How becoming a breathwork facilitator has enhanced my life

It’s only now, on the eve of graduating as a Breathwork Facilitator with Breathing Space that I'm starting to grasp what this training has done for me personally.

At the beginning of the training, I was asked what brought me to breathwork (read about this here) and what I wanted from this journey of becoming a facilitator.

Back in July, my intention for this training was this: to be guided on my path in life by strengthening my trust in my own inner voice and wisdom and using this as a compass instead of being influenced by the “noise” outside myself (opinions of others, societal pressures, expectations, conditioning...). I also asked the universe to help me to step up and guide others to live more in tune with who they really are because I believe that when more people do that, that's how we make the world a better place. Cheesy, I know, but that’s the truth!

Has doing this breathwork training given me this?

The short answer is: absolutely. I’ve nurtured my intuitive listening and am using it as my guide day in day out. I’ve gotten so much clarity and confidence on my next steps in life and how I want to share breathwork with the world. And I’ve felt so much permission to be myself and trust myself as I start to share breathwork with others. This all feels so empowering and exciting.

But I’ve also gotten so much more out of this training that I could ever have bargained for. The founder of Breathing Space, Ben, did warn us about how life-changing this training would be in the beginning. It turns out he wasn’t wrong! Read on to find out how training to become a breathwork facilitator and delving headfirst into the magic of breathwork has enhanced my life in ways I could never have predicted.

I’ve found a way to channel my creativity

I find planning and facilitating a breathwork session to be such a fun creative process. And one which I adore from beginning to end. Putting together a playlist, coming up with a theme, scripting my own meditations, writing the copy for the marketing, formulating questions of inquiry related to the theme/intention… It requires me to use my imagination, think outside the box and bring my own personality into the equation.

I feel like I have more permission than ever to be myself

Breathing Space teaches us that we’re all unique and that’s our superpower as facilitators; no two facilitators are the same and we all have something valuable to give that the world needs. As the training has progressed, I’ve been leaning ever more into this and seeing how showing up as myself feels so freeing and empowering.

I’ve learned about the true value of presence

I believe that the most important thing I can do when facilitating a breathwork session is to fully be there as I hold space for others. Not with my mind on what’s for dinner or what to post on Instagram tomorrow. But bringing all of my energy into the here and now. This full presence can be felt by the breathers because, quite frankly, it’s rather radical in today’s norm of being half present and half somewhere else. I really believe that this is at the core of why having space intentionally held for you is so healing and transformative. I have a lot of work to do with presence in my personal life, but practicing full presence when facilitating is a good place to start.

My intuition is getting stronger and stronger

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this training it’s the power of using the felt sense as a tool for tuning into my intuition. By felt sense, I mean listening to and being acutely aware of the physical and emotional sensations in your body to nurture your inner “knowing” and use this as a compass in life. I like to think of it as a way to live more from the heart and less from the mind - not an easy task, I know! Learning how to listen to your felt sense and trust what you hear takes time and practice but knowing that the answers to everything really are inside of you is the most empowering thing. Developing this felt sense awareness and connecting to intuition will now be at the centre of my work as a breathwork facilitator and Coach and I’m beyond excited to take this out into the world.

I’ve gotten more comfortable with discomfort

In this training, we’ve learned how to facilitate by facilitating. When I signed up I knew that this element of the training was exactly why I needed to do it - I know from life experience that stepping up and doing things before I feel ready is the best way to learn. A few months into the training, I led my first group breathwork session, which felt equally terrifying and exciting. And definitely not comfortable. In the days before, my inner critic and imposter syndrome were off the charts. But then I did it and it felt so natural and enjoyable and my confidence as a facilitator grew leaps and bounds. I’ve realised that getting comfortable with discomfort is key to my own growth and it's something I’ll be seeking out a lot more from now on.

Finding a moment to breathe each day has become a non-negotiable

As part of the training, I’ve been required to build and commit to a regular breathwork practice. This looks like doing weekly Conscious Connected Breathwork sessions and a 5-10 minute daily practice using a variety of Breathwork techniques. As someone who has never been able to stick to a regular meditation practice, I’m glad to have finally found a daily practice I enjoy and can do pretty much anywhere, anytime. This course requirement has felt like self-care. Correction - it is self-care! And the weekly Conscious Connected Breathwork sessions feels like therapy without the talking. Read more about what you can experience in a Conscious Connected Breathwork session here. Attending these sessions have been such a key part of the training as I can only expect others to meet themselves in vulnerability if I also do the same. Read more about what happened when I allowed myself to be vulnerable here.

