For many moms, that quiet “I’m fine” isn’t actually fine. It’s a nervous system pattern of holding it all together under bracing and control.

When you’re the one holding everything together - the schedules, the emotions, the invisible labor -your body often learns to stay braced. Literally and figuratively holding your breath.

In this episode, we sit down with Tabatha Debruyn to talk about 9D Breath work and somatic breath work and why it’s one of the fastest ways to shift your nervous system state without forcing yourself to think your way out of stress.

We unpack what suppression looks like in high-functioning women:

functional freeze, low-level anxiety, mind fog, and the subtle bracing that earns gold stars but slowly drains your joy.

Tabitha shares her own story through grief, caregiving, panic attacks, and insomnia — and how breath work helped her feel emotions she didn’t even realize she had been holding.

Together, we explore how breath can become a practical daily tool for nervous system regulation, emotional processing, and building more capacity for life’s stressors.

You’ll also hear and try a few simple breathing practices with us — including a down regulation breath that supports rest and digestion, and an activation breath that gently energizes the body while building resilience to stress. Because nervous systems and energy are meant to move and be dynamically alive. Learn how to change your state with breath work, one of the tools and skills always available to us in the middle of conflict, hard moments, and motherhood.

If you’ve ever felt irritated by advice like “just calm down,” this conversation offers something different: real regulation, not playing calm.

We talk about co-regulation with kids, why moms often become the emotional thermostat in the home, and simple practices like humming and singing that stimulate the vagus nerve and help your body shift out of survival mode.

And if breath work has ever felt intimidating, too “woo,” or too time consuming, this episode will leave you with clear language, grounded science, and tools you can use in just a few minutes.

Where to find Tabatha:

Website

Instagram

Free resources & email list

– A 7-minute cinematic introduction to 9D Breathwork

– A 5-minute nervous system reset

– A 7-minute guided morning routine

Book : An Inspired Guide to Living the Life of Your Dreams, is available on Amazon. It offers reflective prompts and practices that support many of the ideas we explored together.

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If you’re ready to stop living on autopilot and start leading your life with deep presence, I’d love to work with you. Book a free interest call here: Click Here

💌 Want more? Follow me on Instagram @themotherhoodmentor for somatic tools, nervous system support, and real-talk on high-functioning burnout, ambition, healing perfectionism, and motherhood. And also pretty epic meme drops.

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How Breathwork Resets a Stressed Nervous System