(#40) Why Breathwork is So Transformational and Life Changing
May 01, 2024Episode 40
Rae The Somatic Coach
On today's episode of The Raediant Life Podcast, your host Rae shares in-depth about how breathwork is transformational, and why she loves it so much! Tune in to receive:
An understanding of the science behind breathwork and how it affects the body
The history of breathwork and how it shows up in the world today
Learn different methods for how to incorporate it into your every day life
Understand the mind-body connection and why breathwork is a great tool for strengthening this
Participate in Curious Convos. Share your questions and topic requests!
Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast is intended to inspire, educate, and support you on your personal journey. It does not substitute for professional mental health advice. I am not a psychologist or medical professional. If you are experiencing any emotional distress, mental health challenges, or medical conditions, please seek help from a qualified professional.
On today's episode of The Raediant Life Podcast, your host Rae shares in-depth about how breathwork is transformational, and why she loves it so much! Tune in to receive:
An understanding of the science behind breathwork and how it affects the body
The history of breathwork and how it shows up in the world today
Learn different methods for how to incorporate it into your every day life
Understand the mind-body connection and why breathwork is a great tool for strengthening this
Participate in Curious Convos. Share your questions and topic requests!
Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast is intended to inspire, educate, and support you on your personal journey. It does not substitute for professional mental health advice. I am not a psychologist or medical professional. If you are experiencing any emotional distress, mental health challenges, or medical conditions, please seek help from a qualified professional.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Radiant Life Podcast. I'm your host, rae, the Somatic Coach, and I'm here to support you in healing your past, living in the present and creating your future so that you can become the most centered, embodied and happiest version of yourself. Each week, I'll be bringing you episodes to help you navigate life's challenges, ease stress and tension and learn more about holistic healing, spirituality and wellness. If you're interested in becoming the best version of yourself so that you can live the life of your dreams, then you're in the right place. Subscribe to the podcast and the monthly newsletter and follow me on Instagram and TikTok to know when new episodes are released each week. I am so happy that you've landed here. Let's dive in. Welcome back to the podcast. If you are new here, I'm Rae. I'm a somatic coach and breathwork facilitator, and if you aren't new here, welcome back. I'm so glad that you're tuning in for today's episode. For today's episode, we are back to the healing world from last week's episode on podcasting, and today we're going to be talking about breathwork and how it can truly be life-changing when we incorporate it into our everyday lives.
Speaker 1:
So, for myself, I discovered breathwork about eight years ago when I was at a yoga festival. So I was in Vermont with one of my best friends and the way that the yoga festival works is kind of like camp almost, but like for adults. It was so fun and you get a schedule and on the schedule you can choose three different classes each day and one's like speaking talking event that you can go to and so on that schedule I saw an option for what was called Radiant Love Breathwork and it was being facilitated by Erin Telford, who is also. I have a few different certifications, but she's also who I'm certified through, which is amazing. Being able to like work with her and love her. She's great and so that's who I ended up getting certified through. But when I was at this class I signed up, the description looked absolutely wild and I was like this is what I need to do. This sounds like so crazy. So I signed up for the class and I had such a big emotional release. I felt so, so, so amazing.
Speaker 1:
Just at that moment I had so much anxiety and I was processing so much grief that I didn't even know my mind could get quiet. And from that moment I had no idea fast forward today that this is where I'd be teaching breathwork myself. But from that moment I had no idea, like fast forward today, that this is where I'd be teaching breathwork myself. But from that moment I kind of just kept searching. I kept looking for how I could do breathwork, like where I could find it and I would drive like an hour and a half from my house because that was the only place I could find that would do breathwork and I wanted to keep doing it. I wanted to keep doing it and even today it's really not that mainstream. It's hard for me to even find people in person that I can also practice breathwork when I want to do it. So it's definitely maybe becoming more popular, but it's really not that mainstream.
