Just Come Back: Using Your Breath to Begin Again

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Welcome to Breathwork Magic, the podcast that explores the life-changing power of your breath.
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Breathwork isn't just a practice, it's a gateway to healing, transformation, and shifting to a new mindset by letting go of the past and embracing the possibilities of the present moment.
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I'm Amanda Russo, your host, a certified breathwork facilitator, level two reiki practitioner, and creative manner's mindset podcast.
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On my own journey, Blackbook has been a powerful tool for releasing what no longer serves me.
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And shifting my perspective to step into my fullest and greatest potential.
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Each week, I'm joined by inspiring guests, Blackbook facilitators, healers, and wellness enthusiasts who share how this practice has helped them and their clients heal, grow, and embrace lasting change.
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So take a deep breath in and out.
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Settle in and let's explore the magic of your breath together.
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The transformation starts now.
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I am your host, Amanda Russo, aka the breathing goddess.
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And I have pissed out today's episode by calling myself out a little bit.
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Back in August, I've released an episode with a guest, and I told you guys that Breath Broke Magic was officially moving to a bi-weekly schedule.
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And then I immediately missed the next episode.
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So that's going well.
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But seriously, the next episode was supposed to come out August 21st.
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I was traveling for my birthday.
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I was getting ready to turn 30.
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There was a lot going on.
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And I didn't release an episode.
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And I could sit here and give you a million reasons why.
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I could apologize for it.
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I could tell myself I fucked up this new schedule before I even really got started.
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Or I could just come back.
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And that's what I'm doing.
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And honestly, when I started thinking about what episode I wanted to release today, what I wanted to talk about today, I realized that there's actually something really important in that.
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Because how often do so many of us do this?
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We decide we're going to start something.
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We make a commitment to ourselves.
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We're doing really well.
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And then life happens.
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We miss a day.
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Maybe we miss a week.
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We get out of our routine.
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And suddenly we make that mean that we failed.
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And I think sometimes the hardest part isn't even getting off track.
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It's the story we tell ourselves after we get off track.
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You don't have to catch up.
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Maybe you've been there.
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You haven't worked out in a couple weeks.
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So now going back feels even more difficult.
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Maybe you haven't journaled, you haven't meditated, you haven't tapped into your breath.
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Maybe there's something you said you were going to do and you just haven't done it.
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And suddenly you are carrying around all of this guilt around the fact that you didn't do it.
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I should have done this.
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Why didn't I do that?
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I was doing so good.
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I need to get back on track.
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Sometimes we put so much pressure on the idea of getting back on track that we make returning even more difficult than it actually needs to be.
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Because what if you don't have to catch up?
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What if you don't have to make up for all the days you missed?
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What if you don't need some huge restart?
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What if you just need to come back today, right now, wherever you are?
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And this is actually something breathwork really teaches us.
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Because when you're breathing intentionally, you're not going to do it perfectly every single time.
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Your mind might wander, you might lose the breathing pattern, you might get distracted.
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You might realize you've been thinking about the email you need to send, or some random conversation you had three days ago.
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But what do we do?
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We come back to the breath.
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We don't say, oh no, I got distracted.
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So I guess I ruined my entire breath work practice.
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We notice it, become aware of it, and we return to the breath.
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And then maybe our mind wanders again.
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And then we return again.
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There's always another breath.
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And I think there's something really beautiful about taking that outside of breath work and applying it to our everyday lives.
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Because maybe you don't need to be perfect at keeping every promise to yourself.
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Maybe part of trusting yourself is also knowing that when you get disconnected from yourself, you know how to come back.
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I think sometimes we imagine consistency as this perfect straight line.
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You decide you're doing something, and then you do it every day or every week forever.
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But that's not really how life works.
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Vacations come up, birthdays happen, work gets busy, relationships need our attention.
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Sometimes our priorities change.
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Sometimes we just drop the ball.
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I think maybe the goal is to become somebody who knows how to return without spending three weeks beating themselves up first.
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Because beating yourself up doesn't actually change what happened, it just keeps you stuck there longer.
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And I'm literally practicing that by recording this episode right now.
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I missed August 21st.
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I can't go backward, I can't go back in time and publish an episode on that day.
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But I can sit here today and record this episode.
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I can turn on the microphone, I can turn on the computer and start again.
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And so can you.
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So I want you to think about something for a second.
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What have you been wanting to come back to?
