Portland, Oregon Breathwork // Natasha Stewart // Intentional Branding Session
The vision behind Natasha’s Intentional Branding Session was to convey the essence of her Winter offering through poetic imagery and then share it with her community.
Her offering, titled “The Descent” would be a three month in-person journey that offered participants healing, support and community connection during the Winter months. A heart-centered gathering place for breathwork and meditation ceremonies, conscious technology practices, Yoga Nidra and sound healing. A space where folks could take advantage of the sacred pause Winter offers; to gather their inner resources, refine their rituals, rest, and channel healing energy towards themselves… so that when they emerged from Winter’s cocoon they would be ready to greet Spring in their fullness, brimming with vitality.
The photo session became an embodied ritual of the energies and themes that the participants would be evoking and working with throughout the program; winter, death, dormancy, the void, stillness, devotion and undivided attention.
We chose the Oregon Coast as the land upon which her photo session would unfold; centering the vast open sky as an expression of consciousness, the cleansing winds in honor of breath, the deep oceanic expanse embodying the subconscious, and the rocky, harsh yet refining terrain manifesting as Winters wisdom. A palpable internal flame lit within Natasha as she expressed through movement, tenderness and love.
There were torrential rains the evening before + the morning of our session, which gifted us with billowing, ominous clouds and partially wet sand to add texture and grit to the dance.
I am consistently in awe of photography’s ability to weave and bridge the internal with the external - to bring visions forth into this reality, and to SEE that we which we FEEL within, made manifest before our eyes.
Deep bows to Natasha for the magic of her life’s work; in providing nurturing spaces for people to heal and evolve. Please enjoy getting to know her more deeply:)
ABOUT NATASHA:
Natasha is a Somatic Coach and Breathwork Facilitator; passionate about fostering nurturing and transformational spaces for both individuals and groups, to tap into their innate healing capacity and unearth material blocking their most authentic expression and connection to life. She provides a compassionate, judgement-free and gentle presence for clients to dive into the full spectrum of their human-ness and comfortably journey beyond this material world. She specializes in guiding clients into altered states of consciousness, facilitating over thousands of transformational Breathwork sessions, a specific type of breathwork that provides deep experiences of altered states and connects you with your Inner Healer.
Her academic foundation is in Public Health, receiving a Bachelors of Science with a focus in Health Promotion and Health Behavior at Oregon State University. She studied under Gabor Mate’s program Compassionate Inquiry and is currently continuing her education with Somatic Experiencing.
She is delighted by the inherent wisdom of the natural world, and views breathwork as a loving tool and teacher on the path to wholeness. Through her own personal journey, breathwork played a major role in self discovery, gifting her life-changing clarity and glimpses into the true nature of this reality. She continues her own self-study by devoting herself to the path of Zen Buddhism and partakes in multiple week-long silent meditation retreats a year.
Before Natasha moved to Portland, she worked for five years as a Flight Attendant and First Mate on a 66 foot sailboat - crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean by boat and air many times. Her calm, warm and steady presence provides a loving anchor to rest upon during long explorative journeys; both inside and out.
WHAT IS BREATHWORK?
Breathwork is a powerful tool to connect you with stored emotions in the body and help you release anything that no longer benefits your well-being; leaving you replenished, lighter and free.
Through this active style of Breathwork, you’re able to bypass the pre-frontal cortex and drop into the body. Giving you access to stored unprocessed emotions, trauma, and other material tucked in the unconscious waiting to be felt, loved-up, processed or released. Breathwork helps build your resilience to uncomfortable sensations in the body, strengthening your capacity to be with stress and anxiety. With more practice, the ability to translate the language of your body and hear yourself clearly is a great benefit. Clearing away the static that sits between you and your intuition.
Breathwork often assists in the subconscious process of unearthing old beliefs that can keep you stuck and disconnected. When you bring the unconscious into the light, you can start to rewire these deeply rooted beliefs so that you can make conscious decisions with your life. Giving you the power to get unstuck, and move beyond what’s holding you back.
This practice facilitates a deeper connection to who you really are; gifting you clarity on your life's situation with greater self-awareness, love and compassion for yourself and others
BENEFITS OF BREATHWORK
Re-energizes the body with oxygen and blood flow.