Speaker 1:
And so why I am so passionate about it is because, for someone that for the longest time was trying to navigate anxiety, which is a lot of like worry thoughts, a lot of shoulds and shouldn'ts and what ifs and trying all of these like mindset tools which are very, very important and definitely get incorporated into healing work in any shape or form it wasn't until I found breathwork that I really felt peace of mind and really felt connected to really myself, like my intuition, the sound of, like my higher self, the sound of you know my guides and like things like that, not so much the fear-based sound of my. You know my thoughts and all of that good stuff. So I'm so passionate about it because I myself have experienced the benefits of it and I've also been able to guide so many people through, you know, breathwork experiences that have helped them and just seeing that happen and seeing that shift, it's just a great modality, something to have in your toolkit, something to incorporate into you know, whatever you might be doing right now that you find beneficial, it's definitely not like a replacement for anything, but it is really supportive and beneficial as a supplement to what you might be working with right now. So for today, I want to dive into a little bit around like what breathwork is, the science behind it, where it originated from, maybe just talk a little bit about different, about the mind-body connection and why that's important, some of the different healing and therapeutic qualities that breathwork has, and then how we can incorporate it into our daily lives. So we're going to dive into quite a few topics. I see here as I'm looking at my notes and, yeah, I'm excited to chat with you guys about it.
Speaker 1:
So first we have the science of breathwork. So there are so many different forms of breathwork. You have holotropic, you have shamanic, integrative, rebirthing, and just so many different forms of breathwork and really what it comes down to is, I find, that as long as you're connecting with your breath and you're finding a modality that feels supportive for you, that's all that matters. I teach a somatic, trauma-informed breathwork practice, but I everybody's is going to be a little bit different, and even someone that would teach the same exact practice that I do will also teach it differently, because no two two facilitators are the same.
Speaker 1:
What I can say is that connecting with your breath will create more relaxation in your body. It will allow your nervous system to relax, and the reason why is because it increases the amount of oxygen that's going to the brain and stimulates what's called the parasympathetic nervous system. So we have our autonomic nervous system and then underneath that there are two branches the sympathetic, which is your fight or flight, and the parasympathetic, which is your rest and digest. So with breathwork, the oxygen is going to your brain and it's stimulating that parasympathetic nervous system that rest and digest. So in your body, when you're doing breathwork, you might experience tetany, which is when your hands clamp up or your mouth clamps up, your body temperature might change, you might feel some sort of activations, you might feel really relaxed, and that's because your oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are changing. Even the pH of your blood will change, because when there's less carbon dioxide in your system, your blood becomes more alkaline, which is meaning like less acidic, and so this is what brings on the tetany when your hands clamp up and there's tingling and that pins and needles feeling.
Speaker 1:
And so as you're moving through these breathwork experiences, as you're moving through this process, you are also expanding your window of tolerance. This is something that I've talked about in the past, but this is basically your capacity to move through life in general with a relative ease and be able to process and integrate information based on what's happening in your environment. So everybody has a different window of tolerance and it's shaped by your environment and by your previous lived experiences. But when you're practicing breathwork, you're expanding your window of tolerance. You're expanding your capacity for experiencing sensation in the body, for feeling in your body, for feeling present in your body. We're so used to being in our minds, we're so used to listening to the voice of our minds, which makes sense, because that's what we've been doing our whole lives that when we do breathwork it gives us that opportunity to connect with our body. So using your breath to pause, to manipulate how you're breathing, it will help with shifting your energy. It will create more capacity in your body for processing.
Speaker 1:
And, in terms of the history of breathwork, breathwork has been around for centuries, for so many years and in the past people have used it for spiritual practices, spiritual awakening, healing themselves, relaxing using their breath, and we've definitely seen it before in practices like yoga or Tai Chi or just like Buddhist practices. And it wasn't until the 1960s that it started to really gain some traction in the Eastern world. But it has really yet to become mainstream. You know, like I was sharing earlier for myself, I had to drive an hour and a half to find breathwork after I discovered it eight years ago, and today I don't really know that many breathwork teachers that teach the form that I do. I don't really know that many breathwork teachers that teach the form that I do. There's one guy that comes to Long Beach once a month and I go to all of his classes because I'm like I need to get my breathwork practice in and I also have my own breathwork coach. She is lovely and I meet with her virtually. So even if you do it in person or you do it virtual, I find that the benefits are very, very amazing either way, and so I do a little bit of both, because that's what I prefer.
Speaker 1:
And so I want to share a little testimonial that I received recently. I am so appreciative of every testimonial that I receive. It really makes the biggest difference. She says Rachel was so amazing to work with. She helped me to connect me with my breath with ease and coached me every step of the way. She is such a sweet and caring soul, and after our session I felt so rejuvenated and full of energy and clarity. It was exactly what I needed. So thank you so much for this testimonial. I wanted to share it with you, just kind of highlighting that you can walk away from a breathwork session feeling clear, feeling relaxed, feeling calm, and if anxiety or any uncomfortable emotionality is something that you're experiencing, breathwork will definitely help you with that.
