Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aimee Ames. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Aimee, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
I’d say it was the moment I discovered just how poweful Breathwork can be! I sounds extreme because it was, but I was forever changed after I stumbled into my first Breathwork experience. I registered for a Sound Bath and Breathwork with a sound practitioner I knew and thought, “Great! Some calm breathing to go with the sound. Perfect.” As the Breathwork Facilitator described all the things we could experience from the breathwork I began wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into. Sure enough, within a few minutes of breathing in and out of our mouths, someone began crying. Then another person was laughing, and soon enough the entire room, myself excluded, was emoting in one way or another. My hands, however, were cramping up like little claws and I felt a quiet panic wash over me. I called the woman over to help me, to make sure my hands were ok. She placed crystals in each palm, reassuring me that what was happening was completely “normal”. Normal? Normal for what? The rest of the breathing became a bit of a blur and when we all came to and sat up to share I found myself in a complete dissociated state of awe.
I somehow made my way to the bathroom and as I waited in line, I noticed a pretty little frame on a table that housed a quote. I read it a few times, shocked at how deeply the sentiment resonated. In this moment I knew my life would never be the same. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Something shifted within me during the breathwork. It was as if a heavy trap door inside me opened and I couldn’t close it if I tried.
Up until this point I had been on the verge of a complete mid-life awakening (not at all a crisis!) and this moment turned out to be my sweet surrender. I was ready to begin the long trek of returning to who I knew myself to be, the woman who had allowed a box to be built around her that served everyone else’s purpose, but not her own. Covid shut down breathwork a week or so later. I was finally able to return to Breathwork a year and a half later and after yet another profound session I knew I had found my calling to support others through this life-changing, gentle, and profound self-healing and empowering modality. So yea, that very first Breathwork session completely changed the trajectory of both my life and my career.
Aimee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’d be so happy to! I love sharing how I’m embracing my mid-life, about to turn 50 in fact, and have been joyfully navigating a newly discovered world within and outside of myself that is centered around more love, intimacy, and connection. I’ve been actively practicing this in a variety of new relationships following divorce after a 26-year partnership. (Have to admit, it was a little like setting a caged bird free!) After focusing on raising my 3 kids for their first 13 or so years, I went back to school for nutrition and became a Functional Nutritional Therpay Practitioner. After a few years of supporting people’s physical health and well-being I dove deeper into more emotional and spiritual practices and became a life coach with The Intuitive Body Coach, and then added Conscious Breathwork to my ever-evolving toolkit! I’ve now completed a training with The Somatica Institute and I am on my way to becoming an Intimacy and Relationship Coach. When I’m not working, being in nature is the easiest way to refuel me and I love having intimate time with other heart-centered people, espcially the women in my Goddess circle. I have chosen an alcohol-free life to help break generations of unhealthy patterns and show my kids there are other ways of coping and enjoying life. I truly feel that I am living my best life and am so excited to see what’s next for me!
In regards to Breathwork, which is my true passion, it has changed my life by opening me to more compassion, forgiveness, and love for myself and others. It has supported me through a tumultuous time of mid-life transitions – divorce after a 26-year relationship, a spiritual awakening, and empty-nesting right around the corner. My Breathwork practice has empowered me with new ways of thinking and being, allowing me to shed many limiting beliefs, enabling me to not only dream of but create a life beyond what I thought was possible.
Most of my clients come to me in search of deeper emotional processing, to get “unstuck”, or to move forward in greater confidence. I say that Breathwork allows your inner therapist to go to work, uncovering what is ready and needed to unfold in your session. Every session is different for every person, and I especially love when people are visited by loved ones who have transitioned, when physical ailments improve, and when confidence and clarity grow tenfold. A recent client did holotropic breathwork with the founder himself, Stan Grov, about 35 years ago and was hoping her experience with me would NOT be like that – intense and harsh. She left feeling at peace and LOVED the “wonderful experience” she had with me. Another client recently said that her “capacity to expereince heaven on earth has expanded.” It can be that profound! As a result of Breathwork, other clients have gone on to start new businesses, released the weight of past traumas, and welcomed new relationships in their lives.
As an Intuitive Body Life Coach and a Breathwork Facilitator, I love helping people confidently navigate life so they can create the next chapter – sometimes a whole new novel – that fulfills their deepest, most authentic desires. I meet my clients where they are, empowering them to reclaim their fully expressed, fully embodied selves. This Spring I am adding an even greater embodied and experiential approach to coaching through certification with the Somatica Institute as a Sex and Rekatiobship Coach. Discovering more of my creativity and full expression through increased connection and intimacy with myself and others has radically changed how I show up in the world and I cannot wait to share this with my clients!
For many of us, it is rare to have a safe, judgment-free space where we can explore our desires, build skills around communication and intimacy, and share and release any longstanding feelings of shame. These experiences open us to a greater depth of intimacy and increased connection in our relationships. We show up differently, more confidently, and more connected to who we truly are, which impacts all parts of our lives! I offer my clients an experiential relationship laboratory, where it is safe to practice, explore, learn, and make mistakes, so they can more confidently navigate their current relationships or go on to attract their ideal partner.
I have loved the wisdom that has come with aging! Growing up I was often labeled as “shy” and for a long time this defined me and held me back. As I have gotten to know and understand myself better, I now know that my quiet, gentle demeanor is actually one of my greatest attributes. I offer a rare, gentle compassion and nurturing space for my clients, enabling them to vulnerably drop in for Breathwork or share their true, deepest desires, without shame or judgment. I strongly believe that everyone deserves to feel safe and uninhibited to create the life of their dreams.
I love working with people going through a mid-life shift, whether it’s a relationship transition, wanting a “love-lift” in a long-term relationship, or embracing a new relationship and devotion with yourself. I believe we are all deserving of joy and love and I gently guide you towards whole self-embodiment through Intimacy coaching and the life-changing, self-healing modality of Breathwork. While working in-person is essential for the integrity of the Breathwork I facilitate, coaching can be done in-person or via zoom.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
I have found that showing up as authentically as I can, with little to no ego, and with curiosity, compassion, and empathy is what attracts clients who are ready for this in-depth work. I dove into my Breathwork and coaching practice not because I am “healed” or know all the secrets, not at all! It is because I have walked the walk and continue to every day. I am still learning and evolving and I do not have it all figured out. Clients can relate to me, and feel safe with me, which I believe is the key to opening to change and embracing whatever “work” you choose to do. I am in no way superior to anyone. I devote my time and energy to supporting others on their path because I know it is so much harder to do it alone. Everyone needs a coach! You can only go so far on your own.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
After being a stay-at-home mom and community volunteer for over 12 years I began my second career in nutrition after healing my own digestive disorders with food and lifestyle changes. After a few years of nutrition coaching, it no longer felt aligned with my passion. Around this time I discovered Breathwork and began a deeper dive into my own emotional and spiritual health and transformation. I experienced such incredible changes that went beyond the surface, I was creating new neuropathways that supported a higher level of consciousness and joy. I shed limiting beliefs and was no longer falling back on old ways, but demanding more from myself and my life. I embraced the quote, “We have two lives, the second begins the moment we realize we only have one.” I was beginning my second life and knew my career needed to reflect that. So I got a life coaching certification with the Intuitive Body Coach and went through a 2-year training for Breathwork. And now I welcome a new pivot, which is more of an expansion, into Intimacy Coaching. I support my clients in doing what feels most aligned and true to them, as I continue to do for myself, and I am a huge advocate for always evolving!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aimeeames.com
- Instagram: @aimeeamescoaching
Image Credits
Hayden McComas – image of me in white tank top with light overhead