‘Working with the breath’ is common practice at Soul Fire Studios, but Lisa Li takes it to a whole new level with sound, energetic healing and shamanic roots.
Heading into the studio for a Breath Ceremony with Lisa Li, I had no idea what to expect. I wanted to learn more about the power of the breath but what happened over the next two hours was a full-body experience like no other.
As I walked into the studio, I entered a cocoon of warmth and comfort. In the candlelit room filled with blankets, cushions and bolsters, Lisa sat in the far corner beneath a scattering of twinkling stars - created by a small projector.
Each finding a mat and adding our own collection of cushions and blankets for extra comfort, Lisa explained that the bolsters on either side of us were for hitting, as she passed round tissues for us to keep handy. I quickly realised that the breathing would be the vessel to something much deeper.
A Biodynamic Breathwork and Trauma Release Certified Practitioner, Lisa talked us through the process of a breath ceremony and what might happen. “Let your body go where it wants to go,” she said “and let out whatever needs to, come out.”
“Healing can be found through connecting the mind, body and spirit via the tool of the breath. It’s a fully natural medicine that anybody can tap into to alter their inner state.”
After learning the technique of circular breathing, we crawled under our blankets, laid our heads on the pillows and put eye masks in place for 60 minutes of breathwork healing. Here are 5 things I learned from my first ceremony…
1. We have the power to reach a higher state with our own breath.
After fifteen minutes of breathing in the darkness, Lisa asked us to stop and ‘tone’ (AKA hit our bolsters, kick our feet and shout). The idea is to shift the energy in our bodies that circular breathing has brought to the surface. 30 seconds later, we returned to the breath and I started to feel something.
It started with a tingling in my cheeks, a need to lift my shoulders and bubbling emotion. Within half an hour, I’d gained clarity on some important elements of my life, hugged my body and cried. I couldn’t believe that the simple act of adapting my breath and focusing on my body could have such an impact.
2. Our bodies hold past experiences and trauma.
Between the circular breathing and the regular toning breaks, I started to really feel where my body was holding onto my unresolved past. My shoulders were heavy and stiff with carrying the weight of my people-pleasing tendencies and I was holding tension in my womb region.
As we breathed in unison, Lisa moved around the room providing words of support. “Where do you feel it? Let it out, that’s it.” When people began to throw their arms or legs, she’d encourage the room to listen to the body and move whatever needed to move. It felt amazing to not feel tied to the social constraints of ‘looking normal’ and allowing ourselves to be the animals we are and shake the trauma from our bodies.
3. One hour of circular breathing can heal emotional pain.
I was sceptical of the impact a two-hour workshop could have on me, but when I couldn’t stand up to go to the bathroom without feeling completely intoxicated and unstable, it hit me and in the days that followed, I felt a real shift emotionally.
“The workshop allows the body’s natural healing ability to kick in, giving you the space to process any unresolved stories we may be hanging onto that can affect our health and wellbeing. Stuck energy, stress and blockages in the body can be released within a safe environment,” Lisa says.
“Breath ceremony holds a transformational space for you to find your own strength and power as a self-healer.”
4. The experience feels different for everyone.
At the end of the session, we came together in a circle - a group of ten people who barely knew each other but shared a very intimate and collective experience. Lisa invited us to share our experiences if we wanted to and every one of us held space for each other to be vulnerable about the pain and energy they felt they had shifted.
Some people felt physical discomfort and pain, others felt an overwhelm of emotion. Some experienced euphoria and others didn’t feel anything this time. It was a real mix of feelings and experiences.
5. You can feel safe and held in community.
As we shared our stories, I felt incredibly humbled to witness such personal, vulnerable moments and felt completely safe to talk about my own. While the idea of sharing a deep healing experience with a group of people I didn’t know felt daunting at the beginning, everybody let themselves go where they needed to go and at the end, we could all feel held in our nourishing Soul Fire Studios community.
Book onto the next Breathwork Ceremony with Lisa Li on 5th August