Speaker 1:
And then we have the mind-body connection Like what does that really mean when it comes to breathwork, and why does breathwork help with it so much? When we are in our minds right, we are letting our minds run the show. It's typically where our doubts, our fears, our what-ifs, our shoulds, our shouldn'ts, that's where the sound of them lives. And so when we start doing breathwork, we're really allowing our mind to rest and for there to be more space for your intuition, for your higher self. From messages, from guides, from spirit, whatever might want to come through, you're really able to get quiet, you're able to pause and, if you struggle with meditation, breath work definitely helps you get into that place where, after you release the breath, after like an activating breathwork session, you'll notice that you can meditate because the mind is finally quiet, the mind is finally like chilling, and Doing the conscious breathing, doing the breath work, will help you to reduce that anxiety.
Speaker 1:
It will help to improve your focus, it will help you to feel more creative and also regulate your nervous system, so you'll have more emotional regulation and more space to play with. And so there's three ways that I like to describe that you can connect with your breath, and I just released a reel about this recently. But taking a deep breath like pa recently, but taking a deep breath like pausing and just taking a deep breath cannot be overlooked. That can help so much, even if it's just like one minute pause, taking a deep breath, inhaling through your nose, exhaling through your mouth, will undoubtedly help in some way if you're experiencing something in real time. And then we have mindful breathing. So this is something that you may have heard of before. This is something like the 4-7-8 breath, so it's inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven at the top and exhaling for eight seconds, and that's something you can very easily accessible. You always have your breath, so you can put your timer on your phone and you for five minutes and you can do some four, seven, eight breathing. There's also box breathing, which is inhaling for four, holding at the top for four, exhaling for four and holding at the bottom for four, and both of these breath patterns are, I would say, more mainstream versions of mindful breathing, but they cannot be overlooked. They are great. If you set your timer on your lunch break and you're like I'm going to do five minutes of box breathing, you will feel different after.
Speaker 1:
Your energy will shift and it is a guided experience with a facilitator tailored to you, tailored to your nervous system. Usually well, I can only speak for myself, but it includes some music, it might include some movement, it might include, you know, some different breath patterns depending on what you're looking for and how you're feeling. So it's really helpful for being able to shift your mindset from a grounded, safe place, help you to feel more happiness, more joy, more love in your life. And one aspect of it that I haven't touched on yet is the part of breathwork that's helpful for trauma recovery and emotional healing. So it is a safe place to release trauma that is stored in your body, and doing it in a safe place that's gentle, that is guided, it will allow for an emotional release. You'll be able to move your body and over time this compounds. So it's like having a necklace that might be tangled and then doing some breath work untangles those knots and now there's more chain on the necklace. There's more movement, there's more, there's a way to move more fluidly because over time, releasing any stored trauma that might be living in the body, using your breath, gives you more freedom. It gives you more capacity to be free and to really shift your perspective, because there is more capacity now to feel a feeling, to heal, to transform. There's more space.
Speaker 1:
And then I'll share one other testimonial that I received recently that has to do with breathwork and she says Ray is extremely intelligent and knowledgeable in her work. She has a very calm and safe presence to her. I have had breathwork sessions with her that have completely transformed my anxiety and I highly recommend it. So thank you so much for that testimonial. I, yeah, I love breathwork. If you're feeling anxious or any kind of like funky emotionality, it will definitely definitely support you. So my personal breathwork practice I try and do some form of breathwork every day, whether it's five minutes to 20 minutes, whatever that looks like, and then I love like a longer breathwork session, probably like biweekly I think I'm doing at this point. So I think that there's definitely benefits and value in both. I love that compounding effect. So even if it's five minutes today, 20 minutes tomorrow, one minute the day after, that all adds up and that is something that I do truly believe in.
Speaker 1:
So here are three tips for incorporating some breathwork into your daily life, into your routine. So the first is I have a breathwork app on my phone. It's called Pause Breathwork. I'll leave the link in the show notes and this just makes it so easy, right, like you. Just, you can use it just like any other tool on your phone, and it has so many different breathwork practices to choose from and you just, you know, shut your door, put on a three to five minute practice and and you've just done some breath work, so making it easy for yourself. The second is I have a freebie. I'll also link it in the show notes. It's called breathe easy and that comes with a few different breath work meditations and it also breaks down exactly how to create your own breath work practice. So it goes into detail on how to create a practice that feels good for you.
