passionate about bath work.
It's been almost seven yearsnow that I've been facilitating.
I've become a teacher so theycan offer to teach others how to
(04:26):
facilitate, because I've reallymade it my life's mission since
that very first session to helpmake breathwork as popular and
as accessible as yoga, because Ijust think it's such a profound
self-healing tool.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Oh, that sounds amazing.
That sounds amazing Just howpowerful breathwork is.
Yeah, I even think about, right, like when you're going through
something people don't reallythink about.
Oh, let me try breathwork,right Like there's other things.
And so you mentioned, you tried, tried everything, and then
this was what had the biggestbreakthrough.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I think it's because we're working with altered
states of consciousness.
So you're probably aware howyou know, some therapists are
starting to incorporate ketamineor psilocybin into their
treatments.
But with breathwork we don'thave to take anything outside of
ourselves.
We can alter our state ofconsciousness and then we can
start to access these deepsubconscious things that are,
you know, been buried from ourconscious mind.
We can start to actually createlike deep and lasting change,
(05:20):
versus just working with theconscious mind, which is so much
more limited.
So, actually, like I had evendone a whole week of ayahuasca
in the Colombian jungle about ayear before I discovered the
breathwork, and it didn't.
If anything, it left metraumatized and more sick.
My body was so worn down fromthat, and so when I did my first
session I was like, oh my God,that was what I was looking for
with the ayahuasca.
But I didn't get sent into hellfor 18 hours and stuck there.
(05:43):
And it's really empowering,because not only is the breath
our own medicine, but we cancome out of it at any time.
So it's not like you've takenketamine or plant medicine and
you're stuck in it.
Now you can just come back to anormal breath if it's
overwhelming, and so you reallyget to regulate the intensity of
your experience.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You feel like it's the.
It provides the same effect asthe I don't know how to
pronounce it the ayahuasca typething, except without having to
put anything in your body.
Or is it a different?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So yes, I know so it's very as far as the
different, like transformationsites, healing potentials,
getting in touch through innerwisdom all of that's basically
the same across the board,depending on, like, no matter
what psychedelic type substanceyou're taking, you can get
access to that, but it's notnearly as harsh of an experience
.
There isn't.
Some people do get likecolorful psychedelic visions
(06:34):
just from their breath, but it'soften more emotional.
Sometimes you go back and likevisit a trauma from a higher
perspective, or you go back andoffer your inner child some love
.
The whole realm of things canhappen and it can.
The benefits and experiencescan be very similar to
psychedelics or plant medicine.
However, it is, I just think,way less harsh and way more
empowering, because the breathis the medicine.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
And what does that look like?
Like for someone that doesn'tknow?
You know they're hearing theword okay breath work.
Like what does that look like?
What does that mean?
Okay, so that, okay breathworkLike what does that look like?
What does that mean?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Okay, so that's a very broad question.
Basically, when we saybreathwork, it's kind of a short
form for conscious connectedbreathwork.
Sometimes it's called circularconnected breathwork.
The primary part is that it'sconnected, so there's no pause
between the inhale and theexhale and you're taking in
deeper breaths than usual.
And this deeper, rhythmicbreathing without pauses is what
leads to all of the physicaland chemical alterations and the
(07:28):
alterations in the brainwavesand all those other things that
lead to the altered states ofconsciousness.
So you might have peoplecalling it connected breathwork
or just breathwork for short,and it's like breathwork without
a space between breath and work.
So some people get confusedbecause there's like functional
breathing and they call thatbreathwork.
But that's like learning how tobreathe more optimally
optimally in everyday life andthis has nothing to do with that
(07:49):
.
We're actually breathingthrough our mouths in most
breath practices and that's likenot optimal at all in your
daily living.
But when it's used for a shortperiod of time for therapeutic
purposes, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
So there's actually like a technique to it Because,
like in therapy, we I'm atherapist, by the way we tell
clients.
Like you know, if you'refeeling any anxiety or whatever,
like you know, do somebreathing, some deep breathing,
right?
We tell that to clients andsometimes the clients are like
okay, like how is this helpful,you know, whatever?
(08:20):
So like this is a differenttype of breath work, like
there's actually a technique toit in order for it to be
effective.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yes, I think it's really important here for me to
note that those types ofbreathing practices that you're
giving to people probably thingsalong like the box breathing or
like doubling your exhale, anyof that kind of conscious
breathing where you're justbringing focus to the breath
those are more like I wouldcategorize as breathing
practices or breathingtechniques and they're really
great for in the moment, forreducing stress or coming into
the moment or getting rid ofinsomnia, but those activate the
(08:52):
parasympathetic nervous systembranch, which for anyone
watching, is the rest and digestbranch.
Whereas with this type ofbreath work we're actually
purposefully activating thesympathetic nervous system
branch, but we're doing it in anempowered and safe way, because
anytime we've had stressfulexperiences, adverse experiences
, traumas, we're in thatsympathetic state.
So by revisiting that state,but doing it in an empowered and
(09:13):
safe way, we can actually startto get to the root of some of
these things that may be stuckin our bodies.
And sometimes you know I'vementioned earlier that people
might revisit a trauma, butother times, like, the body can
just process these stuckemotions and these stuck things
and help to rebalance thenervous system without even
having to revisit what happenedto them.
So some people will just maybelike bawl their eyes out or feel
anger, or feel sadness or fear,whatever it is, and we
(09:36):
encourage them to unite it withthe breath.
And then when you're breathingand feeling at the same time in
this altered state, then itallows for actual shifts to
really occur and most will feela lot lighter afterwards.
And then we always kind of uselike the onion analogy like each
session you're peeling back anonion and sometimes like for
myself, for instance, and for alot of my breathers like that
first session can be lifechanging and other times you
(09:58):
need to peel back some moreonions before you can have such
a dramatic experience.
