From Stuck to Expanded: The Power of Breathwork

In this episode, I’m diving into the power of somatic breathwork and how it’s shaped my growth in ways strategy and mindset alone never could. From life-changing breathwork sessions to visualizing my past, present, and future self, I’ll share why this practice is essential for anyone ready to release old patterns, ground into transformation, and create space for their highest self.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• How breathwork cracked me wide open and shifted the trajectory of my life
• The butterfly moment that gave me the courage to quit my job
• Why strategy and mindset aren’t enough—you need your body in the transformation process
• How breathwork rewires old loops of fear, self-sabotage, and doubt
• What happens when you release stored energy and actually make space for clarity & creativity
• A powerful visualization exercise to see your past, present, and future self in alignment
• Tears, gratitude, and the reminder of how far you’ve already come
• The 5-year reflection that makes your next big goal feel inevitable
• A card pull reminder: embrace your empathy & celebrate the wins along the way

References:

- Tony Robbins experience

- Cassie (Breathwork Facilitator)

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Transcript

0:00

welcome to this week's episode of the Building Her podcast. I'm your host, Kati Lillian. If you've been loving this podcast, go ahead and rate the podcast five stars and DM me on Instagram when you do that, because I want to connect and personally thank you. If you are new here, hit that subscribe button. It really helps the podcast grow, and that way you will never miss an episode. So let's dive in. Hey, my name is Kati Lillian, and I am obsessed with all things mindset, personal development, and helping you build the best version of yourself. I'm a women's life and mindset coach and an entrepreneur who started a fun hobby of posting hashtag sweaty selfies, grew a successful side hustle, and now I run a six figure coaching business. I teach you the secret of building a life that aligns with your deepest values and one that you wake up excited for. This podcast is designed to expand your mind and. Challenge the status quo. So get ready to uplevel your life and let's start building her. So I feel a little awkward starting this episode because I'm starting to video myself as I talk because you heard it here. First, I want to record these on YouTube, so I'm not gonna start yet with these. This is I don't know, a trial run, I guess. But yeah, it's awkward. Like I'm just staring at myself now talking. Normally I would just talk to myself through the microphone, but now I actually see myself, so, yeah. Interesting. But we'll see how this goes and TBD when we launch it on YouTube. But in other news, this episode is devoted to. My breath work experience recently because a girl has had back to back breath work experiences and I'm here for it because clearly I needed it. There has been so much that has come through for me and clarity that I was craving, and I'm happy to say I think I received it. I really do. So I just wanna share a little bit about why breath work is so important to me. I'll share a little bit more if you're new to breath work of why it's powerful, but specifically my experiences with it.'cause I have two very powerful experiences that I'll go into. But just in general, when I do breath work, it's never as powerful as those two unique experiences that I had, and you'll know why as I outline it a little bit more. But anytime I do breath work, there's always some kind of message that I needed to hear. And I'll share then the two breathworks that I just did here recently and what inspired this conversation. So yeah, if you are brand new to breathwork, I hope I do my fair share of sharing why it's important and hopefully it inspires you to try and start. With someone that regulates and does this for a living. But also if you are used to it, but maybe you haven't done it in a while, I hope this reminds you to bring it back into your life and try it out. Especially if you are feeling stuck or unclear or. There's something that just feels heavy for you, right? There's so much that you can get from breath work. So I guess just jumping in to highlight my experiences with breath work and just to show you the magnitude of it for me and my journey. Tony Robbins, and if you are new here and you don't know that experience, I will link my episode below, but it's completely devoted to my Tony Robbins experience. That was the start of my personal development journey. But there is, when I first learned about breath work, now the whole conference and seminar was not about breath work. I went to unleash the power within 10 years ago. Yes, you heard that right? 