Easy Steps To Relaxation By A Trauma Informed Breathwork Facilitator

Now you’re probably thinking to yourself “sooo, what exactly is breathwork?” Is it just breathing like in yoga, or is there more to it? Today we’re going to teach you all about breathwork and how breathing with intention can help you in your everyday busy mom life.

This week’s guest is certified breathwork coach Kari Gregory, who’s here to share all of her amazing knowledge. Our guests are always people we love and are excited to work with, but this week is a little extra special – Kari’s breathwork classes helped us to learn new breathing techniques (and yes, they really work)!

In this episode we’re talking about different breathing techniques, the science behind breathwork, and some different ways to help get our kids involved in these exercises. Breathwork truly has so many health benefits and can do some really cool stuff for our bodies – calming anxiety and helping us to relax just to name a few. We’re so excited for you to give this episode a listen, and we can’t wait to chat with you over on the UM Club Facebook page!

Interested in the UM Club and all the great stuff it has to offer? Start living your best mom life and join now! We share new episodes every week featuring so many talented guest speakers, so sign up today to gain access to all our previous content and everything we’re sharing next!

Guest Expert

Kari is a mother of two and a certified breathwork coach. By discovering the power of breathwork, Kari healed her feelings of anxiety in motherhood and life, and is helping other moms to do the same. Kari is sharing her knowledge with others to help them in their journeys of motherhood and anxiety management.

Kari has also offered 20% off her integrative sessions for the month of August! Book here.

In This Episode We Talk About

00:22 – How we met Kari.
02:19 – Who is Kari?
09:09 – What is breathwork?
13:07 – The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
17:06 – Different styles of breathing.
29:12 – Getting our kids involved in breathwork.
37:34 – Using breathing techniques to help you focus.
41:17 – Where to find Kari!

Watch the Video

Listen to the Audio

Resource Links

Join the UM Club!
UM Club Facebook page
James Nestor’s Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art
Pause Breathwork
Pause IPhone App
Kari’s Instagram: @iam_karigregory

Read the Full Conversation

Hello, and welcome to another episode inside the Unapologetic Moms Club. Today I am here with Kari Gregory to talk all about breathwork and how it can really help with our wellness and mental health as well. So thank you so much for being here, Kari.

Thank you for having me.

Yeah, before we dig into things, I just wanted to kind of set some groundwork a little bit and share with our listeners with how we first connected and why I’m like so inspired and feel the need to bring this episode to everyone who’s listening. So Kari recently finished up her practicum for certification. And I volunteered for a breathwork session with her. And we did a very short one, I think it’s your 15 minute one, is that right?

Yeah, yeah.

And I believe you said that it was like four minutes of very active breathing throughout kind of the session with a little bit of buildup and taper off. Is that right?

Yeah, you are actively breathing for four minutes.

Yeah, and you guys, it was transformational. It was insane, totally unexpected. But like what we went through in that very short period of time, like Kari was amazing at bringing this intention to it. And like the act of breathing of it through my body, like, it just released so much shit when this was like just a very chaotic time for me in my head. And it was amazing. Like I told my mom all about it right after, she’s actually getting really into this now and looking to get her certification. And it’s just amazing what I’ve gone through in such a short amount of time. So that’s why I feel like we all need to learn about this, because what an amazing tool that is just to relieve some of that stress, make us feel better.

And that’s just it, is just releasing all of that that we hold and live in like at a baseline. Right? So many people live that baseline of a stressful, chaotic life. And just to let go of that, release that, is just so magical.

Yeah, it’s the world we live in right now. Right? It’s so go go go when it’s just kind of expected to be the norm, busy parent life. You’re on the go all the time. But that’s why we put these episodes out there. We got to break through that a little bit. Yeah, calm down our nervous systems, just release, be in the present moment. So we’ve done a bit of rambling and storytelling. So let’s hop into where we usually start. Who are you? What do you do? And why are you so passionate about it?

Okay, so I am a mother of two girls, I have a 12-year-old and a five-year-old. I live in a small town. And I said I would never live in a small town, but I do. He put a fancy ring on my finger and I moved. So yeah, I live in Manitoba. And I now share breathwork. I also have a part-time job in accounting. But this is my new biggest passion and my calling and everything in me, like, this is it. This just feels so good. So now sharing breathwork is my thing. And I love it. So, yeah

What first drew you into breathwork? Because you think of accounting or bookkeeping, very different than going into breathwork.

