This is officially our last letter in 2024! I'm excited about everything that is to come and all the things I plan to share with you in the coming year :) See you in 2025! Enjoy today's slightly shorter edition. Big love from Portugal🩵

Recovering from trauma isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey.

It might look like that on social media, where every therapist and coach promotes their amazing approach.

And sure, I'm all about breathwork and somatic therapy - that's my jam, that's what made a huge difference on my personal healing journey and that's what I help to transform my clients' and students' lives as well.

But I also know it takes more than that.

Because you know, it’s not about finding the one perfect modality - it’s about discovering the unique combination of ‘medicines’ that work for YOU.

And so I want to share a little bit about what worked for me. But before I do - these were some of my main struggles and challenges:

• Insecure attachment and codependency
• Being in the queer-shame closet until I was 26
• Depression and loneliness
• Chronic pain and health issues

These were issues I had dealt with for many years since I was a teenager, but my true inner work initiation wasn't until I experienced a devastating breakup back in 2012.

From then on, I was on an obsessive quest to heal myself.

(Here is a video in which I talk about it all)

I tried countless modalities over the years; always seeking THE ONE: the one therapist, the one spiritual teacher, the one practice that would finally absolve me of all my suffering.

(Years later I learned that this in itself was a trauma response: desperately seeking for salvation and idealizing a savior figure that will finally heal all wounds and bring peace is rooted in child-consciousness. It's a continuation of the child's longing for a caregiver who will finally show up fully and meet all their emotional needs.)

Today I know: there is no ONE healing modality.

But when I reflect back on all these years of inner work and healing, there are definitely a few modalities that stand out.

These five had the most profound and lasting effects (in no particular order):

1. Conscious Connected Breathwork
2. Somatic Experiencing
3. NARM Therapy
4. 1:1 San Pedro Ceremonies with my Shaman in Ecuador
5. Daily Functional Breathing Practice

Another BIG One:

Choosing to live a slow, regulated lifestyle to give my nervous system the space it needed to heal.

And Finally:

Finding a partner who was equally committed to the healing journey. (Because, as I had to learn, you can only heal attachment wounds to a limited extend on your own.)

And while I wish I’d discovered somatic therapy and breathwork earlier, every step, every experiment was part of the path.

🎢 My healing journey was anything but linear, with lots of ups and downs. The good news is: I made it to the other side.

It took me 8-10 years to get here - no quick fixes, no shortcuts (trust me, I looked for them all).

Healing trauma means working against years (sometimes decades) of programming, dysregulation, and chronic stress. There’s no ‘hack’ for deep, sustainable healing.

It’s slow. It’s often frustrating. And there were many moments when I wanted to give up.

But today, my mind and body are healthy. Life feels good - and above all: it's regulated.

If you’re reading this, you’re already further along than you might realize. Trust your path, and keep showing up.

What have been your top 3 healing modalities so far?

Let me know your thoughts by replying to this email.

Big love,

Conni. 🐋

PS:

One skill that was a real gamechanger for me on my journey was learning to consciously feel and process my emotions. If you're interested to transform your own emotional patterns and recurring conflicts, you can have a look at my emotions workshop here.

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Conni Biesalski

Nervous System Specialist
Breathwork Facilitator & Meditation Teacher
Somatic Trauma Practitioner (Somatic Experiencing©️ & NARM©️-informed)
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
Attachment Trauma Therapy
Founder Breathwork Alchemy​
Co-Founder Intesoma©️ Breathwork Teacher Training​

“Regulate your nervous system, process your emotions, and come home to your body.”