The Breath Psychologist-Elif Clarke

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The Breath Psychologist-Elif Clarke As a senior trainer and facilitator in Transformational Breath®, I share ideas about how to achieve

12/10/2026

Yesterday was such a beautiful day and reminded me again why I love doing this work.

Ten of us came together for cacao, breathwork, lunch, rest and connection.

We started with cacao and an intention - moving a little away from the thinking mind and becoming more present with the heart, the body and what we were actually feeling.

Then we breathed.

I always find it fascinating how the same breath takes everybody somewhere different. There was grief and sadness, physical tension softening, love and compassion, and also the recognition of how much we can push ourselves - even when what we really need is to surrender and be a little kinder to ourselves.

After lunch we talked about integration, and then we breathed again. The second session was completely different - physical, playful, emotional and, for some, deeply spiritual.

What I loved most was watching people allow themselves to be exactly where they were.

You don’t need experience in breathwork. You don’t even need to know what you want to work on.

Sometimes you just need to give yourself the time and space to pause, breathe and listen.

Very grateful to everyone who came and trusted the space we created together.

Our next Cacao & Breathwork Day Retreat is on Saturday, 14 November 2026.

I would love to welcome you to join us.

Notice. Explore.Something I’ve noticed in my own life is that being busy can be a way of coping with stress and trauma. ...
08/10/2026

Notice. Explore.

Something I’ve noticed in my own life is that being busy can be a way of coping with stress and trauma. When our sense of self and our self-acceptance get tied to what we achieve - how productive we are, how much time we spend creating, thinking, putting things together to give and give and give to others - busyness starts to feel like who we are.

Then one day you slow down, and you realise you’ve drifted far from yourself. You’ve been pulled in other directions without noticing what you need or how you feel. That can be overwhelming, and it can feel like a scary place to be. So we cope the way we know: we shut down and get busy again. Busy, busy, busy. A vicious cycle.

What I’ve noticed in myself is that even pausing to meditate or breathe can become another way of filling the day. Underneath, there may be the feelings I haven’t wanted to meet: grief, sadness, emptiness, not knowing who I am.

When I’m caught in that, I lose touch with my intuition, the part of me that has guided me all my life, often bringing me what I needed without my trying. When I act from fear instead, without pausing, things can tighten into the same cycle until it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I find I’m not able to receive. I’m shut down.

So what about just the pause?

Three, four, five minutes a day. Sit. Look around at the flowers or the trees. Or if you have a cup of tea in your hand, feel the cup. Smell the tea. Notice the sensation. Only that moment, nothing else - just you and your cup of tea.

And then, gently, ask yourself how you are feeling.

Would you like to try it?

Did you know your nervous system may choose safety over success?What we call self-sabotage can sometimes be a protective...
06/10/2026

Did you know your nervous system may choose safety over success?

What we call self-sabotage can sometimes be a protective strategy. You may want success consciously, but if success has become linked with visibility, rejection, criticism or losing belonging, your nervous system may experience it as a threat.

This can show up as procrastination, overthinking, pulling back, creating problems, or freezing just before an important step.

I think of it like a tree. The behaviour is what we see above ground. Beneath it are coping strategies, such as staying small or avoiding visibility. And beneath those may be earlier experiences that shaped beliefs like “If I am visible, I will be criticised” or “If I expand, I may lose connection.”

03/10/2026

ONLINE COMMUNITY BREATHWORK CIRCLE 🌬️
Wednesday 7th October, 7:00 - 8:15/8.30 (UK time)
Then every other Wednesday

A space to slow down, reconnect, reset, release and restore.

Our breath is always with us, yet many of us rarely connect with it because we spend so much time in our heads and so little in our bodies. This circle is an invitation to come back to yourself.

Through the breath, you can begin to notice the sensations your body is communicating, at your own pace and in a way that feels safe. You stay in charge of your breath: you can slow down, speed up, or pause whenever you need to.

We start gently and build the practice together over time. There is no wrong way to do this. Everyone can learn to listen to their breath and their body, and to breathe in a way that supports mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. Sometimes the breath may also bring up feelings or sensations you didn’t expect, and we hold that with care.
Coming regularly can help build resilience to stress. In my monthly in-person group, many people have been coming for two to three years, and they describe meeting life’s ups and downs with more steadiness, groundedness, acceptance and trust.

Open to everyone, whatever your experience.

When you register, you’ll receive a 15-minute preparation recording covering how to practise, how to set up your space, and everything you need for the session.

Donation: £10
Link in bio to register ❤️

Every two weeks, let’s come together to regulate, reconnect with ourselves and each other, and reset our nervous systems

Are your shoulders doing your breathing?Compensatory strategies are the ways our body, mind, breath and nervous system a...
30/09/2026

Are your shoulders doing your breathing?

