Why Loss Lives in Your Body (and How to Release It) | Kurtis Lee Thomas | EP 491

You know you need something, you're just not sure what. You've been listening, you're doing the work, but there's still this feeling that you're circling the same place, like you're waiting for the thing that finally moves you. Now maybe you've thought about working with me one-on-one. Maybe something's held you back, the timing, the money, or you're just not sure you're ready yet. I get that. And I want you to know there's still a place for you. I built a resource for exactly this moment, guided meditations for when the waves hit and you just need to breathe. Workbooks to help you get out of your head and onto the page, ebooks on what near-death experiences tell us about the people we've lost, and whether they're really gone, a full course for widows and widowers who are ready to find their way back to living, and a full course for the evidence of the afterlife. And all of it is available for pay what you want. Nobody gets turned away because of money. I think these resources are valuable, but I don't want to hold them back because you don't have the money to pay for them. You don't have to wait until you're ready for coaching. The next step might be a lot smaller than you think. To find out, go to grief2growth.com/store. That's grief, the numeral 2, growth.com/store. And check out the resources I've made for you. Close your eyes and imagine. What are the things in life that cause us the greatest pain? The things that bring us grief are challenges, challenges designed to help us grow, to ultimately become what we were always meant to be. We feel like we've been buried. But what if, like a seed, we've been planted? And having been planted, we grow to become a mighty tree. Now, open your eyes. Open your eyes to this way of viewing life. Come with me as we explore your true, infinite, eternal nature. This is Grief to Growth. And I am your host, Brian D Smith. Hey there, welcome to Grief 2 Growth. I'm Brian D Smith, and I'm glad you're here. Whether it's your first time joining us or even walking this road with me for a while, I'm glad that you're here today. The show exists because grief changes everything. It breaks open the questions most people avoid, things like, who are we really? What happens when someone we love dies? And is the distance between us and them as vast as it feels? Every guest I bring on is someone who has wrestled with those questions and come out on the other side with something worth sharing. Today, my guest is Curtis Lee Thomas. And Curtis is a man who discovered that the answer to some of life's deepest pain was hiding in the very first thing we do when we arrive in this world. And it's the last thing that we do when we leave it. And that is the breath. Curtis is the founder of the global wellness movement Breath Talks Breathwork Detox, a spiritual healer featured on The Today Show, and voted the number one employee well-being provider of 2023. He's the founder of the Just Breathe Foundation, which has partnered with Nike, NASA, and celebrities worldwide to bring mental health solutions to the people who need them the most. He's also the author of two powerful books, Breathwork Detox: How to Thrive in the Age of Anxiety, and The World Is Yours: The Secrets Behind The Secret. But what really makes Curtis's story resonate for me, and I think it will for you too, is that his— the path to his work didn't begin in a wellness studio. It began in suffering like it has for so many of us. He hit a wall that medicine couldn't fix, and he had to find his way through it. In this conversation, we're going to explore something that may completely change the way you think about healing. Curtis teaches that grief, trauma, and loss don't just live in our memories. They live in our bodies, in our tissues, and that the breath used intentionally and powerfully can release what years of trying to think our way through grief never can. We're going to talk about what actually happens in a breathwork detox session, why people cry, see visions, and emerge feeling lighter than they have in years. We're going to talk about the bridge between breath and spirit, and why Curtis believes the breath is not just a biological function, but a doorway to something far greater. If you've been carrying loss in your body, if you feel it in your chest, your shoulders, your gut, if you've had— if you've done all the right things and still feel like something is stuck inside you that you can't get out, then this episode's for you. If you want to continue the conversation after the episode, head over to grieftogrowth.substack.com. You'll find an article about today's discussion where you can comment and connect with me and with other listeners. And with that, let's welcome Curtis Lee Thomas.

Thank you for having me. It's a great introduction.

Yeah, it's great. It is great to have you here. I mentioned in the introduction that you started off going through something difficult that led to where you are today, which is recurring theme on Grief to Growth. So I know something happened in 2011 that transformed you, but was there something else? Or was that the thing that was the big thing, the big catalyst?

There were phases and triggers, you know, 2011 was more of my spiritual awakening. And then the, the other one was a stomach condition that I was suffering with for about 5 years, and doctors couldn't tell me what was wrong with me, couldn't fix me, couldn't diagnose me. So it was quite frustrating. And I embarked on what many of us are on today, which is the journey. And on that journey, we have more questions than we do answers. So, you know, at one point I started getting more desperate, more desperate, and, you know, started doing all these modalities, went into plant medicine. And then eventually I found this breathing technique. And this one breathing technique I did completely eradicated my stomach condition. Just like that in one session.

Wow.

So I'm a very skeptical, analytical type of person, so I'm like, well, how is that possible? You know, I went to the best doctors from New York to LA and did every test you could imagine. I did fasting, veganism, you name it. And out of all the things, even ayahuasca 14 times, you know, at that moment in time. And then how could this one technique do what the best doctors from New York to LA couldn't do? And then I realized it's because my issue wasn't physical. It was energetic. It was emotional. And, you know, that was one of the big eye-opening things on my own healing journey.

Wow. Okay. And so that was prior to 2011, I assume?

That was after 2011. So 2011, you know, I wasn't— I can't say I wasn't spiritual because we're all spiritual by nature. And you know, I just wasn't anywhere where I am now. And I had my brother that, um, I lost him to gun violence in 2011. And this is when I— and I'm glad you mentioned this in the beginning of the show— um, I was introduced to mediumship. And I'll never forget, it was like 2 o'clock in the morning at a 7-Eleven gas station, and I go in there and there's this blonde lady who's just like staring at me and like really just checking me out. And she starts walking over to me And then she says, hey, you know, don't freak out, but your brother's here and he wants to talk to you.

Oh, wow.

So I'm like, oh, I'm not from California. I was actually living in Rhode Island at the time. I was just visiting. And I was like, so you got me mistaken for somebody else? And she's like, no, no, no, no. She's like, I'm a medium. And I'm like, well, I'm a large. What does that got to do anything? And she's like, no, sweetie, I'm a psychic medium. I talk to spirits that crossed over. And I was like, oh, hell no. I beelined it the other way. 'Cause I grew up Christian, you know? So it was like, you know, voodoo, woo-woo, all that stuff.

