#43: Using your Breath to Cope with Anxiety

If they were struggling with anxiety, I would encourage them to drop in, sit with the sensation, find where it is in their body, and then tell themselves that they're safe and that they're loved.

Hey, Coach, my name is Lindsay, and I'm here to help heart-centered women like you build the money-making coaching business of their dreams. I've been coaching since 2019, and this pod is about so much more than building your business. It's about you Using your gifts to build a life and business you're 100% obsessed with. I went from working 50+ hours a week as a first grade teacher to building a sustainable business that replaced my job salary and gave me back 30+ hours a week of my time. Tune in to join the ride and learn from other coaches and experts along the way.

All right.

Welcome back everyone to the Aligned Coach Podcast. Hello.

Hello.

This is your host, Lindsay. I have an awesome guest here with us today. I have Rachel Nelson. Rachel is a holistic life and anxiety coach. She has a background in psychology and social work and Reiki. I never know if I'm saying that right, Reiki or Reiki. So you can help me out with that one. She has a background in breathwork and somatic embodiment. So I know that today's interview and our conversation today is just going to be full of goodies and full of goodness. So sit back, relax, or don't relax too much if you're driving or like doing something important. Either way, enjoy. And welcome on Rachel.

Hello. Thank you, Lindsey, so much for having me. It's so nice that we've been able to connect. I'm so excited to be here.

Yeah, I'm so excited for it. You're so welcome. So give us a little intro of who you are, Rachel, and a little bit about what you do as a holistic life and anxiety coach.

Yeah, I would love to. Yeah, so I'm, I'm Rachel. Right now I'm living in Long Beach, New York on Long Island. And that's also where I'm originally from, New York, so not too far from home. And right now I'm a holistic life and anxiety coach, and my background is in psychology, social work, and somatic embodiment. So when I'm working with my clients, I'm really focusing on healing trauma and any, you know, anxiety that they might be experiencing at the nervous system level so that That means like really dropping into your body, getting very present, incorporating some meditation, some breathwork into those practices, and healing trauma from that, from that place.

Wow, such deep, deep work that you're doing there. Wow, thank you for that. Thank you for the work that you're putting in. So is it Reiki or Reiki?

It's Reiki. Yes, it is Reiki.

Everyone wants to know the answer to that. Okay, Rachel, so while our Listeners are tuning in, can you just go ahead and tell them where to like go and creep on you if they want to go creep while they're listening?

Absolutely, yes. So I'm on mainly on Instagram, that's the platform that I'm currently on and you can find me @presentbynature. That's my handle. Perfect.

All right, y'all, you can go creep on Rachel while we chat back and forth. All right, Rachel, so let's just go ahead and jump right in. What in the world does that mean to heal your anxiety, to, to like to really work holistically, you know, to embody that version of yourself? Like, what does all that mean? What does that work entail?

Yeah, it's such a good question. So I would say that for me personally, I had struggled with anxiety for so long, for like so many years. And it was something that I was always just exploring more of. I was doing the yoga, I was doing the meditation, I was in therapy. And it wasn't until I started working with a coach, like another anxiety coach, that I really was like, whoa, like, what are you doing? This is amazing. Like the, what the techniques she was using were just so— it created so much growth for me in such a short amount of time. And so that's the work that I'm currently trained in now. So the difference is really just like the body aspect of it, really, really getting into what your physical body is experiencing. When you're feeling anxious, you might have like pressure on your chest or you might feel like you can't breathe or you might have like pressure on your head or your shoulders, like physical, you're feeling it physically. But then you go to try and have a conversation about it and nobody's asking you like, oh, where do you feel that in your body? Like, what is your body trying to say to you? And what does it feel like? Like what, like if you could ask it like what it needs right now, what would it say? You know, like we're not asking these kinds of questions. So once I found this, this work somatic embodiment that I'm really, my practice is based around, I'm able to incorporate all those other tools that I have as well from psychology and social work. But yeah, that's like the kind of like the difference is really just like dropping into your body getting really curious about what your body is experiencing, because your body knows the truth. Like, your mind is always going to be thinking, it's going to have fears and, and doubts and judgments because we're human, and that's just the human experience. There's nothing wrong with that. It's like being able to kind of get out of your mind and really connect with yourself is where you can have the opportunity to, you know, experience transformation.

Yeah, yeah, that's why I like exercise or yoga or like just going on a walk and like those modalities are so powerful, right? Because they get you out of your head.

