Breakthroughs & Breathwork w/Benedict Beaumont -21

Shawna: 0:00

You breathe in, you breathe out. You do it every day, every moment without a conscious thought. It's an autonomic part of being. It sustains us. It turns out there is a lot of power in breath. And today we have the honor of exploring that a little deeper with our guest. If you were able to, I highly recommend listening to today's episode somewhere that you are able to pause and participate, as our guest is going to lead us through some valuable exercises that I'm guessing you'll want to come back to. Welcome to The Grit Show, Growth on Purpose. I'm glad you found us. I'm Shawna Rodrigues, and I'm honored to be leading you on today's journey as part of this community growing together as seekers and Thrivers. I hope you stick around and share with us what you gain from today's conversation and exercises. Benedict is the founder of Breathing Space. Through his facilitated leadership training, he helps people shine their own light into the world. He is a teacher, an actual qualified one, sometimes an author, occasionally a chef, but always an adventurer. Although he looks and sounds like an east end cockney criminal. Those were his words. He is really very gentle. I can attest to that. He lives in the snowy wastes of Canada. Again, his words with his wife and young daughter. Welcome. Thank you so much for being here today, Benedict.

Benedict: 1:27

Wow. Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate the chance to be present with you and your list.

Shawna: 1:33

Yes. I think you have a lot to offer them. So I'm so glad that we found time to connect today and do this.

Benedict: 1:39

Do you know what I'd like to start with, Shawna, if this is okay, I'd like to start with just taking a few breaths together. Now, this is a really simple breathwork technique that I do with almost every interaction, whether it's with one of my students, whether I'm running a workshop or a, or a training course. But even actually when I'm sitting down with my bank manager, I will say to them, Should we just take a few breaths together? Let's see what happens. Should we try doing that?

Shawna: 2:03

That sounds perfect.

Benedict: 2:05

and if you're listening at home as well, just close your eyes and just take a few breaths with yourself first. And then open your eyes and just imagine me and Shawna are sitting in the room with you right now, and let's have a breath together and connect this way. Thank you. Can you feel how that changes things?

Shawna: 2:39

It definitely does.

Benedict: 2:42

definitely feel a bit more connected to you now and a bit more in presence. Uh, and breath work, which is what I do mostly today, has got so many different applications. There's so many different exercises and techniques that you can do, but it is really simple and even just that simple technique of just taking a breath with someone before you do something out really changes, really changes the kind of the energy between you and how things unfold. So if you are looking for tips, Simple, easy hacks to change your life. Just taking a breath with someone. You don't have to make a big deal of it. Should we take a breath together? You can just do it silently by yourself, but you will be amazed at the difference that it makes.

Shawna: 3:24

That is probably the first thing that I noticed is that you didn't have us do it together. Breathe in together. Breathe out together, and that was for me, who's gone to classes for yoga and different things have always been introduced that way. So it was kind of nice to be able to do it on our own and it still had a very grounding effect regardless. So I definitely noticed that.

Benedict: 3:45

Breathwork is, or at least my philosophy about it, it is about empowering people. It's not about me as a teacher saying, You do this, you do that, and you know, that kind of power dynamic, if anything, being a breathwork facilitator or really being a leader or a teacher is best done when it is empowering people and allowing them to shine.

Shawna: 4:06

How did you decide to become a teacher and teach breath?

Benedict: 4:10

Um, well, I've always been a teacher. I think you read out in my bio that I was a teacher, um, a real qualified teacher. I taught in, uh, secondary schools in the UK what you would call High Schools. I taught from the ages of 11 to sort of 18. And I would teach in the lower aspirational, um, kind of demographic. The kids who would fail a system who, you know, didn't succeed anywhere else. I was that teacher that they turned to. And I'm sure that you have a teacher that you remember, and I'm sure if you'll listen to this. So there's one or two teachers that you remember who really inspired you to do something. I I wanted to be that teacher for people. And over the course of my teaching career, I am proud to say, and I don't mind saying this, I was that teacher for many kids who would've failed otherwise. I got to be that teacher. But all the time, there was a deeper journey that I was on as well, to become, in simplest terms, the best version of myself that I could be. I'd always had an interest in, you know, some of the deeper aspects. So I, I, I'd always, I. Been interested by philosophy. For instance, the deeper spiritual questions of being and existence had always fascinated me. Uh, in my thirties, I really committed to doing as good as I can, so I really worked hard. I became a Buddhist and I meditated a lot. I studied dharma. I became fascinated by yoga. So I sweated it out on a yoga mat. I, uh, did group therapy and I started to really try and understand psychology, but it was at the end of my teaching career when I was kind of getting burnt out from that, when I reached as far as I could in that traditional way of being of service to the world that I really, truly committed to being the best version of myself and going on an adventure until I found what I was meant to do in this life. And that was breath work. But that story is, we'll get into that maybe a bit later.

