House of JerMar

Journey Into Your Subconscious: How Breathwork Opens Pathways to Clarity and Healing

• Jeanne Collins • Season 1 • Episode 47

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Could the key to emotional freedom, mental clarity, and personal transformation be hiding in something as fundamental as your breath? In this eye-opening conversation, breathwork facilitator Jenn Warwick reveals how conscious breathing techniques can unlock doors within us that logical thinking cannot open.

When we first hear about breathwork, many of us think of simple relaxation exercises or meditation support. But as Jenn explains, transformational breathwork journeys go much deeper – creating an altered state where the logical mind quiets and the subconscious becomes accessible. Through specific breathing patterns guided by a skilled facilitator, we can open energetic, emotional, and physical channels that may have been blocked for years. Host Jeanne Collins shares her personal experience with breathwork, describing how just one journey session helped her recognize and release protective armor she'd been carrying since childhood.

What makes breathwork so revolutionary is its accessibility. Unlike many wellness practices that require special equipment or extensive training, breathing is something we all do constantly. Jenn demonstrates how even three conscious breaths can shift our nervous system from stress to calm, and how different techniques can be used throughout the day – from energizing morning practices to sleep-inducing evening routines. For busy parents or professionals struggling to find "me time," Jenn offers practical suggestions for incorporating breathwork into even the most hectic schedules.

The science behind breathwork continues to validate what ancient healing traditions have known for centuries. Conscious diaphragmatic breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, signaling safety to the body and creating a cascade of positive physiological responses. Meanwhile, more active breathwork techniques can help clear stagnant energy, increase focus, and access the creative problem-solving capabilities of the subconscious mind. Ready to discover how something as simple as your breath could transform your life? Listen now and take your first step toward breathing with intention.

Jenn's book recommendation: Just Breathe - Dan Brule

More about Jenn:

Jenn has been in the fitness and wellness industry for over 20 years and is passionate about practices that place a large emphasis on mind-body awareness and optimizing vitality and personal growth. 

As a Breathwork Coach, Jenn believes that breathwork is one of the most important pillars of health because of its ability to regulate our body’s nervous system, which effects all systems in the body: pulmonary, lymphatic, digestive, respiratory, immune, endocrine, and more. The better and more efficiently we breathe, the more optimally these systems work together to heal and elevate the body. The skillful coaching tools and insights that Jenn imparts are proof that breath is the portal that opens channels for release, personal growth and transformation. 

https://www.breatheforlife.net/

IG: @breatheforlife

House of JerMar: houseofjermar.com.
Instagram: instagram.com/houseofjermar/
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@Houseofjermar
Read Jeanne's Book: Two Feet In: Lessons From and All-In Life
WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE!

Speaker 1:

Transformational breathwork journey is really a way to tap into the subconscious mind, if I'm going to really break it down to its core, and in that place it's moving you into an altered state of mind. And there is this beautiful opportunity when you're in that space, where the logical mind quiets, you are in this place of receptivity. It's almost like being in a twilight, if you will, where you're receiving information into your body which is all circulated through your own breath, which is guided by a facilitator like myself. You are then able to open up channels that might be blocked for you, whether it's energetically open up channels that might be blocked for you, whether it's energetically, emotionally, physically, which many human beings walking around in this world have one of those sections that they have blockages in. So a journey is able to help you open up that window.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the House of Germar podcast, where wellness starts within. The House of Germar is a lifestyle brand, empowering women to live all in through interior design and personal wellness. We are a destination for women ready to reimagine what is possible in their homes and lives and then create it. We are honored to have you join us on our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in. I am your host, jean Collins, and I invite you to become inspired by this week's guest.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the House of Germar podcast, where wellness starts within. I'm your host, jean Collins, and today we are talking with someone who has changed my life. Yes, I mean that in full sincerity Jen Warwick of Breathe for Life. Everybody is our guest and we're going to talk about breath work. We're going to talk about journey work. We're going to talk about her journey and how she got there, and I'm going to share how she absolutely changed my life, and I never knew that breathing, which is something that we all do and have the gift of, could be so impactful and could change my life so much. So she is a beautiful soul, an incredible human, an inspiring entrepreneur.