Yes, exactly, exactly. It's, it's so true. Going to the gym is something that really grounds me and as you had mentioned yoga, it's the same reason why sometimes you'll go to a yoga class and you'll do a position and then all of a sudden you're feeling like emotional or something and it's like, oh well, that position that you were just in might have opened something in your nervous system from that movement, and now your body is able to like process and release that sensation.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Wow. What did your anxiety look like? Like, what did that, what did that look like? Was it, um, something that you had experienced all of your life? Because I think, um, that the word anxiety gets, gets kind of used a lot, which I do think a lot of people deal with it and they don't know that they do. So, and like, in one way it's a good thing that we're having conversations about it, And then again, another way it's sort of concerning because, oh, I'm feeling anxiety today. Like, oh, you know, like, oh, I have anxiety. But like, do you really? You know?

Yeah.

Tell us like what that was like for you a bit. And maybe for some of our listeners, because I know that like as business owners, especially in the first year, first 2 or even 3 years of business, a lot of us do feel, quote unquote, anxiety that we do feel those feelings. So what did that look like for you? And maybe like, what are some things that, you know, us as business owners and as women, like, what are the things that we can look out for or how can we take care of ourselves throughout that journey if we are experiencing that as well?

Yeah, absolutely. So my question— I love it.

It was good.

Yes, it was a good one. I don't remember. I don't know if I'll remember the second part, but I'll do the first one. So long.

Yeah.

Oh good, so good. Um, so anxiety for me was something I struggled with since I was about like 8 years old, like very young. And that looked at that time, um, I grew up a competitive athlete, so I played soccer and lacrosse in college, like my whole life, a bunch of different sports, but soccer was really like my, my thing. And so as I was like so little, I was 8, but I knew that, um I was performing, you know, I was on the field and I was running around, I was scoring and I was doing the thing. And so before every game I would get sick because I had so much anxiety. And so my coach would, you know, tell me what to eat and I would go in and I'd come out, I'd get sick and I'd go back in the game. Wow. It's just an example. But, you know, and this— I carried this throughout my life in terms of being a competitive athlete. It would appear when I was in high school getting recruited That was like definitely an anxious time. And for me, it felt like just not being able to breathe. Like it just felt like lots of pressure, lots of, you know, you have to perform. And at that time, you're young, your, your worth is tied to your performance. It's like if you have a bad game, the end of the world. And again, as I go on through life, I go to college, I'm competing, I graduate college, I kind of am at a crossroads. I need to decide if I want to play abroad or kind of like find myself in a different way. And what did I have? Anxiety. So it was, it's just this like common theme. So in 20— was it 2016? Yes, 2016. I had, I had an immediate like family member pass away and my anxiety just like went through the roof. And that's when, and at the time I had already been like doing all the things, the yoga, the meditation, the therapy. And that's when I was like, almost feeling hopeless. Like I was like, this can't be what life is about. Like, there has to be something more that I can do. And that's how I found the anxiety coach that I've been working with for a few years now. So that's what the experience was with, for me, with anxiety. I don't remember what the second part of the question was.

Yeah, yeah. No, no, no. I think that's beautiful. And we can even kind of like sit with that for a moment. Because you had mentioned, like you mentioned several points in your life that you really remember, you know, being times full of anxiety, right? So it was like, as an 8-year-old, as a kid, and really being like performance driven, and like getting on the field and like, remember how your stomach felt. And then, you know, applying to go and play somewhere else and then making these decisions. So I think that that's important that you point that out. Because, like, you know, like we'd kind of mentioned before, like with business, or a lot of the listeners are coming into business or they're making these really big decisions like that have to do with, okay, will I quit my job or am I going to turn in that notice or how, you know, am I going to have to hire a babysitter? Like these really big decisions that have to do with like their life, you know? So like, no wonder, no wonder they do feel anxiety, right? Or there are a lot of anxious feelings around that. So, so the next part of the question was, or is, how do you cope? You know, like, how do you cope? What do you do? What are the things that can bring you peace in the moment? Like, how do you know if you need a therapist or if you need a coach? Or like, if you feel like, okay, the yoga helps, but it's still kind of coming up, like, what do you do? Like, you know, is there— I know there's probably not like a cut-and-dry answer to that. Yeah, but what would you suggest?

Yeah, it's such a good question. I find that breathwork, like being able to move your energy that you're feeling in your body, breathwork is a great place to start. So if you're feeling kind of any kind of anxiety or stress, overwhelm, being able to, you know, like use your own system to regulate with breathwork is really, really powerful. So I incorporate breathwork into the work that I do, meditation, and it doesn't have to be like an hour thing, you know. If you're on the go, it's 5 minutes before you leave for the day, 10 minutes before you leave for the day, like starting small and just giving yourself that time to ask like, what do I need for these 10 minutes? And it might just be like letting your body know it's safe or letting yourself know that, you know, you're loved just because you exist. Like you're innately like a beautiful human. Things like that. Sometimes your system, we're just, we're so conditioned to just go, go, go, go, go as we are because we're human. But taking those few minutes can make the biggest shift. Wow. That's like a good place to start. Yeah.

