And that's a wrap.

A recap of the first Breathe with adhd workshop.

If you had told me last Summer, that in six months time I would be facilitating my first breathwork session, I would have laughed. I had only discovered the power of the breath months earlier, which is strange, considering how long I’ve been breathing for.

But on Saturday I held the first Breathe With ADHD workshop and I’m pleased to say that it went really well. As I wrote about in my first Substack newsletter, I’ve had numerous careers and jobs over the years and this has meant a constant feeling of imposter syndrome. The gnawing feeling that I’m going to be found out. But, when I began interviewing creatives on my podcast Balancing Acts, I soon discovered that most of us suffer from this.

And yet in the lead up to the workshop, those familiar thoughts popped up, from - “who are you to be facilitating a breathwork workshop” to - “this is a joke, you’re a comedy person, not a breathwork guru!” At one point I even thought about cancelling the event, but the admin involved put me off.

So I went ahead and I’m happy I did. Having spent the previous few weeks envisaging that like so many of my early stand up gigs, I would be talking to an empty room - I was pleasantly surprised that people actually turned up. But not only that, they seemed to enjoy the session.

Some had ADHD and others were “normies” - both were welcome and equally found the workshop beneficial. And it confirmed to me how powerful breathwork is as a modality and its healing potential. There were a range of emotional releases that I wont to go into, but it felt rewarding to share the knowledge that I accrued during my facilitator training in Bali. People left feeling calmer and armed with insights.

It’s interesting how past experiences can shape our present. For instance, a big part of accentuating a breathwork experience, is the accompanying music. In one of many previous careers, I worked in the music industry as an A&R scout (discovering artists and bands to sign to record labels) and a radio presenter. So needless to say, I spent hours crafting the perfect playlist for the workshop, ensuring that it would take participants on a journey.

When I began explaining how the session would be structured and some of the science behind breathwork, I felt surprisingly calm. But, I had spent five years performing across stand up comedy, improv and acting - so I guess it made sense that I wouldn’t feel that nervous. I’m saying writing this, because our past experiences are never wasted and you can reinvent yourself at any time. Who knows, maybe next year I’ll become a spy - now that I would be shit at. “Check out my Substack, where I write about my undercover life and reveal classified information - but like, in a funny way”. Fuck, that would actually get me a lot more subscribers. (Note to self, look into retraining as 007).

At the end of the session, I was asked when the next workshop is and the truth is, I hadn’t booked one - as I had no idea whether it would be a success or not. But it was and so a new date will be announced imminently! (Note to self, book the next workshop).

Is it weird for me to be sharing so openly the process of starting this new endeavour? Possibly, but this corner of the internet is entitled “The Journey” and launching Breathe With ADHD has very much been part of it - so unless I hear otherwise, I will continue to do so. And who knows, maybe it will inspire someone else to change career paths and become the worlds greatest/shittest covert spy.