Shawna: 6:09

That's very exciting. I'm very excited about all of the ways our conversation can travel today and the things that we will find along the way. So I do wanna step back. So when you did secondary school, did you have a specific subject you specialized in or did you teach general topics to the kids?

Benedict: 6:24

Uh, well, in my, before I was a high school teacher in my twenties, I, I was an IT professional, I believe it or not. Uh,

Shawna: 6:31

I believe you

Benedict: 6:33

I fell into it by accident just because, I left university with an arts degree not knowing what to do. And this was in the sort of, you know, early, mid nineties when the IT explosion was happening. I got a temporary job and I ended up in an IT department, you know, and I was just, well, I was doing something really meaningful, like changing backup tapes in service. But there were people around me who hadn't been to university, who hadn't had any formal educational training and yet they were earning sort of 30, 40, $50 an hour. And when you like 22, 23, that is like a fortune. And I thought, Hey, hang on, I could do this. And so I taught myself, you know, within the space of about a year to learn how to become a network engineer because it's not that difficult

Shawna: 7:14

Mm-hmm.

Benedict: 7:15

And so I, you know, within a couple of years, by the time I was 23, 24, 25, I was earning a lot of money for a 23, 24 year old and that, but that was like golden handcuffs and I was stuck in that profession for sort of 8, 9, 10 years. And then it reached a point in my life really, I call it my first burnout, when I thought, You know what? I don't like the person that I am right now. I am not here to just fix computers. I want to do something different. And that's when I became a teacher. That's when I committed to being of service to the world and trying to do something that was socially useful. Now, what I could actually teach, you know, I, I had a degree in anthropology, so that's not really relevant to secondary school, but I could do IT. So I became an IT teacher.

Shawna: 7:53

Oh wow.

Benedict: 7:54

I'm also fascinated by history. I'm a complete nerd about history, so I ended up teaching history as well. When you teach in schools, really. It's not a subject that you teach, it's actually you teach children and it doesn't really matter what the subject that you teach. So at the later part of my teaching career, I became a substitute teacher or a supply teacher, we call them in, in the UK, and I will kind of get called in and I'll go into schools. And I taught everything from, you know, chemistry to science, to, um, music, to drama. You, you literally get thrown in, pushed in through the door and say, teach a lesson on waves. Alright. Okay. Class, Has anyone ever been to the Sea before? You kind of learn to make it up as you go on whatever the subject is. The kind of the general principles of teaching, the general ways of like, actually, you know, being an educator stay the same. And it doesn't matter what the subject is, the energy behind it is exactly the same. And if you know how to do that, then it doesn't matter the subject. a good teacher will be able to teach anything because you go on an adventure together to discover something.

Shawna: 8:58

You're looking at engaging and doing the engagement and whatever you bring before them is gonna be exciting for them. So with that iteration, you were able to make the money, have the golden handcuffs, and then you're like, I want to give back, I wanna connect, I wanna be part of something bigger. You were able to do that, which took a lot of you, I'm guessing, and was a very stressful position. And then you also found a time and a season to shift out of that as well. So tell me about that transition.

Benedict: 9:25

So after I'd been teaching for about 10 years. I was good at my job and I've kind of reached a, a good existence. But the thing is, I was seeing all these sort of like 16, 17 year olds kind of going out into the world with that kind of real fire within, I think I got a bit jealous. You know? I think I was like, you know what? I'm not done yet. I'm not done. At the same time. That inward journey that I was on, I've kind of come to an end of the road with it as well. I got as much as I could from, uh, from studying Buddhism and it was a great path to start me on, but it wasn't a final destination again with kind of yoga and therapy, it was a good start, but it wasn't enough in itself. Teaching is a brutal profession. It will take everything from you. And I was physically burnt out. I'd given everything for five years. And I knew I was having a breakdown. I knew it was coming to an end, but, you know, rather than looking at as a breakdown, And something horrible and bad and terrible that you don't want to have, I really embraced the opportunity. Maybe this isn't a breakdown. Maybe this is a breakthrough. And if this is possible, I kind of planned my breakdown because I knew it was gonna come, whatever, and I thought, Okay, I've got an opportunity. I can't carry on what I'm doing. You know, it just isn't possible. I've got to make some changes in my life. I didn't know what to do now and I was lucky enough not to have any dependents at time or to be, in a, a committed relationship I could do this. So I planned my breakdown. The end of the school year. I sold everything. I got rid of all my physical possessions. I rented out my flat. I flew to Delhi in India. I bought a motorbike and I got lost. With no plan, no intention to do anything else, just to kind of fulfill also a kind of childhood dream actually, of being almost like a, a modern day cowboy, you know, roaming out somewhere where it is still wild and, you know, free and different and in a way, That is completely different to my home situation. Um, somewhere like in Asia, it is a different set of rules and it is possible to disconnect there and to be somewhere in a completely different environment. And so that's what happened. I planned my own breakdown, breakthrough. I went off to India. I got lost on my motorbike, and that's where it all started.

