E6: How Breath Can Unlock Your Best Self This Year

Episode #6. Breath: The Key To Unlocking Your Best Self This Year?

Work it, Remote podcast

Host: Erika Bergen

Published December 31, 2024

Tine: Hi Erika. Thanks so much for having me here. It's so nice to reconnect with you.

Erika: It really is. Especially now when we are having this time in the world where there's so many things going on. And I know the listeners are juggling all of those things plus, right, plus working remote, plus trying to juggle all of these many demands.

And so I really love this idea of, Your breath something we all have we might not all have accessto all parts of our bodies or all different types of spaces, but we all can access our breath and so what is Breath work. Break it down for us. What is it?

Tine: Yeah, sure. So, breathwork is a bit of an umbrella term, as you can imagine. And there's many different types of breathwork that exist. There's breathwork that supports women who are going through labor. There's breath work that you would do as part of yoga and, , at the end of like a yoga class. And there's a lot of different breathing techniques and the one that I specialize and focus on that and that I found on my own wellness journey that helped me so much, um, is specifically one that's basically the way that I would describe it. It's a form of active guided meditation. for anyone who's struggled with trying to meditate, sitting still and like trying to quiet those thoughts, this breath work is, um, a specific breathing technique that you follow where you breathe in through your belly, you breathe in through your chest. And then you exhale all throughout the mouth and you're doing this for about 20 to 25 minutes or so Where I act as the guide there's music that I curate to match the intention of the client that I'm working with together Um, you know with the client using their breath.

It's an incredible and powerful tool To help you release stuck and stagnant emotion a lot of the times we, as humans, repress a lot of our, you know, shame, guilt, fear, some of these icky feelings that we don't want to deal with, and we shove them deep down. And especially as women, we hold those in our hips. And so what happens is when you're doing this breath work, you are actively bringing up and helping you release some of this stuck energy. bodies are really intelligent. Maybe it's something that you've consciously processed in, in your mind, but maybe it's an old story or an old memory that has happened a long time ago. This breathwork has a way of helping you bring it up and, , helping you release it. And , people have talked about how one breathwork session can equate to like years of talk therapy. so I discovered this tool when I. Was really burnt out in my corporate career. And I was looking to meditation as a way of managing my own stress. and anxiety I discovered breathwork and I thought, okay, we're just going to sit here and breathe. I can do that. And actually it was a full body experience. I had tingles, I felt hot, I felt cold. I was brought back to, again, different stories and memories. Um, it can really have, it has a way of helping you make connections with things.

If you're struggling through a creative problem, for example, and you need to find a solution, Breathwork can help with that. Breathwork can help release, you know, the repressed trauma. And there's just so many incredible benefits. And for me, another thing that's really helped with too, it's almost like if you imagine you're peeling back the layers, peeling back like the layers of an onion of all the old stories that maybe someone said a comment to you years ago, and it then got ingrained in you as a belief. And now Breathwork has a way of highlighting that and helping you release that. And so it's really helped me come back to my center, come back to my core, help me really understand who I am also live a life that is authentic and aligned to me.

Erika: So is breath work a form of meditation

Tine: Yes. 

Erika: it is okay, and so are you going into it and Thinking what you want to get out of it, or do you go into it? it just unfold the way it unfolds.

Tine: Yeah. Beautiful question. a little bit of both. And so when I'm working with clients or when I'm doing breath with myself, it's so important to set the intention of what you might want to release what you might want to call in. And it can just be as simple as that. I want to release fear.

I want to call in love. And that's just an example. It could be, , anything that you're kind of working through. the only thing that you really need is your breath. And to be open to the experience. see how it will unfold for you. Every breathwork experience, every time I do it, it's different. and depending on who you work with, it's also different, but even clients that I've seen, repeatedly, and over time, they get a different experience every single 

time

Erika: Mm hmm.

Tine: the way that I see it working is like, it's the breath brings up what you're meant to work on in that moment and it's giving you what you need.

Erika: Okay, me think of like, for got pricked or something, right? And It kind of hurts. I'm like, okay, breathe into that space and let it childbirth or something like that.

