Meet Hannah Oxley

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hannah Oxley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Hannah, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

This is my story about people pleasing, overcoming illness, finding myself, and in the end, being tremendously grateful for it all, because through this journey I found my purpose.

For the majority of my life, I was just going through the motions. Being a “good girl” and doing all the things I should. Never really excelling, just doing enough to stay in the middle of the heard. I never wanted to ruffle feathers. I was fine being quiet and invisible. I did not realize until later, that I was living my life for others pleasure and not my own. I am at the bottom of a long line of generational people pleasing and I was fine to keep that line going. Until the summer of 2019 when everything changed.

What started as some odd gut issues turned into a life threatening illness. I did what all “good girls” do and listened to everything my doctors told me to do, but I continued to get sicker and sicker. Any suggestions I inquired about after doing my own research were quickly shot down. What did I know anyway? They are the specialists, they know best. I should not question. I should just listen, like I always do.

After trying a slew of different medications with no relief, I found myself in a very dark place mentally. Not to mention by this point it was 2020 and not only were we quarantined, I was seen as immunocompromised in my condition so people kept their distance. I had never felt so alone. I knew I needed to do something for my mental state. I heard so many good things about meditating, but found it impossible to calm my racing thoughts and anxieties about the state of my health and well being. That is when I found breathwork, and everything changed. As a different approach to reaching a meditative state, breathwork began to work its magic on me. I had this realization that I had been ignoring my intuition this whole time. In my breathwork practice I was able to listen to the wisdom within my body simply by focusing on my breath. I began to trust myself more. I began to advocate for myself like never before. I found a different doctor who really listened to me. Between her treatments and my newfound connection to my intuition I was able to fully heal.

My health journey lead me into a spiritual journey. I fully believe now that we as humans hold onto unprocessed emotions within our tissue. Looking back it seems clear to me that as a people pleaser, I had so many bottled up emotions and it literally caused dis-ease in my body. Manifesting itself as a physical illness.

Once I felt good enough, I went back to my corporate sales job, happy to be getting back to normal, but it did not feel normal anymore. I had a new outlook on life. I saw everyone around me holding onto negative beliefs and unprocessed emotions. I even noticed old patterns of mine start to return which, not surprisingly, were followed with more sickness. I had to do something. I was grateful for every moment that I was feeling healthy and I did not want to feel stuck at a job that was not fulfilling me. I kept up my breathwork practices and began to really listen to that little voice- my intuition. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that maybe this health journey happened to me for a reason. Maybe my purpose was to help others overcome what I had, not physically (although I do know a great doctor for that!) but mentally. For the first time in my life I had this strong feeling that I was meant for more. That maybe I could make a difference in peoples lives. No more following the crowd because it feels safe. It was time for me to be the creator of my own life. So I took a huge leap of faith and quit my job. I invested in myself. I got certified to facilitate breathwork for others in hopes that I can make a difference and be the change I want to see in the world.

Breathowrk facilitator training was everything I never knew I needed. For the first time in my life I felt so much passion for what I was learning. It just felt like I was made for it. I even remember the moment I had the epiphany “Is this what it feels like to live in my purpose?!” It was during a lesson about “holding space”. I did not have the verbiage before my training but that is when I realized I was born to be a space holder. Holding space is not about giving advice or fixing anything. It is about being fully present and energetically holding someone while they process an emotion. Pair that with conscious breathing, and you are cooking with fire.

I am open to the fact that my purpose could be ever evolving. Who knows where this journey might lead me next. But one thing is clear. My purpose in this life, at its core, is to be authentically me. When I am facilitating breathwork, 1 on 1 or in groups, I can feel that light inside of me shining so bright. And if my light can help turn on other peoples light, I know I am living in my purpose. No more playing small. Shine Bright.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Breathwork is quickly becoming a new buzzword so I get really excited that more and more people are hearing about it/trying it out. No matter where you are in life, no matter what hurtle you may be jumping for, I am confident breathwork can make a difference for you. I have visited schools, senior centers, libraries, halfway houses, grief retreats and each and every time people are always asking for more.

