Design Your Well Life
Intentionally design a lifestyle that promotes healthy and clean choices.
Learn what it means to truly design a well life - a life that nurtures your Body, Environment, Mind, Spirit, and Relationships.
Whether you're curious about reducing your toxic burden, creating a home that heals, or finding balance in your everyday routines, this podcast is for you. I'll share design recommendations, personal insights, and inspiring interviews with experts and real people on their own healing journeys.
Design Your Well Life
Special Guest : The Power of Breathwork & Intention with Suzy Price
In this episode of Design Your Well Life, Natalie sits down with breathwork and yoga expert Suzy Price to explore how intentional breathing can transform stress, balance the nervous system, and cultivate inner peace. Suzy shares her personal journey, the science behind breathwork, and practical techniques to integrate into daily life. Plus, she leads a guided breathing exercise to help you reset in real time. Tune in and take a deep breath toward wellness!
Welcome back to Design Your Well Life. I am so excited for today's episode because we have an expert guest joining us. You've heard me talk about stress, healing, and the power of mindful living in past episodes. But today we're going deeper with someone who has enriched her life by helping others through breath work, yoga, and setting powerful intentions. Joining me today is Suzy Price, and she's going to share her journey, how she discovered these tools, and how we can all integrate them into our daily lives for better health, balance, and inner peace. Plus, stay tuned because she's going to lead us through a live guided breathing session to help you release stress in real time. You won't want to miss it. Suzy, welcome to the show. I am so thrilled to have you here.
Suzy:Thank you so much, Natalie, for having me here. I am equally as excited to share what I have learned along my journey.
Natalie:Well, let's start from the beginning and, your story with this. So can you take us back? What led you to breath work, yoga, and this intention setting?
Suzy:Absolutely. When I was 17, that's when I honed in on yoga. I started practicing it. I was drawn to the movement, the way the body flows and creates different shapes. And over time, that curiosity led me to breathwork and intention setting, but to be honest, I didn't fully connect the dots until much later in my life. And, about 10 years ago, I got certified in hot yoga. I remember being in a meditation session where my teacher told us essentially to sit still, don't move, don't think. And I just didn't get it. I felt frustrated trying to connect my mind and body in that way. And so eventually I let go of the practice for a while and honestly I lost my passion for it. But fast forward several years, I did another training, but this time in sound healing and that's when everything clicked for me. My teacher taught us that breath is not about being perfect or controlled, but it's about learning to connect with yourself. And that was a huge shift for me. Wow,
Natalie:I love that. I love that, it's about, connecting with yourself and, and not about. perfection of things. And that's so much of what health really is, is finding that balance within your own body. So as you were doing this, and it sounds like, you had a really defining moment when you came back with sound. What was the big moment for you when you realized that these practices were transformative for you personally?
Suzy:Well, to rewind a little bit, this whole journey started about four years ago during my divorce. I was at my lowest point just basically trying to find my footing again. And at that time I'd been practicing yoga casually and breath work. But the sound healing course, I think resonating it with with the music and the people and all of it. It's just where everything shifted. I started to truly understand that through breath work alone. I am in control of my breath and I'm in control of my life. And by learning to use breath work, I could fuse my mind, my body and my spirit together in a way I'd never done before. And from there, it's just transpired into this, this blossoming tool for myself and for others around me.
Natalie:I love that. It sounds like it was probably a pretty stressful time that you were going through that really made this a healing part of your journey to connect with.
Suzy:Absolutely. I think that sometimes we need to go through those rock bottom moments to get out of the trenches and realize the potential that we have for ourselves. And to understand that you can find power within through intentional breath work alone. It's empowering.
Natalie:I completely agree. I remember when, I found out about all these autoimmune diseases, you really do hit rock bottom and you have one of two choices. You either accept all of that and, and decide you're doing nothing about it, or you start taking control of your own life and your own destiny.
Suzy:Absolutely. And the moment that you see that and you understand it, your whole life changes.