Shawna: 11:50

That's where it began. What made you choose India for your place to lose yourself and find yourself all at the same?

Benedict: 11:58

Uh, that is a good question and if you are going to go on a journey of spiritual enlightenment, I mean, you know, you can't really go wrong with India. It is a place where spirituality is thick in the air. It's like walking through custard. Uh, and it's just like this acceptance of the non-material world or spiritual world, the magical realms is an everyday fact of life. Everywhere you go, it's just accepted. It wasn't exactly that that drew me there, although it was part of it. It was, it was actually when I was, I think, 19, one of my friends said, you can go off to India, and they make these things called royal infield motorbikes there, and you can just like go over there and you don't have to have a driving license and you can just go anywhere. And I didn't have a motorbike license, so I thought, wow, why not? It's a huge place. It's a huge continent that, you know, has all sorts of climates and just interesting people everywhere. So that's why that happened. It was a childhood

Shawna: 12:57

a connection.

Benedict: 12:58

aligned with everything.

Shawna: 13:00

no, that makes perfect sense. I love how those little seeds get planted when you were 19. So what did you find there? Did you find questions? Did you find answers? Did you find ways to find questions and answers?

Benedict: 13:11

Well, the first thing I will share with you is I found was my voice. I was there by myself. I didn't really want to go by myself. I wanted to have someone I could share that journey with, but the people I thought might come with me, couldn't go with me. And I told everyone I was going to do it. I wanted to back out, but because I'd said I was gonna do it, I had to go and do it. So I did it by myself, But I was very lonely as well, and I kept myself company by writing, uh, about it. Uh, and I, and I kept a blog about my journey. I'd never really written much before, but suddenly all these words came tumbling out of me. It was just like, They were in there waiting to come, and I found I could write really well. And that realization was like I suddenly discovered I had a pair of wings, or I could speak a different language. It was the most liberating experience to, find that I could do something, that I could express myself and that I could be articulate. And so that's one of the things that, that I found that, uh, was just totally mind blowing. It changed my life completely.

Shawna: 14:17

That's amazing. How long were you there?

Benedict: 14:19

I was there in total for about four months, five months, maybe. I left in September, October, and I didn't get back until January. I'm gonna share with you a story of when, um, when I was there actually about something else that I discovered. A breakdown or breakthrough, is a big experience. After traveling up into the, the mountains of Himalayas into Himachal Pradesh, going on a, a really big journey of discovery over there, um, about two months into my journey. I found myself in Rajasthan, which is the most beautiful desert area in the west, Northwest of, uh, of India. Um, and there's some amazing cities out there, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer and Jaipur and I remember traveling out in the desert and I'd left, I think it was Jaipur. Um, behind me and I was, um, you know, on a road with no one else on it, you know, miles and miles from anywhere. And I really got to, to thinking about my life, about everything that I'd done, and I had felt at that moment, I had completed my life's mission. I had done everything that I set out to do. Not only had I kind of really worked on myself over the last 10 years, I'd, you know, I'd become the person that I wanted to be. I've dropped that vain, selfish person that I was in my twenties who was just chasing the big money and the bucks in IT. You know, who made a fortune and lost a fortune cuz I was in my twenties. But I'd managed to realize that there was something deeper and greater in life and I retrained to be a teacher. I had become, you know, a really inspirational teacher. I'd made a difference to people's lives. You know, I'd fulfilled every objective that I had set. What else was in this life for me? What happens when you have done, when you've ticked all those boxes and I'd let it go. That was another big thing. I'd achieved all this, and you know what I'd said, I'm done. And you know what happens when you have done everything that you set out to do in this?

Shawna: 16:20

And you still have a lot of life left.

Benedict: 16:22

Well did I? Cuz what happened as I was out in the middle of nowhere, a tractor came out of nowhere, turned into me and smashed into my bike.

Shawna: 16:33

Oh, wow.

Benedict: 16:34

Um, and it was at that moment I was saying, Well, what else do I need in this life? That this moment of death came literally inches from me in the end. the tractor was coming towards me, and then it just turned suddenly, as I was going past on it. So I had no notice from it. I know tractors go very slow, but it was that turning into me, um, that just gave me nowhere and it smashed my bike. I went flying from the bike. But it was, at that moment I was thinking, I've done everything that I need to in my life. I, I don't, not needed anymore. And it was that moment I came face to face with death that everything changed suddenly I was like on the floor with my biking pieces around me, and I kind of got up and I looked, I am still alive. How did that happen? I've got all my fingers and toes. There's not a piece of me lying on the floor in this bloody pile next to my shattered bike. I'm alive. I'm alive. That moment of just suddenly like being confronted with your death. And then suddenly I was alive again. And I didn't know what the future held for me, but I knew that life had a plan for me. I knew that something was waiting to happen. I didn't know when it would happen. I didn't know how it would happen, but I knew that I would just open myself up to the universe because something else was waiting there for me. There were more box to tick, if you

Shawna: 17:53

Mm-hmm.

