My First Somatic Breathwork Experience
The first time I tried somatic breathwork, I went into it expecting something closer to meditation or yoga. I imagined it would be calm, quiet, maybe reflective. Something that would help me slow down. What happened was completely different.
My first session was led by my long term mentor and instructor, Heidi Horan. I was at home in my own space. She had me lie down on a mat and grab a pillow that I was told we might scream into at the end of the session, an eye mask, and headphones.
We started with a gentle grounding exercise. The first song wasn’t about breathing yet. It was about arriving in the moment and putting down the busy day. We went though a color visualization and sensory exercises just to get present.
Then we began the active breathing. I placed one hand on my stomach and one on my heart and breathed fully through my mouth. One breath in through my stomach. A second breath in through my chest. Out through the mouth. Over and over again, guided by Heidi’s playlist.
Before we began she explained what might happen. My hands could tighten. My body might buzz or hum. I might feel cold or hot. Emotions could surface. Laught, crying, deep relaxation. She told me to stay open and let whatever was present be there with me.
About one song into the breathing, my hands had already tightened. By the second song, my lips had as well. I remember lifting my eye mask and asking if everything was okay. She reassured me this happens often with beginners. As long as it wasn’t painful, just tingling and slight tightness, it was normal and safe to keep going.
So I kept breathing.
By the third and fourth songs, something shifted. A memory surfaced from childhood. My parents divorced when I was four and lived about ten miles apart. I saw myself running along the stretch of road that sat halfway between their homes. I could feel how freeing running felt back then. It was a place where I didn’t have to hold the tension of two different worlds. I was just moving. Just myself.
The experience was emotional, but not overwhelming. It felt like something that had been stored for a long time finally had space to move.
The realization didn’t fully land until later. About a day after the session, I understood how much of my life had been spent trying to hold everything together. Holding different relationship dynamics. Different expectations. Different versions of myself. Breathwork helped me not just see that pattern, but feel it in my body and release it. It felt like a ten pound weight had lifted off my shoulders.
I had been in talk therapy for five years before that. Therapy helped me understand my story and gave me perspective for my experiences. Breathwork unlocked something different. It allowed me to feel through what I had lived, not just think about it. It connected pieces from childhood to how I was moving through the present.
After that first session, I kept going back. Every week for a year.
Each experience was different. Sometimes gentle and relaxing. Sometimes emotional. Sometimes just grounding. But over time, I felt more connected to myself, more aware of what I was carrying, and more able to let things move instead of holding them so tightly. Eventually I became certified and began guiding others through breathwork.
What I love most is that every person’s experience is their own. There is no right way for it to look. My role is simply to hold space, guide the process, and support whatever unfolds. Watching people reconnect with themselves, sometimes in ways they didn’t expect, is one of the greatest honors of my life.
That first session changed the direction of my healing in a way I didn’t see coming. And it all started with just lying down, putting on headphones, and breathing.
Experience it yourself…
Reading about somatic breathwork can help you understand the idea, but the real understanding comes from experiencing what happens in your own body.
Each person’s experience is different. A guided session creates a supportive space to notice your breath, your body, and whatever begins to shift.
You move at your own pace, and nothing is forced. The goal is simply to create the conditions for awareness, release, and relief to unfold if and when it is ready.
If you feel curious about experiencing somatic breathwork for yourself, book a session below!
Can’t wait to see you on the mat!
