You Are Your Own Healer by Carrie Brewer
Hi Beautiful Soul Friends, I’m Carrie. I am a 2022 graduate of Yoga Garden’s teacher training program and I offer monthly breathwork experiences at the studio called Elemental Rhythm Breathwork.
My journey to becoming an Elemental Rhythm Breathwork Facilitator has been part of a deeply transformative four-year path of inner healing, self-discovery, and expansion. Through this profound Breathwork and yoga, I’ve come into alignment with my soul’s true purpose and now feel deeply called to share the power of breath with others.
In 2020, Covid had just hit, and I found myself feeling stuck, repeating unhelpful and unhealthy patterns. I had recently moved to Sanford after living in Cary for 17 years. I thought the physical move, and renovating a home, would be just the change I needed. It wasn’t.
At some point, something shifted down deep inside of me. I knew there had to be another way- a better way. I realized something needed to change and in a single moment I decided to choose myself.
I started doing things differently. I stopped smoking and drinking alcohol and implemented a daily yoga practice. Shortly, I realized that yoga was much more than a physical practice. I was learning to connect with my body and my mind in ways that I couldn’t access before. It felt sort of magical in a sense and knew I wanted to explore more. I enrolled in Yoga Garden’s Yoga Teacher training and took my yoga to a deeper level.
I attended an Elemental Rhythm Breakthrough Experience during a Shamanic Women’s Retreat in Costa Rica—and it was there that I instantly fell in love with breathwork. As someone who has struggled with anxiety and panic attacks from a young age—and who lives with an analytical mind that rarely quiets—this experience was life-changing. For the first time, I was able to release the weight of anxiety and feel a deep stillness within. My thoughts slowed. My body softened. I was wrapped in a cocoon of calm, quiet, and pure bliss. I was hooked.
By day, I manage an analytical testing team for a vaccine company—my 9–5 is all logic, precision, and constant mental processing. But an analytical mind running on autopilot isn’t exactly nourishing for the parasympathetic nervous system. Breathwork became my sanctuary.
The following year, I returned to Costa Rica to attend the same retreat and during my second breath work session, I had an experience where I was able to connect to my Self - I heard a voice telling me that I needed to learn to facilitate breathwork and bring this powerful healing medicine back to NC amongst my friends, family, and community.
What I have learned along this journey is that breath is the gateway. It is the portal to healing, to transformation, and to coming home to yourself. Through this work, you embark on a journey of self- awareness—one that allows you to uncover where healing is needed, release past trauma, dissolve limiting beliefs, and begin to reprogram the neural pathways that shape your experience of life.
July 7 marks four years of sobriety and clean living—a milestone that fills me with deep gratitude. Breathwork has been one of the most powerful tools on this journey, helping me stay aligned, grounded, and connected to my truth. I truly hope you feel inspired to explore breathwork for yourself.
What I want everyone to understand is this: you are your own healer.
You have the innate power to heal yourself—and that power lives in your breath. It’s your birthright.
Much love,
Carrie
Elemental Breathwork is offered monthly at Yoga Garden on Saturdays at 3pm. No experience is necessary. Sign up here for the next session on July 19.