Yeah.

Um, long story short, I ended up connecting with her. She gave me her card, and I did end up speaking to my brother through her. He told me things that only me and him knew and verified many things, told me things that would happen in the future. Um, all of it, you know, checked out. He even told me what happened to him, you know, because nobody knew what happened. And he told me like the whole scene, like what happened, and they didn't catch the people that did it. And he told me who did it. And I was— I don't know what to do with this information because quite frankly, I wasn't sure if I even believed in any of this, and it kind of spooked me out. Yeah. Um, and then 2 weeks later, they ended up catching the people that did it, and the same names he gave me were the same names printed in the front of the Boston, uh, Boston Herald.

Oh wow.

So I said, okay, what's, what's going on here? You know, I had a conversation with a dead person. No, no, one of those, you know, something can't be true. I either didn't have the conversation or the person's not dead. And I know I had the conversation. So obviously that was my, you know, awakening of the spirit lives on. And I was kind of infatuated that my brother could see both past, present, and future. So if there was like, um, you know, omnipresence, it was— and I was like, wow. And I just remember sitting there thinking, I was like, wait, if these spirits that crossed over can watch our every move, know our past, present, and future, I'm like, there's no secrets in this world. Yeah. Like, and all of a sudden it was like, wow. And it just made me start living in more authenticity and transparency in my own life, for me, for nobody else. And that was like one of my clicks. And now I'm like, now I'm like, wow, so if there's like, you know, beings in there— and I got— just became obsessed with the spirit world. I'm like, well, what's, what's that like? How come I was never taught that in school? So that's when I developed this insatiable appetite to learn and actually found one of my teachers who I studied with for 5 years. And she was a galactic shaman. She was very gifted. And I got certified in Reiki 1, 2, Reiki 3, and eventually Reiki Master and became a life coach, hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner, pretty much started collecting certifications. Yeah. Um, and on that journey is when I got hit with the stomach condition, which made me go even deeper down that journey, which led me to discovering breathwork. And over the past, you know, decade and a half now of searching, I haven't found anything stronger, more powerful, and more effective than this specific breathing technique.

And it does—

it's multifaceted. It does many things. And, you know, I'm sure we'll get into a lot of that as well.

Yeah. Wow. That's, that's, that is an interesting journey. And, you know, it's always interesting to me also about mediums. And I mentioned to you before we got started that, yeah, I do have mediums on the show. And I know that that freaks some people out. And a lot of times Christians are taught, okay, you can't talk to the dead, and mediums are bad. So I, I understand that reaction. And there's a big skepticism. I'm curious, that medium that you met, is it somebody that we would know?

Or was it Her name was Maggie, and she lived in Los Angeles, and she was, you know, on some talk show radios. And, you know, I haven't talked to her in a really long time, um, but I'm sure she's out there.

Yeah, yeah, it's like I said, it's fascinating. I, I have friends that are mediums, and I just had one on the other day. Her name is Farrah Gibson, and she actually— you told me you live in Scottsdale. She actually lives in that, in that area, that part of, uh, of Arizona. And she spirit sometimes tells her, go up to this person and tell them that, that their loved one's here. And it can, it can change people's lives. It sets you on a completely different course.

Yeah, it's pretty wild. You know, I got over the whole spooky thing. I got two of my really good friends who are psychics as well, and, uh, it's a gift we all have. You know, some people call it intuition, you know, and we develop these extrasensory perceptions. You know, some people— well, most people are either claircognizant or clairsentient. And you can walk into a room, if you know, it's a good feeling, good vibes, bad vibes, and you just feel things and then you know things. You don't know how you know them, but you know them. And you know, we have those, but then there's other people who have those, but then they also are clairvoyant, clairaudient. They can see and hear things, which I'm totally not interested in. Yeah. I don't wanna see or hear anything. You know, I'll just follow my intuition. Yeah.

Well, I mentioned to you, you were asking about my audience before we got started, and I said a lot of times there are people that are, They've gone through traumatic events. They've got something going on either physically in their body or spiritually, you know, with their grief and stuff. And they've tried everything. They've tried, you know, hypnosis. They've tried all the things that you talked about, maybe even plant medicine and Reiki, et cetera. Why is it you feel that breathwork is so powerful? And you're not the first person that's told me this, by the way. So why do you think that's more powerful than some of these other techniques?

Specifically to dealing with the emotion of grief, or just modalities in general?

Oh, let's talk about grief.

Okay, well, it is— when it comes to grief, it's by far the— it's the number one modality you can do. And mainly because— and I heard you say this earlier, um, about the body. So what I like to say is, you know, the mind always wants to look into the future. So he's thinking into the future. The soul wants to be present, but the body holds on to the past. The body is a living library of all of our human experiences. And this is why they say the body keeps score and why the issues are in the tissues. So a lot of the, you know, stress, chronic stress, stored trauma, unresolved emotions, all that stuff is stored in the body. And it has memory. And we've been storing this stuff since we were children because our definition of pain and trauma changes from when we were little to when we get older. When we were little, maybe we were pushed off the swing by a bully, or we didn't get picked, or the last one to get picked in volleyball, and then you didn't feel wanted. Now, if we don't have the emotional intelligence as children to process those, um, we start in the body. But the thing that happens is, you know, life keeps lifing. So these experiences keep piling on, and then now you got compounded interest on all the trauma and chronic stress and unresolved emotions that you've been storing. And that's when it begins to manifest into dis-ease in the body and wreak havoc on our nervous system, which is why a lot of people are walking around not even feeling comfortable in their own bodies because of it, you know. Oh, but I want to hit your point. So with that being the context, um, certain emotions live in certain parts of the body. And if anyone's familiar with Louise Hay's book, um, The Body Speaks, I think it's called. And so if someone has a— oh, their lower back is always really, really tight, right? That's financial worries. They're constantly stressed about money. Um, you know, knee issues is more of allowing your pride and your ego to get in the way of certain decisions. And Now, the emotion of grief is stored in the lungs. And that's where the emotion of grief is stored. And so when you do the breathwork detox modality, you're not just detoxing, you know, your entire body, your cells, but your lungs that's holding onto that grief. And people hold grief, you know, when people didn't even pass away. You know, there's all different levels and forms, you know, of grief. We can grieve people who are living, but that emotion of grief is stored in our lungs. And that's why, I mean, probably 60% of the people who go through this breathwork detox experience, uh, they end up crying and not expecting it, not planning on it. And I've done this for the most masculine men on the planet, from war veterans, prison inmates, Navy SEALs, NFL athletes. They all cry. Because all crying is, is a huge energetic release. Yeah, huge emotional release from something that we've been holding on to that we just need to let it go. And not all the time it has to pass through the veil of your awareness. You know, you could be in the breathwork and you start crying and you don't know why, and, and that's fine. You don't always need to know why. Um, and sometimes, you know, that emotion will come to you, you know, your, your forefront, um, maybe because there's an acknowledgment that needs to happen, or a lesson that, that needs to be extrapolated. So it's quite interesting, you know, what this modality can do. But when it comes to grief, it is the number one thing for grief, because that's where that emotion's stored in the body.