Natalie:So let's talk a little bit about the science behind breathwork or some of the benefits that you see from it. So for those who are new to breathwork, can you just give a really simple explanation about what it is and why it's so powerful?
Suzy:If you think about it, breathing is innate within us, right? We have to breathe. But it's an unconscious. practice that we do every day. The difference is breath work is simply the intentional practice of breathing. It's not just breathing alone and it's not necessarily controlled, but it's more mindful. It's about becoming aware of your breath throughout the day and using it as a tool to regulate your energy, your emotions, your responses. And I think a lot of people think breathwork has to be a structured ritual, but it can be as simple as pausing in the middle of your workday. For example, say you get a, an email that really frustrates you. And instead of reacting immediately, you take a deep breath, you close your eyes for a moment and reset. And that one intentional breath can shift your entire response.
Natalie:That's really great. So it obviously helps a lot with stress level. What about the nervous system and, and just how it impacts your body? Can you take us through what happens to your body when you start taking those intentional breaths?
Suzy:Absolutely, so on a physiological level breathwork effects the autonomic nervous system, which controls your fight or flight, which is your sympathetic response and your rest and digest, which is your parasympathetic responses. So by just taking a deep breath, you're increasing oxygen levels in your blood, which naturally can improve energy, your cognitive function and overall cell health. Also, with proper breathing techniques, it, it can help maintain the right carbon dioxide level in your body which affects your pH balance, your nervous system regulation, and in addition, uh, if you can control your breath patterns, it stimulates the vagus nerve which essentially runs from head to gut, and by controlling your breath and slowing it down, um, you're slowing your heart rate, bringing your body into a natural relaxed state. If you think about it, breathwork literally tells your body it's safe, shifting you out of stress mode and into a calmer, more focused state.
Natalie:I love that. You spoke about the vagus nerve and how everything is connected with the gut. And I imagine that, you know, if you're in a state of constant stress, or, you've got these systems activated in your body, instead of being able to, digest your food and use it properly, how it's meant to be, and what your body needs it to be. You know, it just flushes through your system. You can have your cortisol levels go high. You can have your blood sugar levels go high and more than they typically would because your body's under more stress and pressure.
Suzy:Absolutely. I mean, think about this when you're stressed, Your body's going into fight or flight and to your point, you know, your heart is racing, your breath becomes shallow. Like you said, your stress hormones are flooding your entire system, but by consciously slowing your breath, you're signaling to your brain that there's no real threat. And the fascinating thing is, it, it, it can be so simple. Say, as an example, so a simple way to shift from stress to calm can be through a really easy breathing exercise. And what this is, is this is an example, breathe in through your nose for four seconds. You hold for four seconds and then you exhale for six to eight seconds. And what this does is that longer exhalation actually activates your parasympathetic nervous system, calming your heart rate, reducing your cortisol levels, which is your stress hormone, and it's fascinating because the beauty of this breath work is that it's instant and accessible. You don't need a class. You don't need a mat or a subscription. You literally just need one deep intentional breath that can change your entire response to a stressful situation. And in turn, it can change your entire life.
Natalie:Thank you so much for sharing that. And I think you're absolutely right in the fact that there's so many things we can do to help heal our bodies that are free, that you don't need a lot of extra cost and expense and equipment, that there's all of these things out there that God has given us, we can shift how our body is healing, day to day, just by all of these free things.
Suzy:100 percent agree
Natalie:So tell me what people's biggest misconceptions are about breath work. What do you find that you're questioned about the most or that you would want to, let people know about as they're beginning this journey?
Suzy:Ooh, I love this because a lot of times I get that it's, I got this the other day, it's hippie, hippie, dippy nonsense. I think that's what was said. It's something that only yogis or spiritual people do. Um, my favorite thing is though that I've had people tell me they don't believe in it. But the beauty is, is breathwork isn't about belief, it's biology. Your one intentional breath can alter everything internal inside your body. And I think people dismiss it because they don't understand the actual science behind it. But once you realize that your breath directly impacts your nervous system, your stress levels, your focus, and even digestion, it shifts the way you think about it. And again, breathwork isn't about just sitting cross legged in a quiet room for hours. It's about using a built in tool that we already have to improve our daily life.