Benedict: 17:54

I learned, I suppose, that I wasn't done yet. There was more than I knew.

Shawna: 17:59

Yes. Was that closer to the end of your time in India or was that still in the middle of it?

Benedict: 18:05

That was right in the middle of it. That wasn't the end of it. Oh no. There was a lot more adventures from there. Would you like to hear another uh, story about my trip there?

Shawna: 18:13

Yes. That would be lovely.

Benedict: 18:15

I wrote about these stories so you can read the books if you are interested. But I carried on, I got my bike fixed and I, you know, went back through, uh, through mainland India and I got a call from someone saying, Do you wanna go to Nepal? Do you want to climb up Everest? So I, uh, I thought, Why not? So I then drove through Nepal, uh, which is an amazing journey in itself because I entered Nepal at the unexplored end, and I traveled all the way through Nepal, through the feet of the Himalayas, and I ended up in katmandu and then, I met my friend and we caught a plane to the Sagarmāthā National Park. And we, we started this, uh, trek to base camp. I'm not talking about climbing top of Everest. I'm talking about the sort of two week hike that you can do to get to base camp. It's, it's still taxing, It's still a journey that you do. that journey was really a deeply spiritual journey actually, because that journey up towards base camp is actually the journey that, one of the Buddhist saints, uh, a guy called Padmasambhava, when he took Buddhism to Tibet. Now my name Beaumont means beautiful mountain and mountains are really spiritual places to me. And when you go to those high spaces, it is a pilgrimage, really. And when it feels like that, when you're up there, the air is so rarefied, It is an awesome place and I really mean that you are filled with awe. When you are at the top, at the end of this trek and you are surrounded by just the, some of the highest peaks in the world, you really feel it. You feel like you are with the gods at that moment. I placed two stones at the top there to mark two wishes that I had in my heart, Two wishes that I had in my heart, and those are just ones that I wished for. The first one was for me to use this gift that I had discovered my voice, and to write a book, which I did.

Shawna: 20:04

That's amazing.

Benedict: 20:06

The second stone that I placed was to find a partner in my life that I could share my life and these adventures with, well, that came true as well. But here's the thing. The person that became my partner and my wife, who I've shared my whole life, every single waking day since then was standing behind me

Shawna: 20:28

Really? That is amazing.

Benedict: 20:31

Yeah, I found my wife Jennifer, at the top of Mount Everest

Shawna: 20:36

That is incredible. You were meant for that journey and you were meant for that. That's incredible. Is that how you ended up in Canada then?

Benedict: 20:44

Uh, my wife is Canadian. Yes. It took a while for us to get together. We actually fell in love with each other by reading each other's blogs. Uh, and we had an almost like a epistillary romance where we connected like that. I always knew. It took her, her a while to realize as well. And, and so it wasn't until a few months later, maybe even a year later when she moved to the UK that we actually really physically connected and um, you know, started dating and then very quickly got engaged and married. Since then, uh, we have been on this incredible journey together. After about seven years in various places, we decided to try, um, Canada. And that's why we're here.

Shawna: 21:22

That is incredible that even at that moment when you were placing those stones and giving those wishes that the answer was right behind you.

Benedict: 21:29

It really was.

Shawna: 21:30

And the breath work, when did that become clear to you that that was your next path?

Benedict: 21:35

Everything I've done in my life is because I felt a calling to kind of make a difference in the world. Me and Jen, we, we traveled around a lot. We didn't have a huge plan and so we did quite a lot of things, Right. We trained to be yoga teachers in Vancouver. We, um, went and ran chalets at a bed breakfast up in the French Alps. We lived in Cheang Mai in Thailand, where I, uh, where I did most of the writing for my novel. We moved to Devon in the UK. We hiked over New Zealand together. We did something called Teora, where, which is, goes a path that goes through the whole of New Zealand and you carry everything on your back. So we did all of that and lived this most amazing lifestyle, but we were in Ubud in Bali, which if you know you've ever had the good fortune to go to Bali or you are on a spiritual path, Ubud is one of those places in the world that is just like, A magical place where there is a guru behind every bush. There is a spiritual teacher on every rock. There were a yoga teacher somewhere. I met a guy, um, and it was just a chance encounter and I just got chatting to him and I asked him what he, did he said I'm a breathwork facilitator, would you like to come to one of my sessions, free as my guest? You know, and it's like all good drug pushes, the first one's free, and then after that... but by that point, I've been on an internal journey for a long time. I'd done yoga for 15 years by that point. I'd done meditation, uh, you know, and there's a little of breathing in that. So I said, Sure, yeah, I'll come to your breath work. Mostly to humor actually, um, to go along to this because I thought, yeah, I know what breath work is. I've done lots of it, and that was where I discovered breath work.

Shawna: 23:10

And from there I just kind of fell into place that that was where you needed to be next and what you needed to be focused on?

