Breath as a gateway to awareness, regulation, and embodied presence
This module invites you to explore breath not just as a function of physiology, but as a generative force for awareness, regulation, and embodied presence, both in your own practice and in the way you guide others.
Instead of treating breath as something to control or optimise, we focus on learning how to listen to it, respond to it, and work with it intelligently. Slowing down and refining perception allows breath to become a bridge between sensation, movement, rhythm, and pacing.
You are invited to feel breath as internal movement, and to see how it naturally informs the pacing, sequencing, and organisation of classes without forcing patterns or over-directing the breath.
You’ll leave with
💜 A clear, embodied understanding of breath as a regulating and adaptive force
💜 Tools to support nervous system resilience through breath-informed practice
💜 Practical ways to bring breath awareness into guided movement and sequencing
💜 Greater confidence working with breath in an inclusive, grounded way
What You'll Learn
Foundations of Breath Awareness, Regulation & Presence
You’ll explore breath as a support for awareness, emotional processing, and nervous system balance. Rather than using breath to bypass experience, this part of the module focuses on developing the capacity to meet sensations, internal states, and emotion with steadiness, curiosity, and choice.
You’ll learn how conscious breathing and gentle pendulation between sympathetic and parasympathetic states can support regulation, emotional resilience, and inner stability. This work offers practical ways to relate to stress, anxiety, overwhelm, or fatigue with more space and compassion, both in personal practice and in teaching contexts.
Structural & Myofascial Support of the Breath
Breath is shaped by posture, habitual holding patterns, and how the body organises itself in space. In this part of the module, you’ll explore how structure influences where breath can move and where it feels restricted.
With attention to the diaphragm, rib cage, pelvic floor, and surrounding tissues, you’ll gain insight into how posture and tissue relationships affect breathing capacity. These explorations help you support freedom of breath through movement choices and guided awareness, rather than force.
Breath in Movement, Flow & Sequencing
Breath is then explored in direct relationship to movement. You’ll explore how breath naturally relates to posture, transitions, and pacing.
You’ll learn to recognise how sequencing and timing can either support or restrict breathing, and how to design breath-informed movement that reinforces regulation, focus, and flow, without imposing unnatural patterns or control.
Who You'll
Learn From
Willemieke Verweij brings a deeply embodied and somatically informed approach to breath. Her work invites students to experience breath as a felt, living process that supports emotional resilience, nervous system regulation, and presence through curiosity and awareness. She emphasises breath as experience more than technique.
Fanny Alavoine brings a movement-based and integrative perspective on breath rooted in Vinyasa yoga, functional anatomy, and structural integration. Her work focuses on how posture, movement pathways, and sequencing influence breathing, and how breath-informed teaching can support spaciousness, continuity, and ease in practice.
Anne
I’ve done several breathwork sessions with Willemieke, because I was curious about breathwork in general and how it could benefit me. And each one brought me closer to something deep and steady within myself. Willemieke’s guidance is calm, clear, and never pushy. Especially in the last session, I felt a strong connection to my ‘oerkracht’
Liesbeth
I really enjoyed the Breathwork training. It was a special weekend where I learned a lot, both about the therapeutic value of breathwork and about myself. The sessions offered space for reflection and personal growth in a way that felt natural and supportive.
Willemieke created a calm and open atmosphere in the group, which helped me feel safe enough to explore deeper layers. We also had the opportunity to safely practice guiding breathwork sessions with each other, which added a valuable hands-on dimension to the experience. It was a meaningful weekend that gave me new insights and a renewed sense of connection with myself. It was a meaningful experience that gave me new insights and a renewed sense of connection with myself.
Who It's For
- Certified yoga teachers (200h+)
- Passionate practitioners ready to deepen
- No need to be an expert, just curious and committed.
- Teachers working toward their 300h
Dates
Friday, Feb. 12, 2027:
10:30 - 18:30
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2027:
11:30 - 19:30
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2027:
10:30 - 18:30
Location
Tribes Studio 'The Flo'
Floris Versterlaan 61, Leiden
Just 15 minutes on foot from Leiden Central Station
For your meals: there are plenty of restaurants and shops near the station, or you’re welcome to bring your own, a fridge is available on site.
Price
€425
(no VAT charged, CRKBO-registered)
🐥 Early Bird: €50 off with code BREATH50 - Available until 3 months before the training begins.
⏰ Limited spots available.
Certificate
Upon completing the module, you will be eligible to receive a certificate for Continuing Education with Yoga Alliance, effective immediately.
Why this module matters
Breath is often approached in yoga either too technically or too abstractly, which can create pressure, confusion, or resistance, especially when breath is treated as something to fix or improve. This module offers an alternative.
By working with breath through sensation, rhythm, movement, and organisation, teachers can support regulation and presence in ways that feel natural, safe, and responsive. This expands how breath lives in a class, not only through specific breathing practices, but through transitions, timing, and the overall organisation of movement. Breath becomes a natural ally, not a separate or intimidating technique.
Learning outcomes
After completing this module, you will be able to:
• Understand breath as a multidimensional process shaped by structure, attention, and movement
• Support breath awareness and regulation in both stillness and movement without forcing patterns
• Use breath rhythm to inform pacing, sequencing, and transitions in classes
• Integrate breath-informed principles into diverse teaching styles with confidence