And like, I guess like tuning in with yourself, right? Like taking them, like taking a minute and like if You know, if especially like if you're high achieving or if you know that you have to go and perform, quote unquote, like slowing down and saying like, wait a minute, like I can take 5 minutes or I can take 30 seconds right here, right? And just breathe or, you know, just recognize like I am safe, I'm worthy. Yeah, yeah, that's good. Well, so are you pretty like experienced in breathwork?

Yeah. So as a, like as someone that practices breathwork, I do it almost, I would say almost every day. And then I'm also a certified breathwork facilitator. I got that certification in February, so a little bit, a little bit new. That's exciting. Yeah, it is very exciting. And I do incorporate it just a little bit into like sessions. And then I'm doing a more intensive certification starting in November. And that one's like a 6-month certification. So in the future, I'll be offering probably like free breathwork sessions and just working on getting like experience with just like an hour-long breathwork session is a little bit different than, you know, something that's shorter. It's not as intensive. A lot can come up in an hour session of breathwork. So I just want to be as like trained and informed, um, so I can, you know, offer the best space.

Yeah, yeah, that's beautiful. So I did— I worked with a mentor this year and we did like some deep like work, like some inner work. And a part of our practice was breathwork. It was a lot of like visualization and manifestations. Yeah, that too. I'm like visualizations and breathwork and like some hypnosis and stuff. So I didn't really like breathwork. Like, like the first time I did it, I was like, oh, this is like— this was, this was like very like orgasmic. Like that was how it felt, sort of.

Not like an actual orgasm, but like it felt like Yeah, like, just like, I know what you mean.

No holds on this show, y'all. But it was like very like euphoric, and it was like, uh, wow. And then after that, like, I felt, um, almost like this is like taking too long. Like, I felt sort of like frustrated, or I would be like— I would like lose focus. Um, and so then, so, so now like thinking about it, I'm like, well, maybe that means that I need to practice more. Like, maybe like that's a sign to like keep practicing, you know? Um, or I don't know, like, did you ever feel feel that? Or like, is that common, like, in people that are like trying to practice it?

I think very common, yes. The first time that I discovered breathwork was in 2014 or '15. I went to a yoga festival, Wanderlust, and there was a— it's kind of like you can sign up for all of these different sessions. So I signed up for one. It was called Radiant Love Breathwork, and I had no idea what to expect. I was— I just read the description. I was like, oh, that sounds awesome. Like, let me, let me sign up. And I was there and it was, you know, 100 people under this big tent in the middle of Vermont. And I just had this absolutely insane experience. It's like, wow, what— this was amazing. Never in a million years would I think like however many years later I would be getting breathwork certified and offering it myself through the same teacher. Actually, I stayed connected, which was pretty cool. Yeah, so I'm certified through David Elliott and Aaron Telford. So yeah, and since then I would say resistance with breathwork has come up so much, especially in the beginning. I would be inconsistent with the practice. I would just find— I would be like, I don't want to do that, it's uncomfortable.

Boring. Like, that's how I'm like, it's boring. Like, yeah, I want to sit there for that long. Mm-hmm.

And that's why the 10-minute breathwork is so nice, because it's like you pick your intention and The breath is like tailored to that intention, and then you, you know, you go about your day, which is nice.

Yeah.

So it's like a nice like way to keep the practice without the hour of boredom.

Yeah, exactly. Okay. That makes me feel so validated to know that like, okay, you're like a certified practitioner and that is normal. Thank you for that. Yeah. It was just like, I think because I did have some, some like really good breakthroughs during those sessions, like Kelly, if you're listening, like I loved our sessions, you know, Like they were good and like I had some good breakthroughs, but a lot of times like halfway through it, I'd be like, oh my God, like, can we like get back to talking now? You know?

Right, right.

So thank you for sharing that. Okay, so what is somatic? Because I think a lot of people will have this question. What is somatic embodiment? Is that just like— in my head I'm thinking like somatic, like that's like your body, like your movement, right? And then like, is it just like embodiment work again? Can you kind of elaborate on that some, please?