So in February of 2020, I was introduced to an online coach, which I didn’t even know that coaches were a thing, I thought coaches were for sports teams. So that was really new for me. But I was looking to really work on mindset work, and really dive more into that personal development world. So I went heavy into that mindset shifting and our given thought processing and all of that. So that was February 2020.

And then the community that I had joined with all of that, they held an online retreat in May of 2021. And I had kind of heard of breath work, but like, it was just another thing out there, right, that I didn’t really pay too much attention to. I tried a bit of meditation, and I’m one of those people that says meditation isn’t for me, and that’s okay.

And so they held an online retreat with breathwork. And it was the most transformational hour of my life. And I think it was because it really brought all of that work that I had been doing in my mindset into my body. And I felt it all. And I felt that worthiness and something just shifted and became alive in me in that hour with my breath. So that was a Sunday. And it was all super aligned, I had a call with my intake, and I signed up for the program by the Friday. Yeah, so signed up right away.

And then actually the facilitator that I had breathed with on that Sunday, she ended up being one of my mentors within the program I took, so it was all just, you know, aligned and feel goody. So yeah, so that’s how that all came to be. So that was a really long time between when I signed up and the course actually started, five or six months. So within that time, I played with my breath some more and really started feeling into that embodying piece of shifting and mindset and really feeling into my body.

I very, very much dealt with anxiety, in my feelings around anxiety and depression, in my whole life, teenage and up. And it came out a lot in my pregnancy with my second. And in that time, when I was pregnant with her, we really shifted some like toxic products within our house and trying to find more natural ways. So it kind of all led into this. And yeah, now I use breathwork for everything.

I love it, what and incredible journey, it just shows like how impactful it was for you that you just, like, jumped on it right away. It was like, I need this.

Yeah, and I’m kind of in that “woo world,” you know, into the fancy crystals and the oils, and you know, kind of in to astrology, and those things that people assume is “woo.” And there is a “woo” side of breathwork, for sure. But there’s science behind it as well. And I think that can attract so many more people, right, that it isn’t, you know, I’m not dancing in the forest breathing, I can breathe at the grocery store.

Absolutely. I like that you touched on that. Because I think like, “woo,” it does get a bit of a bad rap. I’ve always kind of considered myself like, not so much always. But like more recently, as I’ve been getting into this stuff, like a sciency “woo.” Like, I like learning about energy, but like manifestation and things like that never really fully clicked for me. Until I got in touch with the ladies from My Aligned Purpose. Yeah. And then listening to Nicole’s podcast. And we’ve actually had her here for an episode on manifestation. And I really liked how she connected it with the science of it. And so similar with the breath work, like there’s all this kind of like “woo” side to it, and like you’re sitting there breathing, and emotions are coming up. But it really is backed by like the science and information for how it works within your body.

Yeah, there’s both sides to it. And everybody has their breath accessible to them. Right? So every buddy can do it, and everybody can experience it. And I think that’s just so wonderful. And you don’t have to be into that very spiritual, hippie lifestyle if that’s not your thing. I look at the 100 people that I went through the course with over six months. And there were people from all walks of life, and it was just very, like, amazing to see that so many people were interested from all over.

Yeah, that’s so neat. And I like how you touched on the fact that we all have breath. It really is such an accessible tool that we all have access to, to help calm our nervous system and things like that. So what exactly is breath work? We’ve kind of danced around it a little bit like nitty gritty, what exactly is breath work?

So breath work is really just the continual, intentional, deep breathing. That’s really all it is, is using your breath in different patterns or different styles, but with intention, because our autonomic nervous system naturally breathes for us, right? It’s not something that we have to control. Our body just does it on its own. You don’t have to think inhale, exhale all day long. If you did, like – I can’t keep my ducks in a row half the time,

It just sounds tiring, thinking about like manually doing it.

Just thinking about it, right? So that’s what breathwork is, is just really consciously and intentionally deep breathing in certain ways. So first off your breath, just a normal breath, if you think about it, goes in through your nose and down into your trachea and down into your lungs. And then when it like, spreads out when it gets into your lungs, it exchanges with the co2, right? So then the oxygen flows through your bloodstream and through your body, and you exhale the same way, your carbon dioxide. So when you’re doing that in a conscious way, intentional, deep breathing way. By doing that, you’re shifting the pH in your blood, just with all of that. And it’s helping your body come back to that homeostasis state where you’re like leveling out, and you’re like down regulating your nervous system.

