Alan
Breathwork facilitator
My story began in 2018 – on the brink of a 50th birthday, in considerable back pain, endlessly exhausted, in questionable mental health, and plateauing in a job that just paid the bills rather than offering any fulfilment. I can remember a sense of everything being absolutely OK, but a far stronger sense of something being missing, and I now see that the continual search for that thing was not only destructive for me but difficult for those around me too.
As my back problems worsened over the next year I started practising yoga, and through a good friend was introduced to a beginners Conscious Connected Breathwork class. I walked in to a London studio filled with 40 complete strangers with nothing more than a mat and an overwhelming sense of scepticism.
What happened over the next two hours was nothing short of life changing – an out of body experience combined with an outpouring of raw emotion.
It was too extraordinary to explain and consequently I left the session more confused than I had arrived – but crucially I also left with an overwhelming hunger to find out more.
Immediately after the class I committed to doing a 10 minute daily breathwork practice and in just a matter of months I felt fitter and stronger than I had for years. Mentally I felt more in control of my feelings, more able to make decisions and more conscious of my actions. My diet had changed, my back was pain free, and my relationships had improved. Something had definitely shifted, but it wasn’t yet tangible, and I still didn’t have clarity.With the changing work landscape brought about by Covid in March 2020 came the opportunity for more reflection. I signed up to a 12 month breathwork instruction course and embarked on a journey of discussion, debate, soul searching and self-discovery. Now, as a qualified breathwork instructor, the fog has finally cleared and the synapses are truly connected.