10 years ago. But he incorporated breath work and different elements of it into the four day seminar and there were different types of breath work. I don't even know the names or what types of. Breath work. It was. But regardless, that's not the point. The point is that we did breath work and it just taps into your body and the emotions that we store there. If you haven't read The Body Keep Score. That's a really good read. It's kind of a hard one. It. Difficult but give it a chance because it just tells you like the trauma, the stress, the emotions that we store in our body, and it really doesn't go anywhere. And so it's really important to clear that out. Otherwise, it just festers and it can actually turn into disease. In my opinion, and from all the other research that I have done and other people that are much further along and get paid more and are smarter than me, have said the same thing, so. I absolutely believe in the science behind that. But anyways, Tony Robbins and with the breath work that he had us do, it completely changed the trajectory of my life. Like I'm sitting here talking to you 10 years later after this event. It's been 10 years, and I still talk about this experience. Like clearly it made a mark. Clearly it changed my life and, uh, yeah, it was just so vital in my growth and transformation experience. So, again, I don't wanna dive too much into it, but I do just wanna highlight that experience as a part of this breath work conversation, because we absolutely did a shit ton of it at that seminar. But again, I'll link the full episode down in the show notes below the second one. Was my experience as a part of a mastermind. So I was coached and then became a coach for Rob Dial Jr. He is the creator and founder of The Mindset Mentor, a huge podcast, and he. Invited us all out. We were in the masterminds call called Elite at the time, and we all flew to Austin to meet in real life, but also have a two day seminar where we also did breath work. Now this one was a bit more recent. It was in, gosh, 2022 maybe, and I still remember the type of breath work it was called Somatic Breath Work. If you're new to that, I highly suggest you try that out. I'm sure there's. Someone or some kind of place that could conduct that for you. But that's really powerful. I mean, I even had Susie, who is a dear friend of mine, I met her also in a mastermind. She does breath work and she facilitated breath work for me in my program, the big shift. And so. I'm just so happy to bring that to my clients. But then again, also speak from experience and not just textbook, you know what I mean? Like I've actually lived it. And so, with Rob Dial, we did somatic breath work. I didn't realize that there were some emotions and limiting beliefs that were coming through for me. One specifically was that I still believed I was not good enough. And after that experience, I remember I, the next day, you guys, the next day I. Quit. I literally emailed or told my boss like, I can't do this anymore. And I put in my two week notice, or maybe I gave them a month. But regardless, I made the decision the very next day of this is not it. I'm not doing this anymore. And I told my boss like, I'm quitting. So. That was really powerful because I was at my tech job for nearly a decade, and then from one experience, of course there's other things that led up to that experience, but still that experience was the deciding factor of no more, I'm quitting. And I remember seeing something so visual. During the somatic breath work, I saw a butterfly like fly out of its cocoon and it was this beautiful evolution and it was such a sign for me of it's time. Like you can evolve now, you can spread your wings and share your gifts with the world. And it was just so beautiful. And that's actually why I have the butterfly tattoo on my wrist. If you're. Watching the visual aid, you'll see it. I'm showing it to the camera. But yeah really powerful. And again, I am so happy that they included somatic breath work into the experience versus just the strategy. Just the hyper masculine, you know, that kind of thing. So that is my experience with breath work. Now, those were the two pivotal moments for me. Since then I have done more breath work, much more like on Zoom in mastermind calls. I'm part of a mastermind right now where they do it monthly. I, again, brought in Susie for my group program, the big shift. So I've had other experiences like it. But when I was pregnant, I actually could not do any of this breath work because the type of breathing, it's diaphragm breathing and then it's of course against the belly and all your organs and the baby. So they suggest not to do this type of breath work when you are pregnant. And so that was pretty much, let's say a year. Where I couldn't do the breath work, so I was a little out of it recently, but now almost 10 months postpartum, I've been able to reintroduce it back into my practice. And so most recently with my best friends who are also coaches in the space, we meet every, well they meet every Friday I meet. I try every month just because of my schedule and I'm a mom and all that stuff. But regardless, we had Cassie join us. Cassie is another girl I met in a mastermind, and she is tapping more into breath work and really just becoming known for that. And so. She offered to conduct breath work for our little coaching group, and we're like, absolutely hello. And this was also nearing Autumn Equinox on the 22nd and we were like, absolutely. Let's release, let's let go. Let's dive into this new chapter of seasons. And I also admittedly have been feeling a little bit unclear in terms of my direction and where I am heading with the business. And there's just been so much up and down and emotional rollercoaster, obviously becoming a mom. And I am happy to share that a little bit more outside of my motherhood series that I already recorded. But there's just so much that goes into it. Anyways, we had that breath work and I wanted to share it with you guys because some messages came