Benedict: 23:17

Well, you know what, Shawna, I think I could talk about breath work, but would you like to just maybe experience a tiny, tiny taste of what real breath work is?

Shawna: 23:27

I think that would be amazing. I think everyone listening would enjoy that as well. That would be incredible.

Benedict: 23:34

Okay, so we are going to do probably about two minutes of conscious breathwork, which is a particular breathwork style. It's a very powerful breathwork technique, so it's fine to do this for just two minutes. Um, you know, unguided. Um, as you know, your listeners will be doing this. Please don't do this. If you're driving a car or you are operating heavy machinery, you're juggling with knives or sticking your hand in a fire, Okay. Don't do it

Shawna: 23:59

Put the knives down. Put the knives down.

Benedict: 24:02

you know, don't do this if you're drunk or you're intoxicated. Find a place where you can be still and undisturbed for five minutes. Does that work for you?

Shawna: 24:10

Yes. Yes Sounds great.

Benedict: 24:12

Okay, we're gonna go straight into doing it. So just, uh, find yourself in a comfortable position, feet on the floor,

Shawna: 24:18

Okay.

Benedict: 24:19

close your eyes,

Shawna: 24:20

Okay.

Benedict: 24:22

and we're gonna just start with a gentle meditation. So just breathing gently in and out through the nose. Feel where your feet are resting and your hands. Just feel how your body moves as you breathe. Gentle rising, or falling of your chest, and then feel the air against your skin and feel how your breath enters your body through your nose. Pull on the way in. And then on an inhale, take your awareness inside. There's a still quiet place within you, a place of strength and wisdom and love. Feel all those things inside you. This is a place of listening as well. In a moment, I'm gonna ask you a question and I want you to listen to the answer rather than think of the answer. If there is something that you need to change in your life right now, what would that be? If there was something that you need to change in your life right now, what would that be? Now let's begin our breath. Open your mouth really wide as if you are taking the bite of an apple. Keep it in that position. Now start taking full body breaths. Keep your mouth wide. That's it. Now keep your breath connected with no pauses at the top or the bottom. That's it. Go on the inhale and let go on the exhale. That's it. Keep breathing like that. Keep breathing and feeling full, deep body breaths. You will start to feel sensations rise in your body. That's it. We're gonna be breathing like this for another minute. Commit to your breath. Really breathe fully right now. That's it now remember that question again. If there was something that you need to change in your life right now, what would that be? Let your breath go into a rhythm. Let it take you. Feel the answer rather than think of it. We have this breath for another 30 seconds. You can do this. Commit to it. 15 more seconds. Really breathe. Stay with it. Stay with it. Deep breaths. 10 more seconds. Five more breaths. One more deep breath. Inhale. Hold for a second and then exhale, Close your mouth. Breathe through your nose and just feel, feel how different things are right now. Feel the sensations in your body. And again, when I ask this question, feel, listen, and maybe a message will come to you. If there was something that you needed to change in your life right now, what would that be? Now, we'll stay with this just for a minute or two more to really fully feel that. Now let's start to come back. Take your fingertips just gently and start tapping on your chest, tapping on your shoulders, maybe tapping on your head or on your face. That's it. Have your fingers together, maybe just your palms together as well. When you're ready, just gently fluter your eyes open. We'll come back to this present moment. Thank you, Shawna thank you for allowing yourself to go into that breath work. Thank you for everyone at home for joining us as well. Shawna, we always just have a space to share at the end of the breath work. And I know this is your show and you are the host, but is there anything that you feel that you would like to share right now?

Shawna: 30:46

Yes, I was surprised at how much my heart rate elevated, like in the process of doing it and how the, the voice or messaging shifted I think that it started very specific because, um, this is being recorded on a Tuesday and my podcast comes out on Tuesday and my Mondays are my editing days. And very stressful. I joke from 3:00 PM to midnight on Mondays are my stressful period with the editing and I've decided to shift what I'm doing with my editing and very much was like the letting go of the editing was kind of what it started as. And by the end, it's no letting go of perfectionism because the reason I don't want someone else to do my editing is because I know exactly what I do and I know exactly what I get rid of and how I make it sound. And yesterday, I could not make it do what I wanted it to do. Which made it easier for me to be like, Yes, I need to let this go and let someone else do this and take back those eight hours and take that stress out of my world. But it was very much like the letting go, the perfectionism. Which is funny 'cause I feel like I've done that. If you've been to my house lately and see the state of the landscaping in front and the fence that's getting built and letting go of all the things that are in process that I feel like I'm letting go of perfectionism. But no, that's clear evidence that, no, I'm still hanging onto perfectionism. So it's a work in progress. So that was definitely the messaging that I still need to let go of my perfectionism. It's still there.

Benedict: 32:15

Wow, thank you Shawna. Thank you. I really feel how you felt that you might have known it in your head, but now you really feel it. What a, what a really powerful message to, to share with everyone. You can let go be. Let's just, let's just take a breath, and if you're listening, just take a breath with us as well, really feel that message. It's okay to let go of being perfect.

