Breathe in, breathe out.
It’s something we do every day and most of the time we forget we’re even doing it; but a new Squamish studio is encouraging people to take control of their breathing and discover its surprising connection to heart health.
BreathWorks is the brainchild of founder Loretta Cella—a certified coach and heartbreath therapist—who says it is one of the first studios to combine breathwork techniques and heart science to enhance your health and well-being.
“Breathwork is an opportunity to work with your breath in different ways,” Cella told The Squamish Chief.
“The premise of breathwork is utilising the breath in order to heal and to connect with the body, mind and heart differently.
“So in here, we use pranayama and a conscious circular breath so both to regulate and safely dysregulate in order to heal.”
After moving to Squamish a year ago, Cella decided she would open a studio to introduce the community to breathwork—something she said has been welcomed with open arms.
“I would definitely say people are more open; there's definitely resistance like anything new but I think people in Squamish are here for a new experience,” she said.
“Because people are here to be in nature, I've brought nature into the studio, giving people an opportunity to practice breathwork in a new and safe way."
The studio, located in downtown Squamish has been designed with nature at the foremind. The walls are made with cedar wood, the floor is natural cork and plants line the perimeter of the well-lit room.
Cella, who has worked in human services for 24 years across the globe, said that breathwork can help to aid with a variety of mental and physical ailments including anxiety, depression, chronic illness and fatigue.
“[The heart] is the first place that gets oxygen after the lungs. So when you build the relationship between the breath and the heart, what happens is you're building a relationship with your life force; because without these two, we aren't here,” she said.
“What I tell people is that our heart is the first organ to beat in our mother. It is also the last thing to beat when we leave and when we pay attention to it, we can start to work with it and heal using its field of energy,” she said.
“When you mix heart science with this type of breathwork, you're basically taking the two most important things that we have, physically and energetically, and bringing them together … it is truly a profound experience.”
The studio experience
She explains the studio will have around 12 classes dedicated towards the breathwork practice, including Yin Yoga, Silent Reset and Sacred Sundays.
“The silent reset class is just a simple meditation where we practise nervous system regulation, connecting to our heart,” Cella said.
“We have a kids program called BWell … which my daughter, who's six, will be helping and she’s very excited about it.
“Every third Wednesday of the month is an opportunity for a health and wellness business woman in the community to come in and share some tips and tricks.
“We will also have a men's program that's starting in September, called Strength in Stillness, and it's designed to help men to feel that inner connection with their emotional state and regulation where in society, that's not really a norm.”
BreathWorks officially opens on August 4 and can be found at 38224 Eaglewind Blvd. Squamish.
'Squamish business beat' is a series that arose from feedback from locals who wanted to see more business-related news. To be considered for this series, please email [email protected].
