We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show! All feedback is appreciated.

What if learning to control your breath could help you create space between an impulse and the decision you make next?

In this episode of Breathwork Magic, Amanda Russo sits down with former pastor, recovery mentor, nervous system regulation coach, and Sacred Grit podcast host Jason Lyle for an honest conversation about breathwork, nervous system regulation, addiction, spirituality, and what it means to reclaim control over your choices.

Jason shares his deeply personal journey from adoption and early experiences with shame to becoming a pastor while privately struggling with patterns of sexual addiction and infidelity. After reaching a point where he felt like nothing he had tried could help him change, an introduction to nervous system regulation opened the door to something different. Through cold water immersion, Tummo breathwork, yoga, and meditation, Jason began understanding his behavior not only through his mind, but through his body.

Together, Amanda and Jason explore the connection between the breath, the nervous system, and our ability to respond rather than immediately react. Jason breaks down the science behind nervous system dysregulation in simple terms and explains how practices like Tummo breathing can help widen the space between thought and action. They also discuss the psychological sigh and how something as accessible as stepping back and taking a conscious breath can create an opportunity to respond differently in moments of anger or overwhelm.

Jason also shares why the practice itself is only part of the equation. Breathwork, meditation, yoga, and cold immersion may create powerful shifts, but lasting transformation comes from how we integrate those experiences into everyday life. He introduces the idea of “preloaded decisions” deciding who you want to be before you’re faced with the moment that tests that decision and shares how breathwork has helped him become more aware of his choices in real time.

The conversation also explores parts work and Internal Family Systems, how unresolved experiences can influence our behaviors years later, and why some of the habits we judge most harshly may have originally developed as attempts to protect or soothe parts of ourselves. Jason shares how learning to understand those parts changed the way he viewed his own past and helped him approach healing from an entirely different perspective.

Amanda and Jason also dive into masculinity, spirituality, faith, and why practices like breathwork and yoga can offer men a different way to connect with emotions they may have spent years avoiding or suppressing.

Whether you’ve been practicing breathwork for years or still find the whole thing a little “woo-woo,” this conversation is an invitation to get curious about what can happen when you stop trying to think your way through everything and begin listening to what your breath and body have to say.

Sometimes creating a different life begins in the space between the impulse and the action.

As long as you have your breath, you have options. 💜

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show! All feedback is appreciated.

What if one of the most powerful breathwork practices aren't a complicated technique, but simply remembering to pause?

In this episode of Breathwork Magic, Amanda Russo sits down with meditation teacher, mindfulness guide, and Insight Timer instructor Katharine Chestnut for a conversation about the everyday power of breathwork and how intentional breathing can help us navigate stress, pain, overwhelm, and life's unexpected challenges.

Katharine shares how breathwork became part of her own healing journey while recovering from an emotionally abusive marriage. What began as a simple practice to help her reconnect with herself eventually became one of the foundational tools that transformed her relationship with her body, emotions, and overall wellbeing. From using breathwork during chronic pain and recovery from hip replacement surgery to finding moments of calm in busy airports and stressful workdays, Katharine explains why breathwork has become an essential part of her daily life.

Together, Amanda and Katharine explore how breathwork helps us respond rather than react, why so many people wait until they're overwhelmed before turning to their breath, and how even a few intentional breaths can shift the state of the nervous system. They also discuss the connection between breathwork and mindfulness, the role of somatic healing, and why learning to feel safe in the body can be such an important part of the healing process.

Listeners will hear practical suggestions for incorporating breathwork into everyday life, discover why breathwork is about much more than relaxation, and learn how simple techniques like box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, and longer exhales can create meaningful shifts in focus, energy, and emotional wellbeing.

Whether you're brand new to breathwork or looking for simple ways to deepen your practice, this conversation serves as a powerful reminder that healing doesn't always require hours of meditation or elaborate rituals.

Sometimes all it takes is one conscious breath.

As long as you have your breath, you have options. 💜

🔹 Connect with Amanda Russo, The Breathing Goddess:

• Book a 1:1 Breathwork Session HERE
• Instagram: @thebreathinggoddess

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show! All feedback is appreciated.

Your breath can reveal what words sometimes can’t.

In this episode of Breathwork Magic, Amanda Russo sits down with Harmony Kwiker, a transpersonal psychotherapist, teacher, and author whose journey with breathwork began at just five years old. Growing up in a home where meditation, breathwork, and healing practices were part of daily life, Harmony witnessed firsthand how the simple act of breathing could shift someone from heaviness into lightness. Their conversation explores how these early experiences shaped her path into psychotherapy and why breathwork continues to be one of the most powerful tools for healing and transformation.

Together, they explore the connection between breathwork and therapy, how breath allows us to access preverbal emotions and trauma without needing to explain them, and why integration and compassionate awareness are essential parts of the healing process. Harmony also shares her perspective on transpersonal therapy, the importance of spaciousness in the nervous system, and why breathwork can help us reconnect with our innate wisdom. From breathing in the bath to honoring both the “life urge” and the “death urge,” this episode offers a grounded and expansive look at what it really means to heal, surrender, and fully embrace being alive.

Listeners will hear how breathwork can support trauma healing, emotional release, and nervous system regulation while also learning why individual breathwork sessions can be profoundly different from group experiences. Harmony also shares how therapists themselves can benefit from breathwork training to deepen their capacity to hold space for others.

Whether you’re new to breathwork or already exploring its deeper layers, this conversation invites you to remember something simple and powerful:

As long as you have your breath, you have options.

🔹 Connect with Amanda Russo, The Breathing Goddess:

• Book a 1:1 Breathwork Session HERE
• Instagram: @thebreathinggoddess