Speaker 2:

So, jen, I am so excited to have you on the show. I am thrilled to be here, jane. Thank you so much, you're welcome. So before we get started, I was going to do this, but then I was like wait, no, this is your realm. I would love for us to just breathe together realm. I would love for us to just breathe together like maybe three breaths. Could you just guide us in, like three calming breaths that we could do together to ground us and connect us? Amazing.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely Like. This is a practice that you can do anywhere, so let's go for it together. I'm just going to suggest that you have your feet planted on the ground, wherever you are whoever's watching Hands on the heart is a great thing to do too. Just that you have your feet planted on the ground, wherever you are whoever's watching Hands on the heart is a great thing to do too. Just so you feel your body and close your eyes and let's go for it. Just really, really gently. Breathe in through the nose, inhale and then open the mouth, exhale really slowly out, and then do that two more times Slowly breathe in and then do that two more times. Slowly, breathe in and then open the mouth, exhale really slowly all the way down to your toes, and then one more time Inhale and then exhale fully all the way down to your toes, and then let that go. Just come back to normal breathing, relax your hands and the first thing to do is to just notice where you are.

Speaker 1:

What do you feel? What do you feel? So? Oftentimes it's very subtle, but it can just help you feel that sense of presence. Maybe it creates a little more clarity If you're talking to somebody like here with you, we are just together. It's co-regulating us, bringing us together. So beautiful, simple and true, simple and true.

Speaker 2:

And I will say from my personal experience when I'm doing it, I'm standing. It is amazing how, when you actually focus on breathing in and diaphragm breathing which we're going to talk about first and next, because that was the first thing I learned from you when you really focus on that and focus on the exhale, like I feel all the weight and the breath going out through my feet because I'm actually connected and aware of it. I'm actually connected and aware of it and, like many people, I'm one of those people who, like, holds everything in my shoulders and I hunched over and I have horrible posture and just doing three simple breaths, standing up for me, makes me feel so calm and feel like I can stand up taller and just like I've let go of a little bit of stress, just with three breaths, a couple minutes. That's it. It's amazing, truly it's amazing.

Speaker 1:

Agreed, agreed, agreed. And really what's happening chemically in your body is there's a shift happening in a different way because you're consciously slowing the breath, which moves you into parasympathetic branch of your nervous system, the calming side Right.

Speaker 2:

Oh, it's so powerful. Okay, before we get into talking all about breath work which we will, and we're going to talk about diaphragm breathing first, because, guess what? I realized I didn't know how to breathe at 54 until I met you. So better late than never. Let's talk about you, and I love to share people's journeys about themselves and how they got to where they are, because most of us, as entrepreneurs, didn't start out where we are now, and your journey is such a healing one and wellness is such an important role in your life. So let's talk about you. Know, how did you get to being an entrepreneur and having your own business that focuses on breath work?

Speaker 1:

Like you've said in so many of your podcasts and when I've seen you speak publicly, it wasn't something that I ever expected or planned out, but there is definitely a calling behind what I do.

Speaker 1:

I've always been in a place where wellness has been huge for me and that's what I've been practicing and doing as a form of my lifestyle for a long time Coaching and helping with training people in fitness, specifically barre technique, and that's very much of a mind-body practice. But then, as I was just evolving into my own personal life and also working so much on my own personal journey, I was introduced to different somatic practices, and breathwork was one of them and one of the main things that really drew me towards it, as I was really struggling with a lot of blockages, a lot of things that were around depression, things where my mindset was really tangled and I just had a difficult time moving through it. So when I was introduced to breath work, it was the first time when I really could just be in my body. There was no conversation, it was just what do I feel in my body by moving the natural rhythm of the breath, and it was profound for me right away. And that was specifically through journey work which I think we're going to talk about.

Speaker 1:

We will, and through that process of doing one journey, doing another journey, doing another journey, having mentors that were helping me process what I was feeling, I came to this place where I said I really want to become certified so that I can then be able to share this with others, because I do have people that I am in contact with that would really gain a lot from having this in their life as well. And that's really where it began. And once becoming certified group sessions, one-on-one sessions, moving into this place where I was like, wow, there's people that are receiving healing from this, and what a profound way to use what I do for my livelihood to make an impact on others. That was really that connection, that synergy, is what brings me to where I am today and you're everywhere.

Speaker 2:

For people who don't live in Connecticut, you might not know this, but she's like all over the place doing sessions, doing programs and also doing one-on-one sessions, which we will talk about also and which I did all by Zoom. I have other friends who have done it and they do it in person with you, but I did all of it by Zoom. So, your services, you don't have to live in Connecticut to be able to tap into Jen's amazing wisdom and her powers to help you. I did everything with her on Zoom and met her for the first time. After three and a half months of working with her, I met her for the first time and we only live about 20 minutes away from each other no-transcript, moving you into an altered state of mind.