through for me. The first one was, own it. So we're all laying here. Or I'm sorry, they're all on Zoom. I was laying here in my office. And we're doing this breath work, and Cassie does it a little bit different than Susie and all the other people that I have met. So it's really neat to have someone's unique twist on the breath work experience. But hers was this message of owning it. And then we did a visualization where. We basically met our very first client that we have ever coached, and then we had all our other clients kind of line up and you would hand them like a flower just out of gratitude and you saw their face and then you saw how many clients you've helped. And it was so, so beautiful. Like I felt so much gratitude in that moment when we visualized that line of clients that we've already helped. And it brought tears to my eyes because. I feel like I have always been focused on the go go and what's next type of conversation versus remembering and reflecting how far I've come. And I'm sure a lot of you can relate with that. Like we're always just so hungry for the next step, whether it's life or in business. And so for me to actually. See the faces of the women that I have helped change their lives and left a positive impact, just made everything like almost okay. It was like very relieving for me of yeah, I am doing good work and it's okay if I don't know the next step because. It's fine. You know, I have clients that I'm serving today and I don't need to have all the answers for tomorrow. And just kind of sitting in that and surrendering a little bit to the unknown and it was just so beautiful to. See it on a physical, deeper, emotional level.'cause I can think it, and I can say it all day long, but until I'm actually feeling it in my heart and in my soul, then you just it's so different, right? Like feeling gratitude versus just saying I'm so grateful for the nice weather. It's bitch, you better feel. That gratitude, right? That's the whole point. Like we wanna feel gratitude for our life and our clients and our business. So that was really special. And again, the message of owning it was just this bigger picture of like I, I think coming back to me. Okay. Coming back to Katya and my personality and the quirkiness and the awkwardness and the vulnerability like the human, again, behind my personal brand. I think I got wrapped up in the strategy and masculine and launching, and again, what's next? And money that I got lost in like the sale of it all versus just showing up as me, the human first. And not to demonize sales. That's what I do. That's what I love. It's an art, it's a skill that everyone should learn in my opinion. But it's like I have to put still the human first, right? People buy people first, then they buy the product, and so. It was just a reminder for me to like own who I am and stand confident in this new motherhood chapter and this new mother label that I have, and don't let it discount my. Relevance. Don't let it take away from my knowledge, my wisdom, my learning, my capability, my enoughness and just truly owning this period of my life and the superpower in that. So. That was my first breath work experience and that was virtual. My second breath work experience was with Miss Nora, Virginia. She is another coach here in the St. Pete area. A really good dear friend of mine. She had her son one day before Amalia arrive, so it's just really cool to have that deeper connection with her, and I'm so grateful for our friendship. But she led a visualization for another dear friend of mine's. Sam, who has also been on the co podcast before, but it was her birthday. And so she asked Nora to host this guided breath work meditation, visualization for us at the beach, which made it so special. Like we live literally 10 minutes from the beach. Get your ass outside, go to the fucking beach, and. Enjoy yourself, right? Enjoy your location. So, I won't get too much into the breath work because again, it was pretty similar to what I've already experienced in terms of somatic breath work and all of that stuff. But what was really powerful for me was afterwards we laid it down on our towels on the sand, and you could hear the waves, you know, in the distance, which was really nice. But she did a visualization. And this visualization was where you're at the beach and you imagine a train comes up to you and you board the train. And this train takes you back in your past to five years ago and you're meeting your five year ago version of yourself. So that already was. So trippy for me to not only see like where I've lived and what I was doing, but to actually see me like that version of Katya. Five years ago I was in Chicago. I lived in a studio apartment. I was working full-time in tech. I did not have one coaching client yet. I don't even think I thought of coaching yet. This was 2020 COVID and I wasn't a mom. That is just. That blows my mind of how different I was, but also my life, my circumstances, the situation. Everything was different. And that was just five years ago and now we, so you were there at the train, or I'm sorry, you're there at your version your life five years ago, and then you get back on the train and then you take the train today to where you're at. Here in the present moment, and then you take the train to your future self five years from now and. There. There was some kind of belief within me, and this is what I uncovered also