We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan Callus. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan below.
Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
When I opened my breathwork business in 2022. I was living with my fiancee. I was so excited about the future and all of its possibilities. On a warm a spring morning, that April, after watching my daughter’s soccer game, he pulled the car into the driveway and told me he was leaving me. Within minutes, he had packed his bags and left. He never said goodbye to my two daughters who had grown to love and rely on him. The man I had planned on spending my life with, the one whose hand I held every night open falling asleep, had decided I no longer mattered. The next few months are a dark blur where I literally had to remind myself how to walk, how to eat, how to live, something, at many times, I no longer wanted to do. But what I discovered during that time, was the immense power of the breath. I had known our breath has profound implications on our health and well-being but I had not fully appreciated how extraordinary it could be as a tool to bring one back from the brinks of hell, access peace amidst total chaos, and allow one to begin regulating a nervous system that has become dangerously unregulated. It’s not a panacea, but it’s the light when all else seems dark. When I saw our breath, from that lens, it altered not only my own practice but opened me to its potential in a world that is shifting.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a neuroscience educated Breathwork specialist. Almost two decades after receiving my masters degree from Tufts University spurred on by a massive injury that traditional physical therapy and rehabilitation practices could not address, I studied applied neuroscience through a program called Z-Health. I began working for a neuromuscular training center helping people recover from injuries, chronic pain, neurodegenerative diseases and concussions when Covid hit. I began independently studying the respiratory system and combined disciplines including my undergraduate degree in religious studies to create my breathwork company, Boundless Breath NJ. My approach is very unusual as few have expertise in spirtuality, science and neuroscience, Because my training and approach is so unique I was featured in Oprah Daily in 2023.
Although I have had a private practice working with clients one-on-one I have broadened my scope and recently switched gears and now teach the science and spirituality of Breathwork to those in the wellness and mental health industries. I offer in person and virtual courses ranging from weekend workshops to 3-month classes.
I help those who want to use Breathwork with their own clients an understanding of what differentiates the over 400 different Breathwork techniques, so they away with an appreciation of the science of these techniques and the knowledge of which ones to use and which to avoid given the goals and needs of their clients. What sets me apart is my deep understanding and respect for the science and therefore the power of our breathing on every single human system as well as a deep compassion for the experiences and traumas so many individuals carry. So many individuals are struggling just to survive and the healthcare system and traditional therapy has failed them. I understand that darkness personally and scientifically and know how breath can be a critical element of healing. My goal is to expose as many individuals as I can to the impact our breath has on how we think, see and feel and provide the tools and deep caring to help.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There are many well meaning individuals in the wellness and spiritual community who sell products and services to fix and heal their clients, I was one of them. I thought Breathwork could heal people of their traumas, health issues and anxieties.. I had to unlearn this misconception. This will be very controversial but I do not believe individuals not need to be fixed, healed or changed. They need to be offered continuous and unwavering love and support as they let go of all the programing that tells them there are parts of themselves that are broken or wrong. They need tools to help them re-regulate their nervous systems so they can understand their journey and learn to trust their bodies, emotions and thoughts again. No part is broken. All parts serve a purpose. It’s learning to embrace all of those parts and our breath is a beautiful entry point to that space of understanding, trust and resilience. .
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My entire life has been one pivot after another , After my divorce, I had to pivot away from my professional career as an environmental advocate and policy analyst. This was a career I had gotten a graduate degree in, spent years building and loved but had to leave because it could not financially support me or my daughters. When I chose a new profession and opened a business in (functional fitness), I had a catastrophic injury that caused me to shut the doors. When I shifted into new work that did not bring in much income because my fiancée supported us, I had to quickly pivot again when he abandoned me and my daughters without warning one day. There are no guarantees in this world. People leave, injuries occur, life shifts in unbelievably unexpected ways that can bring you to your knees. I have no words of wisdom to prevent or prepare you for those pivots. But there is a Grace n this world that catches you when you fall if you can breathe into and trust the journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.boundlessbreath.us
- Instagram: Boundlessbreathnj
- Facebook: Megan Callus
- Linkedin: Megan Callus