Natalie:That makes so much sense. So talk to us a little bit about how we would apply these in the real world and daily practices. What does your personal daily routine look like? How you incorporate all of this.
Suzy:Well to start, I think it's really important to have a routine. And I've discovered this over the years and even if it doesn't look the same every day, and for me I always like to start the day with intention to set the tone for your day. I think it's really important to do it first thing in the morning, because if you think about it, when you are sleeping, you wake up and you're still in the subconscious mind, but your mind in the morning is like a sponge. It's impressionable. So everything you tell it it's going to start to believe so if you wake up with good intention chances are you can carry that intention throughout your day. And so for me, I like to go outside for a walk in the mornings. I plug in put something intentional in my ears, maybe an inspiring podcast, educational talk or just anything that lifts me up and after that, or even during my practice, I might do a little yoga. I just do whatever feels good to my body. And sometimes I even incorporate the breath work during my walks or my runs. But what I really focus on doing now is before I fully transition into my day, I take a moment to pause sometimes I'm sitting, somtimes I'm standing, and I might practice some sort of breathing technique, or even just a simple affirmation practice. And with each affirmation I take a deep breath in, I say them because I know it's my way of setting the tone for my day. I don't know what the next few hours will bring, but I know I've started from a place of intention and it changes my entire perspective for my day.
Natalie:That's great. I love, that you start all of this in the morning at the beginning of your day. I know a lot of those who are listening are very busy people. So for those who are busy, who are overwhelmed, how would you recommend a simple way to start integrating breath work and setting positive intentions into their routine? What are key moments throughout the day to remind yourself to do these things?
Suzy:So to set that intention, it doesn't have to be complicated. Just close your eyes and breathe. One of the simplest techniques is square breathing or box breathing. And this is actually one of the techniques I'm going to show you guys, uh, in a little bit. But what you do is you inhale through your nose for four seconds and you hold that breath for four seconds and then you exhale slowly through your mouth for four seconds. And then again, you hold and you just repeat this. But the beauty of this practice is, is when you breathe, it's not just like, you know, if you go outside for a run, you're, you're panting out of breath in and out, your breath isn't really flowing. The point of square breathing is that each breath count is the same. And so even if you only do this breath one time again, it can shift your mindset. So it's an example before responding to that email. Take the square breathing. Do it once. And before reacting in a stressful situation, just pause, take that breath and reset.
Natalie:That's great. So let's talk about some other different situations. Are there techniques and types of breath that you can use, first thing in the morning instead of a cup of coffee, if you're trying to energize yourself. Or certain things you can do at the end of your day to wind down if you're having trouble sleeping or being able to get into that really restful state.
Suzy:Definately. One of my favorite energizing breathwork that I do in the morning specifically is called bellows breath. And what this is, is you take quick, forceful inhales and exhales through the nose, while pumping your belly. And you can do this for 10 to 30 seconds and then at the end you take a deep breath in hold for a few moments and exhale. And even just doing this right now, I feel this burst of energy in my body. It's, it's fascinating how breath can be so powerful. One exercise that I really love doing in the evenings is called the 4-7-8 breathing and it essentially is what it sounds like you inhale through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for seven seconds, and then you exhale slowly through your mouth for eight seconds, and you just repeat that for a few minutes as much as you need to, to just feel that that activated state of calmness and this breath work specifically activates the parasympathetic nervous system where it lowers your heart rate and prepares the body for rest. And the reason being is even though your, your inhalation is for four seconds, your exhalation is a lot longer. And so the longer your exhalation, the more your body is able to realize that, hey, I'm in this restful state. I am safe. I'm okay. I'm at this point, sleepy and ready for bed.
Natalie:I have another question. when you're breathing. You can obviously inhale through your mouth and nose, one of the two, and you can exhale through your mouth or your nose. Is there a certain type of breathing you want to do with one versus the other? Or pros and cons to why you would, just inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth?
