Somatic Breathwork
Discover your breath in physical, emotional, and spiritual places you never knew existed, and allow it to remind you of the deeper presence that has always been there.
What if there is a breath that came before effort. What if it was never taught, never imposed.
This is the breath that pulses quietly beneath the surface of our doing. It is the innate breath, the soul’s first whisper, the breath we were born knowing.
Before we learned to manage the breath, before we shaped it to serve the mind’s agenda, it moved through us like a divine stream—fluid, intelligent, responsive.
This innate breath is not controlled. It is not harnessed or manipulated. It flows from a deeper place—a place beyond the mind, beyond even the body. It arises from stillness and returns us to stillness.
And what if this breath carries memory—not of the past, but of the eternal. What if it holds the signature of the True Self, encoded in each inhale, each exhale. What if it knows the way home. And when we become still enough, surrendered enough, it leads us.
In Somatic Breathwork, we honor this original rhythm. Rather than directing the breath, we listen to it. We attune to it. In this sacred listening, something extraordinary unfolds: the breath becomes our teacher. Our healer. Our guide.
As the nervous system begins to soften and release, we cross threshold where the personal dissolves into the transpersonal. Where breath becomes presence. Where presence may become prayer. The innate breath is always here, waiting for our willingness to remember. To trust. To follow.
Somatic breathwork is a practice for your soul, working through the miracle of your breath.
FAQs
Q: What happens during a Somatic Breathwork session?
A: Each session is an invitation to slow down, become more aware of your body, and experience your breath in a new way. This isn't about learning a breathing “technique,” and you don't need to know how to breathe “correctly.” There is nothing you need to accomplish. I simply guide you through the experience.
First, we get comfortable. You’ll settle into a deeply supported reclining position, using blankets, bolsters, and other supports as needed. The goal is to help your body feel safe, comfortable, and at ease.
Then, we begin to let go. I’ll gently guide you through a body scan, bringing your attention to different areas of your body and inviting you to soften places where you may be holding tension.
Next, we meet your breath just as it is. Rather than changing your breathing right away, we spend time simply noticing it—its rhythm, movement, sensations, and subtle nuances. You begin to become familiar with your own unique breath.
From there, we explore. I’ll guide you through gentle variations in your breathing, bringing awareness to different areas of the body involved in your unique breath. We move slowly, with plenty of opportunities to pause, rest, and simply experience your natural breath.
Finally, we become still. The session ends with a period of deep rest and meditation, usually about 15 minutes. There is nothing more to do—just an opportunity to be still, notice what you're experiencing, and allow your body and breath to settle.
The entire experience is less about doing something to your breath and more about listening to it, allowing it, and discovering what your breath and body have to tell you. Simple, but powerful.
Q: Do I need to have experience with yoga or breathwork?
A: Not at all. Somatic Breathwork is accessible whether you are completely new to breathwork or have an established practice. You don't need to experienced with yoga, or familiar with meditation. You simply need to be willing to slow down, listen, and explore.
Q: Do I need to have a spiritual or religious belief to participate?
A: The Somatic Breathwork practice can be experienced on many levels—physical, emotional, contemplative, spiritual—or simply as an opportunity to become quiet and deeply present. No particular belief system is required.
Q: How can I experience Somatic Breathwork?
A: I offer Somatic Breathwork guidance in private, group, or workshop sessions throughout the year. These are announced on the homepage of my website.
Q: What is your training in this kind of breathwork?
A: Most yoga teacher training programs include the study of pranayama, or yogic breathwork. I was fortunate to be introduced to a variety of breathing techniques during my initial training, many of which I continue to practice and teach.
As my interest in the breath deepened, I sought out additional teachers and approaches, including study with Leslie Kaminoff of The Breathing Project and author of Yoga Anatomy, and Bernie Clark, author of Yin Yoga and other books on yin yoga.
Most significantly, I spent two years studying with Kathleen Barratt of the Barratt Breath Institute, deepening my knowledge and personal experience with Restorative Breathwork®. Kathleen trained and mentored me in facilitating this profound and transformational approach beginning in 2020.
I was especially drawn to Kathleen’s approach because it does not ask us to work at the breath. Instead, we learn to allow and accept the breath as it is. This creates space for deeper awareness, release, and, for some, transpersonal experiences.
While Kathleen’s teachings continue to inform my work, my approach has evolved over the years to place greater emphasis on the somatic nature of breathwork—developing awareness of the body’s felt sense, allowing and being curious about the release of held tension, and learning to surrender into the restorative aspects of the autonomic nervous system.
I don't teach a rigid breathing technique. I guide people in developing a deeper relationship with their breath and their body, allowing the breath to become a pathway to greater awareness, ease, and connection with the True Self.