Yeah, I think it's really interesting that we're finally— I was gonna say coming around to— I think we're coming back around to the fact that a lot of disease in our body is, is spiritual. It starts spiritual. And then it gets lodged in the body. And as you said, we need to process it. And I tell my clients all the time when I'm working with them with grief, sometimes they'll apologize for crying in a session or something. I'm like, no, that's a good thing. We want to process itself. We want to move it out. We want to move it through. And we all carry traumas, as you mentioned, from childhood right up through. And we typically just carry those things around and we don't have any idea of all the junk we've got, we've got stored in there.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

You know, one of the hardest things about grief? Most of the people in your life just don't get it. They want you to be further along than you are. They get uncomfortable when you bring it up. So you stop bringing it up. And that's why I started writing. My Substack is where I go deeper. Thoughts I don't always get to on the podcast, essays on consciousness, on continuing bonds, on what it actually means to carry a loss and still build a life. The stuff that used to keep me up at night, written out in a way that I hope meets you in the morning. But here's what I didn't expect when I started it: the community that showed up. People who are doing exactly what you're doing— listening, learning, trying to find their footing. Readers who comment, who share their own stories, who remind each other that none of us are as alone in this as we feel. Feel. And that's what the Substack has become— a place to go deeper with me and to find your people. It's free to subscribe. Find me at grief2growth.com/substack. That's grief, the numeral 2, growth.com/substack. Or just go to Substack and search for Grief to Growth. I hope to see you there.

Exactly. And, you know, we don't need to know it all because it's like Pandora's box, right?

Yeah.

You know, but we hope— we do hold on to it. And, you know, sometimes it's not the weight of the baggage, but it's how you carry it. And a lot of people have learned to carry it very well because you need to be strong for your daughter, you know, and your family and your wife. Um, if you're an entrepreneur, you need to be strong for your employees. And, you know, mothers, you know, have to be strong for their sons. And, you know, everyone has these masks that we wear. And we're just carrying this stuff. And what I learned about, let's just say baggage, emotional baggage, is that you do not know what you're carrying until the moment you release it.

Yeah.

If you give someone a piece of paper and say, "Hey, write down all the emotional baggage that you're carrying," you'd probably get 5% of it. Yeah, you know, so when you release it, you're just like, oh my God, I didn't know I was carrying that. And that's why people feel brand new, they feel reborn, they feel lighter, buoyant. Um, and that is like one of the, the greatest side effects of, of that experience.

Yeah. Now you mentioned your, your stomach issue. Did you ever get a diagnosis for it?

Um, so I did colonoscopies, I did endoscopies, I did— I swallowed pill cameras. Um, I thought I had every disease under the sun. Um, the only thing that physically manifested, which wasn't the real issue, just a byproduct of it, um, was my peristalsis, um, in my small intestine, which is that, that muscle that pushes the food. It was really, really slow, and because that was slow, my digestion wasn't right, and SIBO, um, began to develop. Um, but that was, that was it. But The real issue was I had a blockage, an emotional blockage, specifically behind my belly button, which is known as, you know, your dantian or your wind gate in Chinese medicine. And your wind gate is the area in your body where all the new energy comes in and all the old energy leaves. So I had that blockage. So no new energy was coming in. All stagnant energy was stuck there and they call it like stagnant chi. And I couldn't undo it. You know, plant medicine, I did all these different things. And then this specific technique goes deep down into the diaphragm and it moved that energy. And when it moved, it's like everything shifted. I had the old energy leave, new energy come in. And then my health came back online because 80% of your immune system, right, is in your gut. 80% of your serotonin is produced in your gut, not your brain. And it's the core engine of your vitality. So that means 80% of your health and your happiness is in your gut. And yet most people are walking around doing paradoxical breathing, right? You tell them to take a deep breath, everyone takes a deep breath, and their neck, their chest, their clavicles, their shoulders, this all moves, but their belly doesn't move. And if you watch a baby breathe, when a baby breathes, when they breathe in, the belly moves up. And as adults, we don't do that, you know, because our diaphragms get tense, we get stress in there, and it locks up. And then on a subconscious level, we're also afraid to breathe deep down into the belly because that's where we feel emotions, you know? And that's, you know, you've heard the feeling, I meant the saying, you know, trust your gut.

Yeah.

I have a gut feeling is because there's intelligence in the gut. You know, and the amount of neurons it sends from your gut to your brain. You never heard, you know, trust your elbow, right? Trust your thyroid feeling, right? Touch your gut feeling. Um, because there is intelligence there that is directly connected to the mind, and that's why they say brain-gut connection. So my health went back online, verbal fluency was better. I felt like my IQ went up because I couldn't even think straight, and it just did so much, and it was instantaneous. And that was like the amazing thing about breathwork, um, as opposed to yoga and meditation and other modalities, is that the results are immediate and undeniable from one session. And I think that's the, the type of rare instant gratification and validity that this modality has, where the other ones, you know, you need to be very consistent to see those results over a course of, of time, whether it's 3 months, 6 months, you know, 2 years. Um, with breathwork, it's like you will have an experience, and it's different for everybody. And it's just a matter of, you know, um, how much you're willing to surrender and let go. Yeah, because, you know, there's a saying that, you know, knowledge is how much you can learn every day. Wisdom is how much you can let go of every day.