Speaker 1:

And there is this beautiful opportunity when you're in that space where the logical mind quiets, you are in this place of receptivity. It's almost like being in a twilight, if you will, where you're receiving information into your body which is all circulated through your own breath, which is guided by a facilitator like myself. You are then able to open up channels that might be blocked for you, whether it's energetically, emotionally, physically, which many human beings walking around in this world have one of those sections that they have blockages in. So a journey is able to help you open up that window. And then, in that process of opening the window, there are different tempos of breath that are applied during that process, and the main one that I use is called conscious connected breathing. So you're breathing through your mouth and the reason for that is to activate the nervous system. That is, to activate the nervous system, okay, so it starts to move the energy in the body in this very controlled way to help elicit emotional change and emotional shift in how the brain is operating. And it's this natural process using the breath.

Speaker 1:

That's why, going way back to ancient times, this was a healing modality that was used and now that there's so much research supporting it, it's coming to the forefront again to be something that's used today, not as a trend I know that word is used a lot but it's really a healing modality and, having science backing it now and research, you can really go to it and know that it is used for very meaningful and effective purposes.

Speaker 1:

So that is, in essence, what journey work is. It's approximately an hour and a half to two hours of breath work. The intensity of that breath work can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour of breathing through the mouth typically, be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour of breathing through the mouth typically, and that's a very, very activating window of time to move you out of your logical brain into that subconscious level. And when you're in that subconscious level, someone like myself is guiding you to help you open up the blockages, because there's a conversation going into the journey of what is the intention of what we're trying to move out of your system that might be blocking you. So that's really, in essence, what the modality and that type of therapy is looking to help you with.

Speaker 2:

Yes, oh, and it was so powerful. So I'm going to share a little story about my first journey with you. So I signed up. You have a 12 week one-on-one program and I just to give some context, right, so I have a friend who's also a friend of yours, but I didn't know you, but yet I do know you, but I didn't know you, I didn't think I knew you, and so she had done your 12 week journey and I saw her after the 12 week journey and I know she was sort of struggling with trying to figure out her direction, her purpose, where she wants to go with her career. She was a coach and she was really struggling with that. And she did a 12-week journey with you and I saw her after that journey and she had such clarity about who she was, what her purpose was, why she was here, what her uniqueness was and where she was supposed to take her business.

Speaker 2:

It was unbelievable. She went from being really, really scattered to so focused and honed on and truly, as she spoke about it, you could see her light up. She had figured it out, she had found it and I was like, oh my goodness, I need to talk to this woman and because breathwork. Anyone who's into personal growth. You see it on Instagram, it comes up a lot, it gets around, and so I kind of knew, but I didn't know, I had really had no idea. And so I was like I have to get connected with this woman. And so she connected the two of us together and we get on a Zoom call and you said to me you're like I know you. And I was like, really, you're like, yeah, we went to elementary school together. I was like no way, oh my goodness, you're that Jen? It was so crazy. So anyway, like the universe is just strange, you never know what's going to happen. So we actually did go to elementary school together and I at first I didn't recognize her, but then when she said it, I was like, oh my goodness, yes, of course I know you.

Speaker 2:

But I signed up, like blindly said yes to the 12 week program because my friend had done it and I saw how transformational it was and I was kind of struggling with some things in my life. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I really didn't. I was like I know I've done box breathing and stuff and you go to yoga and there's different breathing techniques, but I really had no idea how much breath work was going to change my life From a journey work perspective. The first time I did my journey it was my I think third time with you, and before that we had worked on some breathwork techniques, and so it was my third time with you. I had no idea what to expect. I'm doing it over Zoom. I'm lying on my bed, I have my blanket, I have my eye mask, I have you in my ears, music is playing, you're talking, we had an intention and it ended after an hour and I just I looked at you and I was like that was the most incredible hour I've ever spent in my entire life, and I've tried hypnosis, I've tried all kinds of things and I literally I saw my younger self, I saw my higher self, I saw myself when I was a child, getting bullied in third grade, which is actually when I did know you and I.

Speaker 2:

It brought so much clarity around one of the things I was really struggling with, which was something was in my heart and it was sort of opening up my heart because I realized I had this coat of armor around me that was there as a child to protect me from people hurting me and protect me from people's words and how they would hurt me.