Suzy:I love this question. When I was in my yoga training, I asked this exact same question. And I've asked numerous yogis and other professionals alike why you do it in through your nose and out through your mouth. That's like the common breath, right? I have not received a clear answer, but here's my thought behind it and through my own journey, how it makes me feel. Think about your nose. When you inhale through your nose, you have a natural filter, like those little hairs in your nose. They filter out all the toxins, allergens, etc, and you're just pulling in that fresh oxygen into your body. And it's almost like a way of controlling your breath, even for a runner. When you're outside, oftentimes you hear, don't breathe through your mouth. You're breathing in all the, allergens, and you start to get into a hyperventilative state. By breathing in through your nose, you avoid hyperventilation. Exhaling through your mouth, it's almost like a control. Have you ever breathed so deeply in your nose and you just want to release it exhaling all of it through your mouth. You can feel it coming out of your belly, out of your chest, just releasing it into the air. It's almost like this psychological thing for me too. It's, It's, it just, it feels right. I do encourage in through the nose and not through the mouth as much as possible.
Natalie:Thank you. Um, okay. I want to go back and touch a little bit on intention setting. You mentioned that you do that at the beginning of the day and you talk a lot about the power of setting intentions. So how does this differ from just goal setting?
Suzy:I love this question. Think of it this way. A goal is external. It's the outcome you want to achieve. It's measurable, like running every day for 30 days or reaching a specific milestone, right? But goals alone can sometimes feel rigid or even discouraging if we don't meet them exactly as planned and intention on the other hand is internal. It's the why behind the goal, the purpose that fuels our actions. It's about being present in the process, not just focused on the end result. And when you approach something with intention, you create flexibility and self compassion. If you miss a day running, you look at it as it's not a failure, it's just part of the process. But if you're only focused on the goal, you might feel like you've lost momentum, which could lead into frustration, self doubt, and quitting. So, by setting an intention, it gives a deeper meaning to what you do. It connects your actions to a purpose that comes from within, rather than just focusing on the end achievement.
Natalie:That makes so much sense. And I love that you said it gives you, the ability to forgive yourself and to keep going with the whole purpose besides these goals. And, and I think that's really important. I can see that in my life as I'm, learning how to heal from all of these autoimmune. Not, everything is perfect. As I've been on this journey, there's been things that I've tried that just don't work or everything will be going along great, and all of a sudden I'll have a flare up out of the blue. And. It can become really discouraging when you're working so hard on your body and trying to heal, but remembering the intention of learning about myself, learning about what God put here on the earth for us to utilize, to help heal. The intention of being able to help others experience these similar things and to share the knowledge that I've gained really makes all of those little, steps that you have to overcome along the way worth it because you learn more, and you learn what you can do better next time.
Suzy:Absolutely. And I love that you say that. And, you know, one thing I heard from a facilitator that just stuck with me and this, this can kind of apply to anything in your life, but I apply it to going back to goal setting versus intention. Your goal is big picture. Think about it as the atmosphere. It holds everything together. It's, it's your foundation, right? But you can't just have the atmosphere. You've got to have the wind and everything that, intermingles within. Those principles of wind. That is your intention. You realize that I'm going to flow on my journey. I have a goal, but I'm also going to realize that there will be obstacles in my way and what I'm going to do is I'm going to take those obstacles as they are and I'm going to align and shift as needed to get to my end goal. And thinking of it that way, breaking it up in that sense changed my entire outlook on what intention really means.
Natalie:That's beautiful. Thank you. So Suzy, I'm so excited about this. She's agreed to lead us through a short live breathing session. So for those of you who are listening, if you can, find a comfortable place to sit. Your going to be closing your eyes. You're going to follow along as she guides us through this simple, but very powerful exercise. So Suzy, tell us what you'd like us to do.