Shawna: 32:41

Yes.

Benedict: 32:43

Thank you so much,

Shawna: 32:45

Yes. And it's amazing that those themes are still there. Even when you try to have it be like, No, it's just this one upper level stress I'm letting go of. No, it's this underlying theme. It's it's still there. It's still there.

Benedict: 33:00

Well, you know, those, those patterns of behavior, those ways of thinking, those voices in our head are laid down at a very early age in our lives. They're very powerful. We don't just decide to let them go. They're with us always. And it's not something we just decide. It's something that we, we live with and we accept and we play with those voices all the time. It's not, That's it. We're cured, We're fixed. We don't need that. We're not broken as we are. We're just being gentle and kind with ourselves, walking each other home. So, thank you, Shawna. You really committed to that and I'm, I'm so grateful that you did. It felt very special.

Shawna: 33:37

Yes, thank you and thank you for doing that. And for all the listeners, if you weren't in a place that you were able to really do that right now. I hope you come back to that time and, and walk through that. And at the end we'll definitely share, Ben's website and you have a lot of different opportunities on your website to be able to do different activities like that and to be able to connect with you and some of your breathwork. Is that correct?

Benedict: 33:59

It is what we did just then was like the tiniest, tiniest taste of breathwork, but really, you know, for a full breathwork session, you'll be breathing like that set to music for at least 30 minutes. Now, can you imagine like that, what that felt like with just two minutes? Imagine it with 30 minutes or 60 minutes of breathing like that. It's an extraordinary, extraordinary, transformational experience is, you know, I call it therapy for those people who don't wanna talk about their problems or meditation for those people who can't meditate, or it's like plant medicine or drugs without. Taking drugs. It is that powerful and transformational. And when you've discovered something like this, as I discovered in Bali in 2014, I went to a session like that expecting like, Yeah, I've done this before. I did a version of this. But you know, for an hour, never done anything like that before on one side of me. Right? Someone was having a full body orgasm.. On the other side of me, someone was screaming like they were being disemboweled. On the other side of the room someone was laughing so loudly, it was like they'd been told the biggest cosmic joke in their life. And I was thinking, Holy, holy, what is happening here? And within five breaths, I went to a place that I'd never been to before. Despite all of that meditation with Buddhism, despite all of that yoga and all that therapy, I went to that place that I'd always wanted to. That moment of you can almost say transformation, maybe even enlightenment. All right. I know now what I am gonna be doing with the rest of my life, this gift that I have been given, that I get to experience. I get to share this with everyone, and it was that, and it was easy and it was fun and it was accessible. It wasn't difficult, it wasn't painful. I didn't have to chant in foreign languages. I didn't have to do a funny diet. I twist my body into difficult positions. It was available to me right there. It is available to all of us in this moment, and that changed me. So I. Got my purpose in life. I found what I was, I was needing, you know, needing to do. I, I opened up to the universe and said, What is it that you want me to do with my life? And the answer was given to me. The plan was laid. And because I'm a teacher, you know, I'm a born teacher. I knew how to do what I do now, which is to set up a school, and you are right. We run a huge program from those people who've never breathed before, who've never taken a conscious breath to discovering the power within themselves. We teach other types of breath work because breath work is a big subject. There's, there's breath work for health and wellbeing. For instance, you know, there's breathwork for anxiety and feeling overwhelmed for emotional stability, which is a huge area for many of us where we live in this kind of stimulating environment where we're constantly bombarded, you know, with messages all the time. It's so easy to get anxious and overwhelmed. There is a mental health problem that we sweep under the carpet, which is. We don't talk about, but there's some very simple, powerful breathwork techniques that we can use to help with us breathwork for trauma, you know, and those deep emotional wounds that we carry within us. And really, breath is a spiritual practice. It is at the heart of every spiritual discipline, whether you are Christian or buzz, Uh, Muslim or, or every single spiritual tradition has something to do with breath. You know, it is mentioned in the first, uh, first pages of the bible. So we can use our breath to, to connect with spiritual, um, or non-material magical realms as well. So yes, we offer a huge program. We take people who've never breathed before from being breath curious to teaching, um, health and wellness, to then going on a deeper journey of inquiring themselves to then training people to be breathwork facilitators and holding people in that space of vulnerability and tenderness and transformation and that journey, becoming breathwork facilitator is like becoming a ninja because if you can hold a room full of people, someone having a full body orgasm, someone screaming right there, being dis and back, someone having you can do, you can probably do anything and I, and I genuinely mean.

Shawna: 37:54

That's amazing. You have that opportunity for anyone who's drawn to that. You have that coming up very soon, starting November 14th, you're starting that coursework. Do you teach that regularly or just yearly?