Yeah, great question. That, yeah, that's pretty much exactly what it is. Somatic embodiment is working at the nervous system level. So it's getting into your body. It's, you know, we have 3 different like energetic states that we could be in. So we have our structured minds, and that's where, you know, our thoughts are going, our fears, our judgments, we're human. Then we have soft mind. That's when we're a little bit more like dropped in, maybe after yoga class, you're You're feeling super zen, like if something happened you'd be like, oh, it's all good. Yeah, I'm zen, I just went to yoga. And then we have embodied awareness, which is, uh, you know, when you're, you're connected with your, your power center, you're connected with your intuition, you're grounded, um, you're connected with your truth. And somatic embodiment as a whole is being in that embodied awareness state. That's the practice of it, being in that, that state of like in your body connected to your power center, you know, because you're going to be experiencing your thoughts, your emotions, and then like your intuition and being able to kind of differentiate where am I feeling these things and what are they communicating to me and what is my— how is my body responding to that? And then taking like understanding yourself in a whole different way, kind of like—

and that would be like any time throughout the day. So like literally like right here on this interview right now, like, like internally you just like dropping into your body and saying like, okay, like, oh, I need a breath, or oh, I'm like tightening, like, like I'll tighten my core, like my, like my stomach a lot, like I'll kind of be like holding it in, like, oh, like I can relax, you know, like, is that kind of what that means?

Yes, you're so brilliant. That's exactly it. Yes. So like an example would be like if I were to, you know, drop in I would say like, oh, I'm experiencing like a sensation like around my solar plexus and I can feel like kind of like tingly. I feel like a lot of different like energy right now, but that's not necessarily some— and then I could, I could keep going. I could say like, okay, what is this energy? Like, what is this energy? Is this mine or am I tracking your energy? You know, like, am I picking up on like how you are feeling? So if I were with a client, that's something that I would be able to do. I would be able to track their energy as we're going through an experience, um, and help them explore those sensations.

Yeah, yeah, that's so powerful. I love it. Yeah, that is powerful stuff, especially— and I think like whenever you're combining those modalities, you know, um, the breathwork and then using your background, um, with psychology, so probably like some cognitive, you know, behavioral changes and stuff happening in there and like just coaching. Yeah. Oh my God, we have the best job ever. Like, literally, it's the best.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I'm so glad that I, that I found it because, um, I mean, it's just been such a journey the past like 10 years. I feel like after you graduate college, you're like, oh, now I need to like know what I want to do. And then you kind of like experience, you know, all these different like milestones of finding out what works and what doesn't. So it's very funny that, you know, since that time finding myself here now and using something that I had struggled with for so long as like basically I call it transforming anxiety into your superpower, like basically using like it's created so much of like who I am that it's like very cool to be able to translate that into something that can help other people. Wow.

Yeah. Into your work, like into the impact that you're making on other people's lives. Like, that's huge.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, that's exciting stuff, Rachel. Well, thank you so much for sharing that with us. If you could tell anything to our listeners right now, like, you know, and just like, I don't know if you'd like take a minute or like channel who's listening, like whatever, or maybe you have like a go-to that you, that you would say, I don't know, like what would you just tell them right now if they were working through some anxiety of their own, or if they were really working on like, you know, embodying like their highest version of themselves or like really understanding themselves? Yeah, like what would you say to them?

Yeah, such a good question. If they were struggling with anxiety, I would encourage them to drop in, sit with the sensation, find where it is in their body, and then tell themselves that they're safe and that they're loved.

You are safe and you are loved.

Oh, I love it.

So good. So good, Rachel. Well, thank you so much for coming, coming on today and for sharing this with us. I know that our listeners just, you know, like they just soaked it up. I definitely I loved hearing about the 3 levels of that somatic experience and what that really means. So thank you for sharing that. And thank you for coming on, Rachel.

Yeah, thank you so much, Lindsey. It's been so nice. This has been so fun. And I'm so happy that we got to connect.

Yes, absolutely. Oh, so one more thing before we hop off, tell us again where our, where our Community Connect can connect with you. Or if there's any other place you want to direct them to, or like what's the easiest way for them to reach out to you if they want to connect and let you know what their favorite part of today's today's episode was.

Yeah, that would be great. The best way to connect with me currently is on Instagram and you can find me @presentbynature.

Perfect.

Just DM me, reach out. I'd love to chat.

I love it. That's so simple. I'm like, just, just come find me on Instagram. Like, just come on over to the Gram. Come say hey. Don't have to make this complicated.

I love it. Yeah.

Yeah. Come say hello on Instagram, y'all. Leave us a review. Send us a message. Let us know what questions you have. Like, I love to get questions after these interviews. And then, you know, we can always expand on it or, you know, you can expand on it in your stories or in the message in Messenger or whatever. So yes, you all, you all, it's like the second time today I've said you all. I'm like, I'm from Georgia. I say y'all.

Yeah, y'all.

Y'all, what's happening with this? But anyways, so y'all reach out to us. Let us know what your favorite part was. Leave a review. And we will see you all, y'all, in the next episode of the Aligned Coach Podcast. Goodbye.