Interesting. Yeah. And you hear so much about like pH state, and like that, I can’t remember which is like the good way, but ones like an alkaline state versus something else. And one helps breed like inflammation and disease, so you want the other one.

Yeah. So then within your autonomic nervous system, you have your sympathetic nervous system and your parasympathetic nervous system, right? So your sympathetic is your fight or flight and then your parasympathetic is your rest and digest. So you cannot be living in both of those at the exact same time, like they cannot both be activated at the same time. So if you are living in that sympathetic fight or flight, you can’t rest and digest.

So when you look at society as a whole, living with stress and anxiety and very heightened, right, then that affects your digestion system and your heart rate and anything else within that nervous system, right? So you can use your breath work to activate that parasympathetic nervous system, which is your rest and digest.

Interesting.

Yeah. And really just like, come back, and turn that dial down and relax. And then when you’re relaxed is when you can process things, right?

Absolutely, yeah, we’ve touched on in previous episodes with like Anxiety 101 and Hormone Health, but it’s the sympathetic nervous system with your fight or flight. And it’s insane, just the flood of hormones that are going through your body to operate in the different ways from kind of our primal urges to fight or flight or freeze, really, too. And just like so much goes on with our body. I’m interested to hear – because we haven’t dug into it as much – what’s going on with like the goal of the parasympathetic nervous system?

So that’s like, where you come into that resting relaxation, and you can digest, and it activates more of the limbic system. So the limbic system is where all your emotions and memories and that side of things are stored. So when you can activate that and really process then that’s when you just like come down a notch, right, and you’re not living in that stress, heightened, aroused way.

Yeah, absolutely. I guess, that just made me think of something, how so many people when we’re like in whatever stress mode for whatever reason, and we start to come off of it. Some things can really start to come up sometimes, or say it’s like some sort of trauma and you’re like, starting to heal from it and rest from it and a lot of stuff can come up. So I guess it’s because you’re going into that rest state and where those emotions have been stored in your body. They’re starting to be able to be released now because of that state of your body,

Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly it. So if you are like living in that chronic stress and heightened and trauma, and any of those, then there are unhealed emotions, right? And you can’t work through them when you’re up there. So you need to come down, so that you can really process them, so that they’re not being stored in your body. So when you look at trauma as a whole, lots of traumatic things happen as a child, right, and those get stored in your body, because you haven’t dealt with them.

So if you can use your breath to hit that parasympathetic nervous system, and process them, then you can move forward, and they’re not being stored in your body anymore. And sometimes those stored emotions and trauma, they get stored in your body physically as well. Right? If you look at pain, and any kind of health issues, like they can sit there.

Yeah like you touched on, the gut health issues, pain, anxiety.

Yes, and they can wreak havoc on your body as a whole.

It’s interesting how everything’s tied together.

Yeah. Right? And you said about gut health, right? If you’re in that fight or flight, then you’re not in rest and digest. So how many people out there have digestion issues? You see that now all the time dealing with dairy intolerance, or gluten, or any of those things, which are very real, I get that for sure. But also look at what may have caused that.

Yeah, taking the holistic approach to it rather than treating the symptoms with what the allergy seems to be, looking at why that allergy may have arisen in the first place?

For sure, yeah.

That’s what we’re all about here. I love looking at things holistically. So tying it back into the breath work you had mentioned there’s like a few different styles and ways of doing breath work. I’m assuming they have kind of like, different purposes or goals. What are they?

So just to touch on breathing in a generalized thing too, most people breathe through their nose, right? Which is great. That’s what you want to be doing all the time. Mouth breathing has very negative impacts on your body.

I had no idea. Okay, tell me about that.

So nose breathing, it filters your air, right? So you’re filtering any particles or any viruses. And also, if you breathe through your mouth, that shifts the way your face can form as a young child. So if you have a baby, like you want to make sure that they’re falling asleep with their mouth closed. A really good book to read is James Nestor’s Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art.

And by breathing through your nose, you’re slowing your respiration rate as well. And you’re getting the best form of air and the best amount of air as well. So in your day to day life, pay attention to if you’re nose or mouth breathing. A lot of people mouth breathe only at night and not during the day. That’s why most people keep a glass of water, you know, at the side of the bed because their mouth gets dry. There are studies out there that actually you like tape your lips together.

I know someone who does that.

