Amanda Russo's Journey to Emotional Liberation through Breathwork

There was a holotropic breathwork session and it was very deep and challenging because the thoughts that came up for me . Now we call it breathwork for a reason , because it is work and a lot of people don't necessarily realize that . Now I heard traumatizing things that were said to me in a past relationship and it was really difficult .

But I was able to bring those thoughts , that whole conversation to the surface process . It feel all the thoughts and the pain and I bawled my eyes out and I deeply let it go and I was able to forgive myself for things throughout that relationship .

But I was also able to forgive him and let that go Because I didn't even realize I was holding onto comments that were said to me .

This man had made the comment about how I wasn't able to show him love because I never received it from my father and I didn't even realize subconsciously that was weighing me down and bothering me until I re-heard the conversation and I was able to let it go and things like that will happen during breathwork .

I relived a different conversation , with that same relationship in that breathwork session and , honestly , it was really challenging for me . So , post this plant medicine ceremony , I went really inward . I took a break from all plant medicines . I went really inward . I took a break from all plant medicines .

I took a break from breathwork because I really needed to just reflect on what had come up for me . I took a few months off from a lot of that . Then a good friend of mine was hosting a breathwork session . It was the anniversary of my grandma's passing and I just did not want to sit home . I just didn't want to sit home by myself .

I decided to go to this breathwork session and I went into it in a pretty melancholy state . I was thinking about all of the small areas of how I wished situations within my life with my grandma was different . I wished Mimi got to see me graduate high school . I wished all these different things .

Then I did this conscious , connected breathwork session and at the end of it I reframed every single negative aspect of the situation with my Mimi in a different light , from small things like she didn't see you graduate high school to , but she saw you graduate eighth grade . You have pictures of her and you

at your eighth grade graduation and then I thought about how I wished I got more time with her . She passed when I was 15 , but for those 15 years it lived with her . My mom worked a lot as I was growing up and I spent a lot of time with my Mimi , so I did get a lot of quality time . Could it have been more Sure ?

But my mindset has shifted to then see okay , wow , here's the positive aspect of this negative situation that I can't change because it's a fact of life . I can't bring my deceased Mimi back from the dead . I can't get more time back with her . It's not something we're able to do .

Yet it was so mind-blowing to me that situations that were factual and could not be changed my mindset suddenly shifted and I looked at them differently and I was like all I did was breathe . I experienced mindset shifts immediately , in a way that nothing else has shifted my mindset , and it blew me away , honestly , and I knew I had to keep doing this .

I didn't understand the power of the full magic or even how it worked , but I knew I needed to do this again because something that I knew consciously was weighing me down was the loss of my grandmother . It helped me reframe that when nothing else happened , from therapy to journaling , to meditation , to plant medicine , you name it . I've done it .

It didn't help . It did a little , but it was just the surface level . It didn't peel back all the deep layers . Then I did conscious , connected breath work and my life . Might sound crazy saying my life changed , but I looked at something that had bothered me for over 10 years in a different light .

I felt like I lost so much weight , but it wasn't physical weight . That's the thing . Sometimes the weight we need to lose is not on our body . And those are just some of the huge transformations I have had from breathwork . It helps me think of different ways to figure out things that come up in life .

It has helped me become so much more of a mindful person . Prior to discovering breathwork and developing a consistent breathwork practice , I was someone who just went with the flow so much more . I didn't have a plan . I didn't take time to actually figure out what I was gonna do . How am I gonna structure my day ? How am I going to structure my day ?

How do I want to show up in the world and it's really helped me take that step back , take that step outside of myself and see who is Manders , who is Manders at the core . How does Manders want to show up in the world ? And I encourage you to reflect on that as well . Breathwork is not for everyone . Nothing is . I say that all the time .

But you won't know if you will get benefits out of something if you don't try it . That is with everything in life . I used to be this type of person that had the mindset of I'm not going to do that because I have this title or this identity . Plant medicine was one of them .

I held myself to this egotistical standard of being a paralegal , and paralegals don't do plant medicine , says who Me . Something I say all the time is that breath work is different for every single person and you will have a different experience every single time .

But the biggest thing I emphasize is that you will not know if something is for you , if you will enjoy something , if something will benefit you if you never experience it . Something , if something will benefit you if you never experience it . Don't put yourself in a box because you have this identity or this ego of you're not going to try xyz .

Something I say all the time as well is we're here , then we're not , and it's

true . What do you have to lose by trying conscious , connected breathwork ? It might seem a little woo-woo , it might seem out there , but there are so many scientific benefits of this and I'm not going to get into all the science of breathwork . There is plenty of it .

But it reduces cortisol levels , helping people manage stress and anxiety , and we all have stress in some area of our lives . Breathwork can also help process and release stored traumas . It activates areas in the brain associated with emotional regulation .

This is why people are able to let go of things that have been weighing them down , because they are tapping into their subconscious . All of this being said , I wanted to provide a space for people to hear more about the magical power in life-changing transformations of breathwork .

And if you're ready to experience the benefits for yourself of breathwork , you can join me every Monday night for Mindful Mindset Mondays with Mandos , a virtual breathwork session . It's pay what you can , because everyone deserves access to this magical experience if they're ready to step into that experience .

I don't want location , finances , any of the above to be a barrier for someone experiencing breathwork if they are ready to have that experience . Again , I encourage y'all to lean into the unknown . You never know what you will enjoy . Maybe you'll hate breathwork . Maybe you'll have a huge transformation .

Maybe it will be just something that gives you some calmness in your life . Regardless , you will not know the benefits or the drawbacks of anything until you experience it . Every single thing in life is different for each unique person . How I experience breathwork is not how you will experience breathwork .

How someone experiences weightlifting is not how you will experience weightlifting . Our bodies are different , our minds are different , but why not give yourself the opportunity to try something new and see what transformations you could have ? For so long , I hindered myself from doing certain things because of the words I was saying .

You may have heard me talk on Mander's Mindset about how I wanted to run a 5k . So I challenged myself to run a mile every single day because I was then calling myself and identifying myself as a runner . I don't love running now , but it's something I do on and off . You won't know if you enjoy something or if you hate something if you don't do it .

For the longest time . I said I hated running , but I hadn't ran in years . How did I know I hated running . It's time to shift your mindset and explore new possibilities , to see how you can step into the highest and greatest versions of yourselves . I encourage you to breathe into new possibilities and new experiences and see what life can unfold for you .

Thank you , guys for tuning in to Breathwork Magic .