So are you sending, I'm really interested in the mechanic, are you sending your breath to different parts of your body?

Tine: Yeah. Great question. So the way that you're breathing during the breath work is, again, you're breathing through your belly and then your chest and then you're exhaling. so it kind of, the way that it looks, I can just do a quick demo because it might be hard to understand, but it's kind of like, ah, ah, ah. so. you do that, even for a few minutes, you kind of get into a trance and what ends up happening is, you know, I'm acting as your guide and I can, again, depending on what's coming up for you, you might feel different parts of your body lighting up. And so one of the prompts that I usually share is. You know, let's check in with your body. Are there parts that are feeling tight that are feeling tense? Let's see if we can breathe a little bit more love and TLC into these areas our bodies are intelligent and when we hurt, when we feel pain, you know,, I've dealt with chronic hives my whole life.

Like when I break out in hives, it's our body sending us a message that something is not aligned. And so, that's like a signal for us to explore further. And of course one breathwork session is not going to solve everything. It can do a lot. Um, but it might even just be something that you, let's say something lit up for you.

Like if it was, your hips, for example, that might just be something for you to be aware of and have that acknowledgement. And that's an area that you can continue to work on or explore. 

Erika: the other part of what you do is intuitive guide. Can you talk a little bit more about what that means and how that complements the breathwork? Mm

Tine: breath work was really the first modality that I, , did my certification and training in. I also did meditation teacher training. , I feel like I'm just kind of being guided to explore one thing from one thing to the next. I was pulling oracle cards, and then I was guided to learning Reiki, and then also sound healing. And so, I call myself an intuitive guide because when I'm working with people, I kind of use, it's almost like these are all the tools in my toolbox. And I bring out whatever I feel like is needed in that moment to support the person that I'm working with. And an intuitive guide, I also get messages and, what I like to call downloads. So let's say if I'm working on somebody and I'm offering them a breath work session where I weave in Reiki as well, or I'm just doing a Reiki session or just doing a sound healing session. I might, receive a message of what that person needs. , and it could either sound like a message, like I can hear it, or maybe it's like an inner knowing, or I sense it through my hands, you know, cause I'm using my hands and gently placing them on different parts of the body.

And I feel for me, I feel energy through heat. And so if I'm working with somebody and maybe just to back up for a second, 

what Reiki 

Erika: hmm. 

Tine: the listener doesn't know, um, it's a very gentle healing modality where You are working where I am working with the universal life force energy that exists all around us in plants and trees in the elements.

And I'm using my body as a clear vessel and sending out the energy through my hands and then sending it out with the intention of love and healing. And so while I'm working with someone, this might be like me gently placing my hands on their head, placing my hands on their shoulders. And we work from top to. you know, top to bottom. So from your head to your toes. And as I'm working, I might feel different parts of the body lighting up. therefore I will spend a little bit more time on that area. Maybe there's some stuck energy there that needs to be addressed. And while I'm working there in my, I might get like a message or something that then I will pass on to the client.

Erika: work with a lot of clients. What What have you seen as being one of the, the challenges? that women have kind of this type of work or setting aside the time for it, because I could see, right, like 30 minutes, like my workouts are 20 minutes right now, right? Because extra 10 minutes I spend stretching afterwards, starting to get my shower, like, so the whole thing is 40 minutes, right?

So I got 20 minutes for the workout and then another 20 for like the stuff that goes around the workout happening,

right? So imagine carving out the time. Can be a hurdle, so I'm curious if that's the case and then what you would offer as a way to think about this in terms of how payoff or it can be incorporated into a real person's you know not I don't mean to say that in like a flippant way but like intoschedule that people perceive to be.

 much as it is.