Suzy:Thank you Natalie. So this guided breathwork session is designed to bring us into a state of calm, focus and presence. This is square breathing, what I had mentioned, also known as box breathing. It's such a simple yet powerful technique that helps regulate our nervous system, reducing stress and enhancing mental clarity. So what I would encourage everybody to do is get in a comfortable position, whether you're sitting, you're lying down, perhaps you're even standing. Whatever feels good for you. Just allow your body to fully relax. Gently close your eyes. Or soften your gaze and just take a moment to arrive in the space. Remember why you're here. You showed up for yourself today and that is the first step. So lets start with, a deep breath in through the nose, And a slow exhale through the mouth. Again, inhale deeply and exhale completely. Now we'll move into square breathing where we inhale, hold. Exhale, and pause for an equal count of four. You can actually imagine tracing the sides of a square in your mind as we breath together if that helps. Let's begin together. Inhale through your nose for four seconds. One, Two, Three, Four. Hold the breath for four seconds. One, Two, Three, Four. Exhale slowly through your mouth for four, One, Two, Three, Four, and pause at the bottom of the exhale for four seconds. One, Two, Three, Four. Let's repeat this together for a few rounds. So again, let's inhale for One, Two, Three, Four. Hold for One, Two, Three, Four. Exhale. One, Two, Three, Four. pause for One, Two, Three, Four, and again inhale through your nose, filling your lungs completely, And hold letting the oxygen settle into your body, exhale, releasing any tension, letting everything go, and now pause, feeling the stillness before your next breath Do this last one on your own. If your mind wanders, gently bring your focus back to your breath. Notice how each inhale brings in fresh energy, and each exhale releases what no longer serves you. With every breath, you are grounding yourself, becoming more present. Keep going. Do one more round. As you come to the end of your final breath, meet me here, taking one deep breath in through your nose, and slowly exhaling, allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm. Do one more. Inhale deeply, and exhale. Take a moment to notice how you feel. Maybe your body feels lighter, your mind is clear, or your breath a little deeper than before. Before we close, I invite you to set a small intention for the rest of your day. Maybe it's to move forward with ease, patience or a sense of calm. Whaterver resognates with you hold onto that feeling hold onto that feeling for just a moment. When you're ready, gently open your eyes and bring awareness back to your surrounding. Take a moment to thank yourself for giving love to yourself right now. In this time. Breath work is always available to you whenever you need to reset, recenter or simply pause for a moment.
Natalie:Suzy, that was incredible. I hope everybody who had a chance to do that with us feels as light and refreshed as I do right now, that was amazing. And for those of you who are listening, please feel free to hit the message button on the podcast or direct message me on Instagram and let me know how you felt after trying this exercise, I'll pass these messages along to Suzy as well.
Suzy:I would love that.
Natalie:Suzy, let's, um, take a little bit of a deeper exploration on how breathwork ties into different things. I know you spoke a little bit about the importance of breathing during yoga, but in the beginning you told us how sound really has now connected with you. So how does breath work or yoga or specifically breath work and sound really compliment each other?
Suzy:This a great question. I want to tap into the basics real fast before we get into sound. Just how does breathwork and yoga complement each other? So you really can't have one without the other. Breathwork and yoga are deeply interconnected. Think about this. If you're in a yoga posture and you feel stuck, unable to fully extend or open up, oftentimes, it's because we're holding our breath. So if you can, sit on the ground right now, and as an example, try and reach for your toes while holding your breath. And notice how far you can go. Now, try again, but this time, inhale deeply, elongate your spine, lift your chest, open your throat, and as you exhale, fold forward and reach further. You'll notice a significant difference.
Natalie:Wow! I just did that with you and I probably got a whole hand of deeper stretch.
