creator. writer + author. online filmmaker + photographer. youtuber and podcaster. meditation + breathwork teacher. vegan surf-yogi. i help you make more magic through mindfulness and self-exploration.
When feelings become physical...
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It's safer for your system to create physical symptoms than it is to feel certain emotions. If you think about it for a moment - isn’t that wild? Your body would rather feel physical pain than emotional pain! The jaw tension. The back pain. The gut issues. Even chronic illnesses. (Also add on anxiety and depression) These are all ways our system tries to distract us from feeling things that are "unsafe" (aka painful) to feel. It’s all safer than the anger or sadness you had to swallow as a kid. Why? Because, as a child growing up, you learned that holding back your feelings helped you stay safe, loved, and connected. The cost? Whatever you hold back doesn’t just disappear. It gets stored in your body, shaping your posture, your health, and your life. But here’s the good news: What’s stored in your body can become your expression. And what you express fully? That becomes your freedom. If your body’s been speaking to you through aches, tension, or exhaustion, maybe it’s time to listen - and let it express what’s been held back for too long. This upcoming Sunday, I’ll be holding a space for that exact kind of release in a deep dive breathwork session. It’s an opportunity to process what your body’s been carrying and gently move towards freedom. If this resonates, you’re warmly invited to join. Here’s to setting our emotions free. 👀 Recommended Resources 👀📖 Book Mouth Breather: Shut Your Mouth: The Self-Help Book For Breathers This is Patrick McKeown's new no-nonsense guide to transforming your health by correcting dysfunctional breathing habits. It explores how chronic mouth breathing can wreak havoc on your body and mind, while teaching simple, actionable strategies to restore nasal breathing for improved sleep, energy, and overall well-being. 📱 Threads Post The Most Effective Substances for Focus and Productivity I tried several of these in the past (only the natural ones), but I don't use any these days. Just pure brainpower and some habit hacks. Still, it's an interesting post by a guy who ranks his personal experience with a variety of different substances. 🎥 Video I work with a lot of clients and students who have done a fair amount of inner work and therapy - they rationally understand their issues but their challenges and patterns persist. If you are in that camp as well, check out this video. It explains a therapy modality that is based in neuroscience and similar to NARM, which I work with as well. 🖊️ Article How to Calm Your Mind with Breathing, According to Science "Breathwork involves the intentional control of breathing rate, depth and pattern as we use our higher cortical brain areas to override our unconscious breathing pattern in the brain stem." 📱 Instagram Post Talk Therapy vs Somatic Therapy - Which One Suits Your Needs Best? Still unsure which therapy approach to choose? This post breaks it down with good examples. As much as I'm a proponent of somatic therapy modalities, I do believe that talk therapy has its place. The issue is, many people eventually hit a wall and don't progress further. That's where somatic therapies like Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, NARM or even Conscious Connected Breathing come in. 🧪 Science Paper A recent systematic review examined how voluntary regulated breathing practices can reduce stress and anxiety. Analyzing 58 clinical trials, the study found that 54 interventions effectively decreased stress and anxiety. Key factors for success included:
The study suggests that following these guidelines can increase the effectiveness of breathing practices for stress and anxiety reduction. (Not breaking news, but we need science to prove what we already know to keep the field evolving.) 🌬️ Breathe With Me Live 🌬️Breathwork for Emotional Release + Integration Breathwork Alchemy's monthly/bi-monthly powerful signature deep dive session. Date: Sunday, January 19th 2025 Transformational Breathwork is an active meditation using conscious connected breathing. It is designed to:
So let's get together to heal, feel and release using the power of the breath. In order to make these offerings as accessible as possible, I am offering sliding scale pricing for this session, so you can choose how much you can pay based on your financial resources.
🪐 What's Happening in My Universe 🪐
I always love hearing from you, just hit reply and say hi and let me know what you enjoyed the most in this week's newsletter edition! Keep breathing, keep feeling, stay awesome! Conni. 🐋 PS: Our monthly deep dive sessions are always super special. Even if you have no emotions to actively process, it's worthwhile joining for some ongoing emotional hygiene. Come breathe with us this Sunday! Here is how I can support you further:→ 🫁 Breathwork + Nervous System Foundations Course Learn how to regulate and rewire your nervous system. Access more calm, energy and focus by using the power of the breath. It will teach you how to properly and safely use the remote control (aka your breath) for your nervous system. Get it here. → 💨 Live Free Breathwork for Nervous System Regulation Join me each week for a live 20-minute breathwork and somatic practice focusing on nervous system regulation. 👉 Tuesdays 6pm London / 7pm Berlin / 1pm New York / 10am Los Angeles on my Instagram @breathwork.alchemy → 🎓 9-Month / 400-Hour Intesoma Breathwork Teacher Training (🇩🇪🇨🇭🇦🇹) If you are passionate about the breath and feel the calling to share it with the world, learn to become a breath coach and nervous system specialist. Applications for our 2024 training are open. → 👥 1:1 Inner Work Mentoring (4 months) Heal old wounds, integrate unprocessed traumas and feel stored emotions that may have been holding you back from living the life you truly want. Together, we will get you out of your head and into your body. I usually have a 2-3 months wait time, but you can apply anytime. -- Conni Biesalski Nervous System Specialist “Regulate your nervous system, process your emotions, and come home to your body.” |
Conni Biesalski
creator. writer + author. online filmmaker + photographer. youtuber and podcaster. meditation + breathwork teacher. vegan surf-yogi. i help you make more magic through mindfulness and self-exploration.
Stormy greetings from Portugal ⛈️ I just spent a week finishing up my 3-year Somatic Experiencing training in Cologne/Germany last week. Brought home a cold, recovered and here we are :) Enjoy today's breather issue! Hotel gym in Cologne. No excuses not to stay healthy when travelling. I remember the day a couple of years ago, when I was walking with our dog Toni on our favorite beach here in Portugal. We were playing fetch as per usual and as I looked out over the Atlantic Ocean, it suddenly...
Today’s edition is a classic one, including recommended resources and what’s been going on in my universe. Enjoy today's breather issue! My wife and I at a lake South of Munich / Germany (Tegernsee) a couple weeks ago I've noticed something cool happening over the last few years - my inner critic has gotten reeeeeal quiet. Like, so quiet, I sometimes get worried about her lol. She really only shows up very rarely and even then I barely notice her. Now you have to know that this inner critic...
After spending 6+ weeks in Germany teaching our breath lab retreats as part of our teacher training and spending time with family, we finally made it back home to Portugal yesterday. So good to be home!! 🥳 I wrote this letter to you from the road somewhere in Spain. Enjoy! This is Hossegor lake in France How do unprocessed and unexpressed show up in your life? For me, it can be indigestion and bloating, sore throat, increased reactivity and frustration, anxiety, headaches and tension in my...