I’ve had a regular touchpoint with myself during the rollercoaster of motherhood

This has been a huge one for me. I started the training when my daughter was 18 months old and life felt like a sleep deprived shit show. My regular breathwork practice has given me a go-to tool to check in with myself throughout the day. By practicing breath awareness - simply noticing how I’m breathing - I can check in with how I’m feeling in the moment and then take a few breaths to bring myself back into some sort of balance when things feel overwhelming, tough or any of the things early motherhood can stir in you.

I’ve adopted healthier coping mechanisms for when it all feels too much

The other day I had to take myself into the bathroom, shut the door and scream into my fist because I felt so frustrated at my daughter’s incessant tantrums. What’s this got to do with breathwork? Well, throughout this training, I’ve learned about how emotions move through the body and the importance of physically releasing through sound, movement or the breath. So rather than screaming in my daughter's face or just keep swallowing my frustration and letting it fester inside until it eventually explodes, I take a moment to name how I'm feeling, let myself feel it and find a way to release it so it's not directed at her. This might look like screaming into my hand behind a closed door, having a dance to shake it all out, or having a bit of a cry.

I’ve had space held exquisitely for me

As a coach and toddler mum I hold space for people almost every hour of every day. But I rarely have space held for me. Having my 1:1 weekly mentor meetings with Hannah Nedas of Grounded Life felt like a deep and powerful coaching session to look forward to each week. And attending regular Conscious Connected Breathwork sessions through Breathing Space has given me this opportunity to be held so tenderly by such incredible humans. I’ve truly felt the support and freedom to really feel my feelings and have huge emotional releases, which leads me on to my next point...

I’ve released a lot of stuff that was weighing me down

For the year or so before I came onto my Breathwork journey, I’d barely cried. I’d barely released. I’d barely let myself feel. I’d been holding everything together so tightly as I held space 24/7 for a small, dependent human and started a business in the midst of a global pandemic. But I now regularly cry in Conscious Connected Breathwork sessions or feel an energetic or emotional release by breathing with the emotions and sensations that come to the surface and letting them go on the outbreath. This has felt so healing and underlines that breathwork is not about feeling better, but about getting better at feeling.

I’ve become part of a family I didn’t know I needed

I won’t be stopping my connection with Breathing Space now that I've finished the training. I’ve gained friends I know I’ll have for life and I’m so grateful to be part of this community of humans who are living from the heart and sharing such a beautiful practice with the world.

I’m part of a movement that’s in its infancy

Breathwork and the possibilities of where it will go excites me. I’m excited about how it helps people to empower themselves. I’m excited about how it challenges so much of the wellness BS out there due to its simplicity and accessibility. I’m excited about how it will shape the future of competitive sport. I'm excited about how it can be combined with other healing modalities to help people release trauma. I’m excited about how it can help parents cope with the struggles of parenthood. I’m excited about how it will shape the personal development field for years to come. And it feels exciting to be part of this while many people are still asking “what even is breathwork?” In case you're wondering, you can read my answer to this question here.

And so this chapter of becoming a breathwork facilitator ends. But really it’s just the beginning of an exciting new chapter (I know, I’ve used the word “exciting” a few times now but it really is how it feels) and now there’s nothing left for it but to take breathwork out into the world one breath at a time.

What’s next?

1:1 and group breathwork sessions in Lausanne and online

I run regular online group breathwork sessions and programmes and. I also work with 1:1 clients, either in one-off sessions or on a longer-term basis. Sessions are completely tailored to your needs and can be taken weekly, fortnightly, monthly or on an ad hoc basis.

Coaching + breathwork programme for mums

My intention has always been to combine breathwork with coaching. Why? Put simply, I see breathwork as a tool to access your true voice, your intuition, your authentic self and coaching as a tool to do something actionable with that information and actually live your life by this inner guidance. This desire has only become stronger as I’ve progressed through the training and I have developed a 1:1 breathwork-based empowerment coaching programme especially for mums to do exactly this.

Retreats & events in Lausanne, Switzerland and beyond

And then of course I want to take breathwork offline and into the real world. I offer occasional in-person events in the Lausanne area and am always open to collaborating with other wellbeing facilitators to create unique events. Please get in touch if you would like to collaborate or if you would like me to run breathwork sessions at your retreat.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to taking some breaths together soon.

Grace