Beyond Words: Working with Trauma Through Breath and Embodied Awareness

We all carry stories.

There are the stories of our lived experience, the stories of what has happened to us, the stories we tell ourselves about our families and our culture - and the story of who we believe ourselves to be.

But what happens to these stories when we experience trauma?

Trauma disrupts story.

When an experience overwhelms our capacity to process it, our ability to form a coherent autobiographical narrative can be compromised. Trauma fragments experience, disrupts meaning-making, and can lead to a sense of disconnection from self. While parts of the story may be consciously remembered, other aspects - particularly those held in the body and nervous system - may remain outside of awareness.

**Clients may present with familiar narratives:**

“My childhood was fine.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“I’m okay really.”

Or equally, with fixed and global stories such as “I was never cared for” or “Something is wrong with me.”

Often, these stories are incomplete - shaped by survival rather than integration.

From a trauma-informed perspective, the body may be carrying implicit memories, affective states, and unmet responses that have never been fully processed or symbolised. Beneath the familiar narrative, there is often a deeper story waiting to be felt, understood, and integrated.

One way of accessing this material is through Conscious Connected Breathwork.

Because the breath sits at the intersection of voluntary and autonomic functioning, it offers a unique gateway into the nervous system. When facilitated safely and appropriately, Conscious Connected Breathing can support clients to access subconscious material, increase interoceptive awareness, and bring implicit experience into conscious awareness. This can allow previously fragmented aspects of experience to be integrated into a more coherent and compassionate narrative.

When clients are able to feel and make sense of their story - rather than only talk about it - something begins to shift. Meaning can be restored, agency reclaimed and a greater sense of wholeness experienced.

In this workshop, you will be introduced to Conscious Connected Breathwork as a trauma-informed, body-based approach that can complement existing therapeutic work. Drawing on neuroscience, trauma theory, and clinical examples, we will explore how breathwork can support clients to reconnect with their story in a way that is regulated, contained, and client-led.

You will leave with a conceptual framework for understanding trauma that places the client’s lived experience - and their capacity to make meaning - at the heart of the healing process.

**Workshop Format**

This workshop will be part theory and presentation and part experiential.

You will have the opportunity to explore Conscious Connected Breathing for yourself through a 20–30 minute facilitated breathwork session. The experiential element is offered so you can gain a felt sense of the practice and its potential applications.

For the guided session, please ensure you have a comfortable place to sit or lie down, with cushions or pillows and a blanket, so you can fully relax and engage with the experience.

**Contraindications**

The breathwork process is often deeply relaxing, but it can also involve physical, emotional, or energetic release. As such, certain conditions are contraindicated.

Please inform Onlinevents in advance, or let John Paul know during the workshop, if any of the following apply to you. You are still welcome to attend the workshop and appropriate guidance or modifications will be offered.

First trimester of pregnancy

Cardiovascular disease including angina, previous heart attack or stroke

Epilepsy

High Blood Pressure (not controlled by medication)

Uncontrolled thyroid conditions and diabetes

History of psychosis, bipolar or schizophrenia

Glaucoma or detached retina

Aneurysm of brain or abdomen

Asthma – you may wish to bring your inhaler to the session.

**Further Training**

For those who find this approach resonates with their work, John Paul offers a one-day introductory training in trauma-informed breathwork for helping professionals, as well as a nine-month practitioner training for those wishing to develop greater depth, confidence and clinical competence in facilitating breathwork.

Both trainings emphasise safety, relational presence, ethical application and the integration of breathwork alongside existing therapeutic practice. Further details will be shared during the workshop for those who wish to explore this pathway further.

Description supplied by the event organiser.