How Breathwork changed my life!
Posted on June 09, 2024 by Hanaa Akhannouch, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.
Breathwork can be like magic in regard of Trauma and Stress release, especially when combined with mediation, movement, sound and vocal expression.
My journey with BBTRS® started in 2019 when I took an in person workshop in Krakow. I was referred to BBTRS® by a friend who was looking for modalities to heal his own trauma. I remember he sent me a demo video of my teacher working on a Woman’s abdominal belt. He started working on the diaphragm area but focused on the liver. The woman yelled, cursed, cried. A lot of release took place. At the end of the demo, the woman had a beautiful smile on her face, she looked at peace in her body. There was a big contrast with what just happened. I taught, if only I can release like that. I signed up for his upcoming training right after. I landed there with a constant feeling of tension, contraction in the upper right part of my abdomen. I was going through a stressful transition in my life and had linked the contraction to that stress but couldn’t understand what was happening exactly and why my body was reacting in that way. With the daily meditations and breath sessions, I was brought to the present moment naturally. My stress loosened up but the contraction would come and go, it was like playing with me. During a Q&A session, I decided to share about this “annoyance”. My heart beat started speeding before I spoke, I described how I felt in this part of my body. My teacher asked me:” How is it now that you are talking about it?”, I took a moment to feel and started laughing, I wasn’t feeling it I said. He laughed and said: keep talking then. Everybody laughed. I felt supported, heard and that feeling good is not only a possibility but it is what’s present now. The training ended and I left with a lot of energy to get things done, enthusiasm to make breath work part of my life, an open heart to people, an increased awareness of my self judgment, comparison, shadow so to speak and more acceptance to myself. A layer of tension was removed, and there was clearly a before and after. I decided to take the other levels later and to share BBTRS® with the world around me. My contraction kept coming back at periods of acute stress.
I gave some in person sessions and to make a long story short, the pandemic delayed my in person trainings plans and made me decide to take the online training as well. Before the online training started, I went to my second in person workshop, this time in Turkey. This was different this time, I was so much looking forward to it after missing this kind of gatherings that nurture me in so many ways. I had so many questions about the practice and going deeper about bodywork and learning about character structures was much needed. I also observed a lot how the teacher and assistants work and absorbed from them. The first time the information can be overwhelming but at this level I started seeing what is essential, the elements of BBTRS®, breath, meditation, sound, touch, emotional expression, movement and how to use them, how the healing happens.
The online training was a different experience in many ways, the slower pace but somehow occupying a bigger space/time. I had to make BBTRS® part of my life, as simple as it sounds remember to breathe at different situations, several times a day, remember to ask myself multiple times: how does it feel in my body? And close my eyes and try to translate it into words and grasp it even when it is not easy to do so. All that when exchanging sessions with others and giving in person sessions. It was amazing to see how with the online training that is focused on online sessions, my in person sessions improved noticeably and I started getting feed back confirming it from the receivers. I noticed in myself more calmness, less resistance to life events, at this point I stopped feeling the constant (and then frequent) contraction in my body, I could feel a slight one every two months which is huge. I also stopped feeling fear, morning anxiety as I used to wake up previously with an apprehension for no conscious reason. I am more gentle with myself, accepting my life situation, not trying to change it like if I am fighting with it but rather doing what I want to do and accepting the outcome. Change happens but I am not trying to control it. Professionally, I feel much more confident, I don’t think much before a session but I center myself and let go of expectations. I listen with stillness and see what comes up to me, I am not thinking of an ideal session or answer or healing, I am witnessing what unfolds in front of me, doing my homework of grounding. I would like to keep giving in person, online sessions and group sessions as well, to share with as many people as I can. Having spent most of my life hiding myself, I want to be myself as much as I could to allow people to be themselves around me.
