My Adventures in Breathwork – Part 4, Running My Own Sessions

All ready for a breathwork session

My Adventures in Breathwork Part 4 – Facilitating My First Sessions

(This is Part 4 – you can read Part 3 Here)

“You’re now ready to go and teach your first sessions” – Shakti, my breathwork course teacher.

Arghhh, it’s all very well learning this stuff and practising on yourself and your friends, but to go forth into the world and facilitate sessions, well, that’s a different matter entirely.

Of course, all of the imposter syndrome and ‘what if’s surfaced.

Why would I think I could do this? What if…XYZ.

It’s all-new, and I don’t think I’m prepared enough—all of those thoughts and self-limiting beliefs kick-in. When I’m on the edge and heading into growth mode, I always have those familiar feelings of a combination of stress and excitement, apprehension and a ‘let’s do it attitude. One half of me wants to get out in the world, and the other half wants to stay locked in my cocoon of safety.

I’m sure you recognise these feelings?

Time to put your big girl pants on; I’m not one for staying in my cocoon for long.

It was at our retreat in Slaley Hall that I thought I’d run my first breathwork session; I already had a captive audience after all.

There’s quite a lot to prepare before running a session, insurance, the theme, the frame, the playlist and prepare the room to get the atmosphere just right. I was really nervous; I’d never done it before, what would my clients think – it’s not something that’s very common, well, not in the northeast of England.

The First Session – Flexing my Spiritual Muscles

I had the room prepared, mats in a circle, incense, low lighting – everyone threw themselves into it. The shares at the end were powerful and quite emotional. As it’s such a different thing to the physical stuff that I usually teach, some people didn’t like it – but I never expected them all to, and the ones who love it REALLY loved it. 

I realised that I can teach physical classes until the cows come home, but the mental, spiritual and emotional aspects of breathwork were something that I needed to practice.

I needed to flex my spiritual muscles.

Holding space for people and flowing with the energies in the room can take a lot out of you. I realised that energetically I needed to be in good shape to run these sessions. After that first session, all I wanted to do was go to sleep.

Onwards & Upwards – Always Learning

Since I’ve run another three sessions at my studio, the feedback has been tremendous. 

“In my opinion, the whole session went extremely well. I was unsure what to expect. Jill put us all at ease, the instruction and guidance were explained in an easy to follow way and the ambience just added to the experience. I have felt like a new woman since the breathwork session; I cannot pinpoint exactly how or why, but I’m not knocking it” – Amanda.

 

“Jill’s enthusiasm and passion for breathwork. Jill sharing explanations of the process and sharing her own breathwork experiences helped too. As did her guidance throughout the session- go with it, trust the process. A lovely group and sharing our experiences at the end was wonderful as participants shared with courage and bravery. Real safe space and a really special class.” Michelle

 

“Venue and ambience perfect Full explanation of procedures and how to get most out of the session very friendly Jill is an excellent facilitator and puts everyone at ease.” Gillian

 

Every time I run a session, I learn something new. I remember when I was learning how to teach Pilates, we’ve got so much to cue for each exercise, my instructor used to say, ‘just keep practising until your words flow’. It’s the same for breathwork; until you start saying the words out loud, you don’t get your flow (or patter as we’d say in the northeast). The theme, the set, and the setting all play equal roles in the session’s outcome.

The sharing circle at the end is much more potent than I’d imagined – it’s magical to sit in a circle and share your thoughts and experiences with others. I’m still learning how powerful this can be, and how energetically uplifting.

Take a Sip from the Well of Wisdom

I love running these sessions. They make the perfect union with the physical. I always teach that we have four bodies of wellness – physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. Breathwork, along with Pilates, covers all of the four bodies.

I always knew that the spiritual aspect and the connection to your deep core could not be found through exercise alone. I’ve always felt a deep connection to my spiritual side, but I was unsure how to bring this into my Pilates and movement sessions. Or, indeed, how my audience would react to it.

I can’t meditate. I find it very difficult; for me, that’s not my way to connect to my deep core. Using the Conscious Connected Breath is a great way to meditate for those who can’t meditate.

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” Thich Nhat Hanh

When I ran the last session, three people immediately booked onto the next one. I’m taking that as a good sign! I feel that breathwork connects us to a part of ourselves that we need to feel regularly, rather like drinking from a well of wisdom. And once you take a sip, you keep wanting to return.

If you’d like to join us in a Breathwork session, they are held every two weeks on a Wednesday in my studio; you can book online here.

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