John Stamoulos: Breathing Past The Mask

Breathing Past The Mask What The Body Buries Most of us live in our heads. The body has been waiting decades to be heard. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with John Stamoulos, breathwork trainer, President of the Australian Breathwork Association, and author of Breathing Into A New Life, to unpack what really happens when the mind finally lets go and the body gets to speak. John has spent over 30 years guiding people through the simplest thing they will ever do, and Ben sat in one of his sessions and felt something shift that he still cannot fully explain. John shares how he stumbled into breathwork through a life-changing crisis in the 1980s that left him homeless, lost, and with no tools to process what had happened. He talks about being the accidental breathworker, the early sessions where his body went into paralysis as suppressed memories surfaced, and what it has taken to build a global practice rooted in something most people dismiss as too simple to matter. Ben and John explore what breathwork actually is and why it bypasses the thinking mind so completely. They talk about the masks we wear without knowing, the layers of grief, fear, and joy stored in the body, and the strange detachment that lets people feel emotion fully for the first time. Ben shares his own experience of sitting in joy for twenty minutes during a session, the first time he had felt it as an adult, and what that did to his understanding of what is possible. They also get into the ethics of an industry having its moment. The two-day breathwork certifications. The facilitators going viral on social media with no training behind them. The real risks when a powerful technique meets people with no idea what they are doing. John is direct about what to look for, what to run from, and why the standards matter more now than ever. If you have ever felt locked in your own head, cut off from joy, or curious about what your body has been carrying without your permission, this episode will give you a different way of thinking about the simplest thing you do all day. About the Guest John Stamoulos is an Adelaide-based breathwork trainer, facilitator, and author who has spent over 30 years guiding people through transformational breathwork across more than a dozen countries. He is the President of the Australian Breathwork Association, an integrity counsellor for the International Breathwork Foundation, and the creator of the Life Enhancement Intensive certification training. Connect with John: Website: johnstamoulos.com Website: breathlife.org Instagram: @johnstamoulos.breathwork Email: [email protected] Chapters: 00:00 The Journey to Breathwork 06:32 Understanding Breathwork: A Deep Dive 13:43 The Power of Breath: Connecting Mind and Body 20:00 Emotional Release Through Breathwork 25:25 Transformative Experiences in Breathwork 29:21 The Dynamics of Group vs. Private Breathwork Sessions 31:11 Understanding the Boundaries of Breathwork 32:57 The Rise of Breathwork: Trends and Risks 35:07 The Importance of Certification in Breathwork 37:23 Self-Care for Breathwork Facilitators 41:08 Integrating Breathwork into Daily Life 44:07 Mindfulness and Breath Awareness 48:51 Personal Transformations Through Breathwork