Speaker 1:
And then the third is I personally like to do the breathwork practice around the same time every day. So, whether that's in the morning, whether that's in the night before bed, when would it be supportive for you most? When would it work into your daily routine the most? And what you can do is you can when you're first getting started, you can when it works into your daily routine the most. And what you can do is when you're first getting started, you can stack it with another habit that you might have. So that's it's called habit stacking. And so, basically, let's say you, you know, you brush your teeth, you brush your hair and then you get dressed for work, so you already have that routine so you can stack it with that habit. So maybe you have to wake up five minutes earlier so that you have this, these five extra minutes, but you stack it with something that you're already doing and that you're already consistent at, and take the how out of it. You've already made the time for it, it's already happening. You have maybe, potentially, you downloaded the app or you downloaded my freebie and now you have some breakthrough practices and you already have it in your routine because you have it stacked up with something else that you're already doing.
Speaker 1:
And then I'll also mention that the practice doesn't have to be perfect. You know, consistency is the thing that I think makes the biggest difference. The practice itself. It doesn't have to be perfect. Like take out the idea that, oh, am I doing this right? Am I doing it wrong? Like if you are struggling with anxiety or any emotionality of that sort that's really weighing on you and you're not doing something for that feeling every day, then you're not setting yourself up for success. So, for example, if you wanted to go to the gym and you only worked out once a week, would you expect to see results? Probably not. So if you're experiencing anxiety every single day or any sort of emotionality that's uncomfortable, that you don't enjoy feeling, whether it's self-worth or depression, or sadness or whatever that might look like grief, shame. If you're not doing something for it every day, even if it's just one minute, even if it's just five minutes, 20 minutes, whatever it might look like, then you're not setting yourself up for success. Because that compounding commitment to regulating your nervous system will transform it. It will change it. Even if you said, okay, I'm going to do breath work or whatever the modality might be for you, I'm going to do this every day for 30 days, at the end of those 30 days you will feel different. You will be changing your nervous system. So this stuff works. I'm so passionate about it and definitely you know. Check in with yourself, see what kind of pace feels good for you, what kind of like daily routine might feel good for you. But even if it's incorporating one to five minutes a day, it compounds over time and it makes a difference.
Speaker 1:
There are a few different ways that you can work with me for breathwork specifically. The first is coming to a class. So every month I have a different schedule that I put together. I'm always collaborating with incredible studios in my area and I always try and do a few online virtual classes as well. So for anyone that's you know tuning in that's not from the tri-state area I do try and have at least one virtual group class a month, if not more. So definitely check out the show notes for the most recent schedule and, if you're not already on my monthly newsletter, sign up for the monthly newsletter because I send out the schedule every month there. Monthly newsletter Sign up for the monthly newsletter because I send out the schedule every month there twice a month.
Speaker 1:
I also have a package. It's called Breathe and it's a six session breathwork package. It's virtual and you can use those sessions however you'd like over the course of six months. So that means if you want to meet weekly for six weeks, if you want to meet bi-weekly for three months or if you want to meet once a month for six months, it is completely tailored to your intention, to your needs, to what you're looking for, based on where you're at in this moment. So I meet you exactly where you're at, we set some goals and then we tailor the package to meet what those goals might be.
Speaker 1:
So I hope that you enjoyed today's episode. I dived into a bunch of different areas. I definitely feel like breathwork is something that I'm so glad that I have as a modality for myself personally and my personal practice, but also something I get to do and bring into the world and support you with. So I'm really grateful that you're here. I'm really grateful that we get to do this work together.
Speaker 1:
If you have any questions about breathwork, any questions about anything that I talked about, definitely send me a message, send me an email. I love to chat with you. So I hope that you have an incredible rest of your week, an incredible rest of your day, and I will talk to you soon. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. If you are moved or inspired, please share with me by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It means the world to me and I am so appreciative for your support in helping my podcast grow. If we aren't already connected on social media, head over to Instagram and TikTok and follow me at Ray the somatic coach. Make sure you check out the show notes of today's episode for links to freebies, opportunities to work with me and ways we can stay connected outside of the podcast. I'm so happy that you're here and I can only to talk with you on our next episode of the Radiant Life podcast.
