178. The Power of Conscious Breath with Dr. Colleen Quinn

"This is what I've longed for for so long: to have an open heart that feels it all, to feel fully alive."
– Dr. Colleen Quinn

What if feeling deeply wasn't something to avoid, but something to reclaim?

Many of us spend years protecting ourselves from disappointment, grief, uncertainty, and even joy. We learn to stay productive, keep moving, and rely on our minds to navigate life. Yet somewhere along the way, we may lose touch with what it feels like to be fully present, fully open, and fully alive.

In this conversation, psychologist, breathwork practitioner, and author Dr. Colleen Quinn shares how a life-threatening illness, a retreat in Costa Rica, and the practice of conscious breathing helped her reconnect with parts of herself she had unknowingly kept at a distance. Together, we explore surrender, the subconscious mind, and why creating space to breathe may be one of the simplest ways to return to ourselves.

Could a conscious breath be an invitation to experience more love, more presence, and more of who you truly are?

In this episode of Together We Seek, I sit down with psychologist, breathwork practitioner, and author Dr. Colleen Quinn to discuss the transformative power of conscious breathing and the role it can play in healing, self-discovery, and awakening.

After surviving a serious illness that nearly took her life, Colleen embarked on a journey that introduced her to breathwork and opened the door to experiences that reshaped her understanding of herself, love, and what it means to be an energetic being having a human experience.

Together, we discuss:

How illness and life's crossroads can become catalysts for change
Why breathwork offers access to the subconscious mind
The difference between unconscious and conscious breathing
How egoic patterns keep us on autopilot
Simple practices anyone can begin today
What it means to have an open heart that feels it all and to feel fully alive

Website: https://www.essencemerging.com/ 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/essence_merging/ 

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@colleenquinn3705 

How to do circular breathwork: https://youtu.be/HiHkw_9UiVo?si=UDLiyUZCzN-KfI2O 

@colleenquinn3705

Colleen is a psychologist, Muslim, breathwork practitioner and author of the upcoming book Essence Merging. She writes to inspire others that we are all energy beings having a human experience; how that knowing changes the way we show up to the moments of our lives.

JJ DiGeronimo is an award-winning author, speaker, and podcast host dedicated to helping women trust their inner wisdom, illuminate their gifts, and align with meaningful work. As the host of the Together We Seek Podcast, JJ creates sacred spaces to explore light, energy practices, and ancient wisdom with healers, mystics, and spiritual teachers. Through authentic conversations, she encourages listeners to embrace their unique gifts, deepen their self-trust, and remember the wisdom they already carry.

JJ is the author of four books, including her latest release, Illuminate Your Path: 6 Phases of Spiritual Awakening. Find Your Phase at: https://quiz.jjdigeronimo.com/

Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/JJ-DiGeronimo/author/B01INZ5GA2 

Website:  https://jjdigeronimo.com         
Together We Seek Community: https://www.togetherweseek.online/                                                               

Transcript

178. The Power of Conscious Breath with Dr. Colleen Quinn

Hello. Hello. JJ DeGeronimo here, and I am so excited to be with doctor Colleen Quinn. Her journey has…really inspired me in so many ways. Not only has she gone through some trauma, but she has emerged with some gifts that I think you're gonna find very interesting.

So, doctor Colleen, how are you doing today? I feel so jazzed to be here with you, JJ, because these conversations need to happen. They're the truth and the reality of this dimension. They're what binds us as human beings and what lifts us up to…remember who we really are. So I'm jazzed to be here.

This is such a beautiful time for remembering who we are and why we've chosen to come down and be a human right now, which I know you talk a lot about being an energy being and having a human experience. And with that, you know, you do a lot of work around the communication with your soul. So I'm curious how this work has found you…

Well, I think love calls us. Love always calls us, and love never gives up. So when we get a call and we say, nope. I got it. I'm on my own.

Level say, okay. Good luck with that. And, of course, our own efforts never work, and so these love squeezes get tighter and tighter until we finally are like, okay. I can't do it on my own. I surrender.

What what's your plan? And, you know, I had pneumonia that lasted ten months. I'm coughing up massive quantities of blood fighting to find a breath. I almost died. And…when I found out that I would live, although I was still very sick, I also…had this surrendered plea.

I realized I'm living on gifted time and what matters? Love. Love is the only legacy that matters. And I saw that I fell woefully short. So I asked the universe in that moment when I found out that I didn't have an autoimmune disease.

And I said, let me just be loving every moment. I'm sobbing. And it was very surrendered plea. And I think those prayers at the end of our strength are always heard immediately for me, for everyone I've worked with. So in short order, I find out about this embodiment retreat on the other side of the world in Costa Rica.

