Breathe Life: The transformative power of breathwork
Rhonda Hudson, Life Balance Coach and President of the Kate Powers Foundation / Photo via Instagram Body Flow Monaco
Breathwork emerges as a powerful technique that allows access to altered states of consciousness and releases buried emotions, simply through the breath.
In our series on alternative therapies, Monaco Tribune meets professionals who are redefining our relationship with wellness. After exploring essential oils with Peter Pinville and diving into animal communication with Shaïna Lebeau, we continue with this third installment that introduces us to breathwork, an ancestral practice reinvented for modern times.
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We don’t know how to turn off
Breathing, our first connection to life
“The minute that we come into this Earth, the very first thing we do is breathe. It’s our very first thing that we know that is a part of who we are,” explains Rhonda Hudson, Life Balance Coach and President of the Kate Powers Foundation based in Monaco. This simple truth conceals a considerable therapeutic potential that most of us neglect.
“What breathwork does from a physiological point of view is it starts to open and expand the body and actually start to communicate with the cells in a different way. It allows you to get out of your survival mode,” she continues. Our body functions according to two distinct nervous systems: the parasympathetic, associated with relaxation, and the sympathetic, linked to our survival instinct. “A majority of us are there. We’re in this survival mode all the time. Why? Because we don’t know how to rest. We don’t know how to turn off.”
A key to access the subconscious
Breathwork distinguishes itself by its ability to bypass mental barriers. “We have over 70,000 thoughts. Some people say 60,000. It depends on who you’re reading and what scientists you’re learning from. But generally, if I asked you how many thoughts that you remembered from the time that you got up this morning… You give me 5 or 10, right? Where are those other thoughts going?” Hudson questions. These unprocessed thoughts and emotions accumulate in our subconscious, often influencing our lives without our awareness.
“Breathwork allows you to access your subconscious and play it out, get it out of the matter, and move it through your body so it’s starting to move stagnation,” she explains. This stagnation can take various forms: repressed anger, persistent sadness, or unresolved grief.
You shift about 32 hours of psychotherapy in a two to three-hour breathwork session
A session of transformation
A typical breathwork session lasts about two hours. “We just start with easy breathing techniques, letting the person relax, getting into talking about any potential fears that they might have about breathing,” details Hudson. Establishing a climate of trust is essential.
During the session, the body can manifest intense physical reactions. “Your arms get really, really tight, the hands start to curl. Your whole body might move into a totally different space than when you started,” she notes. These manifestations testify to the release of accumulated emotions and tensions.
“You shift about 32 hours of psychotherapy in a two to three-hour breathwork session,” asserts Hudson, emphasizing the remarkable effectiveness of this approach. And to feel a difference? “One. One? Yeah. I think even a 30-minute breathwork session, you’re going to feel a difference.”
A range of applications
The motivations for trying breathwork are as varied as the participants. “We have people who are going through divorces, people who are having problems with their children, people who are having problems with their parents, people who are feeling that they’re in a lack, vibration or frequency,” explains Hudson.
In Monaco, she observes that people are often more reserved with their emotions. “Monaco is a very private place. So people are more guarded with their emotions, their feelings.” That’s why many prefer to start with private sessions before joining group sessions.
Although the majority of participants are women (about 80%), Hudson notices a growing interest among men, particularly entrepreneurs who “do not have a work-life-home balance” and are looking for ways to manage their stress.
An accessible practice but with guidance
For those who wish to explore breathwork at home, Hudson recommends starting in a sitting position rather than lying down and practicing simple circular breathing. “You can do an inhale and an exhale out through the mouth, or you can inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth,” she suggests, advising to set an alarm to limit the duration of the experience.
However, she insists on the importance of being accompanied by a qualified practitioner for deeper sessions, comparing it to psychotherapy or the use of psychedelics – practices one would not undertake alone. “That’s like saying, is it good to do psychedelics on your own? Do you do just general talk therapy, psychotherapy? Do you do it on your own?”
To learn more about breathwork or discover the sessions offered by Rhonda Hudson, you can find her at MC Dance in La Condamine or follow her activities on social media via Body Flow Monaco.