Tine: Mhm. of course. I mean, I'm a busy mom of two, and so I totally get it, and, , it's hard to even find five minutes to yourself, right? And so I've had to find a lot of creative ways, just speaking from my personal experience. And also, of course, I work with a lot of women who are leading very busy and very full lives. And so, it can be very difficult to, set aside like a half hour, an hour to, a meditation practice. And I really find, and it depends on the person. It's such a personal thing. So one thing I will saywhat the breath work is. You don't need to have half an hour, an hour dedicated to it. I mentioned the 20 to 25 minutes cause that's usually like I would lead an hour long session and that's how long we're doing the breathing for. But there's a lot of warmup. There is a lot of talking and sharing before and afterwards. so, you could do breath work for like five to seven minutes a day. And that's really all you need. Um, and that is enough to, wake your body up to get your alertness on, um, to shift you from your sleeping state to your awake state, to help get those creative juices flowing. It's actually a very beautiful practice.

And I, I am guilty of not doing that right now. Um, but when I have, it has unlocked so much. So really it's just like five to seven minutes of That active breathing and let's say if you don't have even that amount of time and it might not be And I think another thing they have to be flexible with too Is the time of day right like again? myself as a parent I wake up to usually the sound of one of my children waking up and crying 

for me. And so it's not like I have that beautiful morning routine where I can make my cup of coffee and I can write in my journal. I'm like, I wish, but usually it's me getting up, getting the kids ready, getting them to school. And then, at like nine 30, 10 o'clock, that's when I have a quiet moment to myself. I do try to set aside the time first. I say, quote unquote, first thing in the morning, but I guess before I get start working and before my day really begins, um, Because that's when you still have the ability to really set the intention of how your day is going to go. so I really love, , the five minute journal. That's like a really incredible tool that I have found something that has stuck with me, um, and that I've been able to keep up with. And it's a really quick way to down, you know, it's five minutes in the morning, five minutes at night, and it's,, what are three things that you're grateful for? What what would make today great? And that's kind of a way of setting an intention for the day and then an affirmation. And at the end of the day you get a chance to reflect on how your day went and something that you learned. And I have found that that to be, a really quick and easy way to check in with myself. And then as you continue to do something, whether it's this, whether it's going for a walk when you can during the day, whether it's setting aside time to do some meditation, it's the practice of it and the ritual that becomes really important the consistency of doing it because then the more that you continue to do something, It's almost like this, uh, it sets off like the dopamine receptors for us, and it's how you show up for those rituals, even on those days when you don't want to. It tells your brain that, yes, I can do hard things. Yes, I can do this, even if,, you're just having a low day where you have really low energy and you're tired, for example. But if you're able to do that, it can help you shift just even how your day is going to 

go.

Erika: Mm you brought up that your kids wake you up because I have, I've struggled with that. 

Tine: Mm 

Erika: if it's a struggle. I think it's just a reality of being a mom of of, young kids or of young kids generally. And so, finding that as being your reality and then not the ritual that you're talking about Incorporated into your life the way your life is so that it works for you versus Forcing a redesign of your life

Tine: hmm. 

Erika: to fit the prescribed ritual, right?

Like the idea of like, we wake up early and have the coffee and the routine and the, this and the, that, and that just, that works for some people and that's great. But for those who it doesn't work for, you're suggesting a way in which breath can still be a part or you mentioned the five minute journal, there can still be a grounding ritual in your life, whatever it is.

You just make it adapt for. For what your life looks like. Yeah. Well,

Tine: you know, something that I learned from, an energy healer that I was working with. It's great way to help you kind of recenter throughout your day is when you're doing, um, you know, a task that let's say, it doesn't require that much energy.

brain power, so it might be you at the sink washing some dishes, it might be you brushing your teeth, and in those moments where you are just doing these tasks, could just take a moment to, whether it's close your eyes or to lower your gaze, and find your feet. And so usually, let's say if you're standing for those, you find your feet, And you just like take a moment and you know, we can do it even now just tune into your body and just take a deep breath. So breathing in through your belly and then exhaling through the mouth. And if you imagine sending your breath, sending your energy through your feet down into the ground, down through the soil, connecting you. I always like to imagine almost like roots that are growing from the base of my feet, sitting in a chair, the base of my spine, and imagining these roots growing down until they reach the core of mother earth. and connected to something that is greater than all of us. And that really, I'm just staying there for a moment and stuff in stillness and in silence. And that really helps me, reground myself. I think a lot of the times during the day, we are running from one task to the next we're living in our logical brains. Rather than being in our bodies, and the guidance that I always share, um, and I always have to remind myself is to come back into your body and lead from that, leading from your intuition , and your inner wisdom rather than your thoughts, because our thoughts have the ability, I think we think like it's like 80, 000 thoughts a day. Um, a lot of it is actually useless and not helpful. And so it really helps to cut out that noise um, like just help you lead from inner compass rather than what you think you should do.

