Hi, my name is Anja (they/them) and in June 2022 I moved to a smallholding in the South-West of Scotland with my partner Emma, after having lived in Brighton since December 2018. I love nature, cooking, plants, our cats, dog and chickens and my healing practices: herbs, tea, tarot, and breathwork. I’ve found a lot of power in breathwork on my own healing journey and I love sharing this simple but profound practice, interwoven with some herbal magic.
I am working on updating my offering and will start up in the new year.
What is Breathwork?
Breathwork is an active guided breathing meditation. It bypasses the brain and lets us feel and clear any blocks or stuck emotions that are draining our life force. It enables us to access the wisdom within us and deepen our connection to source.
Anja holds space in a calm, committed, kind way. Their approach is gentle, non invasive, yet strong. During one breath work session I connected with and cleared some held trauma pattern from the birth of my daughter. It had been sitting there unnoticed for 17 years. Releasing this has helped me regain my sensuality, vitality and power. I feel alive again, strong and refreshed. My thanks goes to the breathwork and Anja’s safe guiding.
For my fellow cat people, explaining breathwork to my cat…
So Moisey, you know when your fur kind of collects all this static energy? And you get a bit grumpy and overexcited? And then you go out in the garden, roll around in the grass and the plants and that static energy goes away and you feel light and relaxed again? That’s basically what breathwork feels like to humans.
Insight herbalism
Insight Herbalism is a form of practice where the emphasis is on supporting clients and groups in understanding themselves and their health through direct experiences of plants. Within this model, herbs are not ‘prescribed’, rather they are introduced and the client is given the support they need to integrate the plant, its teachings and the physiological changes it can help support, into their lives.
As an insight herbalist, my work with the herbs infuses my breathwork sessions and vice versa. I believe that simple body awareness, meditation and just being with a plant can uncover deeper feelings and understandings that are otherwise more difficult to access. With the plants I have always had a feeling of not being alone while exploring my inner emotional landscapes. Very early on in my journey with breathwork I started to explore ways of being with both the herbs and the breath and I had the incredible luck of being able to hold herb-led breathwork groups for the students of the School of Intuitive herbalism. Everyone agrees that these sessions are incredibly powerful and move/open up/heal deeply.
Let’s keep in touch! I will send a newsletter (not too regularly, sorry, it’s not my style) to update you about news and events around my breathwork practice.