Breathwork. Wait, what? I thought this was a blog about kitesurfing, digital nomad life and van life? Well, things change and evolve and sometimes certain life events can shift a lot around. Like my injury that took me out of my normal routine and life.

Shortcut: this is my Instagram channel @sparkyourfire__ and I will share all things breathwork, and inspiration around a healthy, fulfilling, conscious lifestyle as a kitesurfing-digital-nomad-breathwork-facilitator 🤣 Or check out my website here: spark your fire.

> How I found breathwork

The short version is that due to my knee injury (which happened while kitesurfing) I couldn’t do any of the things I loved so much: kitesurfing, gym sessions, workouts, beach walks, and swimming. The stoke that I knew so well how to create – gone. I was lying on a couch and while I was doing my best to stay positive and make the most of my time – I did a lot of online courses, learned a lot of different things, and started reading a lot again – I still didn’t feel like myself at all and the last thing I wanted was to be „in that body with that injury“.

Since I had a lot of extra time I randomly met a girl on a meetup who did a breathwork session on „forgiveness and letting go“ the next day. I joined because I had nothing better to do and breathwork had been a thing I always wanted to try. And it blew me away. Within that one-hour-session, I felt myself again, for the first time in weeks (or was it already months?), I was so present, I felt my whole body tingling, being alive, not only my body but I also felt alive again. I came out of the session so fulfilled, so myself, so happy, it was a true natural high. So I decided that night to do a breathwork facilitator training, just for myself.

Long story short, this was so impactful for me and my friends I gave some sessions to that I started facilitating breathwork sessions. The level of fulfillment this gave me and still gives me, to see firsthand how powerful this tool is and what it evokes in my breathers was a completely new feeling – so I decided to make this my “work“.

 
 
 
 
 
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Miriam | Breathwork & Coaching (@sparkyourfire.coaching)

> What is breathwork? 

This term is so widely used in a lot of contexts and (while I also do that) it is as if I used the term „yoga“ in the same way. Yin Yoga couldn’t be more different from a power vinyasa flow and that class from a hot yoga class in 40 degrees. It’s not a perfect example but the best I could think of.

There are so many different breathwork styles that have various goals and effects, and some of them couldn’t be more contrary to each other in their purpose. For example, some breathwork styles are there to calm you down, release stress, calm anxiety, and help you think clearer or fall asleep faster. Then there are breathwork styles that energize you, make you feel superhuman, and completely put you on fire. And a million facets in-between.

A couple of years ago I went to a Wim Hof Workshop with the man himself and I loved it! But frankly, I was more hooked to the ice baths than the breath itself, I guess back then I wasn’t ready yet for it.

Conscious Connected Breathwork Sessions with Miriam from Spark Your Fire

> How long does a breathwork session take?

Again this very much depends on which breathwork technique or style you are practicing. It can be as little as 1 minute or as much as a few hours. The breathwork style I am using in my Online Sessions can also be used in your own practice for up to 10 minutes – or in a guided setting by a trained facilitator it can be a 45-minute session of active breathing and then a final relaxation.

> What is breathwork to me?

When I talk about breathwork I mainly talk about Conscious Connected Breathwork with a session duration of one hour. These sessions to me are an active meditation, a deep dive into how I feel, things that I usually suppress in everyday life or I don’t really like to feel, it is a tool to become completely present and to feel whatever is coming up, whatever there is to feel. It has been a tool to release a lot of events, old memories, shed some tears, work through the sudden death of my father, release anger or whatever I felt there was left unsaid.

It is a tool to feel into my higher self, my potential, have visions on where I want my life to go, sometimes even psychedelic-like experience, I feel so many emotions, an abundance of happiness, love, and contentment. It is so many things and sometimes not a lot happens. It is hard to put it into words because every session is different and you never know what to expect.

To me it has become a regular tool of self-growth and self-inquiry, a check-in with myself and a tool to release whatever want to be released. It feels like coming home to myself, over and over again, no matter where in the world I am.

> Why I think breathwork is absolutely fascinating – and why kitesurfers will love it

It brings you right back into your body, into the present moment – exactly like kitesurfing does. It can give you a high (some of the sessions) and it can make you feel so alive. It fully brings you into feeling, being, feeling your body and your energy. I think it is generally for everybody but kitesurfers or adrenaline sports that are out in nature even more so as it is similar but then again completely different.

> Breathwork effects: why join a breathwork session

The breathwork effects can be so different from person to person and from session to session but here is some possible effects you can experience. Note that every breather goes only as deep as they allow themselves to and experience certain things only when they are ready and open to.

  • it will fully bring you back into the present moment, it can be like a very deep and active meditation
  • you can reach non-ordinary or altered states of consciousness (like with LSD for example) but in a natural way just through breathing in a certain pattern
  • it can be a tool for self-exploration, self-empowerment, self-growth, self-realization
  • you might have very big releases, feel a lot of emotions you might have previously suppressed – everything from complete joy, bliss, happiness, peace to sadness, grief, and anger. It usually feels very releasing and catharsic to breathers, emotions flow right through you and it is easier to let go of all this stuck energy
  • as we are leaving the Default Network Mode of the brain you might be tapping more into your subconscious, have new ideas, different perspectives, visions of your future, feel your true essence and where you belong or how you need to adjust your life path. It can be a transformative journey to explore your inner calling and purpose
  • it can relax you, help you to get out of your stressed, tense self, be deeply nourished and rested, bring back balance to your body, mind and soul
  • it can activate you, spark that inner fire within you, make you feel more like yourself again, feeling boundless
  • it can sometimes be a psychedelic-like experience, seeing colors, visions, feeling energies, floating around

> Try a breathwork session

Check out my latest events here, connect with me on insta or subscribe to my newsletter where I announce new sessions. I also have some WhatsApp groups where I announce the sessions I give (one for Tarifa, Spain, one for Cape Town, South Africa, and one for online sessions that I give via Zoom) you can send me a dm on Instagram and I will send you the invite link.

Please note that there are some Contraindications, please read through before you join one of my sessions – however there is a huge variety of other breathwork styles suited for those that sit with one of the conditions described in the counterindications

> Learn more about online and in-person breathwork sessions with me