Erika: you have such a relaxing voice. My eyes were closed and I was doing that exercise

Tine: Yeah

Erika: and it, it did feel very grounding. Um, Yeah,, you know, and that last point that you just made around, more in tune with ourselves and, you know, it actually makes me think like if you into a breath, like I started this, let me just back step, I started this discussion by talking about what your intention is for the year and what that thing is.

But I'm going to now contradict myself and say that when you start to do some breath work or whatever exercise it is that connects you to yourself.

Tine: Mm 

Erika: You might find that that thing that you said was your goal or whatever, the thing you want to do more of might not actually be the thing that you need to do more of or that you truly want to do more of once you start to connect with, with yourself, right?

That might be the thing you think you're supposed to do more of.

Tine: Hmm.

Erika: So, know what you think about that, but I feel like the more I connect with myself, the more 

Tine: Hmm. 

Erika: Awareness I have about what I really want and need and then has really changed after I've gotten more in touch, with that thing. Those things. Mm hmm. Mm

Tine: I love that you brought that up and that there's such a distinction between what you really want versus what you You know, and that, what I mean by that is like your heart's truest desires outside of other's expectations of you, and what you feel like you should be doing. it's all of these tools that help you get closer to yourself. so I always say that my work is really guiding people. Back home to themselves and helping them rediscover their magic, their intuition, the tools that they already have within. think so often we just get distracted, 

Erika: hmm. Mm

Tine: we should be striving after, but really what, what really matters to you at your core. And so. I mean, one exercise that I love to lead, around this time is helping you figure out what it is, you know, what's your word for the year, what your intention is for the year. And I do a lot of like, um, boarding. workshops and things like that, and I did one where recently, last year, where, I incorporated, um, a sound healing to help you, like, envision your higher self, and, what does he or she look like, and then we spent some time with that, and then after that, following that, I'm going to be doing a guided meditation with sound healing.

We then moved into, doing like an intuitive collage. So it, the difference between the intuitive art collage versus the vision boarding is whereas the vision boarding, you're like, I have a goal in my mind. Let's say. It's I want to buy a house or like I want to move into a house or something like that. Um, and then you pull pictures specific to that versus when you do the intuitive art collage, it's, you're tuning into who you are as like who your future self is. And you're letting that intuition guide you when you're flipping through the magazines and you're just pulling things out that are speaking to you versus like. Looking for 

pictures of 

Erika: hmm.

Tine: Does that make 

Erika: It does. Mm

Tine: this picture and you're like, whoa, I didn't even know those were the things that I wanted and I've done the vision boarding thing. I've done the intuitive art collage and it all You know, it's the law of attraction, right?

I don't know if you've seen or, the movie or the book, read the book, 

the secret, um, but 

Erika: Yeah, I remember that

Tine: And I started doing vision boards like probably 10 years ago and it always still amazes me how it works.

Erika: Yeah, I did one of those after the secret came out. This was a long time ago I threw a party 

in my apartment like a lot girlfriends and we had a bunch of magazines and Poster boards and we did the vision boarding exercise and it's crazy because a lot of those things Did come to fruition for me

on my vision board.

So there's certainly Yeah. Real power and putting it out there.

Tine: Yeah.

Erika: Yeah. talking about this, I'm thinking about how I've incorporated grounding into my own day because I have found that working remote can be sort of an exercise of of confidence.

Like you really, you can, uh, 

Tine: Mm. 