Benedict: 38:05

We actually run a lot of programs throughout the year. Um, there are constantly group trainings coming up. So the one in November is the one that I teach. So if you like me, if you like my cockney criminal accent, then you are very welcome to join me on that training. But one of the things that we do, and I'm really proud of this, is we offer an apprenticeship system. Because not everyone that falls in that category of being able to just kind of join a group training. They might be in a different time zone. They might have work or family commitments. The apprenticeship is a kind of concept of a way to learn is something that goes back to the beginning of time. If you wanted to learn something, you went and apprenticed yourself to a master and you learn, with one person. Over time you sit at their feet and that journey of an apprenticeship is so magical because it is almost like you absorb by osmosis. You do all the same coursework and you know, everything else, but it's a different journey, it's different flavor, the same dish if you like. So yeah, if you like me, then I, I run two trainings a year. If you like breathwork, come train with one of our other teachers and on another group training or on apprenticeship, because you know, and I mentioned earlier, breathwork. It's about empowering. I've got my own flavor and my own voice. I don't, I mean, you know, look at me. You can see we aren't just a normal middle-aged, you know, bald guy. You know, who likes football and likes reading trashy science fiction. But, you might be drawn to learning about the shamanic aspects of breathwork or want to learn about the health and wellbeing aspects. You know, breathwork is a wide church. It brings everyone into it. There is something for everyone because it isn't about, you know, the breath or doing it this way or that way is about connecting to that defined part of yourself that, that river of genius and creativity that we all have within, within each of.

Shawna: 39:47

That's incredible. That really is. Yes. And so if you guys want to connect. With Ben and with that, the best way is to go through your website, right? MakeSomeBreathingSpace.com is the best way, and we'll have that in the show notes. Is there another good way to connect with you online? Through social media or different method?

Benedict: 40:03

Yes, you can connect with on social media. It's the same address, basically- make some breathing space, whether it's facebook.com/make some breathing space or Instagram. We've just started actually putting stuff out on TikTok, Which is totally out my comfort zone. I dunno what that's gonna look like, but apparently a TikTok account going now as well.

Shawna: 40:23

That's very exciting. So the other thing that we always talk about on our show is self-care. So obviously breath work is important to you, but what else do you do for self-care, Ben? I think our, our audience loves to hear about what people are doing to take care of themselves. and help inspire them about the same.

Benedict: 40:39

Hmm. Okay. Well there's so many things that I could talk to you and this is such a a great question to ask all you or guests actually, because if there is anything that we need to learn, it is how to self care, you know? If you've got a mission like a, you know, uh, to go out and be of service to the world, you cannot do that unless you are looking after yourself is the most radical form of activism to look after yourself. It is without, without any difference. It doesn't matter if you're going out parade in the street, unless you are on that twin trail of, of looking after yourself. It isn't, it's not sustainable.

Shawna: 41:14

Mm-hmm.

Benedict: 41:15

So, I could talk about a lot of things that I'm like to do, but what I think I would like to share with you and, um, your audience is one of the most simplest and yet most profound breathwork techniques that you can do at any time. Because it's a secret breath work technique, no one will know you are doing it, that if ever you are, Yeah. If ever you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed come back to your breath in this way will really help you find balance. help that kind of overload and those voices and those sparks going off just, you know, just dampen down the noise a bit. Uh, it's called coherence breathing. Would it be okay if I led you in a sort of 30 second breathwork practice of that

Shawna: 41:54

Absolutely, and I'll remember the title because my fiance's favorite sci-fi movie is called Coherence. So Yes. Okay, so coherence, breath work. Let's

Benedict: 42:03

It's called coherence. It's because it actually brings into balance all the different systems in your body, like your heartbeats, you know, like your breath, like your brain waves, they all kind of come into balance with each other. It's really simple. Like many most powerful things. It is simple. We match the length of our inhale to the length of our exhale. We're gon, we're gonna do that with a count. I'm gonna count to five for an inhale count to five for an exhale. I'm gonna count for about 20, 30 seconds, and then I'm just gonna let you carry the count. It doesn't matter the speed, it doesn't matter the depth of your breath, as long as you can actually inhale and the exhale.

Shawna: 42:42

And this is something you can do while you're driving or playing with knives or everything else that's safe. Okay,

Benedict: 42:48

There's, there's no contraindications to this. Everyone can do this because you decide how deep you breathe, how, how quick you breathe as well. But I'll cue it for about the first, you know, little one, and then I'll let you go over. So let's just inhale fully and then exhale fully, and let's begin. Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5. Exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5. Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5. Exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Now, inhale a bit more. And then let it all out through the mouth. There you go. Give yourselves a shake. Open your eyes and a big smile welcome back.

Shawna: 44:09

welcome back, and that helps to sync everything a little bit is

Benedict: 44:13

Yeah. If ever you're feeling anxious or overwhelmed, it's also really good if you're having problems sleeping, uh, if you wake up in the middle of the night because it really, it brings a balance and it kind of helps lower your ANS your Autonomic nervous system. It's a really powerful, is so simple to, to do, um, that you can do it anywhere at any time for any length.