Like some people just need tofeel things in their body
because they've numbedthemselves out, so for the whole
session they're just feelingall these different sensations.
And really every session isdifferent for every person every
time.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, and I would imagine too, like the person has
to be open to feeling thesethings right, or like open to
the experience.
Or do you find people that arekind of like resistive Is it
still work the same?
Or like what do you?
What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 1 (10:30):
It's a bit of both.
So actually, like, my favoritepeople are people that are
skeptics, that have been draggedthere by their partner or by a
loved one and they're like Idon't believe in this.
This is woo, woo, my breath'snot going to work, you know,
because if I can just get themto follow the breathing
technique, all of thatresistance there's always
resistance for everybody,including myself the first 10 or
15 minutes, like the ego reallykind of like pops its ugly head
(10:52):
up and really tries to talk youout of it.
But then after that you're inthe altered state.
So if I can get them to justkeep breathing, in spite of that
resistance, for that first 10or so minutes, they will reach
that different state and by theend of it they're like, oh my
God, like something worked.
And then I've had men you know,who will admit I haven't cried
since I was a child.
I've been told not to cry, soI've suppressed my entire adult
(11:12):
life and I finally just lettears out.
So it's like all of thesedifferent resistance and these
egos and masks manifestations,they kind of just come crumbling
down.
If you can just follow thetechnique for 10 or 15 minutes,
you get into that state.
That bypasses all of thatresistance and I love that.
The only time it doesn't workfor people is when they're just
doing kind of like a really soft, slow breathing pattern because
I use the analogy the breath isa medicine, so if you're
(11:34):
breathing basically normally,you're not going to create any
change.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
It's like a micro dose okay, so does it have to be
kind of like a very like deepbreath, like, uh, like a deep
type of breath?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
yeah.
So some facilitators will teachit through the nose.
I teach it through the mouth.
Most, most schools are teachingthrough the mouth now because
if you think about it like awide, open mouth, like you're
biting into a fruit, see howmuch more air you can get in
than my two nostrils, yeah.
And then we really encourageyou to breathe deep into the
belly, so much so that itinflates the chest, so like full
body breath, really inflatingall of your lungs and then
(12:08):
releasing it and the emphasis ison the inhale.
So it's like, and you can't seemy belly, but it's really
inflating.
And so sometimes, like you know, I might place a hand on the
participant's belly and be likebreathe into my hand to help,
like get them used to it,because most of us aren't
breathe used to breathing deeply.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
You know, we kind of forgot how to do that after
we're babies okay, yeah, and Isee, like, as you were doing it,
your body's also moving because, yeah, right, like moving with
the breath naturally, likebecause you're taking it, when
you take in a deep enough breath.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
it's almost impossible to take like a full
body, like a full, full inhalewithout moving your body, like
like it takes so much work totry and hold still.
So if you're just taking in afull body breath, it will
naturally move kind of like outand in, like that, and then we
actually do encourage naturalbody movements that happen in a
session, like sometimessomeone's body might start to
shake naturally and again that'sa really good release of
(12:56):
tensions and these stuck thingsfrom our bodies the nervous
system has a way of balancingout by shaking, and so that
might happen.
Sometimes people's arms mightstart to move like the whole
realm is possible.
Sometimes we'll vocalize andyou know, like I mentioned, that
the crying is big, but otherpeople just get absolute bliss
or euphoria or you know theyfeel like they've met some
(13:17):
deceased loved ones, like thewhole realm is possible in.
Every session is so differentthat it's just seven years later
.
I'm just as passionate about it.
It never gets old.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It sounds very, very interesting and yeah, like it
was just very interesting andhelpful, I feel uh, one of the
things to I know, like withbreathing.
So for this example, like isthere a certain way or cause,
something that I hear a lot likewhen people try to do any kind
(13:46):
of breathing and obviously we'renot doing it to like, as you
are right Like the breathingthat we tell people to do and
therapy and things like that.
Like one of the biggest thingsthat I hear people say is it's
really hard to just sit thereand breathe because your mind
starts racing.
You start thinking about allthe things like your mind's just
(14:07):
racing with thoughts Like, um,what?
Any like tips or suggestionsfor people on like how to get
past that in breath work?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
so yes and no, because actually that's one
thing that I love about thistype of breath work is that um a
, you have a facilitator, sothat's one of the reasons people
are able to stick to it.
And people say can I do thisalone?
I'm like you can try, but like98 people can't, because of that
resistance exactly that youwere speaking out.
But two, the whole reason likeI couldn't get behind pranayama
is my whole overactive mind washaving all of those things.
(14:39):
But what I love about with thisbreath work is that after 10 or
15 minutes that just goes awayand then the rest of the time
flies by and like nobody canbelieve it's an hour at the end
and nobody even wants to comeback to normal breath.
They're like no, like I want tostay over a year, and so as far
as like everyday breathingpractices go, I don't really
have advice because I'd behypocritical to give it, since I
felt that way myself and Istill do, and that's why I'm so
(15:02):
passionate about breathwork,because that like it gets you
past that resistance and justinto a deep, altered state.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Okay, yeah so this is the to do this type of breath
work.
It is kind of like encouragedto have a facilitator, like it
would.
It's the best practice for it.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
For two reasons.
For one, there actually arecontraindications because you
are working with the sympatheticnervous system Like that's our
fight or flight stress response.
So say you have, you know,severe heart issues.
You don't necessarily want tobe elevating your heart rate.
Or if you have glaucoma it canelevate your blood pressure.
You don't want to have theblood pressure in your eyes.
So first of all, for thatsafety reason, you want to have
a facilitator.