Compensatory strategies are the ways our body, mind, breath and nervous system adapt when something isn’t working in harmony. Instead of fixing the root issue, the system adjusts around it so we can keep going. These strategies are intelligent and help us survive, but over time they can create tension, imbalance and disconnection.

The diaphragm is our main breathing muscle. When it isn’t moving freely, the neck, shoulders and upper chest may start doing more of the work. These muscles are there to help when we run or face danger, not for everyday breathing. When they take over day after day, that is a compensatory breathing pattern.

In my work, I see it develop from stress, pain, injury, surgery, posture, holding the stomach in, or a body that learned long ago to stay on guard. You might notice your shoulders lifting as you breathe in, tension in your neck or jaw, frequent sighing, or feeling tired and wired at the same time.

Try this: put one hand on your chest and one on your belly, breathe normally, and notice which moves more. This is just information, not a test.

The good news is that breathing patterns can change, gently and at a pace your nervous system can manage.

If you notice new breathlessness, chest pain or dizziness, please check with your GP first.

29/09/2026

A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO RETURN HOME TO YOUR HEART, BODY AND SOUL.

Join us for a deeply liberating day of breath, cacao, movement, connection and rest — an opportunity to step away from everyday life, slow down, listen to your body and go deeper into your relationship with your breath.

We begin gently with guided meditation, somatic movement and Somatic Experiencing practices to help you arrive in your body, become more present and prepare for the journey ahead.

We then come together for our heart-opening cacao ceremony, followed by your first Conscious Connected Breathwork session.

Afterwards, we pause for a beautiful nourishing lunch — time to eat, connect, rest and integrate.

In the afternoon, we bring some energy and fun back into the body with the Break State and somatic movement, before moving into your second Conscious Connected Breathwork session.

We conclude the day with Yoga Nidra, allowing the body and nervous system to deeply rest and integrate, followed by time to share and connect together

11/10/2026

10.30AM to 4.30PM

See link Bio to register

Did you know that your breath has a pattern - and that pattern can tell us something about how your system has learned t...
25/09/2026

Did you know that your breath has a pattern - and that pattern can tell us something about how your system has learned to live?

The way you breathe can reflect your nervous system state, your habits, your beliefs, your emotional patterns and the ways you have learned to cope with life.

Some people breathe mainly into the upper chest. Some use their neck and shoulders. Some breathe strongly into the belly but have very little movement through the chest. Some breathe predominantly into the back.

I don’t see these patterns as fixed meanings or diagnoses.

I see them as information.

What is the breath doing?
Where is it moving?
Where is it restricted?
Which areas are working harder?
Where is there very little movement?

These patterns can give us information about how the body has adapted over time, how the nervous system is functioning, and some of the ways a person may have learned to manage stress, emotion and life experience.

The breath is not separate from the rest of us. It is influenced by posture, muscle tension, nervous system state, emotion, habit and experience.

This is why I always say:

Before we try to change the breath, we need to learn how to listen to it.

Real resilience isn’t about pushing through faster. It’s about building the capacity to notice: is this response proport...
20/09/2026

Real resilience isn’t about pushing through faster. It’s about building the capacity to notice: is this response proportional to what’s actually happening right now, or is it an old pattern firing? That capacity is easier to build in community than alone.

Join me for an online breath circle on October 7th, open to everyone - no breathwork experience needed. We’ll work with the nervous system directly, so you leave with a felt sense of what regulation feels like, not just a concept.

From 7 to 8.30 UK time
Link in Bio

No experience required. A short preparation recording will be sent in advance

18/09/2026

Your throat is talking - are you listening?
When I work with the throat, I’m interested in expression and what happens in the body and breath when we find it difficult to speak up.

Many of us learned through early relationships and life experiences that expressing what we wanted, disagreeing, saying no or taking up space could have consequences. We may develop beliefs such as - I don’t matter, my needs aren’t important, nobody will listen to me, or it’s better to keep quiet.

These patterns can show in the way we speak and breathe - a tight jaw, constricted throat, held chest, restricted breathing, a quiet or hesitant voice, or difficulty saying clearly what we need.

It can also go in the other direction. Some people speak quickly, become forceful or struggle to pause because they expect they won’t be heard unless they push harder.

This is why throat work needs to look at the whole pattern - beliefs, nervous system, body, breath, voice and relational experience.

When I work with breath and sound around the jaw, throat, neck, collarbone and chest, I’m interested in what changes. What happens to your breath when you speak up? What happens when you say no? Can you express what you need clearly while remaining connected to your body?

Working with the throat can help us understand our patterns of expression and develop more flexibility, clarity and confidence in how we communicate.

Your throat is talking - are you listening?

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