Farah Winning is a Yoga teacher, Breathwork guide, devoted student of nature and founding mother of Becoming Breath∘Centered, a way of harmonious living that is rooted in conscious breath connection. Her guidance is supporting people to experience the empowering impact of living a Breath∘Centered life.
This is her story.
I had made it
I looked out at the waves that beckoned from just beyond the roof terrace, an expanse of possibility shimmering in the afternoon light. I had meticulously planned every detail - the soon-to-be purchase of this ocean-view apartment, the flexible three-day workweek at the height of my advertising career, ample funds to indulge my passion for travel and adventure and the long-term relationship that grounded me with its comforting familiarity. By all conventional measures, I had arrived at the peak of success and contentment.
Yet with each seemingly perfect component sliding into place, I felt an invisible vise constricting my soul, the heavy shackles of a life curated by someone else's dream.
All of the things that we’re told we should strive for were suffocating me. I couldn’t breathe.
They struck like lightning
The feelings that had been restlessly stirring underneath my calm exterior for the best part of 10 years had begun to cleave their way to the surface. I was lost. I felt stuck. I was confused and I felt completely alone.
After a decade of wearing a brave face and forcing myself to persevere with an unfulfilling career, a relationship that was depleting and a life that felt small, suffocating and joyless, I’d reached a breaking point. I felt shame for allowing myself to dig a hole this deep. I felt frustrated that I didn’t know how to climb my way out. I felt unworthy of resolve because I had achieved so much of what I set out to do, yet I felt empty and exhausted. All I had in me was a torrent of tears. I craved direction, purpose, satisfaction and freedom.
At that moment it struck like a lightning bolt. My empty numbness was pierced with shattering clarity. I was living a lie. The life I had created had been stitched together out of obligation, insecurity, co-dependency, fear and desperation. The job, the relationship, the apartment, the possessions, the attachments and the bad habits.
I was completely out of balance. I’d lost my way and I felt like I was drowning in the depths of my unconscious deception. I desperately wanted to catch my breath.
Then, I heard the ocean’s whispers
"It's time to courageously reclaim your one wild and precious life."
As I sat on the floor of my living room sobbing, I committed myself to change. I pledged my devotion to unearthing my authentic self, to recovering the freedom I craved and to living in alignment with my purpose; whatever that would reveal itself to be.
I walked down to the ocean and sat in her expansive presence, allowing her infinite wisdom to wash over me. With every wave that met the shore, it became clear. In one cataclysmic moment, I decided to blow it all up - the coveted career, the ‘home-owner’ status, the 12-year relationship. I let go of everything I knew so that I could liberate myself.
I began the journey of unravelling myself through a daily self-practice. I reclaimed my autonomy to move in the way my body craved. I freed myself to creatively express in the way my heart felt called and I opened myself to infinite possibilities by tuning into my body’s innate wisdom. Each practice of Yoga asana, Pranayama, Breathwork, Qi Gong, Somatics, Journalling and Meditation unwound parts of me that had been locked in a tight grip.
My practices were like pulling on loose threads. With each unwinding, the pathway began to unravel. Joy returned, hope blossomed and ease softly replaced the tension.
I relearned to embrace my shadows, to tend to my wounds, to meet my edges with kindness, to speak from the heart, to trust my gut, to hear my intuitive voice, be radically honest and radically authentic.
Each moment spent in self-practice has breathed new life into my heart and soul. I have learned to embrace the opposites and the contrast that life brings without feeling defeated.
I have replaced negative self-talk with love and compassion. I am empowered in my body and mind to take ownership of my decisions and make skilful choices. I feel in control and I have direction, purpose, clarity and balance.
The path has taken me from the deepest depths to the highest highs. I’ve allowed parts of myself to die so that others could be reborn and I have devoted every ounce of myself to the pursuit of living in connection with what feels true for me.
And the guiding light that continues to illuminate this path?
My breath.
My breath has been my anchor point.
My centerpoint.
My homecoming.
I began breathing new life into my experiences
Over the past few years, I have grown to recognise the common thread that delicately weaves through each of my practices has been my breath. My breath guides how I move, how I feel, how I respond and how I choose to be. As a cooperative partner with my breath, I have learned the tools and techniques to self-regulate my nervous system, self-soothe my emotional tides and self-guide my way into balance.
Together with over 16 years of yoga practice and 600 hours of teacher training, I have woven ancient Eastern teachings with my deep reverence and connection to nature to create a way of being that supports me and others to live with ease and in harmony.
From that moment sitting by the ocean, everything started to unfold serendipitously when paradoxically I let go of the reigns to regain my sense of control. I threw myself head-first into following my gut. This trust in myself and my path led me to say yes to spontaneously moving across the Atlantic, yes to creating a new unpredictable life with a new partner, yes to investing what would have been my apartment deposit into a new career path, yes to now doing work that doesn't feel like work and energises every cell in my body, yes to gifting my self 3 uninterrupted hours every morning for my Breath∘Centering routine and yes to committing to live every day in devotion to health and harmony.
After blowing everything up and beginning again, my life has become everything I had ever dreamed it would be. I have freedom, choice, purpose and a deep trust in the unfolding of life.
It isn’t always perfect. I still navigate the messy parts of human life. Somedays I feel like I’m treading deep water. On other days, it feels like I’m being battered by relentless waves. But what I have discovered in being led by my breath is that I can always find my way back to shore.
I can find moments of peace in the turmoil of uncertainty.
I can experience the pleasures of joy whilst in the throes of grief.
I can open myself to clarity even when everything feels like a mess.
If life begins and ends with our breath, I want the life it bookends to be a life well lived. A life in balance. A breath-centred life.
And I want that for you too.
more about Farah
Farah is a holistic teacher, guide and mentor, supporting seekers of a more expansive, healthy and harmonious life to journey inwards and bridge the disconnect between body and mind.
She is trained in and has been a long-time student of numerous methods of movement, somatics, meditation, breathwork, pranayama, Yoga, Qi Gong, and more.
Her practices are deeply grounded in the teachings she has received from her studies with Mimi Kuo-Deemer, Jean Hall, James Rafael, Aki Omori, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Laurent Roure, Noah Mazé, Rocky Heron, Nichol Chase and John McMullin.
Farah’s approach weaves the methodologies of modern holistic healing modalities with embodied practices rooted in ancient Eastern wisdom to guide people into reconnecting with their body's innate wisdom and intelligence.
She intuitively guides people to deepen their self-awareness, awaken their full authentic expression and discover how to practice and cultivate self-trust, radical honesty and compassionate listening. Opening the doors to their most expansive and love-filled life.
HOLISTIC COACHING
THE EMBODIED WAY
Hello, I’m Farah
If you’re ready to take the journey inwards to meet your most authentic self, I’m here to support you, guide you and challenge you to release all that no longer serves you, so that you can feel empowered and liberated to live a fully expressed life.
I’m known for guiding people into their bodies to awaken their full expression. It’s my desire to guide open your eyes to the potential you have within you to transform your life, step into your power and create the life of your dreams from a place of love and trust.
At their core, the practices I teach and share, rooted in ancient Eastern wisdom, create opportunities for you to peel back the layers of conditioning and rediscover the inner wisdom of your most natural self.
Through movement, breath work and spiritual introspection learn how to deepen your self-awareness and discover how the practices of self-trust, speaking your truth, compassionate listening and surrendering to all that is will open the doors to your most expansive and love-filled life.
If this resonates with you and your path, you will find ways that we can work and play together below.
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