Yeah! It’s to really train yourself. So nose breathing good, mouth breathing not as good. But with breath work, we do use nose and mouth breathing together. But that’s just to shift the energy in different ways in our bodies. So that’s that.

And then what I offer in the style of training that I have with Pause Breathwork and Samantha Skelly is an integrative breath session, which is where you’re breathing in that continual state for less than eight minutes. When you breathe for longer than eight minutes. That is when your body shifts a bit more into those altered consciousness. Right? So an integrative is great for like really just resetting and recharging or just in your daily, you know, life. And I find that it’s really good for moms, because not a lot of moms will take that time for themselves for an hour long session, right? But you can take eight minutes to breathe, or you can breathe while you’re folding laundry, or washing the dishes, that’s often when I breathe is in short spurts is while I’m cleaning up the kitchen, or even in the shower, just those little bursts.

And then you have the meditative sessions, which are breathing for longer than eight minutes. And those are more of your transformational sessions, where it’s more of a meditation as well. And we use music for all of it as well, because that just helps the journey. It’s one of my favourite things now.

You’re really good at it. When we did the integrative view, it flowed so nicely together to like help you kind of go through each of the stages.

Yeah, yeah, it’s one of my favourite parts about crafting a journey is the music part. And that wasn’t – I was very scared to do it at the beginning. But now I love it. Yeah, so meditation, meditative breathwork session is longer, just breathing longer than eight minutes, doesn’t mean you’re just breathing for that amount of time, like, there’s obviously a build up and a come down, so that you can integrate as well within your session.

And then within a session, your body processes a lot, and a lot of things can come up. So within breathwork, you can experience so many different emotions, right? If you allow yourself, that’s the one part of it. So yeah, allowing your body to feel, and not putting a story behind those emotions, right? So within a session, anything can come up, like you can feel grief, or sadness, or joy, or some people feel sexual urges during a session. Like it’s all very much – the whole spectrum is there, which I think is beautiful, because some modalities and some experiences don’t allow for all emotions.

And then when you experience emotions, they come through your body, right? So you can experience that with tears, or screaming, or shaking your body, or moving your body. And another thing that comes up in breathwork is this thing called tetany. So I’m not, I can’t recall if you experienced this in your session or not, but tetany is just like where it all gets built up in your body, and you get like a lobster claw thing with your hands. And it doesn’t hurt. It’s just uncomfortable at times. And it just like feels there, in your hands or in your toes. It’s just tingly. I often get tetany in my lips. And it’s just the co2 levels in your body that just like cause that to happen. Yeah, so I’ll feel that in my lips. And that’s usually when I’m not speaking my truth, or I have something I need to say in my life.

Oh, interesting.

Another thing people experience is temperature changes, right, just because you’re moving within your body. So that’s what a session can look like. And then, in my training, I was trauma informed. So just recognizing that people can be processing their trauma within a breathwork session, and just being very aware of that, and guiding them through that. And it’s very important, too, that you’re not turning that dial up or you’re processing something from zero to 100. Right? Like, if you think of driving in a car and cranking your stereo, like, that doesn’t feel good. Like you want to slowly turn that up. So that’s the same one when you’re processing and going through anything. So yeah, that’s kind of what a general session looks like.

And then with me guiding. And within my cueing and my guiding, there is that piece for the breather to have control over their own body. Right? It is not, it’s not for me, the whole session is for the breather themselves, right? They get to control all of that, their speed and their depth, and are very sovereign of themselves.

Yeah, I think you introduced me to staccato breathing during my session.

Yeah. Yeah, we did like a very – I think we did a pulse breath, or a triactive breath. But yeah, it was very – yeah.

Yeah. And I remember like you kind of explained how to do and I was trying to do it but wasn’t quite feeling right. So we like morphed it to something else that felt a little bit smoother for me. But I’m curious for like that particular style of breathing, like, what is that good for and maybe even giving an example for those listening and tuning in what that like sounds like.

So a very easy breath to use when you are feeling maybe very anxious or very heightened, or overwhelmed, is just the halo active breath, which is in through your nose and out through your mouth, but with intention. And when you’re breathing in this style, you want to make sure you’re breathing in everywhere, right, like most people have very shallow breathing. But your lungs are so expansive, right? So they’re here, and they’re in your back, and you want to fill up that belly as well. And I find that moms and women don’t like to breathe into their bellies if they are body self conscious, right? So really just breathing big in, and then exhaling through your mouth.

