About Martha
The paperwork – I hold a B.Sc. in Psychology, and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience. I am a certified coach for Consciously Connected Breathwork, trained by Stephen Monné of Adem en Stem. I have also trained as a facilitator of Ayahuasca journeys with Geke Dijkstra, including practice in a wide range of embodied therapy approaches like Focusing, Dearmouring and Heart Dancing. I am currently completing an additional training in Voice Dialogue facilitation with Trilby Fairfax and Peter Dellensen. I offer breathwork sessions in English and German, and since 2022 also breathwork facilitator trainings, focusing on practitioners with a background in medicine and
psychotherapy.
The story – My fascination with human emotions surfaced somewhere around the age of 4, when I kept asking family members why exactly the people in soap operas were feeling one way or another. As a teenager, I read psychological and religious literature voraciously, from Bruno Bettelheim to Ken Wilber and Carlos Castaneda – in hindsight a useful and endearingly sincere first attempt at self-therapy.
My studies in Psychology led me from human-level questions, e.g. how the life story we tell outlines our identity, towards trying to understand the biological building blocks of our inner world: Neurons. Having spent 15 years researching how neurons collaborate to create perception, I stumbled on body-centered therapies in my private life. I had worked hard to address my own childhood trauma, yet the wounds still felt raw. Once I began using practices that focused on embodied sensations rather than cognitive insights, I was amazed that even issues I had ‘processed’ before suddenly felt different. Lighter. Healed. Like the pain had not just been analyzed, but shifted, leaving space for new emotions.
In the following years, I immersed myself in body-led healing approaches – first through my own experiences, then by following year-trainings at Adem En Stem and The Sacred Voyage, and for the last seven years by regularly facilitating breathwork sessions for individuals and
groups.
About Abdel
The paperwork – I hold a B.Sc. in Physiology, and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience, with a decade of experience in scientific research and university teaching. Progressively more attracted by the technology side of research, I ended up co-founding a neurotech company that designs cutting-edge equipment for brain research. I am a certified coach for Consciously Connected Breathwork, trained by Stephen Monné of Adem en Stem. In parallel, I am also studying a broad range of breathing techniques, and the growing evidence of their clinical efficacy. This includes Wim Hof and Coherent breathing, as well as Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY). I offer breathwork sessions in English and French, and since 2022 also breathwork facilitator trainings, with special focus on professionals with a background in medicine and psychotherapy.
The story – My distrust of emotions started at an early age, too early to remember. I became good at ignoring my own, and tolerating other people’s. This never felt like a pressing issue – until I left university and suddenly had to find consistent internal motivation for doing hard things like working as a scientist and running a business. Then, being cut off from my emotions seemed to get in the way. So, I went on a journey of self-discovery where I soon met breathwork. After the first session, I was left with a sense of wonder and disbelief: How could such a simple manipulation of one’s breath have such profound effects?
Specifically, I had experienced Conscious Connected Breathwork (CCB), a technique that combines accelerated breathing, evocative music, and the use of bodywork and voicework by facilitators. I fell in love with the technique. It was a central part of my opening up to emotions and growing as a person. Furthermore, it was simple yet powerful, and could be done almost anywhere, anytime, by anyone.
Initially, I joined facilitator training mainly to deepen my understanding of breathwork. Yet, facilitating sessions for friends and acquaintances made me realize the impact that even a few sessions can have on someone’s life path. In early 2022, I decided that it was time to help spread the healing potential of breathwork more widely. Since then, I have been facilitating individual sessions regularly, as well as designing and leading a facilitator training program together with Martha.