Speaker 2:

Because when I moved to town, we were not like the other kids. We grew up in a very wealthy town and we had no money and my parents were divorced, and so people, kids are not nice, and so I realized that that armor, when I was a child, was there to serve me for a reason, but now that I'm 54, that armor doesn't serve me anymore. And it was so amazing the clarity folks of that journey and I immediately, when it was over, started journaling about the entire experience and what my younger self said, what my older self said, what my higher self said, and it was so clear I was blown away. And all of it was because I was lying there listening to you, listening to the music and breathing. That's it. That's it Just doing different breathing techniques during that time period, life altering, and we did maybe six journeys in total and they were all absolutely amazing. So that's what a journey is really like everybody.

Speaker 1:

There is absolutely a method to the entire process, and that's so beautifully said, jean.

Speaker 1:

It's you really were open, and that's so much of what any type of personal transformation is about is just being open to receive what you're seeking, because there is no hard and fast answer.

Speaker 1:

It's just being open to what's available to you, and the minute you send that message out to the energy around you, then it's there to support you and of course we don't know what messages are going to come through, but the body absolutely keeps score. I'm sure many of you that are listening have either noticed that or have heard that phrase before. There's a lot of information that's stored in our body, sell your cellularly and in this process just as one example of different modalities you are able to shift that energy in real time. So because of that, as Jean was just attesting to like, you are literally able to move the energy that is going to possibly show up in different versions of who you are over your entire course of your life, and then through that, you begin to integrate it, you journal it, you write through it, and that's really what my program is designed, and I was kind of struggling a little bit with it because I just didn't feel like it was where I wanted it to be, but I didn't know how to make it different or better.

Speaker 2:

I couldn't figure it out for myself and I'm working with a team of people and I still like I can communicate that it doesn't feel like it's right. But if I can't communicate, why no one can help me figure it out? So it has to come from within. And we did a journey work and at the end of the journey work, it was so clear to me I saw myself presenting it and I saw myself presenting a different version of what it was, with the tweaks that I was seeking and couldn't figure out. And what my talk was missing was. It was missing the emotion.

Speaker 2:

So it was missing the emotional connection to me and me projecting my emotional story in this talk. It came across as interesting, yet flat, and it was amazing. So, like that night, literally after the journey, that night, I went to the talk and like edited all this stuff and added more personal me and more vulnerability to the talk. And it is so much better now because that clarity, the answers, were within me. I just couldn't find them, and so, by doing the journey work and the breath work, they became so crystal clear that I knew exactly what was missing. It was amazing, like really Wow.

Speaker 1:

So beautifully said. I mean, we all have a story, we all have something to say and, just like you described, it feels like you want to express it, but it doesn't always have words. It can be put into words, but you have to feel it somatically and then it comes through and then it feels super authentic because it really is. It's your message and you're standing in it. Now I've seen you preparing for the TED Talk and it's very real. It's you and it feels so beautiful when you're watching someone be their authentic self and watching that unfold in real time. That is something that I can really get behind. It's very cool, yes it is Definitely.

Speaker 2:

Breathwork is amazing that way. Okay, so I want to take a step back to the first two sessions that I had with you, where I learned how to breathe because I did not know that I was not breathing correctly. So one of the first things you taught me and I want to talk about this experience, because one of the first things you taught me was diaphragm breathing, which I thought sounded so simple, yet I realized I was doing it wrong. So explain to everyone what diaphragm breathing is, because this has also changed my life.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so happy that you brought this up Because, yeah, I mean, there's a lot of us that are moving around through life without moving the diaphragm and obviously it's really a direct connection to your respiratory system. But the real, true secret behind moving the diaphragm muscle is to tap into your nervous system, because some of these main highways if you will, superhighways that are coming from your brain are connected down through the diaphragm into your gut. Okay, Like an intuitive feeling or information that's moving from the body up to the brain are coming through these channels that are connected to the nervous system via the diaphragm. The diaphragm is this dome-shaped muscle goes 360 degrees around your body, right under the base of your rib cage, and it's like a pump. It moves up and down and up and down.

Speaker 1:

Every single time we breathe and for the most part, especially in the type of culture that we live in and we're sitting a lot, whether we're talking a lot in a conference room or in meetings or driving, the body gets shrunken down and the diaphragm doesn't have the space to really get that nourishing movement to it.