Again, you can use that in any speed and any intensity that you want. So if you speed that up, it’s into your belly and into your chest. Or you can slow that down. And I have a workshop this evening, where we’re going into the stillness. And so it will be a lot of very slow breathing. So you want your like exhale to maybe be longer to really push that out. A lot of people are familiar with box breathing, where you breathe in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. So that’s just a really good thing to keep in mind, too. If you are in any of those situations, if you’re, you know, sitting in the car and your kids are screaming, just do a few rounds.

One thing I like to do is doing 10 of those inhale, exhales, and then I hold. And I’ll hold at the top of a breath. And then release. And then do another round and do as many of those as my body needs. Another one that I like to use – the 12 year old is not as receptive, because she’s 12. But the five-year-old, she’ll sometimes breathe with me – she’s five. We’ll do a snake breath with her. And she likes to do that. So it’s in through your nose. And then on the exhale, have the child like keep their teeth together. And they think it’s fun, right? Because they’re like a snake. And then they can breathe, and then they’re helping their nervous system too.

And – I say this about so many things in life. If we could have done all of these things when we were younger, like it would be so great, right? Like, my 12-year-old, if she would start her skincare routine now and not when she’s 30? Right. Just, yeah, so empowering them as they’re little.

It’s so true. And it’s actually great timing for you saying that because just a few weeks ago, I recorded an episode on teaching kids mindfulness with Cynthia from Gold Minds Canada. So by the time this is released, that one will already have been out for a little bit. But it was awesome and she’s so good at making things fun, like you said with the snake breath, like I’ve been trying to teach my kids mindfulness and breathing for like well over a year. One of them maybe got into it a bit and then it just totally petered off. We did one of her online classes and the way she makes it fun. My son loves it. He’s trying to get his sister into it, and he loves balloon breathing. And like multiple times a day we do this now, just making a balloon with your hands. And then at the end, we decide what we’re going to pop the balloon.

And just that simple learning how to make it fun in a way that works for him – my daughter likes something different, like they love it. And they have that tool now to be able to learn how to calm themselves down. And like you said, starting to do that now in these young years – like they’re gonna be so set up for adulthood with like all this inner reflection and self healing shit we’re going through, like teaching our kids. They’re gonna be amazing.

But also recognizing that we’ve probably messed them up in some way or another that they’ll have to heal from that later on. So it’s all good. It’ll balance.

Totally.

Another way I like to use my breath is if I’m low energy, like you can use your breath to really, energize yourself. So one of my favourites to do is the pulse breath. And the pulse breath is good to do with movement. So I’ve recently really started having dance parties at home or by myself and moving my body, which is great to shift your energy. Did a dance party before this call all by myself, and it was great.

The pulse breath is just – you can do any count, 2,3,4, whatever you want. So it’s in and then out at the same pulse. So you can do it in through your nose and out through your mouth or in through your nose, and out through your nose. So it kind of looks like this, I’ll do a count of four. Or with your mouth. And that just like really energizes you. Good thing when you’re breathing and exhaling through your nose is to blow your nose ahead of time.

Good tip right there.

So that just like really activates your body. And while you’re doing that, like you can be like really just moving your body with your breath, and energizing yourself.

What a great tool to have in the toolbox, I’d never thought about using breath for like getting yourself motivated. Because we all have those days, that’s for sure. So that’s really nice. Like, for me my go to is like getting outside. But I can see that again, what I really like about everything and learning about breathwork is how it really brings you into your body, which is kind of what you need when you’re going to try and get energized. Right?

Yeah, or like in between meetings or in between tasks. Or if you feel yourself like, you know, not wanting to work on something, right? Or you just need a shift or losing focus, like taking a minute, coming back into your breath and back into your body to refocus yourself. Just reset. Yeah. So that’s how I like to use it more on a daily practice.

I also do enjoy having sessions, like longer meditative sessions, just to really relax and work through anything. Because we all have shit, right? Like it’s there. And there’s always new things coming up in life, and there’s always something to work through. And those longer sessions don’t need to be transformative, they might simply just be to take an hour for yourself to release and relax.

Yeah, more restorative.

Yes, like a restorative yoga class. Yeah.

I really like how it’s something that can be used in so many different ways, like the small little bits and the day to day. And then if when you’re wanting to go deeper, say before a journaling session or something like that, kind of that shorter integrative. And then if you’re wanting to really go deep, then there’s the other options and layer to go with it as well.