with this experience, was self-doubt. And so when I reflected back on this five year ago version of me and to see how much my life has changed over five years, because now I'm sitting in St. Petersburg, Florida, I'm sitting in my home that I bought. After moving here from Chicago, a three bedroom, two bath, with a pool with a yard. That was my dream for an entire year, and now I'm sitting here in my dream. It's my reality. I don't work for a corporation anymore. I quit my job. I have a full roster of clientele. I have group programs. I have a podcast like this is my full-time income and I'm a mom. And this is just five years later, like wild. Honestly, like the way I feel about that, and I wish you could see me here with my fist. It is wild to think of how much my life has changed over the five years. And it's not just oh, my life changed in ways. Like I didn't want it to no, this is exactly what I wanted and I made this shit happen. Like it gives me chills just talking about it because now seeing that difference when I think of the next five years, ah, are you kidding? Like sky's the motherfucking limit, right? Like I have changed my life so much in the last five years that the next five years. I mean, blow the top off. You know what I mean? And so I did set goals for five years from now, but there was a part of me that didn't really fully believe it was possible. I see others doing it. I see other people winning, but I don't really know behind closed doors like what they're doing and automations and delegation and team and staff and Right, like we never know the full story. And so it's okay, that's cute, Katya. You want this, but can you actually make it happen? And so with this breath work and visualization, I was like, oh my gosh. Yes, I can make it happen. It's not about self-doubt anymore. It's about this empowerment. It's about this belief. It's just this crazy idea that I have where I'm like, holy shit. Like now, like we're about to make it happen, right? And just to give you some context of the vision that I saw five years from now of course it's not as clear as the five year ago version'cause it hasn't happened yet. But I did see my dream house. Now I just wanna caveat that because the house that I'm sitting in was my dream house for years and years. But now. Being a homeowner for four years, almost five years. Next year will be five next August. But it's once you're at this level, now it's well now I want other things in my house. And of course as my first house, right? So I view it as like a starter, home build, equity, all that stuff. But if I think about Dream Home, I think about actually a bigger house because we wanna grow our family. We're already kind of outgrowing this one with Amalia and two dogs, but. I see a bigger home. I see a more modern home. I see vaulted ceilings, I see ceiling to floor windows. I see pocket doors. I see indoor outdoor living. Like I see it all right? And I saw that home. And then I see like my style has evolved into more of this casual chic. Badass boss bitch kind of thing. I see. I saw my family and they were all celebrating me. I was like coming back from somewhere and I opened the door and I walk into this dream home and like people are cheering and clapping and I was like a celebration. I don't know what it was for, but clearly it was something cool. I saw a second child. I. Yeah, I don't know. It was like that was all pretty much I saw it was kind of blurry again, but the fact that I saw that got me so fucking excited.'cause I'm like, holy shit. This is about to happen like five years. Oh my gosh. So much can happen and now I actually believe it can happen. There is no more self-doubt. So. Yeah, that, that's what came up for me. Oh, and uh, she has this card deck that she actually gifted to me. I use it every day. But she asked the universe like, please let me pull cards that, you know, KA needs to hear, whether it's one or two or whatever. They just kind of fall out and it's always spot on. And I pulled empath and celebrate. So empath was more of that own it message I got from the first visualization. It was like. Trust your instinct, trust your gifts. Share it with the world like you are an empath. You read energy like, let's focus on that. And then also the celebrate peace. Celebrate your wins, celebrate your daughter, celebrate your motherhood chapter. Celebrate for what's to come, but also. Spin, right? Like just let's celebrate, let's be chill. Let's stop. White knuckling it a little bit and surrender to the magic of life and what can happen. So it was just so beautiful and healing at the same time. And it's what I really needed to hear. So those are my experiences way back in the day with Tony Robbins and Rob, but then also now, most recently, literally in the past week. And so it was so top of mind for me and I wanted to bring it here to the podcast to just share what came up for me, but also hopefully have you. Reminisce and realize a little bit too of like, where have you been five years ago? Where are you at today and what do you want in five years? And eliminate the self-doubt because if you reflect and realize how far you've come over the last five years, then you're like, holy shit. What I want in the next five years is totally possible. What I also wanted to just share with you before I let you guys go just a little bit more, I guess, of information and knowledge of why breath work is so, so, so