Community Spotlight: Jenn Moulaison from Breathe Meditation and Wellness

Megan Mae, our Healing House head of creative and admin connected with Jenn Moulaison from Breathe Meditation and Wellness, a meditation studio close by to our Dallas office. We love how Breathe is strengthening community, mindfulness, and healing.

1. How does breathwork strengthen the mind-body connection?

Breathing is a subconscious act that we can control through conscious exercises i.e., conscious breathing.....Breathwork helps put the brakes on an acute stress response and can divert the health problems associated with chronic stress on the body. 

In addition to reversing the physical stress response in your body, deep breathing or conscious breathing exercises can also help calm and slow down the emotional turbulence in your mind and in turn the body. In fact, there are studies that show breathwork can help treat depression, anxiety, and PTSD as well as reduce blood pressure, aid in the body's natural relaxation states to improve sleep and assist in the body's natural recovery and restoration processes.  

 Breathwork can help you reach a deeper state of mind.  By eliciting the body's relaxation response, deep abdominal breathing also  oxygenates the blood, which triggers the release of endorphins in our brain. Endorphins serve many functions, which includes reducing the physical and emotional pain we experience in our mind and our bodies.

2. What is facilitated in a class that is different from individual meditation? 

I always tell people that is is like working out at home vs. going to a group class or studio...I love my Peloton at home but is does not compare to the energy you feel in a group class in a spin studio....Going to an actual class setting, gives you the place and time commitment and structure many of us need in our lives....The benefits of a class are that you can try multiple styles of meditation with the guidance of a teacher who can help you with any struggles you encounter. You’ll also have the accountability of a teacher and classmates if you tend to skip meditation on your own. Knowing that there are others expecting you, or that you’ve taken a spot someone else would have used, can motivate you when you’re just not feeling up to it. Also the at home and app options of meditation and breathwork can be very overwhelming....Which one do I do, where and how do I begin?  Going to a formal meditation studio can ease that potential intimidation and help with the basic instruction of what to do , when and where to go....

When a person meditates alone, there is a feeling of expanded awareness, deep relaxation, peace of mind, and contentment. When many people meditate together, those experiences are intensified, and effects expand to the environment. So the practice benefits are both individual and collective.

3. What is the value of community connection on one's healing journey? How does Breathe help with this?

As mentioned above, the practice of meditation benefits both the individual and the collective.  It has been great to see the connections and friendships being made at the studio each day. For example, a few clients that met at Breathe have been taking classes together each week for many months and they all went on the Breathe retreat we had in the Hill Country together....Friendships are formed and healings are shared.....It is really cool to see and be a part of....The power of like minded people coming together and helping each other is happening daily at Breathe and I could not be more proud of the community we have built in all the parts including our teachers, practitioners, studio advocates and clients.  .....Sometimes it is hard for people to find connection with others...The minute someone walks into the studio, they alway say they can feel the energy, the calm, the security in the space....A big part of that is the people, clients and friends that come through our door each and every day.....We feel we have created a community of collective care.....Each and every one of these parts are crucial to the community we have been building.  Communities are essential at every level of recovery and healing. They play a crucial role in keeping like-minded people together throughout each stage of the healing process, enabling them to support one another and feel accepted by a group of understanding and caring individuals.