I haven't heard that. Yeah, I like that. So how did you discover this technique? You found a practitioner, um, that, that that took you through it?

Yeah, the wild— and let's call it the irony to this is that on this journey I went to Peru and Aikidos with the Shipibos. I went to Tibet. I was in caves in India and Rishikesh talking to monks and gurus and sages and, you know, everywhere over the world. And I actually found this modality in Los Angeles from my massage therapist.

Oh wow.

I was like literally meditating under the tree where Buddha got enlightened. I went to Jerusalem where Grace ascended. And it's like, and a massage therapist in LA, you know, that's, that's where I found the answer.

Wow.

You know, so I thought that was funny. Um, and yeah, she, she put me on to this, uh, technique, you know. And I go in and I'm, I'm skeptical but I'm desperate, so my desperation was overpowering my skepticism. And I was like, okay, let me just try it. And then I just remember, you know, there was this little tiny lady. She had to be like 90 pounds soaking wet. And then beside me, and then there was this dude from like the Rams, like, um, who played NFL. He was there. And we're breathing, and next thing you know, the girl starts crying. And I'm like, oh, I was like, I wonder what happened to her, you know? I hope she's okay. And then all of a sudden, you know, the big 6-foot-5 NFL dude starts crying. And I'm like, wait a second, what's going on? I hear people in the back crying. And I'm like, why is everybody— and before I could finish that thought, I'm like, crap! I'm just doing the biggest, ugliest cry. And in that cry, it was literally moving that energy out of me, which is, you know, which was the detox. And, you know, when I went home that night, I was floating and I woke up and I was like, oh wow, that stomach, it feels different. It's gone. And it just started to get better. And I was like, wow. I'm like, and I was shocked because I was already collecting those certifications. I was already, you know, in this world. And I'm like, how didn't I know this existed? So I started teaching it in LA and I remember going to like, you know, some yoga teachers who's been teaching yoga for like 30 years. And I'm like, hey, you know, you gotta try this breathing technique. And they're like, oh, you know, I've studied with, you know, this guru and pranayama. And I'm like, just try one, you know, one session with me. And then they do it and they're like, holy cow, I didn't even know that was possible. Like, can you teach me this? So, I started certifying yoga teachers to teach this modality.

Okay.

And that's what I kind of shifted from doing. You know, I went from one-on-ones to doing large group events. And now, I mainly focus on corporate and certifying people in this particular modality to go bring it to their community, their health practice, or, you know, whatever it may be. You know, and then I'll do a virtual event once a month.

Okay, so is this technique— is this an, like, an ancient Chinese technique, or where did it come from?

Well, I'm not sure who has the intellectual property on breathing, but my guess would be, you know, um, in India and Tibet, where a lot of these practices, uh, originate. And, you know, it's— the thing about it, Brian, is that it is— it's a very simple technique. It's very simple. And, you know, the magic of it— let's call the breathwork the content. Um, the 20 minutes before where I'm explaining the technique, um, that's the context. That's where the magic happens. Because what I need to do is kind of go in their mind and play subconscious surgery and remove all the fears that they're going to have when they start to venture out of their comfort zone with this particular technique. And these things begin to come up and you begin to release them. Um, there's certain things that you need to know that's going to allow that person to go deeper, deeper. So I spend time with them at least 20 minutes prior, um, and then they go and do the technique. And it is, uh, you know, it's pretty interesting to watch, you know, all the, you know, amazing releases and the things that people do. It's, you know, but I stopped saying I saw, I saw it all, right? I saw it all. Because whenever I say that, the universe is like, oh yeah, and you see something else. So, you know, it's crazy, but a lot of cool stories, uh, people, um, miraculous spontaneous healings and, um, psychic powers, you know, um, you know, eradication of chronic stress that was affecting their family, their work, um, you know, you name it, there's a, there's a testimonial from this.

Yeah, so that, that's really interesting because, um, you mentioned, uh, opening up of psychic ability. Um, it's not something I was expecting here for you to say, so give me Tell me something about that.

Yeah, and it's not like woo-woo where it's like almost you start breathing and next thing you know you're holding a crystal ball. There's science behind it. So, um, when you're breathing right around, but probably the 8 to 12 minute mark, the brain goes into something called transient hypofrontality. And Stephen Kotler talks a lot about this in the— you know, he has a research lab called the Flow Research Collective, and it's a trance state. So once you get to this mark, you hit your peak resistance. And on the other side of that resistance is this, like, this field. And they call it transient hypofrontality. And what's happening is the prefrontal cortex in the brain begins to quiet down. And that's important while you're, you know, waking and conscious is because that's the part of the brain that is your executive decision maker. It's your CEO. It judges everything. It says, this is good, this is bad. You're you, I'm me. So it separates. And when that begins to kind of slowly deactivate, all of a sudden the monkey mind, right? The critic, the ego, it begins to quiet down. And now you can see all the pieces of your life and you begin to connect the dots so easily and you get a tremendous amount of clarity. And that's why I love this technique. For me personally is the clarity because I believe confusion is temporary insanity. No one likes to be confused of like, should I stay in this job? Should I leave? Should I go out on my own? Should I stay in the relationship? Should I leave? You know, all these things that are juggling in our mind. And when you just get that uber clarity, like, oh, I know what to do. And you know, I don't, I don't know if this is something I promote, I don't really talk about it, but many, many times there's been people that come up to me, probably, you know, hundreds at this point, um, who after the, the breathwork they get a message and that message was, I need to leave this job. I've been in this crappy relationship for, you know, 5 years. I've been trying to get out. And then it just like drops in like a, like a download and it's like, oh, I know what to do. And then they follow through on it. And you know, that's like one of the coolest things, you know, about it is that, that, that level of clarity is super valuable when we're on that journey.

Yeah, I was a little surprised when you mentioned the first time you did this that it was in a group setting. I, I expect this was going to be like a private thing, right? So the people typically do these in groups?