powerful. I do have one, uh, episode about visualization, so I can link that also in the show notes below if you wanna check that one out.'cause visualization is number one for me. I teach it to all my clients and. So, so good. But anyways with breath work, it's such a powerful practice. Now I'm not certified in breath work, so I couldn't lead it for you, but again, I do know people that I invite into my containers so that they can host and facilitate it for you. Cassie is. Maybe, or maybe not, I can't tell you yet. Joining future rounds of CEO where one call a month will be devoted to breath work so that we can get more into the body and uproot some of those limiting beliefs. So I'm really excited for that TVD, but it's powerful because it just, it goes beyond the thinking. Like thinking your way into growth, thinking your way into transformation. Instead, it helps you actually feel in your body what's going on. And then most, most importantly, release the negative emotions and the limitations and the stresses and the traumas and the fears of what we store. In our body. And so if we want to grow into our best and higher selves, it's not just about the strategy and the mindset and the positive thinking. While absolutely, that is so, so, so profound and so, so, so important. It's what's gotten me here today. It's also about clearing the subconscious patterns and the old energy that keep us stuck. Now this is, again, something more recent that I've invited into my practice. It's not something that I needed at the beginning'cause I really was more so focused on strategy, mindset, hustle. But now I'm like, there's an easier way. There's. Softer way, there's a more feminine approach. I don't have to be in my hyper-masculine all the time. So. Here's why it's so important to include this, and I've divvied it up here into five reasons. So stay with me for these five reasons and then I'll let you go. Number one, the body keeps the scores. So I referenced this at the top of the podcast. There's a book on it. I can also link that in the show notes. Below. I have a lot of links to add to the show notes below. I'm just thinking of that now. But, and you can always DM me on Instagram too, if there's something that you want. To know about or like a deeper conversation on something or just even just questions for me please feel free to DM me on Instagram at Katya Lillian. I would love, love, love to hear from my listeners because that's a way to connect. I see numbers, but I don't actually obviously hear or see names or voices or. Know and see what you look like, so that'd be cool to connect with you. Anyways, the body keeps the score, so stress, trauma, unprocessed emotions, they don't just disappear. They do get stored in a nervous system. I highly recommend reading this book. They will do a better job at explaining how this works. Then I can, but breath work gives us a safe way to release. What words alone can't, because logically and consciously we might say, oh, well I deserve more money and I want a better job, and I want to become a mom and whatever. But if your body doesn't feel. Safe in that and subconsciously you just don't believe you are worthy or good enough. Maybe there's some mindset going on still from dad, mom, however you were brought up. You will self-sabotage. You will work your way. Out of those opportunities, you won't attract it. Your energy will not be on the frequency that it needs to be in order to even receive that type of thing that you're calling in. So the body keeps the score. We gotta clear that shit out. Number two, it interrupts old loops, so. Breath can shift you out of fight or flight mode and into regulation. So if you are constantly in this stress fight or flight mode, you're not going to sit there and think clearly and feel what is going on with you, right? It helps you break cycles of fear, self-sabotage, doubt, anything that you're doing. Now in coaching, I work with my clients. Weekly and biweekly, depending if you're in group or private. And so talking out loud even helps remove some of this because you're just talking and you're like, oh yeah, I think I can do this, or I'll try to do this, blah, blah, blah. And me as the coach, I stop you. And I'm like, what? What do you mean by try? Or what do you mean by if? Or what do you mean by this word? Or you just said you're shy or Right? Like I pick up words that you're saying, which shows me that you're thinking that. And if you're thinking that maybe there's a deeper belief to that, and that's how I also like to comb through these loops, these patterns that you have been working with for how many years, right? Like you are not even aware of what you just said, but I pick it up and then we dissect it together, right? That's also a way to interrupt old loops, but additionally it's through the breath work. Number three, it creates space for the new. So by clearing stored tension, you feel so much lighter. I always feel lighter after doing this. And then when you feel lighter, you open up space for more creativity, clarity, connection for your higher self. Now, when I say higher self or 2.0 version, I'm not talking about a better. Self, what I am talking about is a more authentic self, right? So again, back to owning it. Like just be who you are. No one fucking cares if it feels good for you, and if it feels the most real to you, do that. Show up in that way, regardless of what you think you should