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Pause, delete that, delete that.
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And so can you.
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What do you want to come back to?
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So I want you to think about something for a second.
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What have you been wanting to come back to?
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Maybe something immediately came to your mind.
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Maybe it's breath work.
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Maybe it's moving your body.
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Maybe it's taking care of yourself.
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Maybe it's a routine that made you feel really good.
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Maybe it's something you were excited about before life got in the way.
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Or maybe it's not even something you used to do.
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Maybe it's something you've been saying you're going to begin.
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And you keep waiting for the perfect moment to start.
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Whatever it is.
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I want you to take some of the pressure off of it.
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You don't have to make up for lost time.
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You don't have to do it perfectly this time.
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You don't have to prove anything.
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You just have to decide whether you want to come back.
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And if the answer is yes, come back.
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So with that being said, wherever you are right now, if you are somewhere safe and you are able to do so, I invite you to take a couple minutes to tap into your breath with me.
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You don't need to do anything crazy with your breath.
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We are just going to slow down a little bit.
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If you are driving or doing anything that requires your full attention, I encourage you to save this intentional practice for later and just keep breathing normally.
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Otherwise, I invite you to find a comfortable position.
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If it feels safe for you to do so, I invite you to close your eyes or bring them up to a gentle gaze.
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And just notice your breath.
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Not charging it.
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Just noticing.
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Now take a slow breath in through your nose.
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And slowly let it go.
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Again.
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Breathing in and breathing out.
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One more time.
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Inhale.
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Holding it at the top for a few moments.
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And exhaling it out.
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And I want you to think about that thing you want to vertone to.
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Not the thing you think you should vertone to.
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What do you actually want to come back to?
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Take a breath in.
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And as you exhale, letting go of some of the guilt around how long it's been.
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Taking another deep breath in.
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And letting go of the idea that you need to catch up.
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Breathing in and reminding yourself that I can begin from here.
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Exhaling out.
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Again.
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Breathing in and out.
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I can begin from here.
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You don't need yesterday's breath back.
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You don't need last week's breath back.
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You don't need to know what the next hundred breaths are going to feel like.
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You only have this one.
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And maybe life can work that way too.
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You don't need to fix everything today.
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You don't need to make up for everything you haven't done.
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You just need to decide what you're going to do with this moment.
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I invite you to take another slow deep breath in.
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And hold it gently at the top.
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And exhale, letting it go.
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And let's take one final breath in together, breathing in whatever it is you need right now.
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And as you exhale, release whatever you don't need or want to carry forward with you.
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Slowly coming back to your normal breath.
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And whenever you're ready, opening your eyes and coming back to the present moment.
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And that's the reminder I needed today.
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And maybe it's the reminder you need it as well.
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You don't have to catch up.
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You don't have to punish yourself for getting off track.
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You don't have to wait until Monday, next month, or January 1st, or until you magically feel quote unquote motivated.
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You can just come back, take the breath, do the thing, and begin from where you are.
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And apparently, for me, beginning from where I am actually means publishing the bi-weekly podcast.
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I said I was gonna publish.
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So here we are.
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Thank you for being here.
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Thank you for breathing with me.
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And thank you for giving me the space to come back to.
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If this episode resonated with you, send it to somebody who might need the reminder.
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They don't have to start over.
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They can simply come back.
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If you're enjoying Breathwork Magic, make sure you are subscribed to the podcast.
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And if you haven't already, leave up a view because it helps more people discover the magic and the power of our breath.
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Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Breathwork Magic.
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I'll talk to you soon.
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And until then, just come back to your breath.
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I hope today's episode inspired you to connect more deeply with your breath and embrace the transformation that it can bring.
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Remember, as long as you have your breath, you have options.
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You're not stuck.
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You can make a change, you can make a shift.
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Each inhale is a new beginner, and every exhale is a chance to let go of what no longer serves you.
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If you enjoyed the episode, it would mean the world to me.
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If you shared this with a friend, left a rating or review, your support helps more people discover the magic of breath work and the incredible transformations it offers.
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If you're ready to take the next step, I encourage you and I invite you to join me every Monday evening virtually for a Mindful Mindset Monday, a virtual pay what you can breath work session where you can reset, recharge, and refocus.
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All of the information is in the show notes.
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Until next time, keep breathing, keep shifting, and keep embracing the magic with inside of you.
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I'm proud of you, I'm rooting for you, and you got this.