Yeah, uh, they, they do, uh, and you know, it's quite powerful when you have, um, that much energy in a room. You could do it, you could do it one-on-one. Um, I teach people how to run a one-on-one practice, how to do couples, couples therapy with, with with breathwork, um, you know, because traditional therapy and talk therapy, it can only get you so far, you know. And I've done that, had a whole practice with my mother, um, when these things live inside the body. And you can use the body, use the breath, and use, you know, the All right, we had a little glitch there, but we're back.

So go ahead, Curtis.

Yeah, so, um, you know, doing it one-on-one, you could do it in couples, and then doing it in, in large groups. You know, I've done it for, um, a couple hundred people, and that's super, super duper powerful. Um, and you can also do it, uh, in person or virtual. And people always ask me, like, is it more powerful to do it in person? Is it more powerful to do it virtually? And it depends. I've had people that swear by just doing it virtual and some people that love the energy, you know, in the room. And having more people in the room could be more beneficial. But if you're somebody who's kind of more self-conscious, then maybe doing it virtually, you know, I've had people do it virtually in their closets where they got their husband taking care of 4 kids and they lock the closet and they breathe in the closet. You know, so that's the great thing about this is that there's no barrier to entry. And all the mindfulness modalities have barriers to entry. You know, look at meditation. You know, the world is stressed out. And statistically, a goldfish has a longer attention span than a human right now. And if you try to get somebody who's already stressed out to sit down, sit still, and don't think a thought for the next 20 minutes, they're gonna get more stressed out. And they're gonna feel like a failure. And, you know, there's a lot of mind frick going on. And it's it's really hard to take the, the chaos of the sea of our thoughts and calm it to a, a calm pond. Whereas breathwork, you can take the, your chaotic thoughts and start, instead of trying to calm it, you're, you're doing something actively. You're giving the brain something to do, and it's pushing the energy out of your field rather than trying to settle it. So ADHD people, this is, this is for you because it's hard to, you know, you know, focus, you know, and really, you know, just dial in, especially with, you know, what social media has done for us alone. You know, if you think about what meditation is, meditation is when you quiet the mind to just focus on one thing. It could be one mantra, it could be, you know, one sound, it could be one anything. But when we are scrolling on our phones, we're literally defocusing. We practice defocusing, literally just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. It's like sitting on the couch and, you know, and you're watching TV with somebody and they're changing the channel every 3 seconds. You know, you'd go crazy, but yet we do it every single day.

That's a good point.

Yeah, yeah, we're training our brains to defocus. So, um, huge barrier to entry there. And then yoga— 54% of the world's population can't bend down and touch their toes. And then you have, you know, body shaming. Nobody really wants to go into, you know, yoga studio with the leotard and, you know, bending in these crazy ways in front of people. And performance anxiety. You know, I felt it before. You go into a yoga class, you're brand new, and then you got someone who's, you know, bending like a pretzel, has been there for 15 years, and you're like, oh man, I'm nowhere near them. With breathwork, you could be 400 pounds, fully clothed, lay down on your back anywhere, Breathe, and you're gonna have a profound experience.

Interesting. Yeah, yeah. So you, you mentioned that for you, your, your healing of your stomach issue was in one session. Uh, is this something people typically continue to do, or do people sometimes do just one and done and they just don't come back? How often am I going to do this?

Yeah, I mean, the, the healing aspect is one thing, but how you feel after. That's the addicting part, because you'd come out of it and you feel so lighter, you feel so happy, you feel so buoyant, you sleep the best you ever had that night. So, um, people, when something works, they want more of it. Now the good news is this isn't like yoga and meditation. You don't need to do this, this particular modality every single day, you know. You could do it once a week, once every 2 weeks, and you just did it once every 2 weeks, you'd have more progress than if you did yoga for a full year. And, you know, that's what's great about it. Now, we do do shorter sessions daily. So we're one of the only breathwork companies that do daily live breathwork sessions, 7 days a week, 6:00 AM every single morning. We have a different facilitator for every day of the week, which is great because each one has their own style. They bring their own medicine. Um, and, you know, I look at that as the maintenance. So it's just like, you know, maybe 10 minutes of breathwork, and then boom, you're starting your day.

Okay. Is that something people do online, or do they go into a studio for that?

Yeah, we do everything online.

Okay. Okay. Yeah, that's, that's, um, it's interesting because, you know, like you were saying, some of these other things do have barriers to entry. I know I, I'm always promoting meditation to, to my clients and stuff, and I've been meditating various modes for many, a couple decades, I guess, anyway. And so many people tell me, I don't understand, I just, I just can't meditate. Because as you said, we've got that short attention span where, where it's just sitting down and, you know, calming the mind, being told to calm the mind, people are like, I don't even know what you're talking about. So the thing I've done some breathwork things before, and it's something that anybody can do. Um, so that, that is a, a nice, a nice, you know, I guess benefit to it.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, you know, it's, it's one of the best-kept secrets. And I think my biggest eye-opener for me is, you know, I could kind of wrap my head around how nobody knew about this. And I'm like, man, this is gonna be huge. And I remember going like looking at all the domains in breathwork, and I think I bought up like 70, 80% of all the domains. And I'm like, I can't believe no one knows about this. And then sure enough, you know, it started becoming, you know, very, very popular. And, you know, we were featured, um, in, in Bloomberg, uh, on the Today Show, uh, we got voted number one employee well-being provider of 2023, um, we had several people try to buy our trademarks and stuff like that. And I was like, yeah, I knew it was just a matter of time before it goes mainstream. And it's still fully not there, I mean, more people than ever are open to hearing about breathwork. Like, you already knew about it before we spoke, and, you know, podcasts are becoming more curious, so they want to learn more about it. Um, because it's, it's not just a modality, it is highly empowering. Yeah, it's very empowering. And, you know, and it borderline threatens the, the medical industry, because if you look at the stats of you know, doctor's visits, uh, 80%, you know, and I'll quote Harvard, 60 to 90%, they said, of all doctor's visits are stress-related. First of all, that's a huge number of doctors, because then what's the doctors doing? Then they're, and you know, they're prescribing this, you know, this pill, that pill, this, you know, surgery, this whatever. And you know, if 80% are from stress, well then we need to work on how do we eradicate stress, you know, where's stress coming from, right? And, you know, stress is responsible for all different types of, you know, things that, you know, happen. And, you know, a lot of talks that say stress kills, and it shows how that— and what I found was breathwork, this particular modality of breathwork, works the, the fastest and the most effective for eradicating stress in the body. Now that does a lot of different things. One, it regulates your nervous system. Two, when we're stressed, the adrenals produce cortisol. Cortisol is what makes us feel kind of like, you know, just super stressed out. It also makes us crave sugary and fatty foods. And when you cut that stress out, you cut down your cortisol. Now you just feel more comfortable in your own skin. You're not craving those crappy foods. And one of the crazy things I learned, because I launched a program called Breathwork Bootcamp, and it was for like releasing emotional baggage, but people started sending me pictures of their waistline. I lost 12 pounds, I lost 16 pounds. I'm like, what the heck is going on? Like, that was never my thing. And then, you know, they didn't have the cravings. And then I realized 70% of the body's toxins are released through the lungs. So we're all in these detox teas and we don't realize 70% of all the body's toxins is through the lungs. 8.5 out of every 10 pounds of weight loss is through carbon dioxide, is through breathing. So it's like 85% of all weight loss is carbon dioxide breathing. 70% of all toxins is through, you know, the breath. Um, and then cutting down that cortisol, people were losing weight. So I was like, man, I could market that pretty good.