I didn't know what I was getting into, and it was a radical change to my marriage contract. Um

, you know, said to my husband, I wanna go on this thing without you. I think he was grateful I was alive. He's like, yeah. Go for it. So, um, and that's where I was introduced to breath work.

And from the very first journey, JJ…

it's intoxicating. You you know, your soul…always starts with the bliss, always woos us with love, and you're having this cosmic union that you've…remember back to the beginning of time where we were all united. We're all in the one. And when we're in that union, we feel bliss, but we call it love. It's really the union that we're all looking for because it's in our DNA.

We remember it. And so…

you know, those bliss trips are intoxicating. They're really good for our bodies as well, and I was hooked immediately. Of course, over time, our souls take us into those darker places as well at our ego's pace of readiness. Yeah. Oh, don't they ever?

Yes. We get pulled into situations, experiences…

Oh, I've been through many tower moments myself, and I would say that, you know, every time, like, gosh. How long is this gonna last is what I ask myself…

But I too I went on my solo journey back in two thousand fourteen to Sedona, and I did it for my fortieth birthday. And I did a very wonderful trip of a lot of experiences there. And I feel like when you have time to yourself to go and experience, you can be fully in the moment. And I think that's such an amazing gift you gave yourself…

Uh, I didn't even realize the depth of the gift I was going to be given. I remember being on that retreat, and my heart would start pounding. I didn't know what we were gonna do next, but my body did. My body knew. Our bodies are so much wiser than our egoic minds.

And, you know, there it's like a reckoning. Like, oh, you're going into a dark place that you've rejected for a long time. And I remember lots of little things. You know? We'd all be deeply in conscious breath.

We'd be jumping up and down, yelling out our desires to the universe, and I'd be thinking, man, my my friend Jeremy did this stuff. Like, this I'm a psychologist, and yet I was like, this this, like, is too too embodied for me, you know, because I was a walking head at the time. But…what happened as I did these things and surrendered to them is I could actually see energy coming off of the trees and the gravel and the ocean and the the geckos and people. I was like, oh my gosh. Like, there's this whole other world going on that I have not seen…

for fifty some years. So it was pretty pretty, uh, radical immediately…

I love this. I released my fourth book today, which I'm super excited about. It's the six phases of spiritual awakening, and you talk really clearly about the unsettled stage, which often comes in sickness or something happens to you, and you moved into curiosity. And you moved into it just not really knowing what you're gonna experience. But as soon as you allowed yourself to move into that energy, you could then start to awaken gifts that probably were there all along.

Oh, I mean, JJ, we all have…every gift…available to love, to this almighty power that we call the higher intelligence. That's all in us because…we are that. We we there's no difference between us and the creator that made us. That power loves us like it loves itself because we are that. We are fully that.

And, you know, it is amazing to me how many ancient traditions talk about levitating and reincarnation and dematerializing and rematerializing things that we forgot how to do…

but it's in our lineage. We we have that capacity, and our work really becomes…surrendering to the free fall of this master plan to we could continue to uplevel and remember who we are and then live into these greater gifts, and they're always used for the greater good. So I'm excited because every day, I'm sure you feel it as well, JJ, that…love is showing you…new ways to be and changing your programming, which is really a rewriting of your nervous system. That's the software of our human bodies. But it it it's rigorous, and but the but the juice is worth the squeeze.

It's like the what you get out of it is so much more than what you put in…

So how do you come back? How do you come back to your world of being a psychologist? Now you've experienced some interesting practices…

on your solo trip, and you're like, okay. Were you thinking, how do I merge this? How do I bring this knowing together? Absolutely. And I don't know what your six stages are because your book only came out today, but…I know from my experience, one of the stages um,

calls it the baby Buddha. That's the obnoxious stage where you're talking about, guess what? There's this whole other world, and, oh my god, these miracles are happening. I'm quite sure that I was a little bit obnoxious. And and I have to give my husband props because he would listen to me so attentively, and then he'd go, that sounds so beautiful.

And I have no idea what you're talking about. And why? Because it's experience. Like…and I say this for all your listeners…These…cosmic journeys that breath work offers us they have…visual imagery that is as real and concrete as anything in this dimension. There's auditory downloads that are truths that you're like…they're trapped into your being and you're like, oh my god. How is it that I never saw this before? And there's sensei experiences in your body that are so powerful that they change us. So I'm not willing a new way of being.

I am being changed by the experiences, and they become unrefutable. There's a there's an old Jewish saying, what's truer than truth. Have you heard it, JJ…

What's the answer? Yes. Yes. Yes. What's truer than truth?

It's experience. Experience. Experience. When you experience something, it becomes unrefutable.

