MEET RACHEL ACKLEY
Rachel Ackley is a breathwork facilitator, 500-hour yoga instructor and healer with a Master’s in Health Promotion. She has advanced trainings in reiki, restorative yoga, health coaching and physiotherapy. As a teacher, her intention is to bring light to the shadow and help students move closer to a life that feels free on the inside. She believes that once we shine light of conscious awareness on the parts of ourselves that we keep hidden, the darkness loses its power over us and we free up vital energy and the unique gifts that we may not have known were there.
From her own experiences, she has learned that we will always be our best teacher. Rachel believes that the relationship that we have with ourselves is one of the most important relationships that we can build. Her work comes from using tools from her own path of healing. Her intention is to help others become more aware of their internal environment by becoming aware of their thoughts, feelings and emotions. She helps students identify where and why resistance shows up in the physical, mental and emotional body so they can gain a deeper meaning of life and connect to their purpose and truth.
Breathwork is one of the most powerful tools that Rachel uses to help students access their unique gifts of creativity and open the heart. It is a self-healing tool that heals wounds at a cellular level and connects you to your internal space. It has the power to change ways of being, anxiety, trauma and depression, while enhancing feelings of love and joy. Rachel works around the seven chakras and teaches that each energy center holds a universal spiritual life lesson that we must learn to evolve into higher consciousness. The breath does the work of shifting any stagnant or blocked energy around the chakras that keeps you feeling low in energy and stuck in life. Leaving breathwork sessions you feel lighter, softer and renewed. You may even experience a feeling of being “high” on energy, love and light.
Breathwork for Healing the Shadow
Many of us have learned to be ashamed of the very beautiful attribute that makes us uniquely ourselves – to fear our darkness and the parts of ourselves that we hide out of shame and find unacceptable. It’s said that all things grow in the dark and the only way to heal is to sit in discomfort with our own darkness. If we don’t work to repair the parts of ourselves that show up as anger, rage, control, anxiety, perfectionism and depression we create chaos and confusion within. We do this by shutting down or acting out when we don’t feel safe or are triggered.
Everyone has a shadow. Similar to an iceberg we show only the tiny tip of ourselves to others, when underneath the surface there is enormous mountains of experiences, memories and forgotten suffering that’s held in the body. When we hide our shadow, we move through life with having very little trust in others, closeness, security and intimacy. We not only hurt ourselves by avoiding our own pain but we end up hurting others. We convince ourselves that we will never be good enough so it’s best not to risk failure or rejection. Ultimately our shadow is what keeps us small and keeps us from being seen.
When working with our shadow, it’s important to move forward in strength and treat ourselves as if we were an adult who is seeking to understand their child. In order to heal, this approach can only be with love, curiosity, and compassion. When we uncover the riches of our interior world we uncover truth and find a more authentic way to live. One that is heart driven and that acts out of love rather than fear.
Through an active breath we will journey into the layers of our being. Breathwork is a natural healing technique that travels into the subconscious and cleanses the emotional body. It clears stuck energy around the chakras and works to raise your vibration from low to high. When energy moves it feels electrical and opens up our emotions. Leaving breathwork sessions you feel lighter, grounded and refreshed. You may even experience a feeling of being “high” on energy, love and light.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
A blanket or mat to lay on, an extra blanket to cover up with, a white candle to light, ideally palo santo or sage, if not available, any incense that you have to hand, a piece of paper and pen, any crystals, stones, feathers or something sacred or symbolic that you would use to put on an altar. Altars are special because they are healing and keep us grounded. The work is done laying down so dress comfortably.
WHAT IS BREATHWORK?
Breathwork is a natural healing technique that works with the chakras to clear energy of heavy emotions like anxiety, sadness and anger. It has the ability to shift traumas, old patterns, habits and ways of thinking. It can be a powerful experience that can bring up strong physical sensations and intense feelings that give you an emotional release. You may see waves of colour and experience a feeling of being “high” on energy, light and love. The main purpose of breathwork is to open the heart and invite more creativity into your life.
INFORMED CONSENT
Breathwork is a powerful experiential tool and process that allows deep self- exploration, transformation, and healing at all levels of self. Drawing on ancient healing and spiritual practices, Breathwork uses the power of breath, mantras and music to help you access a non-ordinary state of consciousness. Because this process can bring up intense emotions and strong physical experiences, you should understand that issues arising from your participation in Breathwork may require additional therapeutic or supportive interventions. By reading this and participating in the Breathwork, you are acknowledging that you understand and accept full responsibility.