Yeah, you know, it's interesting you mentioned that because as soon as you said cortisol, my mind went to that. They say that our cortisol levels cause us to gain weight around our bellies. And I don't know if it's because of— it's because it's the eater, because cortisol causes us also, I guess, retain fat. And, and for especially for men, that, that tends to happen around our belly. So it's like, uh, if we could find a way to reduce our stress— and that, and that's interesting that, you know, so much of our— and that's just, that's just what Western medicine is saying, because I would, I, I guess the percentage is probably higher because I would imagine doctors wouldn't say— would say your stomach issue wasn't related to stress. It was, you know, something, something physical. But, um, you know, you, you proved by your experience that it was related to this, this stress that we're all carrying.

Yeah, you know, it's interesting because I shared my story in a TED Talk, and I just found out recently that, um, they banned my TED Talk. They wouldn't publish it. And I'm like, wait, what? And they wouldn't tell us why exactly. And they said we violated their terms and whatnot. And I'm like sitting here and I'm looking at all these other TED Talks that got approved on, you know, psychedelics and, you know, gun violence. And I've seen one on cocaine and methamphetamine, but you're banning mine that's about breathing?

Yeah.

What did I say that was so bad that you don't want to publish my talk on breathing?

Yeah.

You know, and, and my buddy was like, I think when you said this, and he highlighted, um, and what did I say? I said You know, mainstream media has convinced us that modalities like breathwork are alternative medicine. Yeah, but here's the truth: breathwork is humanity's original medicine, right? And everything else that came after that, those are the real alternatives.

Yes, you know, so, well, speaking of Ted Talks, I love Ted Talks, but I've also gotten behind the curtains a little bit with Ted Talks, and they do have some very weird restrictions. If you mention the afterlife they'll, they'll ban you for stuff like that. So, uh, you have to always have to take those things with, with a grain of salt. And I'm, I am a scientist by nature. My, I have a degree in chemical engineering. I'm all for Western medicine and stuff, but the older I get, the more I realize that some of these modalities, uh, that have been around for, for thousands of years are very effective. And I, I'm like, why not both? Let's, let's do it and/or, or, you know, both/and type of thing. You know, we can still see Western doctors, you know, and a lot of people that do alternative methods of healing will say, well, if I have a broken leg, I'm still going to go to the hospital. You know, I'm not going to do breathwork for a broken leg. But for many, many other things, these chronic things that we go to doctors for, that they don't cure, by the way, as you said, they give you a pill. Um, I've got high blood pressure. I've had high blood pressure for years, and, you know, I'm on medication. And they just want you to accept you're going to take this pill for the rest of your life. Um, but they don't talk about things that might actually reduce your stress and lead to that just going away.

Yeah, I mean, that's a whole other can of worms of, you know, that, that world. But ultimately, my, my message is what you shared, which is I believe that the future is where Western medicine merges with Eastern medicine, right? Yeah. And they work together because, like you said, you know, you, you break an arm You know, I'm not going to be breathing for that. You know, give— I get a cavity, give me the Novocaine. Like, I'm, I'm not against Western medicine at all. Um, did it fail me? I'm— no, it tried its best, and, and I gave it my all. I was actually so desperate at one point, I was hoping and praying they'd come back and be like, Curtis, you're diagnosed with stage blah blah blah, and I would have been happy because I'm like, okay, I know what I'm dealing with.

Yeah, give me a label.

You know, give me a, give me a label. And, you know, they couldn't find anything. And to the point where they started, when I started getting multiple tests, uh, done of the same test, they said, you know, it might be in your, in your head. And of course that really ticks you off when they say, yeah, I, I've talked to so many people have chronic things.

Um, uh, in, in England they call it ME, um, but, you know, chronic fatigue syndrome I think we call it here. And they'll tell people, it's just in your head, it's just in your head. Well, yes and no. Everything in one way, everything's kind of in our head, right? So, but it manifests through our body. So it's, it's, uh, they're right and they're wrong. I think about that at the same time. One thing I, I love, your, um, your Instagram handle, Man From The Stars, and your, your tagline on your Instagram says, helping starseeds navigate their spiritual awakening One breath at a time. So what do you mean when you say starseed?