And then, secondly, it's justthat you get the most out of it
(15:40):
because almost all of us, evenfacilitators, even my trainees,
that resistance just comes rightup and you find yourself kind
of just going back into more ofa soft normal breath when you
don't have someone there tocontinually coach you, and then
you almost never reach likethose great depths where you're
actually creating some lastingchange and transformation.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, so then that's where you would come in, like
you're a facilitator, right?
So then what is typically likeyour role in these types of
sessions?
Like some examples of like whattypes of things that you do?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I think it's different.
So we kind of have, like weit's guided by music and when
it's in person, I'm alsooffering supportive touch, and
music starts off slow and thenit goes up towards a peak and as
music builds, I'm more focusedon getting people to follow the
breathing pattern, to buildtheir breath to really, like,
get in as much air as possible.
But then after the peak, that'susually when the body's taken
(16:33):
over and you're in an alteredstate and that's often when
emotional releases will come out, physical releases will come
out and all of those.
So it's more of a nurturingrole where I'm there to, like
you know, put a hand on theirheart or hold their hand or just
offer supportive touch in anyway that they feel, you know,
safe, of course with theirapproval in advance, like we
don't just go touching peoplewithout their consent.
And so it's kind of like a mixof breath coach, like getting
(16:55):
them to do the technique,getting them to stick with the
technique.
Sometimes after the peak, whenthe music gets mellow, they
forget to breathe.
So I'm there to remind them butalso to give cues, just for I
usually just speak to like kindof universal things that most of
us struggle with, like becauseyou are actually in the state
you're accessing thesubconscious minds, you can
(17:16):
start to reprogram some of thelimiting beliefs and negative
thoughts that a lot of us have.
So you know, I might speak tolike you are more than worthy,
you are deeply loved and lovablejust things that, like a lot of
us have doubts about.
You know you're strong, you'reresilient.
Whatever comes to mind in themoment, I just kind of say.
And because they're in analtered state, I trust that if
they're not meant to hear it,they won't, and if they are,
they will, and then often, likethose words will help kind of
bring them to a place of a newinsight or breakthrough or
(17:39):
release for them.
And then the music is reallycarefully curated too.
Like I really I choose musicthat's going to really build the
tempo and pace moving up, soit's almost like shamanic, but
then after the peak it's moreemotional based and I try to
choose ones that have reallyinspiring lyrics, because I know
that they might pick up on someof those lyrics and I want that
to be positive things thatthey're hearing.
(17:59):
And yeah, mostly I'm justholding space.
So that's what I love aboutbreathwork is like I'm not
healing anybody, I'm not likesome person who thinks they're a
guru.
I'm just giving people tools tobe their own healers yeah, yeah
, definitely okay.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Do you feel like this ?
I like I'm just giving peopletools to be their own healers.
Yeah, yeah, definitely Okay.
Do you feel like this?
I'm just curious Do you feellike going into the altered
space, accessing yoursubconscious, do you feel like
(18:31):
that helps with people healingor kind of like moving past, you
know, whatever traumas theyhave?
Do you feel like that is anecessary step for everyone or
is it different, you know, perperson?
Yeah, because I'm thinking ofmaybe someone listening,
thinking okay, do I have to gointo this altered state in order
(18:54):
to heal?
Am I healed?
Or just by going to therapy, doI need to do this type of work?
Would you say it's extrahelpful?
Speaker 1 (19:10):
I don't know for for an average person yes, I think
for all of us we can benefitfrom it because it's putting us
in touch, their inner wisdom.
So even if we're in a reallyhappy, healthy place, there's
still more confidence or moreinsights we can have, or just
everyday stressors.
It's an opportunity to feel andrelease everyday stressors or
just come into presence.
There's always like I feel likeas long as we're alive, there's
(19:30):
always more layers to gothrough.
We're always like healing andevolving, you know, and the
thing is like having theawareness and the tools to deal
with our everyday stuff is soimportant and that's like so
helpful with therapy.
But until you bring it into thebody, like you need to get the
body and the subconscious mindon board as well, because as
long as your nervous system isstill dysregulated, because it's
(19:50):
still in that past state, likestuck of trauma, it hasn't
processed it, even though you'vementally processed it, you're
still stuck in that highactivation state or you're still
triggered or you're having areally hard time because you're
only using your willpower tocome over, get over that
addiction and try and resist it.
But when you start to work inthe altered states, you actually
get to the root way quicker andactually like most of my
(20:11):
clients in where I am.
When I'm in Canada, they arereferred to me from a therapist.
Because I think the twotogether is so beneficial,
because you get the support andthe tools and professionalism
and awareness with a therapistand then you bring it into the
body and you bring these newinsights into the subconscious
mind with the altered states ofconsciousness.
So the two together can just besuch a beautiful and powerful
(20:32):
pairing.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I could see that actually, now that you've kind
of explained that the body partof it because I've, you know,
I've had people that have donetherapy I feel like in the mind,
like you said, everything feelsgreat, like'm okay, like I'm
good, but then something canhappen that triggers that
(20:56):
physical responses or, like youknow, something can come up that
kind of makes you not feel goodagain.
So maybe that's connected tothe body part of it.
Right, the body's still storinga lot of the trauma or, you
know, experiences, and so it cankeep coming up.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yes, exactly, it's like when you get that, when you
have the conscious side of it,that's so important Awareness is
like the first step for anychange.
But until you bring it into thebody anytime you haven't slept
well, you've had a reallystressful experience, or you
have too much on your plate, orsomebody just triggers you it's
like it kind of has like a fullbucket and then everything just
(21:35):
comes right back up again thatyou thought you had under
control.
But when you start to actuallytake it into the body, then you
can really actually create likea clear state, clear slate and
like really process these thingsso that you don't get triggered
anymore and that you canactually like bring your
newfound insights and awarenessinto your actual body and into
your subconscious programmingnow, with this breath work, is
there like an end goal, like,okay, I need to do this breath
(21:56):
work, I, you know, I, I feellike I, I feel great, you know
whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Or is this something like people should do
continuously, if that makessense?
