My journey into breathwork

In the winter of 2019/2020 a couple of things happened. One of them a very personal experience and the other a very collective experience. Both led me on a journey into myself via the breath.

At the tail end of December 2019, just before we entered a new decade and all the challenges we now know were awaiting us in the shadows, I became a mother. Cue all the highs and lows of early motherhood: sleep deprivation, ecstatic joy, breastfeeding trials and tribulations and unfathomable unconditional love.

Then in early March 2020 another thing happened, of which I’m sure you’re aware: Covid-19 arrived in Europe and things got scary, fast. With a 10-week-old baby and a boyfriend working on the frontline in ICU here in Switzerland, I felt real fear. The next few months of lockdown and the first wave were a blur of worry and ‘what ifs’.

But there is a silver lining: I’ve ridden enough of life’s waves of challenge to know that when shit is hitting the fan on the outside, it’s an invitation to go inside.

A journey into the self

You see, before becoming a mum I’d been on a personal journey of slowly shifting my search for love, joy, purpose and validation from external sources to inside of me. This saw me weave a colourful path around the world in my 20s as I looked for the perfect place, person and thing until I eventually arrived, like many of us do, at the realisation that (*spoiler alert*) the answers were within all along.

I started finding ways to connect with myself more to access my true voice and wisdom.

This led me to yoga, journalling and meditation and reading every self-development book I could get my hands on. I also studied health and wellness coaching with the intention of supporting others on their own paths of self-empowerment.

Breathwork as a new mum

So I found myself in quite the pickle when newborn life meant zero time for such practices. I desperately and erratically attempted to claw back some ‘me time’ to help me cope with the struggles of newborn life and reclaim the connection to myself I’d long been building: a little yoga here, a bit of journalling there… It was all nice but felt quite surface-level if I’m honest, taking the edge off my frazzled state but not much more.

Then one day I stumbled across the Wim Hof breathing technique and cold water exposure. I was instantly hooked.

It all felt so effortless: after just a few minutes of breathing I felt waves of energy, clarity or calm wash over me, depending on what I needed in that moment. It felt like a way to connect with my real self underneath all the layers of worry, sleep-deprivation, mum guilt and all the rest. And - this is key - I could fit it into my hectic new mum lifestyle.

It almost felt too simple: how could just breathing and covering my body with cold water make me feel so much better? I didn’t fully understand but it just worked.

Following my curiosities into cold water

As someone who has long believed in the magic of following curiosities semi-blindly without really understanding where they’re going, I naturally soon found myself submerged in the chilly waters of Lake Geneva in the winter of 2020/2021.

Throughout what we will now collectively remember as the long winter of lockdowns and little human contact, my weekly lake swims and daily breathwork practice became anchors in my life. Perhaps even the glue holding it all together. Aside from the physical, mental and emotional benefits, it was also my way of connecting to my sense of freedom and adventurous spirit during tough, tiring times. In an increasingly scary and unpredictable world, I found solstice in two powerful forces of nature: breath and water.

That got me thinking - if it helped me, could it help others too?

As a holistic wellbeing coach, I’m often mulling over the question of how to better help others. Here’s the thing: coaching alone can be powerful and life-changing but I’ve long had this niggle that I wanted to help people drop more into the body as a self-empowerment tool. But this tool had to be what I call a “minimum input, maximum output” practice. Because the last thing we need in this world of so much doing is another expensive, lengthy or difficult thing to add to our to-do lists.

One day in early 2021 it became crystal clear: Breathwork offered the perfect tool I was looking for.

I needed to know more. 

Becoming a breathwork facilitator

My next step was to stumble across Breathing Space while perusing the internet for a Breathwork Facilitator training. Within a few clicks, I immediately knew I’d found a special place. Cue experiencing Conscious Connected Breathing for the first time and the rest is history: I got a full body yes inviting me to dive head first in.

So here I am on the Apprenticeship Programme with Breathing Space and I know that really all paths have been leading me here. It feels like a poignant and important step on my ongoing personal journey of tuning out from the noise and into myself.

Essentially, this is why I’m here and this is the magic I want to share: the answers are all inside of us. Breathwork is a tool to access this voice, probably the most accessible, empowering and simple tool we have.

Time for me to learn how to pass this magical tool onto others. If you would like to find out more about my breathwork offerings, head here.