Okay, we're gonna switch gears real quick. Yeah, so, you know, I think everybody feels they have a mission, whether they discovered it or not, right? They have some sort of, you know, purpose. And spiritually, spiritually speaking, um, it is impossible to be born without a purpose, because how a soul is born— people know how a baby is born, but how's a soul born? And what happens is Source, Prime Creator, scours the universe and, and seeks balance. And when there's a need that has to be fulfilled, you know, within this universe, Source then pulls forth an aspect of itself to go and fulfill that need, right? And that's the power of the Omni, you know, omnipresence power of the Divine. And this is the real reason of how we all come from the same source. And depending on how significant that need is, is how, you know, much of a strength or power that aspect, you know, Source relinquishes to go create that balance. So, you know, with that said, you know, there was times, I think maybe 40 years ago, 30 years ago, 20 years ago, when people would think about aliens or ETs and whatever you want to call them those people are crazy. If you didn't believe— if you, if you believed in aliens, you were crazy. I think in 2026, if you don't believe that there's higher intelligent forms somewhere in the multiverse, you're crazy. I think it's— I think it's very naive. Now, you don't need to understand it. Yeah, because, because that's— I get that part. Um, but this universe is vast, and there's all types of beings, not just little green beings. Um, they're out there, and we're gonna— you know, you can hear the government's peppering us for the last 2 years with the disclosure. It will come out, um, you know, most likely within the next year or 2, um, officially. And so with that said, you know, I always said that Earth was never my home, it's my mission. So there's beings incarnated here, and some of them are indigenous, but many of us aren't from Earth. We incarnated on Earth. And, and what's interesting about this planet, and not all planets is like this, is that when we come here, our memories are erased. Yeah, we don't know who we are, we don't know where we come from, and we, we are on the journey of, of reawakening, which is really remembering. And the starseeds are— is a term for beings who aren't from Earth who incarnated in physical 3D bodies to live a human life, uh, with their memories erased, uh, to hold the light for the planet, hence the light worker, you know, or came with a very specific mission, which is a light warrior. Um, both work on the same team, you know. The light workers are like light, love, and light, and, you know, they don't really mess with any of the darkness. Um, light warriors, they're here to pave a path. They're here to, you know, for divine justice. They're God's soldiers. And, you know, and they're in different parts of, you know, the, the world. Some are in politics, some are in entertainment, some are doctors, and, you know, some are spiritual teachers. And it's coming to a time where we're going to have the most awakened souls remembering who they are, where they come from, and why we're all here. And, and it's, you know, I don't know what religion you are, but you know, out of all these religions that disagreed, um, in differences and even went to war and killed each other over, you know, uh, you know, in differences, they're all agreeing on something right now. Yeah, you know, every doctrine. And they're saying that some sort of godly phenomenon event is approaching us and it's intersecting in the same point, time and space, which is in this lifetime right here, right now. And we're going to witness that whether we like it, know it, believe it or not. You know, they'll play this podcast maybe 6 months, maybe 6 years, um, and we might be in the midst of it. It's very biblical. You know, I grew up Christian, but you know, if you go in my house, I got a cross on my door, I got a Buddha statue there. I got, you know, people get really confused.

Yeah, yeah.

And actually see your Buddha, uh, right there in the corner as well. Yeah, you know, so, um Yeah, we live in the most interesting times in human history, and things are speeding up faster than ever. And I'm not just talking about AI, you know, I'm talking about, um, a self-knowing, a remembering. And even if you're not spiritual, you can feel something's going on, something's in the air, and you feel like something's going to, going to happen. And, you know, and what that may be, I'll, I'll just— I'll kind of leave that with this, this quote from Don Alejandro, who's the great Mayan grandfather. And he said— and the Hopis, you know, they all predicted this— they said the very walls that we're going to see come crumbling and crashing down upon us are only the walls that kept us in prison our entire lives.

Wow. Wow. I love that. Yeah, that's, uh, you know, it's interesting. I was, I was raised Christian also. I no longer identify as Christian. And you said I've got a Buddha back there, and it's kind of funny because For years I looked for a statue of Jesus meditating, and I could not find one. I can only find crucifixes or, you know, Jesus looking like, you know, Sunday school picture. And I finally found this Jesus meditating statue, and it's been in my background for a long time. And I moved it to the hallway the other day, and my wife goes, why are you getting all religious? Why'd you put the Jesus statue, you know, in the hallway? I'm like, because I, I love the Jesus statue. I love the Buddha statue. I've, I've got Hindu, you know, that my daughter's given me Ganesh and other Hindu gods, because I believe all religions have a core of truth to them. And as I've studied different religions, there is 90% overlap between them. They— we fight about the 10%, but 90% of it is the same. And I'm hearing, you know, like you said, the government is disclosing things now. I— a lot of my psychic friends are like, we're coming to a peak. Everybody— or not everybody, but a lot of people feel like the world is falling apart. They're like, you know, the walls are coming down, disclosure's happening, you know, not just aliens, as you said, but also what's going on with our political systems, our economic systems. And people are saying these things aren't working. So I think we're coming to some sort of a, I don't know, singularity at some point also.

Yeah, I mean, it's a reset, you know, not to kind of go into semantics because there's all different types of terms for it. Um, but yeah, those systems, they're not, they're not working and they, they need to fall apart. And, you know, we, you know, the people, people like you and I, need to help rebuild those systems into ones that, that work. Yeah, you know, that's the thing of a starseed, you know. Starseeds come here to study the dysfunctionality of how this planet works and try to make the correction. Because that's the thing, when Source sends us here, it's like, why don't you come yourself?

You know?

Yeah, why'd you send me here, man? This place is ghetto. Is, um, you know, we're the representation of Source. Yeah, we're the orbs he sends out to bring back the information because Source is learning. He's learning. He doesn't know it all. He's learning through, through us because if it's all, all evolving at all, all different times, then we're the ones having those experiences and bringing those experiences back to Source so we all can evolve.

Yeah, you talked about the questions that we have, the things that we forget when we come in. These are the questions I open every episode with, you know, who we are, Why are we here? Where did we come from? Where are we going? Those are the questions that most of us have forgotten, especially when people go through a grief event. We go through grief, whatever purpose we thought we might have had, suddenly it feels like it's gone, right? We— I, I don't even know where I am. How can breathwork help people refine their purpose?