Speaker 1:

In order to really have a full, optimal breath, you need to move the diaphragm. So we always start there in the first two sessions of my program we focus on how do you breathe so that you're optimally using that muscle and getting used to the skill of using it. The easiest way to directly get into the diaphragm is to breathe through your nose, because it takes the air down low into your belly which is then moving the diaphragm as well To just kind of wrap it up a little bit. When breathing through the mouth the breath stays high in the chest and it doesn't get into that area where the diaphragm moves and gets flushed through and undulates up and down. When you take the breath through the nose it takes it lower into the body and gets the diaphragm moving and then helps you tap into that rest and digest calming aspect of your nervous system through the vagus nerve.

Speaker 2:

Right, which is amazing. So the first time we did it, you and I practiced it together and we ended and I said to you I don't think I'm doing it right. I was like I just don't think I am, because not only did it not feel like the way I think it was supposed to feel, but you were describing it and what I realized is that, especially as women, we spend so much of our lives trying to improve our posture and to stand up and to suck our stomachs in and not stick our stomachs out, because that is part of you know, stand tall, and all of my life it's. You know, improve your posture, stand tall, shoulders back, stomach in.

Speaker 2:

Diaphragm breathing is the exact opposite of that. Diaphragm breathing is stomach out. And I remember the first week that I was working with you, I was like I am having emotional issues with this because I am forcing myself to look pregnant with diaphragm breathing and this is making me so self-conscious and I'm really struggling with this. So I had to work for about two weeks to get past the fact that diaphragm breathing, while so good for me, was also making me feel fat and it was really a problem because I was like I feel fat when I do this, but then, of course, I go back to regular breathing and stand up tall, and I don't, so it was an interesting part of the journey that I wasn't expecting was this emotional connection that I have negatively to this incredibly powerful form of breathing.

Speaker 1:

And I'm so glad you brought that up because, yeah, I mean, just like you're saying, I mean it's typically much more of a common practice to pull everything in and basically create some constriction about that part of the body. When we're doing those first few rounds of practicing, you really do want to feel the belly move, because that helps to get the diaphragm to activate too. So you feel that sense of pressing the belly outward right. You feel that sense of, oh my gosh, this is not normal for me. But then as you get rolling with it and into a week, two weeks, and then things begin to flow, there's this nuance where it's not so much of just really pressing the belly out, it's just allowing for this expansion down into the lower part of your body and it begins to flow more naturally and you still can harness that control over how the body is holding the air and moving the air through your body. But you're right, there is definitely abdomen movement pressing out and expanding as you take a full diaphragmatic breath.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, but it's powerful and I will say for everyone who's listening, I do it when I get into bed. I practice it. I practice that diaphragm breathing and I can tell you I am asleep in minutes, minutes, minutes, because I can feel it and just like you walked us through that breath exercise in the beginning of really feeling the breath, leave your body and leave your feet. When I'm lying down, I hear you in my head like walking me through doing that and it is amazing how much I can use breath in a couple of minutes to completely calm my body when I get into bed and really help me fall asleep much faster. It's so powerful. I remember when I first did it I was like, oh, I texted you. I was like this is amazing. It just I was able to use my breath to just really like wash away the stress of the day and immediately get my body in a much calmer state to be able to fall asleep very quickly.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. And so here's the thing and I often hear this being in this world I'm in is like well, jen, is this meditation? Because I don't meditate? Well, and I'm concerned that this just isn't for me because I'm just not a meditator.

Speaker 1:

What you just described is that perfect differentiator, if you will, that when you breathe a certain way diaphragmatic breathing, or just slowing the breath down, taking it into the belly you are actively in real time, switching the nervous system from what could have been a stress response or that you're just feeling activated into that calming branch, that parasympathetic side of your nervous system. So you're signaling I am safe, I am calm, by slowly breathing, stretching into the diaphragm, and you're naturally going to start to feel a sense of calm. You even might even salivate, like there's these different responses that the body will start to signal you with when you're in that parasympathetic, calming side of the nervous system, in that parasympathetic, calming side of the nervous system. And if you're able to do that in real time and say, okay, I'm going to take five to seven slow breaths because I want to be in that calm state, you can realistically do that that quickly. You can, yes, yeah. So it's powerful that way.

Speaker 2:

It is so powerful and I use it before I speak, before I get out of the car.