Speaker 1 (22:07):
So it could go either way.
Like typically, when peoplecome to me and they want to make
, like some, some big, lastingchange, I'll say okay, like
let's sign up for six sessionsand we'll do it either weekly or
bi-weekly.
And then after that I'll belike, okay, but let's do, like
you know, just a top up sessionevery month or two because, like
, as long as we're alive,there's still more stuff to go
back into process.
Um, but also, like some peoplewill just come sporadically, or
(22:30):
some people will just come totwo sessions and they'll still
check in a year later and be,like, you know, like ever since
that session I got an insightand now I've forgiven my parents
and we're all closer.
I'm so much closer to mypartner.
I've let down my heart, likethe guards around my heart, and
I've called in a new soulmate.
Like lasting change can happenin just a couple of sessions,
which is really amazing.
But I do think like, ideally,you want to, you know, keep
(22:53):
doing a session every once in awhile and sometimes you just use
your intuition.
Like you know, things arefeeling a little crazy right now
.
I don't feel like I can handleit.
I'm getting overwhelmed, like Ithink I need to do another
breathwork session.
It's kind of like a reset.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Okay, so are you still doing breathwork yourself,
like just personally?
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Yeah, yeah, of course I do it at least twice a week.
I always try and do at least ashort session before every
session that I facilitate.
I'm also a teacher for otherfacilitators, so I'm just and
when I'm not like facilitatingthis type of breathing is really
just creating like a new.
There's just a new resurgenceof it.
Recently it's becoming morepopular and well-known and I
(23:35):
want to help with that and Iwant people to understand kind
of what's happening.
You know what's happening withthe nervous system, the vagus
nerve, the brain waves andeverything and how it creates
these changes.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And are you practicing in Mexico and in
Canada or where you'repracticing?
Are you practicing in Mexicoand in Canada or where?
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Yeah, yeah, so when I'm in Canada for the summertime
, I practice just outside ofToronto, and then when I'm in
Mexico, I practice just outsideof Puerto Vallarta.
There's a couple little townscalled Busuris and Celita and I
offer weekly group sessions, butI also offer online.
So I have clients from aroundthe world and I offer one-on-one
sessions.
For some people they do betterin one-on-ones and for others
(24:13):
they actually do better ingroups.
Hearing other people breathearound you can sometimes be
supportive.
It helps, kind of like keep youaccountable to the breath.
So I offer all of itOne-on-ones groups online in
person wherever I happen to bein the world.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
And will people find more information if they were
interested in?
Speaker 1 (24:29):
learning more, absolutely so I've made my
website a bit of a learningresource, and it's called Unity
Breathwork, which is mycompany's name, and so I'd
recommend going there.
I do also have Instagram, unityBreathwork, but I would say
most of my heart and soul goesinto my website, and that's
where you'll find so manydifferent resources and you'll
be able to get a really deepdive into understanding what
(24:49):
this is all about.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
And if you wanted to do a session with me, you'll see
all my contact details there.
Thank you, so much this reallyinteresting, and I will for sure
be checking out your websiteand just reading some of your
stuff.
Yeah, yes, everything is there,okay, so, yeah, definitely
checking it out.
But, yeah, it sounds veryinteresting and I'm really glad
it's helping so many people,including yourself, right?
(25:15):
And so, yeah, I appreciate youcoming on to talking about it
and I will be checking out yourwebsite to myself.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So okay, great, I hope you'll give it a try
sometime, whether it's online orin person.
Thank you.
Thanks, susie.
Hi Megan, Hi Susie, how are you?
I'm good.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Good thanks, hi.
It's nice to meet you on thisonline platform.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yes, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yeah, no worries.
Where are you from?
Where are you located?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So I'm from Canada, just outside of Toronto, and I
spend about maybe four months ofthe year here and then the rest
of the time in Salida Mexico.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Okay, so what made you decide to go there, to that
part of Mexico, like what kindof brought you there?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I had actually spent basically my entire adult life
over 15 years traveling theworld and I was ready to put
down some sort of roots.
And of any town I had ever beento, this town Salida had the
most I was looking for.
It was like this beautiful vibeof a warm, welcoming community,
lovely weather, beautifulsunsets and a lot of wellness
and spirituality vibes, and it'sjust really easy living.
You don't need a car, and itwas kind of just it's what I'd
been looking for all along.
So I figured it was time to putsome roots down.
(01:03):
Plus, it's really convenient tobe so close to my family, with
direct flights back and forth toToronto.
And that was about three and ahalf years ago and I've been
living there most of the yearsince then.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Okay, and what kind of got you started on your
journey?
Because I was I was reallyinterested in like the type of
work that you're doing.
Can you speak?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
a little bit more about that.
Yeah, have you tried consciousconnected breath work before?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I haven't no Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
So, along with all of my traveling all those years, I
was also on a little bit of aconcurrent healing quest, just
trying everything.
Basically, I had a lot ofchildhood trauma that was very
much just suppressed.
So I was just kind of living ina state of numbness and then,
to like put everything on top ofthat, I also was struggling
with bulimia for almost 15 yearsand then I had some adult
(01:55):
abusive relationships.
And so over the 15 years Itried a lot of things.
I had become a clinicalhypnotherapist, a holistic
nutritionist, I got my yogateacher training, I got
certified in Reiki.
I obviously spoke to some talktherapists, I did some shamanic
healing.
I feel like I just tried somany things but nothing gave me
that healing breakthrough that Iwas looking for.
(02:16):
And so, even with all mydifferent wellness
certifications, I didn't feelreally authentic offering them.
