Inspiring Women in Wellness: Blake Spencer
Introducing my new wellness interview series! Each month, I’ll be highlighting strong women that have stepped into their light and looked within to find their inner strength.
Photo courtesy of Blake Spencer
To kick off this interview series, meet Blake Spencer, the woman behind Breath of Blake.
Blake’s Story
Blake’s journey with breathwork began during her work with her therapist. After two months of exploring the practice together, Blake began to deepen the practice through her own self-work.
After one particularly profound experience, Blake discovered powerful memories within her physical being. “I realized through this experience that the organs and muscles hold on to painful and joyful memories and experiences. With breathwork I am able to access these memories and shift things if needed for greater health in my body,” says Blake.
Her journey eventually led her to complete her yoga teacher training on the Big Island of Hawaii. Shortly thereafter, Blake participated in a breathwork workshop at a festival in Los Angeles. “I dropped into a very similar place with this workshop as I had when practicing on my own. I knew from that moment that I needed to learn how to teach this practice and share it with as many people as I could,” says Blake. “This, I thought, was the medicine the world needed.”
After studying with David Elliott and working with Michael Brian Baker, Blake began to shift her focus to sharing the practice of breathwork with others. Her vision has continued to evolve as she has progressed in her path of intuitive healing. “My mission now seems to be shaping into inviting people to get in tune with their bodies’ unique knowledge and wisdom. Through this knowing, I believe we can connect more deeply to the earth, and as we connect deeper to our earth, we connect to the infinite nourishment she has to offer,” says Blake. “Our earth is really suffering and my desire is to leave it better than I found it.”
BREATHWORK AS A TOOL FOR HEALING
Blake’s own experience with breathwork has deeply shaped her perspective about its healing capacity for both herself and others. During a particularly intense breathwork session in San Francisco, Blake recognized the power of surrendering to truly experience healing.
“That moment showed me that trusting my body, trusting in spirit and the breath was an essential surrender into my healing,” says Blake. “My recommendation to anyone just beginning to practice breathwork is to remember that they are just bringing breath into their bodies, nothing else. It can feel really intense and foreign and overwhelming, and it is, but it is also just air. Trust your body fully and completely surrender to the breath.”
While breathwork has played a pivotal role in Blake’s journey, she highlights that her path is one of continual progress. “I am still working to overcome limiting beliefs. I often wonder if the limiting beliefs ever truly become abolished, or if we learn to quiet those beliefs over time and find easier ways to deal with them,” says Blake.
“I am currently in a deep process of working through beliefs of being "too much," not lovable, and not worthy of love or good health,” says Blake.
“My life is full of waves that ebb and flow with the shifting of the seasons and planets, and I'm working on not judging myself too hard when I get caught up in these outdated belief systems...being insecure and comparing myself to others is a part of my human experience right now, and I trust that these unhealthy patterns will work themselves out through intention, self-care, and commitment.”
An Intuitive Approach to Each Day
Rather than adhering to a pre-determined daily routine, Blake follows a more intuitive approach to each day. “The only practice I work with on a daily basis at this time is meeting myself and my body where it is. As someone who has suffered with a lifetime of depression and anxiety, that is the greatest gift I can offer myself,” says Blake. “My work in this life, it seems, is to deeply feel. That means that sometimes going straight into meditation in the morning every morning, isn't always going to be the medicine I need.”
Blake also highlights the importance of incorporating plants and adapting to the seasons as part of her holistic lifestyle. “I do drink an herbal infusion most days, and that has been an incredibly nourishing and grounding practice for my body, mind, and spirit,” she says. “I am a pretty seasonal being, so I can go months without practicing breathwork or meditation, and then the season shifts, and I am doing it every day.”
While breathwork may not always be part of Blake’s daily rituals, she emphasizes its infinite healing capacity. “In my experience, breath is the most natural practice I have found that moves the most energy,” says Blake. “This practice can be extremely healing for the body and soul and show us a lot about ourselves.”
As a society that wears busy as a badge of honor and finds itself constantly overstimulated by technology, our minds are often disconnected from our bodies. The result? Anxiety, stress, and an inability to slow down and simply rest within the present moment.
Blake highlights breathwork as a powerful tool for restoring our mind-body connection and bringing us back into the present moment. “The breath also allows us to really truly feel and be in our bodies,” says Blake. “It opens up a whole new awareness that sometimes we didn't even know was possible.”
To learn more about Blake, check out her website for access to a free 30 minute breathwork session and follow her journey on Instagram and Facebook.
Want to be featured as part of my wellness interview series? Know of an inspiring woman in wellness that would be a great fit? Send me a note with your idea!