Suzy:Yes. And if you just practice that alone, I mean, it's just amazing how the breath is, is intertwined with the body. I mean, breath is the bridge between movement and release. It creates expansion and space and fluidity in the body. And without breath, yoga becomes rigid. It's just another physical movement. But when we integrate breath, it becomes a flowing connection between the body and the mind. And then when you add sound to it, I mean, if you just sit outside and do this exact technique and you just listen to the wind, the sound of the wind. There's something about sound that just resonates so deeply inside of us. And if you think about our cells, our cells are moving rapidly, creating sound in our bodies. There's frequencies in our bodies. And so if you notice that you're attracted to certain sounds, maybe it's a certain type of music. It can almost be where that sound resonates through your body. When you think about sound, like, think about a really powerful movie, and how that makes you feel. Because we are made up of frequencies in our bodies, sound is part of us. It's just another layer to add on to yoga and breath work and all of it. They're all interconnected.
Natalie:One of my favorite experiences locally, there's, a salt cave, and I love trying different healing modalities and certain times of the month, this salt cave has someone come in; I don't know all the technical terms for these things that they use to run across different portions of the bowl. It makes different sounds, um, highs, lows, and you can feel it resonate inside. It's almost like listening to the radio. If you have your bass turned up really high, you feel that vibration inside of you. These different sounds, you can feel the vibration inside of you and it's pretty cool.
Suzy:It's really fascinating that you bring that up because the interesting thing about frequencies from sound is that because our cells again are moving at this rapid pace, they're creating their own frequencies within your body. So have you ever listened to maybe it's like a deep gong sound or, or something that you're like, oof, that just does not feel good for my body. A lot of times what's happening is that's actually the sound you need for your body because maybe it's, it's your gut. You have all these, cells that are conflicted. And what you're doing is you're giving, your body that certain frequency. So your cells are able to say, Hey, uh, I like that. Let's, let's expand. Let's evolve. Let's move around. This feels good. It's, it's this, this ebb and flow of feeling what's within. And if you think about this, truly everything around us is connected. And it creates beauty.
Natalie:That's beautiful. Thank you so much. So if you could give us just one piece of advice or talk to someone who's really struggling with stress or feeling overwhelmed, what would that be?
Suzy:The first step is simply acknowledging that stress is something you can control. So often we think stress is something that just happens to us, but once you realize you have the power to regulate your breath, your thoughts, your responses, everything shifts. So start small. Pause, take a breath and remind yourself that you are in control of your body and mind. And it's not about eliminating stress completely, but it's about learning how to navigate it with awareness and intention. And that in itself is so empowering.
Natalie:I have one more question. I always end my podcast episodes with this when I speak with different guests, What is the most profound thing that you've learned on your journey?
Suzy:I've learned that we often move through life trying to fit into expectations. Who we think we should be, what society tells us to be, but the truth is we're all just trying to figure it out as we go. At our core, we are nature itself, which is an imperfect balance of love and chaos. And the real peace comes not from trying to control everything, but from learning to align with that natural rhythm of life. And when you stop resisting and start flowing, you find a sense of ease that was there all along.
Natalie:Beautifully said. Well, to all of you who are listening today, I would really encourage you to take this week and just try these breathing techniques. Reflect on your own daily habits. If there's just a few times during the day that you can remember to do this. Some of those key moments, if you get a stressful call or a stressful email, if you have the opportunity in the morning to just take some energizing breaths and set your intention for the day or at the end of the night, calming your system and getting it ready to sleep. I think these are all really, really great tips that you've given us today, Suzy. What an incredible conversation. And, and I really thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and leading us through that beautiful breathwork exercise.
Suzy:Thanks Natalie.
Natalie:As always, if you found value in today's episode, please share it with a friend, subscribe, leave a review. It really helps so much in getting this message out to more people. I'd love to hear from you, send me a message with your biggest takeaway from today's episode. And if you try the breath work, let us know how it felt for you. And until next time, take a deep breath, set an intention and keep designing your well life.
The information provided on Design Your Well Life is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or health concerns. The views and opinions expressed by the host or guests on this podcast are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organizations they are affiliated with. While we strive to provide accurate and up to date information, we make no warranties about the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of the content shared. By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge and agree that neither the host nor any guests or contributors are responsible for your health decisions or outcomes. Always make choices that are right for you in consultation with trusted professionals.