Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Bradley.
Hi Michelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey into breathwork began long before I ever knew I would become a breathwork instructor. My career has been rooted in helping people feel better and believe in what is possible for their health and well-being. As an exercise physiologist and health coach, I spent years teaching people about movement, nutrition, healthy lifestyle habits, and the importance of taking care of their bodies.
I was living those principles myself. I exercised, ate well, stayed active, and had built a life around health and vitality. And yet, life reminded me that wellness is about far more than doing everything “right.” I experienced breast cancer, and later faced other deeply personal challenges that forced me to look at health, resilience, and healing in a much deeper way.
Those experiences changed the questions I was asking. I became less interested in simply helping people change their behaviors and more interested in helping them connect with themselves — their bodies, emotions, nervous systems, and inner strength. I began exploring practices that could help people not just manage stress, but actually experience a greater sense of safety, presence, resilience, and possibility.
That is where breathwork entered my life.
I discovered that the breath was something incredibly powerful that we carry with us every moment, yet often overlook. Through intentional breathing, I experienced a shift that was both profoundly simple and surprisingly powerful. My breath could help me become more present, regulate my nervous system, release tension, reconnect with my body, and access a sense of strength and energy that was already within me.
I became a student of breathwork and eventually trained as a SOMA Breath instructor. What began as a personal exploration became a natural extension of everything I had been doing throughout my career. I realized that breathwork gave me another way to help people — one that could bridge the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of well-being.
Today, as a health and wellness coach and breathwork instructor, I work with individuals, groups, retreats, and organizations to help people reconnect with themselves through the breath. My work is especially meaningful to me because I know firsthand that even when we do everything we can to take care of ourselves, life can still surprise us. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can develop tools that help us meet life with greater resilience, presence, and strength.
Breathwork has become much more than something I teach. It has become a reminder of something I believe deeply: sometimes the path forward begins with something as simple — and as powerful — as taking a breath.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. In many ways, the most difficult experiences in my life have also been the ones that have shaped me the most.
One of the biggest lessons came when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My career had been devoted to health and wellness, and I had built my own life around healthy behaviors. I exercised, ate well, stayed active, and understood the importance of taking care of my body. The diagnosis challenged something I had believed for much of my life: that if we do all the “right” things, we can protect ourselves from illness. I learned that health is not a guarantee or a reward for perfect behavior. Sometimes life simply asks us to navigate something we never expected.
I also went through a period of profound personal uncertainty and difficult decisions in my marriage. There were times when I felt overwhelmed by questions I couldn’t answer and worried about how my choices would affect the people I loved. I remember turning to nature and movement during that time. Hiking became a place where I could quiet the noise, breathe, and begin to hear my own thoughts again.
There have been other losses and challenges along the way, and each one has taught me something different about resilience. I’ve learned that resilience doesn’t mean being strong all the time or pretending that difficult things don’t affect us. It means allowing ourselves to feel what is there, finding ways to move through it, and learning how to reconnect with ourselves when life knocks us off course.
That realization has become central to my work today. I don’t teach breathwork because I believe it can make difficult experiences disappear. I teach it because I know how valuable it is to have a tool that can help us come back to ourselves in the middle of them.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but I wouldn’t erase the difficult parts. They have given me a deeper understanding of the people I serve and have taught me that sometimes our greatest strength isn’t found in avoiding life’s storms. It’s found in learning how to breathe through them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I choose creative because what I do for myself and my clients is not cookie-cutter. There is a framework but I get to listen and then guide the sessions based on what is needed and felt in the moment. Every session is unique and tailored to the individual or group and their desires.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Nature…Mic drop!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mbmindbodycoach.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbmindbodycoach/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mbmindbodycoach
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebradleymindbodycoach/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBEFbbJJf6e9ShP_WEApuQg
- Soundcloud: https://www.somabreath.com/#a_aid=yourbreathcoach
- Other: https://mindbodymichelle.substack.com/