It doesn't matter what anybody else says. They might think, well, she's she took an extra hit of bliss this morning. And I did because I I spent my time in breath work in the cosmic journey connected to the oneness. So I can spill that out everywhere…

Why wouldn't I…

It sounds like during your sickness that you had a shift. You had a DNA shift. Something happened. Something shifted where you sort of moved into the essence, and then going on the retreat just sort of allowed it to really emerge. And I feel like that is such a gift that you were able to lean in and allow.

I think a lot of people don't create this space to allow. so your journey and your story is so powerful because, yes, the result is you've helped so many people, and you've wrote this amazing book, uh, Essence Merging, which I wanna hear more about, and I can't wait to get it myself. But I think for many of us, we are taught to keep that door closed…

Yes. And I so I think there's two pieces to this. One, you're talking about creating the space just to even have the experience. The other piece just as important…is the surrender. So our egos…like, control.

Our egos are made up of a conglomeration of all those wounded children from our childhood. Whatever our parents and caregivers judged, whatever they, um…disliked, whatever they had a reaction to, we rejected. We pushed them into the shadows. And those children took all the pain to keep our true nature pristine…um, and but they come up and they blend with us, and they have very immature coping. So when whenever you any not you.

the collective you, your listeners have a reaction…you're blended with an egoic part. You're not in your true nature anymore. Whenever you're not in your conscious breath, you're blended with an egoic part. You're on autopilot, and you're not in your true nature. And so it's important you know, these these children have been driving the buffs of our experience for a long time.

And they're young. They don't they don't wanna be in charge. They really don't, but they but they're afraid to give up the control. So in breath work…

there's a real feeling of…

oh my gosh. I'm very vulnerable now. My heart's wide open. You know, I was doing it with a guide. Most people do start with a guide.

And I remember thinking…

Elijah could ask me to do anything in this moment, and I would say yes because I'm in such bliss, such love. And the and and that was my ego. Like, you're getting too vulnerable here. Uh, but the other piece of that for me was…and this is so luscious. This is what I've longed for for so long to have an open heart that feels it all, to feel fully alive.

So, yes, it's it feels very vulnerable, and I'm choosing to go with it. And I hopefully, that will help some of your listeners because surrender is a big piece. If you over focus on the destination, I wanna be together with love. That's an egoic thought. And I early on in my, uh, book, I talked about being at the retreat, having that thought because I was totally in oneness.

And then, boom, I'm booted back to this dimension because that's what happens. The ego can't go there. And so it it's navigating. My book really is a a primer of what you can expect…

in letting go of the ego and surrendering to this free fall, which…is the enlightened journey. I don't wanna act like enlightenment is a destination because it's not. Everything is dynamic in this energy world, and so we have to choose it in every moment. Um, but…

I talk about how maddening it is and intoxicating it is and all of the things you can expect in this journey…

That's so beautiful, and it gives people…perspective because I feel like a lot of people think it should be instantaneous as we've been taught in so many ways, but me too. I mean, my journey started probably around two thousand twelve, and it's still going. It's still going. And what I do with my books is try to capture…the experiences…the inner work I've had to do, the energy that I've had to let go of, and the space I've had to create. And I think not really knowing where you're going can be…mind numbing at times because people just want to know.

And I think you get to a point where you have to get comfortable with being where you are and paying attention to what crossed your path…

Amen. Because the the only thing that's true is right here and now. Yes. So being where you are wherever that is and the beauty of being fully being where you are…is you're bringing the fullness of yourself to that moment. So that elevates that moment.

There is no mundane anymore. Every moment becomes sacred because this is all there is. And in this, there is a conversation with this divine love. I mean, I believe that Earth is a master class. We these embodiment experiences where we feel like and are culturally are taught that we are a separate self.

That's a lot of programming to override…to…

invest in that rewiring the truth that we aren't separate, that love is always here. It's us pushing love out most of the time. It's it's love is, like, not gonna insist on anything. I was like, alright. You wanna do it your way.

Good luck with that. But I'll be here. I'll be here, and I will be right there when you're ready to let me in. So it it's it's a lot of work to do this reprogramming, and it's constant. Ninety five percent of what we do comes from our subconscious minds.