Erika: being so isolated at times and having to communicate through screens , a lot of doubt. Can pop in through the day and you know, , you can really second guess yourself because you don't always see somebody's immediate reaction. You don't have the opportunity to bounce ideas off of somebody. And so you really just have to trust that it's, that what you're putting out there into the work universe of email will be received the way that you intend it to, and then. You just hope that you're working with people who are kind enough to give you feedback or to, you know, assume best intent even when you mess it up a little bit, right?

Because you don't have that, collaborative process before you put things out in the world all the time.

And so, 

there's a lot of doubt that can creep in and doubt can drive you crazy because you can find yourself spinning. And you can find yourself spending a an exorbitant amount of time on the things that you shouldn't be because you're double checking the email and you're double checking this and that, right?

And that can probably happen in any situation, but I have found myself over indexing in that, 

Tine: Mm. 

Erika: remote. And I've had to manage that. , and I have gotten better at it over time. But I think when you find yourself in moments like that, or any of those moments where you just feel like, Oh my gosh, the, The plumbers here making a ton of noise and the leaf blowers here and i've got a call coming up and I still Right.

Those are all those moments where I have found it really helpful just to go You know, and just take that 

that deep breath and just say This is not going to end me. Let me just focus on the thing that's most important right now.

And that's how I've been able to use breath.

And I've started two practices that have worked, um, well for me that have breath incorporated. Uh, the, the first is when I wake up. I say a prayer and I've, I've, 

Tine: Mm. Mm. 

Erika: my routine now and, and a lot of it has to do with me building my own faith and relationship with God.

But it also has just started my day with a prayer. Gratitude,

Tine: mm-Hmm. 

Erika: know and just saying I will rejoice in today like whatever gets thrown at me I know that I was built to handle it and then Tim Ferriss has something that he is put out in the world through his his books and It's , think of the one thing you need to do to be successful during the day 

Tine: Mm-Hmm. 

Erika: I, during that same moment, I also think of what's the one thing that if I do that, and it could be a small thing or a big thing, but if I do that one thing,

Tine: Mm-Hmm.

Erika: If I do this one thing, like it doesn't matter, the rest could be a wash. I can consider today a job well done. So 

those two things have helped me. And then with my daughter, so my daughter's six.

And, you know, she's still learning how to regulate her emotions and bedtime is a hard time for her, right?

Because she's having to say goodbye to a day and, you know, she's not always ready to say goodbye to a day. She still wants more time with mom and she still wants more time to do this and that. 

So we have incorporated breath into the end of her day where when, she goes to bed after her story, we do three big, deep breaths.

And

And then we do the, you know, we do the goodnight hug and, and, and that helps her. And I've noticed that when we don't do it It's like she needs it. Like she comes finding me afterwards it really does help her unwind and I'll even find myself at the the end of those three breaths going, I think I'm ready for bed now.

It's like, I've unwound a little bit

during that. Yeah. So it just speaks, I mean, I've done it in such a small way and, and not at all guided or coached, but even those little things have been really supportive for me. Yeah.

Tine: That is so beautiful. I think I'm gonna adopt that and bring it in with my daughter's bedtime 

Erika: Please do 

Tine: Yeah 

Erika: do so.

Tine: sweet. I think yeah, I think just the one thing I will say to that is just I think a lot of the times Like again, we're running from one thing to the next. I think that's just the way Um, you know, we brought up in the society, we're doing more, being more productive and achieving more is, always been like the goal to strive after.

And it's like, what if we move slowly? What if we move with intention? What if we move with purpose? What if we slow down and tune into what it is that we actually really want cut out all that noise? by using our breath to be able to to those, nuggets of inner wisdom to help guide us, uh, rather than striving for more because if you play that game, there's never enough.

You're always going to be wanting more. Um, so I just love a lot of the things that we talked about today, which are like the bringing in the gratitude practice for what we have right now. one thing that I'm actively working on is like really just embracing the journey and embracing the process and not focusing on the destination. Um, but finding joy, 

you know, 

Erika: Mm-Hmm? 

Tine: as we're moving through, it just, as we get older, as we like, you know, adulting becomes more and more serious

Erika: Oh yeah. Mm-Hmm?

Tine: you know, I wrote this down. I, I joined, uh, Uh, by the way, I love what you said about, you know, having your girlfriends over to do the vision boarding, together, because yes, that's so fun.