And then I was living in Baliand a friend just told me you
have to try this breathwork.
And she told me straight upshe's like you know, this
actually cured my bulimia.
And I was like wow, that's,that's a big statement and I've
been trying for 15 years.
So I'll try anything.
And I remember being likeslightly skeptical because
(02:37):
during my yoga teacher training,I had a lot of resistance to
the breathing practices, to thedaily pranayama we had to do.
I was like I don't like this,this is boring.
Like when is this over?
I had all that ego resistanceso I'm like I don't know about
these breathing things.
But I thought, you know, I justshow up with an open mind and
give it a try and within 10 or15 minutes I was in this altered
state of consciousness.
I was brought back to like mylittle two-year-old self and I
(02:59):
was just like bawling out mymother's love and affection and
like I want to side note she didthe best she can.
She's a wonderful mother.
But this was my own innerfeelings of what was happening
and it was stuff that I hadsuppressed and not allowed
myself to feel.
And so I went back and I feltit fully and I did it in this
really safe container where Ihad, you know, a breathwork
facilitator there to offer methe supportive touch that, like
(03:21):
my inner child, always longedfor and the care and affection.
And after that session I just Iwas exhausted that night from
crying so much.
I'd cried more than I had myentire adult life, it felt.
But the next morning I feltreborn, I had more confidence, I
didn't care as much peoplethought about me and I was able
to kind of feel more feelingsLike I used to rely on alcohol
(03:43):
to feel happiness.
And I was able to kind of feelmore feelings like I used to
rely on alcohol to feelhappiness.
And I was able to start to feelmore happiness without alcohol.
And within a couple of weeks Iwas in the teacher training and
it's a 400 hour training and aspart of the training we did
weekly breathwork sessions and Iwould say after about like
after that first session, thebulimia already started to lose
its grip on me, but after acouple of months of doing this
weekly it just no longerresonated, already started to
(04:04):
lose its grip on me, but after acouple months of doing this
weekly it just no longerresonated and for once, like
finally in my life, it didn'thave a calling on me.
Even when things got tough, Ididn't feel called towards it.
It just like was something.
It just kind of switched off.
And since then I've just beenso passionate about bath work.
It's been almost seven yearsnow that I've been facilitating.
I've become a teacher so theycan offer to teach others how to
(04:26):
facilitate, because I've reallymade it my life's mission since
that very first session to helpmake breathwork as popular and
as accessible as yoga, because Ijust think it's such a profound
self-healing tool.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Oh, that sounds amazing.
That sounds amazing Just howpowerful breathwork is.
Yeah, I even think about, right, like when you're going through
something people don't reallythink about.
Oh, let me try breathwork,right Like there's other things.
And so you mentioned, you tried, tried everything, and then
this was what had the biggestbreakthrough.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I think it's because we're working with altered
states of consciousness.
So you're probably aware howyou know, some therapists are
starting to incorporate ketamineor psilocybin into their
treatments.
But with breathwork we don'thave to take anything outside of
ourselves.
We can alter our state ofconsciousness and then we can
start to access these deepsubconscious things that are,
you know, been buried from ourconscious mind.
We can start to actually createlike deep and lasting change,
(05:20):
versus just working with theconscious mind, which is so much
more limited.
So, actually, like I had evendone a whole week of ayahuasca
in the Colombian jungle about ayear before I discovered the
breathwork, and it didn't.
If anything, it left metraumatized and more sick.
My body was so worn down fromthat, and so when I did my first
session I was like, oh my God,that was what I was looking for
with the ayahuasca.
But I didn't get sent into hellfor 18 hours and stuck there.
(05:43):
And it's really empowering,because not only is the breath
our own medicine, but we cancome out of it at any time.
So it's not like you've takenketamine or plant medicine and
you're stuck in it.
Now you can just come back to anormal breath if it's
overwhelming, and so you reallyget to regulate the intensity of
your experience.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You feel like it's the.
It provides the same effect asthe I don't know how to
pronounce it the ayahuasca typething, except without having to
put anything in your body.
Or is it a different?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So yes, I know so it's very as far as the
different, like transformationsites, healing potentials,
getting in touch through innerwisdom all of that's basically
the same across the board,depending on, like, no matter
what psychedelic type substanceyou're taking, you can get
access to that, but it's notnearly as harsh of an experience
.
There isn't.
Some people do get likecolorful psychedelic visions
(06:34):
just from their breath, but it'soften more emotional.
Sometimes you go back and likevisit a trauma from a higher
perspective, or you go back andoffer your inner child some love
.
The whole realm of things canhappen and it can.
The benefits and experiencescan be very similar to
psychedelics or plant medicine.
However, it is, I just think,way less harsh and way more
empowering, because the breathis the medicine.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
And what does that look like?
Like for someone that doesn'tknow?
You know they're hearing theword okay breath work.
Like what does that look like?
What does that mean?
Okay, so that, okay breathworkLike what does that look like?
What does that mean?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Okay, so that's a very broad question.
Basically, when we saybreathwork, it's kind of a short
form for conscious connectedbreathwork.
Sometimes it's called circularconnected breathwork.
The primary part is that it'sconnected, so there's no pause
between the inhale and theexhale and you're taking in
deeper breaths than usual.
And this deeper, rhythmicbreathing without pauses is what
leads to all of the physicaland chemical alterations and the
(07:28):
alterations in the brainwavesand all those other things that
lead to the altered states ofconsciousness.
So you might have peoplecalling it connected breathwork
or just breathwork for short,and it's like breathwork without
a space between breath and work.
So some people get confusedbecause there's like functional
breathing and they call thatbreathwork.
But that's like learning how tobreathe more optimally
optimally in everyday life andthis has nothing to do with that
(07:49):
.
We're actually breathingthrough our mouths in most
breath practices and that's likenot optimal at all in your
daily living.