Speaker 2:

I sit for a few minutes and I just really feel inward and I practice the breathing techniques that you have taught me and it really makes it so. When I get out of the car to go to an event, to go speak or do something, I feel very grounded because I've done it, and even sometimes right before I speak, I will just pause for 30 seconds to a minute by myself and just like breathe and just focus inward and it creates an incredible calm. It's amazing. It's this tool that we all have. It's free, it's in us, it walks everywhere with us, all day, every day, and it's so powerful and I also use it. You taught me techniques that you know sometimes in the afternoon, when you're getting that like a lull, like three or four o'clock, where you don't feel a lot of energy, you taught me breathwork techniques that work in a couple of minutes to just bring my energy back up. So it's not just about calming. You have some techniques that like bring the energy back up as well.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely Like it's. It's to be harnessed in in either way calming, focus, activating. If you are getting ready for something like, say, you're going to be performing in an athletic event or you're going on stage or you're just there's a way that you want to feel this higher lift in your body, but you're still very aligned with what your intention is. Like, let's say, you're going onto the stage with your TEDx, Like I know that the audience is ready to receive me, but if you are also matching your breath pattern to that, to that mantra that you're speaking to yourself, all of a sudden, like there's this powerful energy that you're creating. Yeah, Inside, outside, it's a very powerful.

Speaker 2:

It is, and we all had experiences like you're sitting in the car in traffic and you're like I am so tired, you know, and I'm like playing the music and the window open, and I tried it once coming back from New York City and I was like wait, let me try Jen's breath work of like one of those like rapid, really quick breath work things that you taught me, which is a thing is not the right word to describe it. It actually is a technique and has a name, but I tried it and I was like, oh my goodness, I feel more awake. Okay, I can deal with another half an hour of traffic. It was really cool.

Speaker 1:

Super cool. That's one of my favorites in the morning, also for detoxification, like if you're like I just want to clear my lungs out from sleeping or from a conversation I had, or just energy that I'm carrying around because I was in a room with a lot of people and I just feel something heavy, I have no idea whose energy I was picking up. You can do that type of clearing breath and it does exactly that it clears you, it gets you back to a state where it's just your pure energy and not others.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so powerful. Oh my goodness. All right. So let's switch gears a little bit. When I saw you personally for the first time in oh my goodness, like 40 years, I was like you, girl, are in amazing shape. So let's talk about wellness, because I'm always really curious People that are, you know, living in the wellness space for a living and you know you breathe and you do these things for a living. What are some of your wellness routines that have gotten you to where?

Speaker 1:

you are, gosh that. Has that just morphed so much over the course of life? Yeah, it's definitely a lifestyle Over the course of life. Yeah, it's definitely a lifestyle. Every day there's some type of movement that just brings me back to who I am, and obviously it involves breath work now too. But the physical movement in the body is an incredible way to integrate change or elevation. Or if you're looking to level up in your life, so I use movement all the time. Or if you're looking to level up in your life, so I use movement all the time.

Speaker 1:

Obviously, I am a very big aficionado of bar technique because I love toning, strengthening and I love anything that's not invasive on the joints. That's changed a lot for me, because I used to be the opposite in that regard, but now I just love to feel the strength in the body and let it kind of speak to me. So I do a lot of that type of workout. I love to strength train. I really believe in it.

Speaker 1:

I've worked with personal trainers, I've worked with small groups where I am part of that group and being led, and wow, that's super powerful. And then a huge part of what I do now is getting out in nature, walking literally walking, whether it's me or with my dog like that is a huge part of my wellness routine. I can do a ton of breath work, I can do a ton of affirmation and mantra work when I'm walking and wow, that's a huge way to level up too and to just match you up. You want to just keep aligning with where you are going physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and I find that walking is a great way to do that.

Speaker 2:

It is yeah, and so many good business ideas come from being out in nature and just connecting and paying attention to what you see. Nature is so powerful and I've had so many guests on that say, you know, just connecting with nature when you're really on a spiritual journey or personal growth journey is really grounding and really important.

Speaker 1:

Really, really powerful. Yeah, and I think that there's so much more conversation around it, and that's very exciting because it's so accessible. You can go out the door anywhere. Obviously, some people have their favorite place, or where it's quieter, where they really feel it's more meditative, or they feel supported by the trees, or whatever really calls you, but there's some true potency in that that can really help you shift even closer to what you're looking to be aligned with.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, yes, Now, what's your sleep? Like Sleep is good.

Speaker 1:

Is it? I love to sleep and it's really steady. I would say even more steady than you know.