Resets and soothes the nervous system.
Increases energy level and sense of well-being.
Releases toxins, emotions and stagnant energy from the cells of the body.
Allows old emotions, and past traumas to arise and release in a safe gentle way.
Reduces stress and anxiety.
Aids in accessing expanded states of consciousness.
Releases tension and helps relax constrictions in the body.
Enhances creativity and self-expression.
Helps to transform limiting thoughts and beliefs.
Enhances feelings of inner peace, clarity and connection
IN PERSON PRIVATE SESSION WORK WITH NATASHA:
Natasha offers private breathwork sessions at her healing space in Portland, Oregon. Her sessions provide a space for deep healing through conscious connected breathwork and nurturing guidance. Private session work includes supportive conversation, compassionate inquiry, reiki, and Breathwork to support the reclamation of wholeness and tuning into your higher wisdom. A place to be tenderly held in your humanness.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN A PRIVATE SESSION:
When you arrive you’ll be greeted by grounding scents, soft music and a cup of tea to settle into the space.
For the first 30 minutes we’ll begin with supportive conversation and spot coaching to unfold your intention for the session. This time can be used to fan out or discuss any life situations that are present and desiring clarity, or greater awareness.
Next, you’ll be guided through 35-50 minutes of conscious connected breathwork. You’ll be laying down on a breathing mat, with pillows and a blanket.
During the session dialogue and inquiry may be used to dive deeper into the process. As well as optional grounding touch, and reiki.
The session will close with a restorative resting period and a chance to share and begin integrating your experience.
WAYS TO DIVE MORE DEEPLY INTO NATASHAS WORK:
WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING:
“This might sound like hyperbole, but working with Natasha has truly changed my life! I’ve always found traditional therapy to be a helpful support and guide, and that’s been a consistent part of my life for over twenty years. But what I didn’t realize before entering into this work with Natasha was that it was only a part of the picture of healing for me.
Breathwork has been such an incredible complement to the work I’ve been doing on myself. In the past I’ve tended to intellectualize my feelings, thinking that was all it took to process them. But this has been the missing link to process them on a deeper level that was so needed! I’ve experienced how breathwork can change your relationship with your interior landscape, and how it can be a tool to access emotions trapped in the body that I didn’t even know needed to come out. It’s been so therapeutic - like a cleaning house of unresolved clutter (feelings, experiences) inside me - and it’s given me a pathway to safety and FREEDOM within myself that I didn’t know was even possible.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time working with Natasha in private as well as group sessions and retreats, and I love each of these equally, for different reasons. The groups can provide such a sense of community and communal healing, sharing and coming together in deep ways - even with strangers. And the private sessions offer a way to process and practice with one-on-one support, the opportunity to verbalize your thoughts and feelings in real time, and the space to build a relationship of deep trust and personalized guidance. I’ve integrated both practices into my life, and get something unique and valuable from each.
But what Natasha provides is so much more than just breathwork. My precious teacher! What a gift she’s been to my life. Sessions with her are so nurturing, beyond the breathwork itself. She truly holds space, something that’s especially powerful in private sessions, and she’s so natural at it. This has become a sacred space in my life, a time to truly be seen and heard as a whole human - something so many of us need more of in our lives.
She’s kind, patient, open-hearted, and so talented as a practitioner. She’s generous of spirit - I call her my breathwork “teacher” partly because of just how much knowledge and wisdom she shares with me. About the breath, yes, but also about presence, grounding, embodiment… and so much more. She’s taught me how to be in my body - something I previously only understood on the surface - and how to cultivate my ability to stay there, and to return to a more grounded place when I find myself more “in my head”. I’ve learned so much from her!
She’s just a really beautiful human, and a gifted healer, and she’s truly changed my life for the better. She will forever be one of those special “teachers” for me, the ones that leave a lasting mark on your life.
I feel so lucky to have found her, and to have followed the call I felt toward breathwork. If you’re on the fence - just try it. Wherever you are in your journey, I’m confident Natasha can meet you there. And I’d be so excited for you to take the first step!” - Katie B.
