Mathilde Gottrand
breathwork practitioner & coach
Dare to speak your truth, even if your voice breaks.
Dare to take that chance, even if you don’t see the net.
I know that ‘edge of the water’ feeling well - the paralysis and the desire. The noise in your head that’s keeping you stuck; the spark in your stomach that’s daring you to jump.
It is because of all the moments that I dared, that my life unfolded in a way that makes me cry tears of joy.
My first big jump was after my graduate studies. I decided to leave the beaten path of employed work and bought a one-way ticket to the other side of the world.
I lived in several countries, worked many jobs and learned different languages. It was wonderful but at the end of each journey - when visas ran out, relationships ended, and jobs finished, I was put in front of the same question: now what? My life was richer but my quest ongoing…
During an emotionally challenging time in 2020,
I discovered breathwork.
In my first session I experienced a full-body feeling of “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing the work I’m supposed to do”. During one particular flash of clarity, fear’s insidious presence in my life comes to light. Despite my nomadic life, fear had kept me in a cage of my own making.
From this revelation came the next big leap of my life. I hired a 1:1 coach, invested in several group programs, and started my breathwork practitioner and coach training.
I still experience fear of course, but I have come to trust the spark in my stomach more - my inner compass - and oh my, the unfolding of my life since then has been beyond my wildest imagination.
If you are feeling a spark in your stomach to raise your voice, take up more space, and step into a more wild and beautiful version of your life, I dare you to jump…
A few more things about me..,
I thrive more at -30°C than under the tropics.
I go for dips in all the frozen lakes I can break a hole in.
I spent 10 days at a silent retreat and the most challenging part of it was the overwhelming loudness of people speaking again at the end.
I took pole dancing lessons (which made me realize how difficult it really is).
A few years ago, I co-managed a remote wilderness lodge in Northern Canada. During the winter season, temperatures would sometimes drop below -40°C and the aurora borealis would dance in the sky above us most nights.
I experience eating as a form of art and it can lead me to ecstatic moments.