Speaker 2:

no-transcript our fifties and our children don't live in our house anymore and so, except when they come to visit and so life changes so much when you're in your fifties, because now you have more time, which is great. I love that. You said you focus on toning and strengthening and I find, now that I'm older, I do less of the hardcore cardio and more of the bar class and the weight training, because that's just really important as we start to get older. But I also find that we have more time to sleep. Even as entrepreneurs, we have more time to sleep when we don't have to take care of our children.

Speaker 2:

So my question for you on this one is for the listeners who are younger and they're in a different life stage and they might have young children. How would they start thinking about breathwork as a way to incorporate just a little bit of peace and calm for themselves? If they are in that stage where they're saying I don't know how to find any time for me because there isn't a me. I am so busy with all the things in my life and these children and I've lost me. How would you suggest someone starts?

Speaker 1:

I'm really glad you asked me that, and I do work with clients who have asked that exact thing or in that exact same scenario, and we talk a lot about the morning routine. What does it look like? What would your ideal morning routine look like? And I'm talking morning because it's really where we're setting the tone for the entire day and, of course, as you wake up, put your feet on the ground. You've got little kids like you are not thinking about breath work or meditation or a quiet yoga session, so you have to really be pragmatic and practical about it, like what's going to work for me.

Speaker 1:

What I usually suggest and encourage is like find a place in your home even if it's just a chair in the corner or someplace that you love, that makes you feel good and go to that place in the morning to do your rounds of breath work or to do your journaling or to light your candle.

Speaker 1:

Find a spot, because there's always going to be a way to say I can't do it, I don't have time to do it. Like, you do have to create the five to 10 minute time for yourself and put it into the schedule, and that's really more of the mindset work, right, or it's just the way to start the day off. That's not including your physical movement, but I think once that part is put in place and that foundation is created, you then offer yourself more time later that, yeah, I really do need to go to that class or I do need to do that walk today. It's really important for these reasons, for my children, for the project I'm working on, for that work project that I have to get done, even though I'm still a mom and a parent. Like you, have to start early in the day to set the groundwork for all the other things you're going to commit to during the rest of the day.

Speaker 2:

Right, yeah, it's sort of like making your bed.

Speaker 2:

It becomes part of your routine and you make your bed so that when you come back into your room it feels like it's clean and it's ready and it's pretty and your room is respectable.

Speaker 2:

Like I always say, you should always make your bed and I'm a huge proponent of find a morning routine, even if you have to start with just five or 10 minutes and get up five or 10 minutes earlier. Find those five or 10 minutes to just focus inward, whether it's with breathwork or journaling or trying to meditate something to start you and then it kind of becomes addictive. I have to say I don't know if you're like me, but I feel like if I don't do my morning routine with my matcha and my journaling and my like looking in and reflecting and meditating, like I am cranky and sometimes I have to do, I'm like I still need to do it. It might not happen till noon, but it's just such a part of me I don't even have to think about it and it's something that I crave doing. I crave that time of inner reflection and breathing and really connecting with my body.

Speaker 1:

I crave it, that you have created that, that that is literally what you want to share with the world around you, that your morning routine is just so sacred to you and it's this place where you are infusing yourself with so much energy and focus and clarity and intention. And how am I gonna show up today, how am I going to be that partner or that collaborator Like that's what you're doing, and so many others are going to reap the benefits from that, and, of course, yourself. So when I'm talking to people that are in a different stage, a younger or, like you know, maybe with the kids running around, you just have to make a choice. It really is. It boils down to that Like what is important to me, even if it's one minute, two minute when I'm, when I'm folding or making my bed, like find that bit of space, because usually after you drop them off at school, there is space.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yes, and it's making an intentional choice to connect with your body. And breathwork allows you to connect with your body. And you're talking about, like, making the bed. Honestly, you can do it while you're making the bed. If you're connecting to your body, honestly, you can do it while you're making the bed. If you're connecting to your body, you can really do that in such small little ways to just connect with your body throughout the day by breath work and just really connecting with how you feel and grounding yourself and looking inward. And the more you do that, the more your body will tell you what it needs or what it wants or what it's craving or how it's going to be happy.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, yes, yes. I just I'm feeling all that you just said and I think there's such a we're living in a time when there's a lot of separation, where we don't feel in our bodies, we don't feel into the body. But if we kind of reverse that story or that conversation and say, you know, this is where the power comes from, when I build that relationship on the inside, if it's a matter of two to five minutes in the morning and then maybe again later in the day, like that's where you're building all of the strength of who you really are, it's, it's, that's, that's your authentic version.