Yeah, and it’s just so accessible, like we talked about before, right? Like these little integratives you can incorporate into your life all the time. There’s also – Pause has an app on the iPhone that you can do a three minute breath session with the app and it’s guiding you through that. So that’s super accessible right from your phone.

Or you can do a longer session by yourself or you can attend an online or in person workshop, or even one on one sessions where somebody is holding space for you. And that’s where the magic, I think, is, is having somebody there just to hold space with no agenda, is so beautiful. And that’s one of my favourite parts is just being able to be there for somebody else.

Well, and you’re so good at it, like you really are. And with bringing that intention into it, I know like for me, myself, like with meditating, I need or I really prefer the guided meditation, to be able to walk me through it. And so similar with you, like you really help bring whatever intention and help walk you through it. So you don’t have to think about things and you can just focus on the breathing and your body and feeling.

Yeah, that’s exactly it too. And I have been dabbling more into meditation. Because it’s something I’ve struggled, with was turning off your brain and getting into that part, right? Not that you’re supposed to do but that meditation is good for. But I will breathe first. Because breathing really clears out any of that shit from the day. Right? And that I found was the hard part with meditation was really just releasing all that. So I’ll use my breath to release that before going into a meditation.

And when you think about it, lots of guided meditations do have you focus on your breath. Or if you look at yoga, there’s always a breath aspect of that. So breath work is just taking those things and making it bigger.

Yeah, like a whole other level. When I signed up for yours, I’m like, yeah, I’ve done yoga quite a bit over the last like 15 years and I’ve dabbled in meditation. So I’m like, kind of familiar with breath work and with breathing through that. But with just a short session with you I was like, wow, there’s a whole other level.

Right? And if you go to like counseling, or a psychologist or something, too, they all usually mention breathing. Or if you’re ever upset, like, I know my husband will tell me just breathe, or your child, right? If you get really upset and are crying, you always remind somebody to breathe. So this is really just taking all of that to whole new levels, which I think is beautiful.

I think so too. And kind of like circling back on something you touched on, and just using it as that way to like transition between things, one thing I started doing – and I think I actually touched on it with that episode for kids and mindfulness – is kind of a new habit formed and a little ritual. Because I find, like work from home, I’m just like transitioning from like, kids, work this, that, and it’s just like this ping pong in a way. And I found it hard to really like say, take off the mom hat, put on the work hat, take off the admin hat, put on the interview hat. And so I decided to bring a bit of breathing into it.

And I actually have a little essential oil that I roll onto my wrist, has some like peppermint and lavender. And I roll it on and just smell it and breathe for like three to five or so breaths. And then like think about kind of my intention for whatever I’m about to do. And just that one little thing, it takes one minute, makes such a shift for your energy and whatever you’re about to do and helps you just leave behind whatever state you were just in. It’s crazy how such a short amount of time and simple thing can really be so impactful.

And you’re using so many different sensory things there too, right, like you’re using your breath. And the essential oils, if you want to go that route too, right? Like those can really impact your nervous system too. So using them all together is just great. As I’m like sat here drenched in oils and all the things.

Yeah, I got my essential oils, I got my cannabis oil. I got all the good homeostasis stuff going on. My rock salt lamp.

Yeah! But I think the thing here is that you all have access to your breath. And it’s such a powerful, simple tool on its own. And if you combine that with other modalities and other resources, you can use them all together. You don’t have to pick one or the other. So it’s just so beautiful.

Absolutely. That’s the great thing about doing all these different episodes and having the UM Club kind of explore together is we’re able to see why we’re gravitated towards what really sparks that interest or feels aligned for us and can kind of pick and choose and find ways to fill up our personal toolbox in a way that helps our well being.

Yeah, and that’s exactly it too, our own personal toolbox. My toolbox doesn’t need to look like yours – might have very similar aspects, but doesn’t need to be the same. And same with your breath. And if I’m cueing people, there’s always that room for them to listen to their body. And some of my clients, I’ve said, “if what I am cueing you doesn’t feel good. Just say fuck it, like, Kari, I’m not cool with that. I’m gonna breathe, how my body wants to breathe,” right? Like, there’s that part of it, too. So, yeah, just always having that control over your own body and knowing and feeling what you need and want.

Yeah, so same with like yoga, right? And they might teach you certain positions that most people do a certain way. But sometimes it’s just not gonna quite feel right for you. And that’s okay. There’s other ways you can adjust to make it work for you.

For sure. Yeah.

Well, this has been an absolutely wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for joining me.