We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lisa Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lisa below.
Lisa, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
A few years back, before Atlanta was home, I experienced a deep and painful riff in my relationship with a family member. Both my parents had passed away within 11 months of one another and the intensity of caring for them during their decline and the loss itself had revealed the strain and disharmony with one of my siblings. One explosive phone conversation was a punch of trauma so hurtful it had me breathing rapid and small with an overwhelming feeling of suffocation.
Years later, when I began to train in Breath Work, I recalled that episode of emotional trauma and how it changed my breath. I had never considered how breath is so deeply connected to our functional (or dysfunctional ) emotional and physical states.
About 3 months into COVID lock down, seeking to strengthen my inner life, I confronted my lifelong block against meditation and committed to a 21 day Breath Awareness practice. This was not the cathartic, circular breathwork style but a functional course in developing the ability to stay focussed on one thing. In this case it was my breath.
Each day for 20 minutes I would sit and “watch” my breath. 1 breath, 2 breaths, 3 breaths…what should I eat for breakfast?…back to breath, 2 breaths, 3 breaths, 4 breaths…where is that sweater with the rust and blue colors?, I need to buy coffee…back to breath, 2 breaths, 3 breaths, and so on. The first few days were disappointingly unfulfilling. But then, slowly I could sustain my breath awareness for longer and longer. My mind was not in control of me, whipping me about like an excited dog on a leash.
I was HOOKED. Rather than asserting my will to sit quietly in breath awareness, I trundled happily into place and reveled in the goodness of how it felt. I was having realizations like, ‘Why on God’s earth did it take me so long to commit to building this ability!?” and “ Why is this not taught in schools and in healthcare facilities?”.
Toward the end of the 21 days I noticed how different I felt. I was waking with a sense of well-being. During the day there was space between my thoughts instead of this constant mental state of traffic jam and overwhelm. There’s more – I slept peacefully through the night. I had calm presence more often in the face of conflict or…wait for it, less actual conflict!!
In the manner of magic, next came a “book that fell from the shelf “ kind of moment. No choice but to read it and send my Breath Work journey into hyper-drive. Over the next 2 years I built my training in breathwork by finding the masters of it, reading and watching the teachers who taught this before it was a 5 minute warm-up activity at your office retreats. Breathwork is referenced in texts from every culture in the world and for thousands of years it has been explored for its healing power. It is more than a five minute warm-up.
Like all good information acquired, it was tested. There came a day for a visit with my estranged family member . There was an entire meal sat through where my legs were jiggling and my hands were shaking like the earth beneath me was the actual cause. And with that came a strange mix of anxiety & gratitude: anxiety for the experience of what was happening in my body, (I can barely breathe!) to gratitude for the training to employ the breath and put all my learning into practice.
I anchored into my breath as I sat across from my sibling. When the visit was over, I was exhausted but sure that breathing had helped me not to spiral and lose my way. In the days and weeks that followed, returning to my daily conscious breathing practice showed me how I could unlock the grip of trauma and return to calm presence again. I wasn’t trapped. I recovered faster. Even more amazing is that I find myself sensing the possibility of another visit…another chance to heal and open to family love.
When I finally learned the lessons of breath, it changed EVERYTHING for me and helped me heal from those traumatic life events. In the years since, I have trained in breath techniques and use them in my daily practice as well as teach them. I teach people to consciously change how they breathe so they can have different outcomes with their daily engagements with others and with the discomfort they have in their body.
As a Certified Breath Coach I now evaluate every client for dysfunctional breathing and encourage clients to address this most basic physiological function that is our lifeline to energy, healing, safe haven, solace, clarity & reassurance.
Lisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I customize each session to the clients’ ability and needs but it is important to have good Diaphragmatic Breathing to move into some of the special styles of breathing, so we start there. There are many, many breathing techniques but the ones I use most often are: Coherent Breathing, Heart Resonance Breathing, Active Interval Breathing, Chakra Balancing Breath Work, Kapalbhati, Warming and Cooling Breath Work, Breathwork for Insomnia and Breath Work for Creativity.
The most common reasons people try breath work are to rapidly transform the experience of being in your own body/mind and to shift the mental/emotional state and this can happen fast and safely. Other reasons people use breath work are head ache, stomach problems, sinus issues and allergies, insomnia and fatigue, depression and chronic illness. Most people want a technique they can use when their mood or their body feels out of balance and they want to see if they can rebalance on their own.
I particularly love working with 2 people at a time . When you come with another person I will teach modifications for each person’s needs. During the breath work, if you are building a relationship or repairing a relationship with a loved one, we explore different postures and positions in proximity to the other: back to back, arms touching, or knee to knee. During the session we can focus simply on learning technique together but we can also address relationship dynamics by surrendering and trusting each other to lead the breath rhythm in turn.
I recommend 3 sessions to be a good foundation for breath work training. The initial assessment provides information about dysfunctional breathing habits and directs me to propose a plan for getting each person into a healthy breathing habit usually within 3 sessions.
It is very important to work with a good coach, especially someone who does an assessment of your functional breathing habit. There are many breath work videos and events popping up. But none of these will assess your breathing habit before you begin. If you are a dysfunctional breather and try an online course or a group event, it can actually send your Central Nervous System into a trauma response. It is always good to work with an experienced guide when you are trying a technique that has a profound impact on your mental/emotional state.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
It is vitally important to work with wellness professionals who have an embodied practice. By this I mean, someone who actually has a daily habit of engaging in the wellness modality they teach. You wouldn’t want to go for counseling with someone who has never experienced the therapy process, right? My daily practice and moment by moment awareness of my breath is the most important gift I have to share with my clients. I actively use my breath to rid myself of headache, tummy issues, depression and anxiety events. I know how to do it successfully for myself so I can share this embodied experience clearly and effectively.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Giving talks! I love to be invited to speak about Breath Work and give short breath work experiences with groups. This always converts to new clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.visionaryhealingcenter.org
- Instagram: @visionaryhealing
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/VHCenterforwellness
- Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/visionaryhealing?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=ea7eefc7-6888-40d5-9288-c7993ac8a303
- Other: https://p.bttr.to/3NFPM4d