But when it's used for a shortperiod of time for therapeutic
purposes, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
So there's actually like a technique to it Because,
like in therapy, we I'm atherapist, by the way we tell
clients.
Like you know, if you'refeeling any anxiety or whatever,
like you know, do somebreathing, some deep breathing,
right?
We tell that to clients andsometimes the clients are like
okay, like how is this helpful,you know, whatever?
(08:20):
So like this is a differenttype of breath work, like
there's actually a technique toit in order for it to be
effective.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yes, I think it's really important here for me to
note that those types ofbreathing practices that you're
giving to people probably thingsalong like the box breathing or
like doubling your exhale, anyof that kind of conscious
breathing where you're justbringing focus to the breath
those are more like I wouldcategorize as breathing
practices or breathingtechniques and they're really
great for in the moment, forreducing stress or coming into
the moment or getting rid ofinsomnia, but those activate the
(08:52):
parasympathetic nervous systembranch, which for anyone
watching, is the rest and digestbranch.
Whereas with this type ofbreath work we're actually
purposefully activating thesympathetic nervous system
branch, but we're doing it in anempowered and safe way, because
anytime we've had stressfulexperiences, adverse experiences
, traumas, we're in thatsympathetic state.
So by revisiting that state,but doing it in an empowered and
(09:13):
safe way, we can actually startto get to the root of some of
these things that may be stuckin our bodies.
And sometimes you know I'vementioned earlier that people
might revisit a trauma, butother times, like, the body can
just process these stuckemotions and these stuck things
and help to rebalance thenervous system without even
having to revisit what happenedto them.
So some people will just maybelike bawl their eyes out or feel
anger, or feel sadness or fear,whatever it is, and we
(09:36):
encourage them to unite it withthe breath.
And then when you're breathingand feeling at the same time in
this altered state, then itallows for actual shifts to
really occur and most will feela lot lighter afterwards.
And then we always kind of uselike the onion analogy like each
session you're peeling back anonion and sometimes like for
myself, for instance, and for alot of my breathers like that
first session can be lifechanging and other times you
(09:58):
need to peel back some moreonions before you can have such
a dramatic experience.
Like some people just need tofeel things in their body
because they've numbedthemselves out, so for the whole
session they're just feelingall these different sensations.
And really every session isdifferent for every person every
time.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, and I would imagine too, like the person has
to be open to feeling thesethings right, or like open to
the experience.
Or do you find people that arekind of like resistive Is it
still work the same?
Or like what do you?
What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 1 (10:30):
It's a bit of both.
So actually, like, my favoritepeople are people that are
skeptics, that have been draggedthere by their partner or by a
loved one and they're like Idon't believe in this.
This is woo, woo, my breath'snot going to work, you know,
because if I can just get themto follow the breathing
technique, all of thatresistance there's always
resistance for everybody,including myself the first 10 or
15 minutes, like the ego reallykind of like pops its ugly head
(10:52):
up and really tries to talk youout of it.
But then after that you're inthe altered state.
So if I can get them to justkeep breathing, in spite of that
resistance, for that first 10or so minutes, they will reach
that different state and by theend of it they're like, oh my
God, like something worked.
And then I've had men you know,who will admit I haven't cried
since I was a child.
I've been told not to cry, soI've suppressed my entire adult
(11:12):
life and I finally just lettears out.
So it's like all of thesedifferent resistance and these
egos and masks manifestations,they kind of just come crumbling
down.
If you can just follow thetechnique for 10 or 15 minutes,
you get into that state.
That bypasses all of thatresistance and I love that.
The only time it doesn't workfor people is when they're just
doing kind of like a really soft, slow breathing pattern because
I use the analogy the breath isa medicine, so if you're
(11:34):
breathing basically normally,you're not going to create any
change.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
It's like a micro dose okay, so does it have to be
kind of like a very like deepbreath, like, uh, like a deep
type of breath?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
yeah.
So some facilitators will teachit through the nose.
I teach it through the mouth.
Most, most schools are teachingthrough the mouth now because
if you think about it like awide, open mouth, like you're
biting into a fruit, see howmuch more air you can get in
than my two nostrils, yeah.
And then we really encourageyou to breathe deep into the
belly, so much so that itinflates the chest, so like full
body breath, really inflatingall of your lungs and then
(12:08):
releasing it and the emphasis ison the inhale.
So it's like, and you can't seemy belly, but it's really
inflating.
And so sometimes, like you know, I might place a hand on the
participant's belly and be likebreathe into my hand to help,
like get them used to it,because most of us aren't
breathe used to breathing deeply.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
You know, we kind of forgot how to do that after
we're babies okay, yeah, and Isee, like, as you were doing it,
your body's also moving because, yeah, right, like moving with
the breath naturally, likebecause you're taking it, when
you take in a deep enough breath.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
it's almost impossible to take like a full
body, like a full, full inhalewithout moving your body, like
like it takes so much work totry and hold still.
So if you're just taking in afull body breath, it will
naturally move kind of like outand in, like that, and then we
actually do encourage naturalbody movements that happen in a
session, like sometimessomeone's body might start to
shake naturally and again that'sa really good release of
(12:56):
tensions and these stuck thingsfrom our bodies the nervous
system has a way of balancingout by shaking, and so that
might happen.
Sometimes people's arms mightstart to move like the whole
realm is possible.
Sometimes we'll vocalize andyou know, like I mentioned, that
the crying is big, but otherpeople just get absolute bliss
or euphoria or you know theyfeel like they've met some
(13:17):
deceased loved ones, like thewhole realm is possible in.
Every session is so differentthat it's just seven years later
.
I'm just as passionate about it.
It never gets old.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It sounds very, very interesting and yeah, like it
was just very interesting andhelpful, I feel uh, one of the
things to I know, like withbreathing.
