My Love Affair with Breath and Body: How I Found My Way Back to Life

Have you ever felt so far away from yourself that you forgot it's you living your own life? Many people experience moments where they feel disconnected, as if they're observing their life from a distance rather than actively participating in it. This disconnection can arise from various sources: stress, overwhelming responsibilities, or even unresolved past experiences. Breath and body go on autopilot, and we desperately want the pilot back!

For years, I lived disconnected from both breath and body. I was surviving—sometimes barely, sometimes doing pretty good!—caught in the whirlwind of stress and overwhelm, unaware that I was holding my breath and ignoring my body’s quiet calls for attention.

Everything changed when I began to listen.

I reconnected to my breath, and in doing so, I rediscovered my body. That connection saved me during one of the darkest seasons of my life.

Breathing Myself Back to Life

It happened during what many call a dark night of the soul. Have you been there? It’s a time when everything you thought you could rely on—your strength, your security, even your identity—suddenly disappears. The world shifts without your permission, and you’re left in a void with no map, no guide, and no light at the end of the tunnel.

That’s where I found myself: in the dark, searching for a way forward.

Breath became my guide. Day after day, I returned to it—not knowing what else to do but inhale and exhale through the tears, the pain, and the uncertainty. My body became my refuge, the place where I could feel what I needed to feel and begin to rebuild.

The Body Remembers

One of the most profound things I’ve learned through this journey—and through my training as a somatic therapist—is that the body holds onto everything we’ve experienced and been conditioned to experience. As Bessel van der Kolk writes in The Body Keeps the Score, trauma isn’t just something that lives in our memories or minds. It lives in our muscles, our tissues, and our nervous system.

But here’s the beautiful part: the body doesn’t just store trauma—it’s also where we release it. Healing happens when we create space to reconnect with our bodies, to move, to breathe, and to feel. This is what I discovered during my own dark night of the soul, and it’s what I help others do in therapy.

The Role of Yoga in My Journey

Yoga has been one of the ways I deepen my connection to breath and body. I practice Ashtanga, a physically demanding and disciplined form of yoga. It’s intense, sometimes over the top, and definitely not for everyone—but it has been a powerful tool for me.

That said, I’ve learned that the healing and wisdom don’t come from yoga itself. They come from the breath and the body. Yoga is just one way to access them, and it happens to be the path I’ve chosen. But you don’t need to roll out a mat or twist into difficult shapes to reconnect with yourself.

The breath and the body hold the wisdom. Yoga has simply been my way of discovering it.

Why I Became a Somatic Therapist

This journey is what led me to become a somatic therapist. I realized that the wisdom I had found in my own breath and body was universal. It wasn’t about a specific practice or technique—it was about reconnecting to something inherent, something we all carry within us.

As a somatic therapist, I guide others to reconnect with their own wisdom. Through gentle movement, breathwork, and body awareness, I help people come home to themselves. I help them craft practices that feel nourishing and sustainable, practices that can support them for a lifetime.

In therapy, we focus on the body because it’s where emotions are stored and where true healing takes place. By working with the breath and listening to the signals of the body, we create a space for trauma to be released and for life to be reclaimed.

An Invitation to Begin

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or disconnected, I invite you to join me in somatic therapy. Together, we’ll create a safe, supported container where you can reconnect with your body and breath, and release what’s been holding you back.

With me as your trusted guide, we’ll work together to craft practices that help you tap into the wisdom already within you. You don’t have to do it alone.

Just your breath. Just your body. And a safe space for you to find your way back to yourself.

Because the wisdom you’re seeking isn’t somewhere out there. It’s within you, waiting to be rediscovered.