“It gave me an incredible sense of peace and calmness.”
That was the initial feeling Kym Burls got after he first practiced guided breathwork three years ago.
Since then, it has completely transformed his life and he is helping to do that for the people of Adelaide too – by teaching Wellness Squared participants guided breathwork as part of WellFest Adelaide.
It was while Kym was on a ‘eat, pray, love’ trip around the globe that he decided to try improve his mental health with a mentally challenging activity and he gave the Wim Hof method a go for the first time in Poland.
The Wim Hof method is a combination of three pillars – it’s the breathing technique as well as the introduction of cold exposure training and commitment and these techniques act a reset for the body.
Now, three years later, Kym is teaching the method to others back home in Adelaide in the hope they too will feel peace and calmness.
“It’s about introducing people to the power and influence that changing their breathing and becoming more consciously aware of how they breathe throughout the day – making them aware of just how much of a difference that can make in their day to day lives,” Kym said.
“Our breath is such a powerful way to influence not only your physical body, but also your mental state, emotional state and even your spiritual state.”
Kym is hoping to deliver that message at the three Wellness Squared events on Sundays 17, 24 and 31 October.
“My aim over the three weekends is to introduce a different element of the breath each week, each session will be different,” Kym said.
“We are going to explore the inhale and exhale and then we’re going to explore different ways of doing breath holds and breath retention over the course of the three weekends.
“We are going to teach people not just how to do the techniques, but also get them to understand the what and the why, so they feel empowered when they leave the session to continue on and explore their own breath for themselves, long after the festival is over.”
Kym believes WellFest Adelaide is a fantastic initiative because he knows what introducing different modalities to people can do.
“That for me is exciting, because I had never tried breathwork and when I did, it completely turned my life around,” he said.
“If the people that come along to a session get one little takeaway out of it, the knock-on effect is incredible – they keep sharing that one little titbit and all of a sudden you have this exponential effect of sharing wellbeing tips with an entire network.
“I think it’s really beautiful that the Adelaide Economic Development Agency has recognised the importance and the role that wellbeing plays in people’s lives.”
To learn breathing techniques from Kym, book your FREE tickets to Wellness Squared here.