Yeah, um, you know, I think that A lot of people focus energy on manifesting a better life, a new life, and they do that through sometimes destination addiction, which is when we place our happiness in the future. Yeah, meaning that, oh, when I, when I get this job, then I'll be happy. Or when I make this type of money, then I'll be happy. Or when I get into this relationship or get married, then I'll be happy. But that's a, that's a trap, because whenever we do that, we're taking our happiness and placing it into the future, which does not exist. Yeah, and we're not claiming, you know, our, our happiness now. Um, so one is that, you know, you want to manifest all these things, but the, you know, I think the coolest thing I learned about manifesting is that in order to let in, you first need to let go. So maybe not focus so much on all the things that you want and the things you're going to do. Focus on, you know, liberating yourself from heavy and dense energies that no longer serve your highest and greatest good. That are only weighing you down and holding you back. Give yourself permission to surrender and let go. And when you let that stuff go, it's like everything comes to you so much easier. It's filling that space. You know, I love giving the analogy of an airplane at the airport, right? The airplane is flying and it needs to land somewhere. And if there's something on the runway, right, air traffic controller is not going to let that plane land. Instead, it's going to say to do what? Fly in circles.

Yeah.

And this is why a lot of people feel like they're just flying in circles in, in life. But once the runway is cleared, then you can land, you can take off, you can go wherever you want to go. We have too much stuff on our runways. We have, we have too much things that we've been holding on to. And Bruce Lee said it, you know, you got to empty your cup before you fill it up. Yoda said you need to unlearn before you can learn. Yeah, and I think it's a matter of letting go, you know, rather than just trying to manifest, manifest. It's like, okay, like, what can I, what can I let go of? It's so liberating, right, when you just let go of something. That could be a worry, that could be a fear, you know, it could just be an outcome so attached to, and you just let it go. And that is, that is freedom, you know. So if somebody's going through, um, you know, a loss, you know, I know what that's like. I lost my brother. I've done many modalities um, breathwork for me is the one that's most liberating because I, I never felt comfortable in my own body since a, since a child. And I remember doing the breathwork and I was like, oh, this is how I'm supposed to feel. And you know, it's like a, it's a constant reset. It's a, it's a, it's a reboot. And I do believe we do have the answers. Like, we, we think we need to do so much. We really don't.

Yeah, yeah, I love that. Yeah, I heard something, I forgot where I heard it, was pretty recently. It said the only the The thing is, you're already enlightened. You just need to realize it.

Yeah.

So it's not, it's not like something we have to go out and chase. It's just, it's just realizing that it's already with us.

Easier said than done. But yes, absolutely. Yeah, that's it. Like we do. It's so, it's so corny, cliché. You know, when we do have the power within us, you know, the kingdom of heaven is inside of us. You know, we do have all the answers and everything that we need in us. And, you know, it's like, well, how do we tap into that?

Yeah.

You know, and, you know, that's what we've all been trying to do. You, me, you know, and through meditation, through, through yoga, becoming still. Um, but I've— for me, breathwork was, was the hack because when I went in, like, I could have, um, conversations, you know, and not with beings but with myself, with my higher self, the highest functioning aspect of myself. And, you know, and I know the answers. I know what I need to do. It's just clear as day. And to me, that's just so, so valuable, because even like in The Matrix, when Neo was becoming Neo, you know, above the Oracle on her, on her, um, her door, she pointed to it and it was in Sanskrit, I think, and it said, um, know thyself. Yeah, that's the key, right? Is you breathe to remember, to, to know thyself, and that remembering is that enlightenment.

Yeah, completely agree. So Curtis, I know you've written a couple of books. Um, tell me, tell me about your books, uh, and then I also want you to tell me about your website and your foundation.

Sure. Um, so the foundation is justbreathe.org. So we're creating a documentary, we wrote a children's book, we do scholarships for people. Um, and the book I wrote and published in 2014 is The World Is Yours: The Secrets Behind the Secret. That is a really good book if somebody is on the awakening journey. If they have any curiosity towards spirituality or what is really going on, you know, that book is really good for that. It just encompasses the journey, you know, of spiritual awakening, um, teaches you your powers, how and when to use them, and then it goes into why they've been suppressed from you, you know, which is quite interesting. Um, and then the other book is Breathwork Detox: How to Thrive in the Age of Anxiety. And that is the most recent one that's connected to this modality and what I do. And it gives just tips, tools, tricks, and techniques of how to, you know, get people back into their body, you know, how to release, how to let go. And it shares a little bit more about my journey. Um, and then I think you mentioned the, the website. Um, the website, uh, my Instagram is Man from the Stars, so you can go on Instagram and and message me. I'm pretty good about with getting back to people. And then breathworkdetox is the domain, and you can go on there. And if you're interested in experiencing breathwork, you can go to a virtual event. So we do them, you know, like I said, every single day. Or if you wanna become a teacher, we do free, we give you a free masterclass. We do free consultations. You know, there's a link there for corporate. So, you know, if any part of the podcast got you curious, you know, go on there and just, you know, grab some of the free goodies.

Sounds great. All right. Well, thanks so much for being here. Thanks for sharing what you do and for doing what you do. It's much needed. We all are feeling a little bit stressed right now. We could all use a little bit of stress reduction. So I'll definitely be checking it out also.

Awesome. Thank you so much.

All right. Well, thanks for being here. Have a great afternoon.

Likewise.

Grief doesn't follow stages, timelines, or rules. If you've ever wondered, am I doing this right? You're not alone. That's why I created the grief check-in. It's not a test, there are no right or wrong answers. It's simply a gentle way to understand how grief may be showing up for you right now. In just a few minutes, you'll gain clarity and language for your experience without judgment, labels, or pressure to move on. If you're wondering where you are in grief, this is a safe place to find out. Go to grief2growth.com/check-in. That's grief, the numeral 2, growth.com/check-in. Brian D Smith. Check in. Hi there, I'm really excited to tell you about my latest ebook. It's 4 lessons that you can learn from the near-death experience without going through all the trouble of dying to learn them. I've been studying NDEs for several years now. I am completely convinced that not only are they 100% real, but that there's some very universal wisdom that we can get from the near-death experience. And I've distilled that down in this book into 4 short lessons I've also given you all the reasons why I believe the NDEs are absolutely real. So go to www.grieftogrowth.com/NDElessons to pick it up for free. www.grief-the-number-2-growth.com/NDElessons. I hope you enjoy it.