be like or do the none of that, right? Claim who you are. Step into that higher self once you clear out the stored tension and stagnant energy. Number four, it grounds transformation. So growth isn't sustainable if it's only mental. Your body and nervous system need to integrate the changes so they become second nature. So something I also liked about Tony Robbins. And this came up for me again'cause I was just on a podcast with another coach friend Mercedes. She asked me about Tony Robbins,'cause she just went to the one he did in Germany, like literally a week ago. And she was, she is already been doing this work for a long time, so she's at a different place than I was when I first did Tony Robbins 10 years ago. Again, he was the introduction to the personal development world for me. So she was a little bit more like. Uh, further along and knows this stuff. She knows fears, worries, doubts, limiting beliefs, that kind of stuff. But she said what she did notice from him is that he always included the body the minute after he had you do something. So he gives you a workbook and he does do a lot of talking, and you do a lot of journaling and a lot of introspection. And again, that's also very powerful. But after, you know, let's say there's a limiting belief that you have, and so then he. Makes you pick it apart. Where does that limiting belief come from? Whose opinion was it? Is it yours? Is it not? Do you agree with it? Do you not disagree with it? What's the new opinion? What are some beliefs that support that evidence? Proof? There's this whole formula for it. And then the minute you decide the new belief you have to believe it in your body. And so he makes you stand up and he makes you dance and they blast the music and. It's kind of like a rave at that point, and you jump up and down and you know, you shout at the top of your lungs what the new belief is. And the whole point of that is to also integrate it into your nervous system. You have to feel the new belief that you are saying out loud. If I say I am allowed to be a work in progress while I build a million dollar brand. And if I don't actually believe the words that are coming outta my mouth, they're gonna fall flat. It's like a mantra and affirmation that you don't believe that it's not gonna do shit. And so for you to then say and shout and say it with confidence, conviction. I am allowed to be a work in progress while building a million dollar personal fucking brand. I always add the curse word there because it adds so much more vigor and intensity for me. But then I shout it and I fist pump and I dance, and I fully believe it on a physical level. I get like the tingling sensation in my body. It is so much more likely to actually stay and be ingrained in my beliefs as. So that's something that he did back in the when I did it back in the day. And it's something that you can still do here through breath work, but also just the dancing, right? Because again, it's just modes of tapping into that body. Last but not least, it reconnects you with your intuition. When you are regulated and when you are embodied, you can hear your inner wisdom come through much more clearly. Instead of being drowned out by stress and noise and. Always looking outside of yourself for the answer and needing and craving external validation, right? Like you are so much more connected with your intuition that you hear your wisdom, you hear your voice, and you make decisions accordingly. Versus texting someone versus looking at mom, dad, sister, brother. People perhaps that you don't want to actually trade places with, but you don't care. You want their validation, right? And so can you come back to yourself because you hear that intuition much more loudly. It's just like I described, I got the message of owning it. I got the message of. The self-doubt and the empath and the celebration that's not coming from my mom, that's not coming from my dad, that's not coming from my mentor, that's coming from Katya and her inner knowing, right? And so I'm able to clear out all of this stagnant energy and noise so that I can even hear what my intuition is trying to tell me and trying to guide me towards. So, like I said, I think for you, you need to realize what you've just done in the last five years. Get a journal out, get a notebook out and think where was I at five years ago and where am I at today? And notice and recognize the growth and the transformation in that process. And then I want you to think five years from now where. Do I want to be? And if you feel a hint of self-doubt, reflect back on the five years that you just had and be like, holy shit. So much has changed. Absolutely. I can make the next five years happen if you don't know or. Are disconnected from breath work. I'm gonna also leave some links in the show notes below in terms of who I would reach out to their Instagram profiles to see if you can maybe learn more about breath work, but also maybe even schedule something with them, right? You can do this over Zoom Virtual works just as well, so. I really hope you learned something. I really hope you got something out of this I got. That's all that I got for you this week. If anything about this episode resonated with you, please do me a favor. Take a screenshot of this podcast, post it on your stories. Tag me at Katya Lillian. I would love to connect with you. So thank you in advance, and I appreciate you. Until next time.