We are a society of shallow breathers. Reading this now I bet you just took a nice deep breath and contemplated when the last time you did that was. You are not alone. Humans have been taping into the power of breathwork for centuries but I feel as though our society has forgotten. We pack our schedules with so much that it is such a common phrase to say “I haven’t had a second to breathe”. This is true! and it needs to change.

If you take anything away from reading this I hope it is this. Give yourself the gift of one minute of deep breathing everyday. Whenever you have the chance, but make the conscious effort of closing your eyes, put on a minute of meditation music and just focus on deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. What this does is it gets you out of your busy mind and into your body, your heart. Trust me. Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you.

Breathwork has completely changed my life and I feel as though I am answering a calling in order to bring it to people. So if you are feeling called to learn more, please visit my website. You can contact me through there if you have any questions at all or if you are interested in any breathwork workshops online or in person.

Remember.. take a breath 😉

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. No one is going to advocate for you better than you can advocate for yourself. You may have the best support system (and that is important too!) but you have to be your own biggest cheerleader. During my healing journey, breathwork reminded me that this is my body and I have to fight for it. When I was starting my business, I had people in my corner who believed in me, but it was up to me to take action. It was my duty to set the vision and create the life I wanted.

2. Really get to know yourself. I found it super helpful to find out my human design, my dosha, my gene keys. I am such a nerd for these areas of knowledge but I am no expert (yet). Jump online and search these things if you are not familiar. This made a huge impact on how to best structure my day specifically for the way I am designed. For those that know what these are- I am a Vata, Manifesting Generator 🙂

3. Vivid Visioning. This is something we do along with breathwork. Allow yourself to dream big. Write down where you want to see yourself in a year. Let it be so clear and vivid. Do not limit yourself at all. Let it sound impossible. Its a therapy in itself to just allow yourself to dream of endless possibilities. You will then notice how much you do limit yourself.

And lastly, Breathwork! don’t forget to breathe through it all

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

For me, and I am sure I am not alone, the number one obstacle always appears to be money. Although, I do not have much animosity towards money, it is still challenging in a society so focused on it. Let me explain why I use the word “appears”. The way I see it, money is energy. If you think of the word “currency”, coming from the word “current”. It is a frequency. There is an incredibly small percentage of money that is actually tangible bills and coins. The rest… its where? is it real? There is a great book called “A Happy Pocket Full of Money” by David Cameron Gikandi that explains this concept way better than I can. After reading that book, I was able to tap into this flow state through breathwork. And it really worked! Until, life happens. Consistency turns into “every-so-often” turns into “When I get a chance” turns into “I have to start that back up again”. Suddenly old patterns have taken over and I am back in a state of lack instead of a state of abundance. With abundance being the goal, the obstacle I am really up against is this state of lack. The challenge being staying consistent with my intentions and mindfulness practices during the cold winter months when our instincts are to hibernate and conserve energy. Though sometimes I feel like the only one who is ok with shutting it down for the winter. “No, I am not avoiding hanging out with you, I am just honoring my bodies natural yearning to take it slow during the dark and cold months. Raincheck for spring when I am more energized and feeling alive?” is not a very common response I know, but it is where I am at and a boundary I am willing to set for my mental health.

My breathwork facilitator training taught me to honor the space you’re in, notice resistance, and honor that too. Allow for curiosity. Allow for growth and retraction. Love all parts of you. Sure, we all need a kick in the butt sometimes, but it is also ok to honor yourself exactly where you are at in your journey.

As I grow my business I have taken on little side jobs to pay the bills and keep a routine. But my one rule to myself in order to stay in my flow state is to spend time doing things that light me up. So I worked on a farm last year. I was on the field crew, planting and harvesting vegetables. I got so much out of this job- vitiman D, full body workout, grounding myself in the dirt, the list goes on. But most importantly I got some great metaphors for life. Did you know that garlic is planted in the fall? And is not ready to be harvested until late summer? This winter, I am channeling my inner garlic. I am not buried, I am planted. This winter I am caring for what my body is in need of. And as the days slowly start to get longer and brighter I can feel my energy coming back and so will my daily practices and so will my state of abundance. Next winter may be different and I will choose to honor the space I am in then too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oxleybreathwork.com
• Instagram: @oxleybreathwork

Image Credits

Stacy Murphy, Shannon McGraw, Emily Olsen, Steven Walsh