So for this example, like isthere a certain way or cause,
something that I hear a lot likewhen people try to do any kind
(13:46):
of breathing and obviously we'renot doing it to like, as you
are right Like the breathingthat we tell people to do and
therapy and things like that.
Like one of the biggest thingsthat I hear people say is it's
really hard to just sit thereand breathe because your mind
starts racing.
You start thinking about allthe things like your mind's just
(14:07):
racing with thoughts Like, um,what?
Any like tips or suggestionsfor people on like how to get
past that in breath work?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
so yes and no, because actually that's one
thing that I love about thistype of breath work is that um a
, you have a facilitator, sothat's one of the reasons people
are able to stick to it.
And people say can I do thisalone?
I'm like you can try, but like98 people can't, because of that
resistance exactly that youwere speaking out.
But two, the whole reason likeI couldn't get behind pranayama
is my whole overactive mind washaving all of those things.
(14:39):
But what I love about with thisbreath work is that after 10 or
15 minutes that just goes awayand then the rest of the time
flies by and like nobody canbelieve it's an hour at the end
and nobody even wants to comeback to normal breath.
They're like no, like I want tostay over a year, and so as far
as like everyday breathingpractices go, I don't really
have advice because I'd behypocritical to give it, since I
felt that way myself and Istill do, and that's why I'm so
(15:02):
passionate about breathwork,because that like it gets you
past that resistance and justinto a deep, altered state.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Okay, yeah so this is the to do this type of breath
work.
It is kind of like encouragedto have a facilitator, like it
would.
It's the best practice for it.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
For two reasons.
For one, there actually arecontraindications because you
are working with the sympatheticnervous system Like that's our
fight or flight stress response.
So say you have, you know,severe heart issues.
You don't necessarily want tobe elevating your heart rate.
Or if you have glaucoma it canelevate your blood pressure.
You don't want to have theblood pressure in your eyes.
So first of all, for thatsafety reason, you want to have
a facilitator.
And then, secondly, it's justthat you get the most out of it
(15:40):
because almost all of us, evenfacilitators, even my trainees,
that resistance just comes rightup and you find yourself kind
of just going back into more ofa soft normal breath when you
don't have someone there tocontinually coach you, and then
you almost never reach likethose great depths where you're
actually creating some lastingchange and transformation.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, so then that's where you would come in, like
you're a facilitator, right?
So then what is typically likeyour role in these types of
sessions?
Like some examples of like whattypes of things that you do?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I think it's different.
So we kind of have, like weit's guided by music and when
it's in person, I'm alsooffering supportive touch, and
music starts off slow and thenit goes up towards a peak and as
music builds, I'm more focusedon getting people to follow the
breathing pattern, to buildtheir breath to really, like,
get in as much air as possible.
But then after the peak, that'susually when the body's taken
(16:33):
over and you're in an alteredstate and that's often when
emotional releases will come out, physical releases will come
out and all of those.
So it's more of a nurturingrole where I'm there to, like
you know, put a hand on theirheart or hold their hand or just
offer supportive touch in anyway that they feel, you know,
safe, of course with theirapproval in advance, like we
don't just go touching peoplewithout their consent.
And so it's kind of like a mixof breath coach, like getting
(16:55):
them to do the technique,getting them to stick with the
technique.
Sometimes after the peak, whenthe music gets mellow, they
forget to breathe.
So I'm there to remind them butalso to give cues, just for I
usually just speak to like kindof universal things that most of
us struggle with, like becauseyou are actually in the state
you're accessing thesubconscious minds, you can
(17:16):
start to reprogram some of thelimiting beliefs and negative
thoughts that a lot of us have.
So you know, I might speak tolike you are more than worthy,
you are deeply loved and lovablejust things that, like a lot of
us have doubts about.
You know you're strong, you'reresilient.
Whatever comes to mind in themoment, I just kind of say.
And because they're in analtered state, I trust that if
they're not meant to hear it,they won't, and if they are,
they will, and then often, likethose words will help kind of
bring them to a place of a newinsight or breakthrough or
(17:39):
release for them.
And then the music is reallycarefully curated too.
Like I really I choose musicthat's going to really build the
tempo and pace moving up, soit's almost like shamanic, but
then after the peak it's moreemotional based and I try to
choose ones that have reallyinspiring lyrics, because I know
that they might pick up on someof those lyrics and I want that
to be positive things thatthey're hearing.
(17:59):
And yeah, mostly I'm justholding space.
So that's what I love aboutbreathwork is like I'm not
healing anybody, I'm not likesome person who thinks they're a
guru.
I'm just giving people tools tobe their own healers yeah, yeah
, definitely okay.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Do you feel like this ?
I like I'm just giving peopletools to be their own healers.
Yeah, yeah, definitely Okay.
Do you feel like this?
I'm just curious Do you feellike going into the altered
space, accessing yoursubconscious, do you feel like
(18:31):
that helps with people healingor kind of like moving past, you
know, whatever traumas theyhave?
Do you feel like that is anecessary step for everyone or
is it different, you know, perperson?
Yeah, because I'm thinking ofmaybe someone listening,
thinking okay, do I have to gointo this altered state in order
(18:54):
to heal?
Am I healed?
Or just by going to therapy, doI need to do this type of work?
Would you say it's extrahelpful?
Speaker 1 (19:10):
I don't know for for an average person yes, I think
for all of us we can benefitfrom it because it's putting us
in touch, their inner wisdom.
So even if we're in a reallyhappy, healthy place, there's
still more confidence or moreinsights we can have, or just
everyday stressors.
It's an opportunity to feel andrelease everyday stressors or
just come into presence.
There's always like I feel likeas long as we're alive, there's
(19:30):
always more layers to gothrough.