We don't know why we're doing what we're doing most of the time. And what's amazing is the only path into the subconscious…is breath work is tied to it. Meditation can take us there. Psychedelics can take us there. Breath work is a key component to both of those…

And so do you have an easy practice or something that somebody could do that just kinda get them started

sure. There's two there's two different things. So there's the breath work journeys, which really is that conversation with your soul to, uh, go in and…

get to understand all your psyches, all your cells, all your inner landscape, all those wounded children, and love is the only true healer. And so that I do have a YouTube video with simple steps of how to do slow, circular, integrated breathing. Um, I would say if you're not totally…lost in the diatribe of your mind, you could do it on your own. If you do feel like your ego is running the show and surrender might be challenging, I would recommend getting a guide

IBF international breath work federation. lists

practitioners all around the world, and so you could find a practitioner in your city. Uh, I would recommend that if you're really in the ego. And then the other thing is your conscious breathing, which is not the journey, but that's what you do off the mat. And it's not random, JJ, that's the only function in our bodies that can be done unconsciously or consciously…is breath…

All the ancient traditions knew it. They knew the power of breath. Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto his disciples. The Hebrew word for kiss, nesheka, means to breathe together…

All the ancient traditions knew the power of conscious breath. And what happens when we get stressed, overwhelmed, feeling a feeling we don't wanna feel? What's the first thing that happens, JJ? We tighten up. Tighten up and we tighten up and we we're not breathing consciously.

Our breath becomes very shallow, and we're we're not in our conscious breath at all. Yet that invitation is there in every single moment. We can come back to our conscious breath. So the first thing I would say to your listeners is start to become conscious of every breath. Where do you feel it?

In your nose, in your throat, in your belly? I feel it most in my throat. So I…

focus on standing in my throat…and breathing in the in breath and the out breath. And then the second thing that I would recommend is a mantra. A mantra is a great bridge…to stillness. Stillness is where we wanna go, but a mantra fills your head with a higher frequency intention. So often on these programs, I suggest the mantra Sat Nam…because those two words in in yoga, which comes down the lineage of tantra, means I am that which I look upon.

It makes every moment sacred so I can breathe in sat, breathe out nam. Lately, I've been saying mantras of abundance for myself as I breathe. So…

it's much longer than this, but the first part of my mantra is…

my body, mind, and spirit are healthy…

I just repeat that all day long. And I that is actually rewiring my nervous system to invite in more coherence, more well-being, more health…

All the health is coherence and harmony in on the cellular level. It's coming back to that fullness. Nothing is rejected. It's all…harmonized and accepted. Calling that in on the cellular level, that is health.

All of our disease is from disintegration. It's from rejection…of emotions that are unprocessed, that becomes stagnant in our inner landscape…

Such beautiful advice and, honestly, so affordable for anybody. They can go on your YouTube, which is listed below. I've seen your videos on Instagram. And I feel like for a lot of people, they overlook the simplicity that breath work offers…

Right. And and you don't even have to yes. You have to take your time out of your day to do a breath work journey, but you don't have to take any time out of your day to be in your conscious breath…and recite a mantra in your head. You can do that while you're doing all of your other tasks. And your focus, we know physiologically…it increases the blood to the frontal cortex, so your focus is sharper, bringing you more into this moment.

Over time, it will increase your left prefrontal cortex, which is your seat of your positive emotions. So you're amped up your at a higher frequency. It shrinks your amygdala, which is your fight or flight response…

and it reduces the mental chatter. Those children all chattering in your brain. It opens up your neural pathways. So instead of the same nine well roved pathways of the ego, they show up as a default mode network on MRIs that shuts down for more whole brain communication to solve problems. So your ability to solve whatever life is bringing to you…amps up, and you can relax into what life is bringing to you instead instead of feeling overwhelmed.

And that's just some…of it. Like, there's more. I could go I can keep going if you want. I love physiology. Well, I love this conversation, the power of conscious breath.

I think that is just such…a beautiful…opportunity for people to really own where they are and what they want to lean into. Mhmm. And know who they are. Know who they really are. Not…the wounded children, uh, bringing them these constant undesired outcomes.

How how did I get in another unfulfilling relationship? How did I lose my job again? And totally blind to how these patterns keep showing up in their lives. Start to really know yourself beyond those patterns…

Well, I love this. I love that you're part of the Together We Seek podcast. I love that you're part of this…amazing community of healers, lightworkers, mystics, and I look forward to carrying on the conversation here in some of the other platforms. So with that, doctor Colleen, I'm so excited you joined us. Do you have any parting thoughts or things that you wanna share with the audience…

Um, I guess my parting thought would be I I really invite people to take a look at Essence merging. I like I said, it's a primer, but I use story. I think story's captivating to share a lot of these downloads that I got that were, like, mind blowing, you know, as I got them. And…

lots of, uh, concrete examples of going into shed shame and release traumas, which we have to let go of these low dense energies for our true nature, which is a causeless joy in a much higher frequency…to just…bubble up and and take over our lives, but it's available for all of us. We're heading there as a collective, and we want everybody to join…

it's such a good reminder for me too because I do do quite a bit of meditation, but I don't really focus on the breath. So I feel like this message is very much for me as well as all of the listeners. So thank you for joining us. Thank you.

And thank you to everybody that continues to join us each week as we love to look at the journey of self discovery aligning with who we are and remembering the gifts that we brought. So with that, we'll see you again here next time. Thank you