And you can, anyone can do that, you know, so easy. And so I had a, a dinner last night and we were talking about, and it was with a bunch of like other female creatives, who actually all work remote because we're all doing our own businesses and we were, you know, manifesting what we want in 2025. um, for me, something that came up was just to have fun and to be a kid again, at the first front, you might think, okay, that might not lead to success, but actually bringing in joy and being a kid again can, um, help you just the goodness that life has, you know, so that we're not always pining for that. end outcome of having more and achieving more.

Erika: Yeah. There's, um, you know, the idea of. striving for just more and more and more and more and more and productivity. And you know, you and I have talked about this, right? This idea of, well, 

Then you just got to wake up earlier and I see these posts on social media of people like in the Dark, and they're saying the best thing I started doing was waking up at 4 30 in the morning And I'm like, who are these people?

I mean, I'm sure they're out there and I'm sure they're listening So don't be offended but that's not me. Like I do not by choice Wake up at 4 30 in the morning, 

you know, whatever works for for you.

But this idea that that's the key to success is just cramming more into the point where you're now not sleeping.what you're suggesting this idea of how do I prioritize and really find the wisdom in how I spend my time.

It's probably something that's healthier for us.

Right. And something that would be

Tine: ha

Erika: for some of us anyway, easier to incorporate than the idea. Like I've been trying to wake up earlier for years. It's just never. 

Tine: hmm. 

Erika: still wake me up half the time and you know, like this has been a failing mission to wake up earlier I'm just not a morning person.

You know, I'm like a night owl and So yeah, so I think like the pushback on that is needed right now in this high productivity culture And I have said this many times That I am fighting for my joy every day 

Tine: Mm 

Erika: And, 

Tine: mm. 

Erika: there was, we're laughing because I, because there's like an emoji that popped up on the screen that I don't know how it's happening.

The AI is listening or something, but, um, I'm, I'm having to do it less now that I'm out of that postpartum because my daughter, my youngest is now almost two. Um, but I have, I have had to, there's just so many demands that it can, and it, there's just such a routine to all of it that it can start to feel like I'm an autopilot.

And it's like, I don't want, just want to have to do this. I want to enjoy it.

Tine: One of the things I'll say too is a lot of people who do, who, or at least who have done their breath work with me, one of the things that we do during the duration of the breath work is I invite people to use their voices to release the energy. And so that might be like primal screaming that might be crying and that might also be laughing as well. And it's so fun. I actually feel like joy. is my superpower. It's been hard to kind of access lately. But when, you know, like I'm tapped in and tuned in, like it is so powerful and joy is contagious too, right?

And so when we feed ourselves, when we nourish ourselves, we release some of this, energy, because that's all it is, right? Like, everything is energy. But a lot of the times when we just hold on to, like, uh, and feel like, oh, life is difficult, things are really hard right now, we're not moving it through our body, through things like breathwork, through things like movement, like dancing, like stomping your feet on the ground, like pounding your pillows, like if we're not moving it, it's just going to 

stay,

Erika: Hmm

Tine: to come out as frustration, as anger, as, a little bit more irritable, less patience, right? Finding things to connect back to your joy is also really, really important part of that process. So I'm imagining, you know, someone is like working remote and at home, like what are those little things that bring you joy? Is it that cute little mug? that just makes you smile, is it like having really fuzzy warm slippers that you wear, that keep your feet cozy, um, it going outside and having your coffee on your deck , whatever it might be, but I feel like this wants to be said as well, it's just like finding those. Moments of joy that you can bring into your day because I think a lot of the times we can just get so laser focused on the work that has to get done and the never ending to do list.

Erika: Yeah, well, that's a great note to end on. Breathe and enjoy. Thanks for flowing with me because I feel like we started with breath. We ended with joy, but it all it all made sense, right? A great way to kick off the year.

if you want to get in touch with Christine or learn more about her work, all of her details will be, in the episode notes and you can go to work at remote.

com to learn more. Thank you, Christine.

Tine: Thank you, Erika. you, everyone.