Navigating Trauma and Change: How Breathwork Helped Me Rebuild After Lahaina
Change is inevitable, but some shifts shake us to our core.
When the wildfires in Lahaina devastated our home, my world changed overnight. I had to move my family eight times in under two years, my eldest son moved away to finish school, and through this time, I was really challenged to redefine what “home” meant for us as a family, and vitally what it meant to me as a mother.
How Breathwork Became My Lifeline
On the hardest days, breathwork helped me to regulate my emotions so I can show up for my family, release stress and not store it in my body and to find clarity in moments of deep uncertainty, of which there have been many. It also had a profound effect on my connection to myself and my truth, as we continually had to make really hard decisions, I was able to do that in a way that felt best for my family and I because of my deeper levels of connection and awareness.
Each of these things help me be a better mother, partner and friend. I feel grounded and regulated and these things weave their way through my home and my family.
We can’t control the storms that come our way, but we can control how we respond. I deeply believe that as mothers, we set the tone for our home, being able to hold firm in times of stress is crucial.
There were days when I felt like I was drowning in uncertainty. The grief of losing our home, the exhaustion of constant moves, the pressure of holding everything together for my children, it was all too much. But every time I returned to my breath, I found a moment of calm within the chaos. That’s the beauty of breathwork. It doesn't erase pain, but it creates space for us to process it without being consumed by it.
Breathwork is a tool that allows us to pause, process, and move forward with grace. If you’re navigating personal upheaval, or just feeling hectic and chaotic I recommend you start with your breath. It’s the simplest, most powerful tool you have, and for me, it has been the grounding force I keep coming back to.
Having access to such a powerful and transformative tool and being able to fit it in where and when I can has been invaluable. It has reinforced to me the power that our breath has - to regulate, to center, and to support.
Some of my favorite techniques take less than five minutes and can be done on the move. Of course, when I have time, I love to really sit and get deep into my practice. The past two years of change, upheaval, and devastation have reinforced how vital breathwork is for me and my family and I am grateful every day for it.
My life will never be the same, and through breathwork I know that regardless of what life throws at me, my home and my family will always be grounded, regulated and a place of calm.