Breath is one of the most vital parts of life, yet it is often forgotten, because it is automatic we don’t have to think about breathing our bodies just do it. Since we don’t have to think about it we also don’t realize its power.

It is one of the most powerful tools we have available to us. Have you ever noticed when you are scared or feeling anxious that your breath quickens? Or that taking a few deep breaths can help calm you down when you are angry? This is the power that your breath has.

It can transform your emotional states, it can boost your immune system, and it can help you release trauma that has been stored in your body.

I recently did an amazing private circular breath work session with Jules of your breath your healing, and it was truly a transformative experience. I had done breath work before in group settings and always enjoyed it but having a private session was so much more impactful.

Jules was able to beautifully guide me though the entire experience. Helping me to maintain the breath even when it got more and more challenging, allowing me to be with all of the feelings that were coming up as I was releasing past trauma that had been stored in my body. I experienced fairly strong tetany during our session, which I was not surprised about because every time I had done circular breath work I had experienced tetany.

Tetany is where you experience stiffness in parts of your body and you can find it difficult to move. For me my arms and legs were shaking a lot and my hands were stiff, it didn’t hurt it just made it harder for me to maintain the circular breathing. Which is why it was so amazing to have Jules there to guide me and help me keep going.

Her energy was so calming, encouraging, and supportive. I felt totally cared for and safe through out the entire experience, which is really important when you are doing healing work and releasing trauma, yet it is not always the case.

I have tried many different healing modalities and therapies over the years to work through the trauma and abuse from my past and I can say that breath work has to be one of my favorite. I also went into our one on one session with the intention to release as much of the trauma that had been stored in my body as possible, which is probably why it was such an intense experience.

At the end of our session I felt really amazing. It was like I had done a really long yoga practice where I was able to stretch my entire body.  Which was pretty incredible considering all I did was lay on my bed and breathe for an hour. My body felt physically lighter, I had energy and wasn’t tired at all, and I absolutely felt like I had released a good deal of trauma from my body.

Now that it has been a few months since we had our session I can say that my body still feels lighter and that the trauma I released is truly gone. I have had multiple breakthroughs and shifts that have happened in my life since we did our session.

I have been able to more fully accept and love myself. I have made some major progress in learning to cook and nourishing myself with healthy food, which has been the last hurdle for me with my eating disorder. I have also had significant breakthroughs in regards to the sexual abuse that happened during my childhood.

I truly believe that the breath work session I did with Jules allowed my body to let go of holding on to certain trauma that had been stored for a long time and as a result I was able to do deeper work to free myself further from many things in my past.

I am super grateful for this powerful healing tool and for Jules for being able to create a sacred and safe space to allow this healing to take place. I highly suggest this work for anyone who is looking to further heal and let go of the things in their past.

I knew I wanted to share my experience and I am not a breath work expert so I asked Jules if she would contribute to this post, sharing her knowledge and her own story about how breath work has impacted her life.

The following was written by Jules.

First off I’m so humbled that Ali asked me to contribute to her story and contribute to her message. Also it’s incredibly humbling to have facilitated an online breath work session for her and hold space for her. I am here as an Alchemy breath work facilitator, which combines elements of holotropic and rebirthing breath work into one.

It is an incredibly powerful breath work modality, that is a circular connected breathing pattern enhancing oxygen to your body and spirit. This breath work is pure medicine- breath medicine, that offers a whole system cleansing, mending, oxygenation, release of trauma or stored energy, relief of anxiety/panic/depression, breakthroughs and clarity as well as reprogramming our nervous system and increasing resiliency to stress- something I believe we can all practice more in our life. 

Our breath not only sustains our life, but how we breathe directly influences the state of our nervous system which includes the fight or flight-or the sympathetic response, as well as the calming and grounded social response which is part of the parasympathetic/vagal nerve aspect of our nervous system.

Intentional conscious breath brings us back into the present moment and grounds us and using diaphragmatic circular breath helps bring us into our parasympathetic response system to increase overall wellness.

I became a facilitator after two years of postpartum depression, anxiety as well as insomnia that kicked my feet right our from under me. I tried several all natural modalities which are beautiful and have their place and time however, until breath work found me, those herbs and modalities were more of a cover-up of my symptoms instead of helping me get to the root of what was going on.

For me it was uncovering my fear of losing control, not being in control as well as some fear around death(related to no control). By simply using my breath, I was able to get back into my body, connect with my higher self and also connect with spirit to be present with myself and work through my fears-not against them or resist them.

My breathing became my sanctuary and the sacred space where I could release, let go, surrender, and also receive so much nurturing and love as well as clarity.  I made it my mission to serve others after finally finding joy and love for life again. We all deserve love, we all deserve to feel joy, freedom and to understand our authentic selves, and for me, my breath medicine finally helped me to connect with that.

Being guided by a facilitator is really important as you get started to ensure a safe breathing journey, which can open up things you may have resisted or push down, including trauma. 

I think it’s really important to look at this life as a journey of learning. We are here to do the work to be better people, heal the karma of our ancestors and to make the experience in this lifetime better for those to come. 

We are not meant to live in suffering, I hope you find breathwork to be as freeing and connecting at I did and do. Please feel free to reach out to me if you your interested in setting up an online breathwork session. I also offer free phone consults for anyone who is interested  in learning more.

Thank you for being you and breathing life into your journey!

You can connect with Jules at www.yourbreathyourhealing.com and on Instagram @yourbreath.yourhealing