Speaker 2:

So Right, which is so powerful? So what is on your bucket list, personally and professionally, like, what else do you want to do? You're growing and building this amazing business, so what do you want to do?

Speaker 1:

many people as possible, just help people understand what this power of their body has, what they have available to them.

Speaker 1:

So I'm looking to grow so much more in that regard and I don't know where that will take me.

Speaker 1:

I'm trying to stay very open around that, but I absolutely feel that it's coming and that I'm on my way to meeting as many people as I possibly can that if this resonates with them, then we will connect Like that's what I feel in that realm of my world and then personally with my family, with that aspect of my life. I just feel that movement is coming and bucket lists would be more travel, more experiences, whether they're just day trips or bigger, really extravagant, more luxurious moments in my life. I feel those are coming and again, I don't have a whole lot of description and the more I keep it open, the more I actually stay in awe of what comes in, which is beautiful, the less I try to say it's going to be a trip to Italy in this particular Airbnb, then I get, I'm setting myself up. Sometimes If it doesn't hit all of those points, just let it be whatever it is, because I tell you, the more simple I keep it, the more I feel that sense of awe, wonder and appreciation of whatever comes in.

Speaker 2:

Which is so beautiful, okay. So two which is so beautiful, okay. So two more things for you. One is is there anything that you wanted to share, that I didn't ask you, that we didn't talk about that you want to make sure we cover? Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 1:

Ways to reach and connect with me. Yes, that would be just so that people know where I am, how to reach me. And again, and I'm so grateful you mentioned it, I connect with people in person, but also online and via Zoom, because it's, you know, breathwork is this one thing that, as long as you're in your body and you have the intention behind what you're doing, it's accessible. So I just want to make sure that you know that that's available and I'm here for you. You know, if you have questions, if you're just exploring, if you're wondering if it's the right fit, there's ways that you can reach me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And we'll share that with you later.

Speaker 2:

We will. We'll put all of it in the show notes and your company let's talk about what your company is called, so people can look it up without having to look at the show notes. Ok, ok.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's called Breathe for Life Breathe for. Life. Keeping it pretty simple. There you go.

Speaker 2:

And it's on Instagram as well. You're very active on Instagram. You post a lot and inspiration as well, so I encourage people to follow you on Instagram. We will put all of that in the show notes and your website too, but definitely check Jen out and her different services. Okay, so before we go, I ask all my guests to recommend a book that has impacted them personally or professionally that they would like to recommend to the listeners. What book or books I've had people recommend multiples? All good, we'd love to read. What would you like to recommend?

Speaker 1:

So in this late in celebration of breath work, one of my most favorite books is called Just Breathe. I actually have it with me because I wanted to show you guys. It's by Dan Brule. I know it's probably showing backwards, but this is a masterful way to be introduced to breath from the physical, the physiology, the spiritual aspect of breath, and his way of walking you through it, describing it, helping you connect, is really profound, and it's one of the first ones that I read when I was beginning into the whole world of breath.

Speaker 2:

So I highly recommend Great. I will link that here. I haven't read it. I try to read most of the books that my guests recommend, so it will be in my Amazon cart shortly and I will check that out.

Speaker 2:

So I thank you so much, truly, to everyone who's listening to this. Jen is a really special, gifted human with what she does and her way of teaching breath is so kind and she guides you through the process and she helps you with your intentions and she helps you move your energy and you truly have changed my life in so many ways and I am so forever grateful for you. So I appreciate you being here and I feel honored to get to share you with a broader audience and I hope some people reach out so they can benefit from your magic and your wisdom as well. So thank you for being a guest. I appreciate it. Thank you, yes, and we will stay connected. Have a beautiful day.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the House of Jermar podcast, where wellness starts within. We appreciate you being a part of our community and hope you felt inspired and motivated by our guest. If you enjoyed this episode, please write us a review and share it with friends. Building our reach on YouTube and Apple podcasts will help us get closer to our mission to empower one million women to live all in will help us get closer to our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in. You can also follow us on Instagram at House of Jermar and sign up to be a part of our monthly inspiration newsletter through our website, houseofjermarcom. If you or someone you know would be a good guest on the show, please reach out to us at podcast at houseofjermarcom. This has been a House of Germar production with your host, jean Collins. Thank you for joining our house.