Picture this: You’re 99% of the way to your goal, relationship, or dream… and then you hit an invisible wall. Again.
Sound familiar?
In April 2023, I experienced a breakthrough that changed my life, and it happened in the last place I expected: a horse ranch.
For decades, I lived in a frustrating pattern. I’d set goals, chase opportunities, even try to build deeper connections, and I’d get so close. But when it came time to cross the final threshold, something unseen always held me back.
What I didn’t realize was that I was carrying a story I hadn’t yet unpacked.
When I was seven years old, I lost my older brother, Brenon, in a tragic motorcycle accident. That grief quietly rewired how I connected with people and moved through the world. It planted a fear of loss so profound that I built walls around myself, playing it safe, holding back, protecting myself from pain I couldn’t face.
Then came Broken Arrow Ranch.
Six weeks of equine therapy broke through what years of talk therapy couldn’t touch. The presence of those gentle, intuitive animals helped me release decades of grief and fear. For the first time, I could see my patterns clearly. And in that clarity, I finally felt free.
PTSD isn’t reserved for veterans or first responders. Trauma can grow from any unprocessed experience, childhood events, workplace incidents, or personal losses that quietly shape how we lead and perform decades later.
In the corporate world, unhealed trauma often shows up as:
- Star employees who mysteriously self-sabotage at crucial moments
- Leaders who avoid difficult conversations or visibility opportunities
- Teams that can’t quite trust one another, despite strong technical skills
- That maddening pattern of getting 99% of the way there… then stopping
“What we resist persists. You have to feel it to heal it.”
Your Body Is a Walking Memory Bank
Have you ever cried during yoga, breathwork, or even a massage? It’s not weakness, it’s wisdom. It’s your body finally creating space to release what’s been trapped. I’ve witnessed this throughout my career, even in corporate settings. Now that I focus on teaching yoga and mindfulness in organizations, I’m often asked, “Is it normal to cry during breathwork or yoga?”
My response: “You’re finally letting your mind and body slow down, creating space for deeper healing that needs your attention”.
Here’s why:
- Your fascia (the connective tissue wrapping every structure in your body) contains 4–8 times more nerve endings than muscle. It’s packed with neurons, grey matter that stores your thoughts, feelings, and traumatic experiences.
- Stress hormones can remain in your body for 30 days or more. When you’re stuck in fight-or-flight, freeze, or fawn mode, your body can’t process or heal.
The good news is that practices like bodywork, breathwork, yoga, mindfulness, equine therapy, EMDR, and time in nature can help disrupt these patterns. With awareness comes choice, and with choice, transformation.
“To get what you’ve never had, you have to do what you’ve never done.” – Thomas Jefferson.
The Transformation I’m Witnessing
Since my own breakthrough, I’ve been weaving trauma-informed mindfulness and somatic practices into my corporate work. The shifts have been profound:
- A mom closed her laptop at dinner, and her teenagers started opening up.
- A young couple carved out phone-free time after bedtime stories, finding intimacy in the quiet.
- An executive living on injections for back pain found relief by simply learning to breathe and move differently.
- A CEO deleted 40+ phone notifications after realizing constant digital noise was fueling his anxiety.
These aren’t hacks. They’re life shifts. And they begin with something as simple as one conscious breath.
Start Where You Are
If you feel the tightness in your chest as you read this, or recognize yourself in these patterns, this is your invitation:
To slow down.
To breathe.
To come back to yourself.
At Sirrine Yoga, we don’t add to your to-do list. We help you show up grounded, clear, and entirely yourself. Because when people feel well, they lead well. And that’s how workplaces and lives transform.