Five Minutes Back to Yourself: Alecia Iwanchuk on Yoga, Breathwork, Trauma Healing, and Listening to the Body

Five Minutes Back to Yourself: Alecia Iwanchuk on Yoga, Breathwork, Trauma Healing, and Listening to the Body Uncle Dave welcomes Alecia Iwanchuk, founder of Intentions Yoga, somatic yoga coach, Kundalini yoga teacher, and wellness guide based in Saskatoon, Canada, for a thoughtful conversation about yoga, breathwork, self-love, nervous-system regulation, trauma healing, and learning how to reconnect with the wisdom of the body. Alecia shares how her journey began with a gradual spiritual awakening around 2012. She started questioning the stories and systems around her, but eventually realized that focusing only on what was happening outside of her did not provide the healing or direction she needed. Her deeper transformation began when she turned inward. Yoga first entered her life through a gym class in 2015. She did not begin with a spiritual goal. She simply wanted to exercise. Over time, however, the practice changed the way she responded to stress, conflict, and emotional intensity. Alecia recalls a defining moment during an argument with her former husband. Instead of becoming completely lost inside the conflict, she suddenly recognized where her energy ended and his began. She could observe what was happening without becoming fully entangled in it. That moment showed her that yoga was doing much more than increasing flexibility—it was creating clarity, awareness, and emotional space. Following her divorce and the disruption of the pandemic, Alecia committed more deeply to her own healing. She completed yoga teacher training, launched Intentions Yoga, and eventually left a 17-year corporate career to build a soul-led business centered on helping others develop a healthier relationship with themselves. Alecia explains that “holding space” means creating an environment where people feel safe enough to explore what is happening within them. They are allowed to cry, slow down, feel, question, and go deeper without pressure or judgment. The coach or teacher does not force healing. They create the conditions in which healing can become possible. A major theme of the episode is the nervous system. When someone has unresolved pain inside, that pain often searches for a way to express itself through relationships, reactions, tension, or emotional triggers. As the nervous system becomes calmer, people gain the ability to witness what is happening instead of automatically reacting. Alecia describes how she now notices difficult information moving through her body without the same clenching or panic she once experienced. This did not happen through one dramatic breakthrough. It came through disciplined practice, including meditation, yoga, breathwork, mantras, mudras, and intentional 40-day commitments. The conversation also explores self-love. David shares how being asked whether he loved himself felt like hearing a question in another language. He had lived more than 50 years without recognizing self-love as something he was allowed to practice. Alecia explains that self-love can be approached through the body and energy system. In her work, she may use heart-centered movement, intentional postures, breath, chanting, and focused awareness to help people connect with feelings they cannot always reach through thought alone. Healing may not arrive during the session itself. Sometimes a person practices consistently and then, on an ordinary Tuesday, realizes that something inside has shifted. Alecia also introduces the idea of somatic breathing. “Somatic” simply means body-based. The breath is unique because it happens automatically, but we can also consciously guide it. By slowing down and following the breath into the body, a person can return to the present moment. She discusses Breath of Fire, a powerful Kundalini breathing practice used to awaken energy, move stagnation, and create a sense of renewal. Alecia compares it to a forest fire clearing away old growth so that something new can emerge. For beginners, her advice is simple: Start with five intentional minutes every day. Those five minutes might include gentle movement, breathing, journaling, meditation, or simply turning attention away from the outside world and back toward yourself. One long class each week can be valuable, but five consistent minutes every day may create a deeper shift. The practice does not require perfection. When the mind wanders, return to the breath. When the body becomes tired, recommit. When a posture does not feel right, listen to the body rather than forcing it. Alecia also discusses her somatic yoga coaching for people living with trauma. Trauma may remain in the nervous system even after someone has told the story many times. Some people disconnect from their bodies as a way of surviving. Somatic work helps them slowly rebuild safety, awareness, and capacity so they can release some of the emotional charge without becoming overwhelmed. Her Magic Garden seed is a vision for a world that values human wellness as much as productivity and economic output. Rather than measuring success only through money or growth, she hopes humanity begins asking whether people feel safe, healthy, peaceful, connected, and genuinely alive. Alecia’s message is a reminder that yoga is not simply sitting on a mat or achieving the perfect pose. It is the practice of returning to yourself, listening to your body, calming your nervous system, and creating enough space for truth and healing to emerge. To connect with Alecia Iwanchuk: https://www.intentions-yoga.ca/ Search Intentions Yoga with Alecia on Instagram. Search Intentions Yoga on YouTube. 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