Shawna: 44:36

What else do you do for yourself for self care?

Benedict: 44:38

Things that I love doing, I mentioned trashy sci-fi. Um, I stopped reading for a long time because I've got a young family and you don't get a lot of time when you've got a young family. but I just, I just recently started up, so I really love getting lost in sci-fi. If there is one thing that really makes a difference for me, it is being in mountains. I talked a little earlier about that moment of, you know, transcendence when you are really up high. Hiking up in the mountains for me is the most liberating thing. It's when I feel most alive. Um, I grew up by the ocean. I love the sea, but have you heard of nominative determinance?

Shawna: 45:15

No.

Benedict: 45:17

That means where your name kind of decides what you do. Now for those people who speak a bit of Latin or French, and you look carefully at my name, Benedict Beaumont means blessed beautiful mountain.

Shawna: 45:32

Uh,

Benedict: 45:33

I feel I was kind of born into finding mountains, beautiful.

Shawna: 45:37

that is

Benedict: 45:38

If you find my website, you know, there's, the Mountain Themes is all through, It's my logo, it's the imagery that I use on there and my personal Facebook. But that mountian theme is so important to me personally, that it, it now infuses everything that I do.

Shawna: 45:51

Yes, water has always been my thing. It's not in my name, but water's always been my thing. And it's interesting because my, my heritage is the Azore islands and Norway and so being close to water is in my blood. So definitely water is my thing. And then trees and the moutains. So all very beautiful, all very important, and travel's definitely something I've missed as well, so I definitely understand that. So one thing we do for all of our guests on The Grit Show is we actually have a series of coloring books called The Color of Grit, and we give each of our guests as a gift and a thank you because your time is valuable, your expertise is valuable, is we give you a coloring book as a thank you. So which of the coloring books would you like? The Vintage Mermaid and Magnificent Ocean, or You've Got This, which is a collection of quotes.

Benedict: 46:43

I think as we have touched on the ocean and just a little bit of the magical moment, It has to be that one. That's a, a really kind offer. Thank you, Shawna. I'm gonna enjoy it and I think my daughter will as well.

Shawna: 46:54

You can share it. That's allowed Yes.

Benedict: 46:56

And in return, maybe I could, offer your listeners a gift as well. There's lots of free stuff on our website that you can come and try our free live sessions a, a free taste of course, but we also have a membership's site as well. It's really cheap. It's only like $10 a month. I would like give you a code and all of your listeners a code so they can get it for 50%. So it's just like $5 a month for a huge library of breathwork, of guided journeys, of meditations, of little tips and techniques and a lot of live workshops that we run, So GRIT50, all capitals, GRIT50 will get you 50% off our membership.

Shawna: 47:31

Oh, that's amazing. What a wonderful gift. So everybody go to the website and if you go to the main page of the website, it's easy to find where to register for that?

Benedict: 47:38

Yeah, there's a site that says membership. It's called the Breathing Space Explorer's Club, because we really try and explore with our breath.

Shawna: 47:45

That's so wonderful. So make sure we have the link to the Explorers Club to explore your breath. And if you use GRIT50 all capitals, you can get 50% off. That is a wonderful gift. Ben, thank you so much and I hope a lot of our listeners are able to take advantage of that. That's a great opportunity. Thank you.

Benedict: 48:02

Thank you Shawna

Shawna: 48:03

So thank you for being here and I definitely, everyone needs to make sure that they go check out all you have to offer make some breeding space.com and connecting with you on social media and find you on TikTok now that that's gonna be a thing. That'll be the new space to find you. That's very exciting. And November 14th is when the launching for somebody who's wondered about learning about this, teaching others, that's an exciting opportunity to get to work with Ben directly around learning these skills. But thank you so much for being here. And there will also be a link to your book, because that is also available. Tell me the title I get of.

Benedict: 48:36

The books about traveling around in India is called a Last Chance Power Drive, um, which if you know the song Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen, it's a line. From that, uh, which is why I chose that.

Shawna: 48:47

That is perfect actually. It just sounded like a great title without knowing that reference Last Chance, Power Drive for Your Travels Around India, so we'll definitely have the link in the notes for that as well for anyone interested. Thank you for sharing your expertise with all of us. And in the show notes, I will also mark the time for the different. That we did so you guys would be able to look at those to come back to this episode and to be able to experience that again.

Benedict: 49:11

Thank you, Shawna. Maybe we could close the interview as we started just by taking a breath together.

Shawna: 49:17

That would be lovely. Thank you. Thank you, Ben. Before I let you go, I wanna give a shout to one of our wonderful listeners who took the time to leave us a review. Christina wrote that the Grit is heartfelt and pure. Just give it a try. You'll laugh, cry, and realize you are not alone. Thank you so much for that, Christina. It means a lot to see what you have to say, and it's a great way to help others learn about the podcast and help them find us. I look forward to connecting with you again next week. Until then, take care of you. You know, I mean that you're the only one of you that this world has got, and that means something.