We're always like healing andevolving, you know, and the
thing is like having theawareness and the tools to deal
with our everyday stuff is soimportant and that's like so
helpful with therapy.
But until you bring it into thebody, like you need to get the
body and the subconscious mindon board as well, because as
long as your nervous system isstill dysregulated, because it's
(19:50):
still in that past state, likestuck of trauma, it hasn't
processed it, even though you'vementally processed it, you're
still stuck in that highactivation state or you're still
triggered or you're having areally hard time because you're
only using your willpower tocome over, get over that
addiction and try and resist it.
But when you start to work inthe altered states, you actually
get to the root way quicker andactually like most of my
(20:11):
clients in where I am.
When I'm in Canada, they arereferred to me from a therapist.
Because I think the twotogether is so beneficial,
because you get the support andthe tools and professionalism
and awareness with a therapistand then you bring it into the
body and you bring these newinsights into the subconscious
mind with the altered states ofconsciousness.
So the two together can just besuch a beautiful and powerful
(20:32):
pairing.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I could see that actually, now that you've kind
of explained that the body partof it because I've, you know,
I've had people that have donetherapy I feel like in the mind,
like you said, everything feelsgreat, like'm okay, like I'm
good, but then something canhappen that triggers that
(20:56):
physical responses or, like youknow, something can come up that
kind of makes you not feel goodagain.
So maybe that's connected tothe body part of it.
Right, the body's still storinga lot of the trauma or, you
know, experiences, and so it cankeep coming up.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yes, exactly, it's like when you get that, when you
have the conscious side of it,that's so important Awareness is
like the first step for anychange.
But until you bring it into thebody anytime you haven't slept
well, you've had a reallystressful experience, or you
have too much on your plate, orsomebody just triggers you it's
like it kind of has like a fullbucket and then everything just
(21:35):
comes right back up again thatyou thought you had under
control.
But when you start to actuallytake it into the body, then you
can really actually create likea clear state, clear slate and
like really process these thingsso that you don't get triggered
anymore and that you canactually like bring your
newfound insights and awarenessinto your actual body and into
your subconscious programmingnow, with this breath work, is
there like an end goal, like,okay, I need to do this breath
(21:56):
work, I, you know, I, I feellike I, I feel great, you know
whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Or is this something like people should do
continuously, if that makessense?
Speaker 1 (22:07):
So it could go either way.
Like typically, when peoplecome to me and they want to make
, like some, some big, lastingchange, I'll say okay, like
let's sign up for six sessionsand we'll do it either weekly or
bi-weekly.
And then after that I'll belike, okay, but let's do, like
you know, just a top up sessionevery month or two because, like
, as long as we're alive,there's still more stuff to go
back into process.
Um, but also, like some peoplewill just come sporadically, or
(22:30):
some people will just come totwo sessions and they'll still
check in a year later and be,like, you know, like ever since
that session I got an insightand now I've forgiven my parents
and we're all closer.
I'm so much closer to mypartner.
I've let down my heart, likethe guards around my heart, and
I've called in a new soulmate.
Like lasting change can happenin just a couple of sessions,
which is really amazing.
But I do think like, ideally,you want to, you know, keep
(22:53):
doing a session every once in awhile and sometimes you just use
your intuition.
Like you know, things arefeeling a little crazy right now
.
I don't feel like I can handleit.
I'm getting overwhelmed, like Ithink I need to do another
breathwork session.
It's kind of like a reset.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Okay, so are you still doing breathwork yourself,
like just personally?
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Yeah, yeah, of course I do it at least twice a week.
I always try and do at least ashort session before every
session that I facilitate.
I'm also a teacher for otherfacilitators, so I'm just and
when I'm not like facilitatingthis type of breathing is really
just creating like a new.
There's just a new resurgenceof it.
Recently it's becoming morepopular and well-known and I
(23:35):
want to help with that and Iwant people to understand kind
of what's happening.
You know what's happening withthe nervous system, the vagus
nerve, the brain waves andeverything and how it creates
these changes.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And are you practicing in Mexico and in
Canada or where you'repracticing?
Are you practicing in Mexicoand in Canada or where?
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Yeah, yeah, so when I'm in Canada for the summertime
, I practice just outside ofToronto, and then when I'm in
Mexico, I practice just outsideof Puerto Vallarta.
There's a couple little townscalled Busuris and Celita and I
offer weekly group sessions, butI also offer online.
So I have clients from aroundthe world and I offer one-on-one
sessions.
For some people they do betterin one-on-ones and for others
(24:13):
they actually do better ingroups.
Hearing other people breathearound you can sometimes be
supportive.
It helps, kind of like keep youaccountable to the breath.
So I offer all of itOne-on-ones groups online in
person wherever I happen to bein the world.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
And will people find more information if they were
interested in?
Speaker 1 (24:29):
learning more, absolutely so I've made my
website a bit of a learningresource, and it's called Unity
Breathwork, which is mycompany's name, and so I'd
recommend going there.
I do also have Instagram, unityBreathwork, but I would say
most of my heart and soul goesinto my website, and that's
where you'll find so manydifferent resources and you'll
be able to get a really deepdive into understanding what
(24:49):
this is all about.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
And if you wanted to do a session with me, you'll see
all my contact details there.
Thank you, so much this reallyinteresting, and I will for sure
be checking out your websiteand just reading some of your
stuff.
Yeah, yes, everything is there,okay, so, yeah, definitely
checking it out.
But, yeah, it sounds veryinteresting and I'm really glad
it's helping so many people,including yourself, right?
(25:15):
And so, yeah, I appreciate youcoming on to talking about it
and I will be checking out yourwebsite to myself.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So okay, great, I hope you'll give it a try
sometime, whether it's online orin person.
Thank you.
Thanks, susie.
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