Caitlyn Burkhardt - Transformational Breathwork

Check out the new podcast with Caitlyn Burkhardt titled Transformational Breathwork. During this podcast we discuss topics like:

• How she became inspired to practice transformational breathwork?
• The pros and cons of Ayahuasca and breathwork.
• What is transformational breathing and how does it work?
• How breathwork helps with depression and anxiety.
• The four pillars of trauma release.
• Nutrition training and training.

Caitlyn has worked in the wellness industry for over 15 years and embodies whole health by nourishing her mind, body, and spirit using all of the same tools that she offers her clients. She is a Transformational Breathwork Facilitator, Polarity Therapist/energy medicine provider, massage therapist, and functional mobility coach. By offering these well rounded services, she seeks to empower people through knowledge, self discovery, and movement so that they may better care for their bodies and love themselves just as they are.

Visit Caitlyn's website at: https://www.bodacitysportandsoul.com
Follow her on Instagram at: @Bodacity_sportandsoul

Sign up for workshop here.

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Transcript

Todd McLaughlin: 0:33

Welcome to Native Yoga Toddcast. So happy you are here. My goal with this channel is to bring inspirational speakers to the mic in the field of yoga, massage bodywork and beyond. Follow us @nativeyoga, and check us out at nativeyogacenter.com. All right, let's begin Welcome to Yoga Toddcast. My name is Todd McLaughlin. And I have the pleasure of bringing Caitlyn Burkhardt on to the channel today. And so check Caitlyn out at her website, bodacitysportandsoul.com. And also her instagram name is at@bodacity_ sportandsoul. She's going to be teaching a transformational breathwork workshop here on Sunday, March 5, just two days from now listening, if you're listening to this post March 5, don't worry, I'm sure we'll be having her back. You can join in via zoom no matter where you are.

It's gonna be 1: 1:40

30pm Eastern. We cover all this to throughout the conversation. So on that note, I'm so excited to have you here. Caitlyn, how are you doing?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 1:49

I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Todd McLaughlin: 1:52

You're welcome. You know, today is this podcast release and in just two days on Sunday, March 5 at 1:30pm Eastern, you're going to be offering a transformational breathwork workshop here at our yoga studio. But it's also going to be live streamed so that some anyone can join anywhere in the world. So I'm excited to have you on the podcast today just to introduce our listeners to you and to you our listeners and learn more about what you're interested in. So I'm curious, can you first of all, tell me how you got inspired to practice transformational breathwork and or study transformational breathwork?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 2:40

Sure. In a nutshell, I basically was suffering from really chronic suicidal depression and nothing worked. I had been in therapy for like 25 plus years, I've been on and off medication. And I had always taken really good care of myself like physically. And so when I started to feel suicidal and sad again last year, I was like, This just doesn't make any sense. Like I shouldn't be feeling indifferent about living. And so I tried, I decided to do something different. And I booked a retreat down in Costa Rica, where I did ayahuasca, but they also offered us two breathwork journeys on the first day and the Last Day. And so that was my first experience with breathwork. And the second like that, after that first class, I was so blown away with the results of it. I was like, I have to learn how to do this to give this to my clients.

Todd McLaughlin: 3:44

Nice. Amazing. Can you explain? There's a lot there. So I'll get started on. Let me let me first dig back a little bit on into at what point in your life was depression, something that was apparent that you had? Like, are we going back to high school days? Are we going back to like, eight years old? When do you remember having that recognition that I have something that I'm trying to deal with here? That's serious?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 4:21

Yeah. Yeah. It started well, it started with eating disorders when I was like around 11. And then my behavior started to also spiral. But the depression probably reached its peak in high school, and I was hospitalized for that and my eating disorders three times. During high school. I was put into foster care because my behavior was so uncontrollable that my parents were like, we can't keep her home. I was engaging in very risky behaviors. I never did drugs that wasn't my thing. But I was like hitchhiking and hanging out with pretty bad people. And just putting myself in harm's way, like pretty regularly. And so, um, depression and anxiety just became like, a part of my life forever. After that, I maintained therapy with two therapists. And it would kind of come and go, like, I would manage it and be like, Okay, I need to make an appointment with my therapist, and then it would just, but it was never like gone, it was always there. And as an adult, I have suffered from Adrenal Fatigue, which is basically when like, you have a nervous breakdown and your whole your nervous system gets so over fried and overworked that your body kind of starts to shut down. Yeah. And I just decided back in 2020, to like, the everything I've tried so far, isn't working, like why don't I feel better yet. So going to that retreat in Costa Rica is a place called arrhythmia. It's a medically licensed retreat, and they actually code a lot of data on everybody that goes there. And one of the most interesting facts they told us is that they turn away 22 people a day from doing Ayahuasca journeys, which is a pretty hardcore psychedelic plant medicine. Yeah. So they have to turn away people daily from there, for whatever reason, medical or whatever. And those people, they gave them five nights of breathwork instead, and all of them have the same exact outcomes and comparable experience that we all had taking the Ayahuasca. Yeah, it's powerful. And I can attest to that. Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 6:57

So you had the opportunity to participate in an Ayahuasca ceremony, as well as then when you were not under the influence of the Ayahuasca you also underwent these breathwork sessions. And then if you were to make a comparison of the experiences from each, what were the pros and cons.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 7:19

So the way that plant medicine and breath work, the way that they work on your brain is actually very similar. Because there's basically you have your amygdala, which is like your fear center of your brain that holds a lot of your emotions. And then you have your logical center or prefrontal cortex. And normally, they're not talking to each other. They're just like this one, the fear, one is getting information first. And then this one, the logical one gets information second. And when you're doing ayahuasca, or plant medicine, or breathwork, what happens is those two parts finally converge. And so you're kind of able to have a conversation with parts of yourself, like as a third party, so you can go back into a moment in your childhood and go, Oh, we I didn't have the capacity to handle this as a child because I wasn't in control. But now I'm an adult, and I can see how this story no longer serves me. I'm gonna let that go right now. Yeah. And the other thing about plant medicine and breathwork, the way that they're similar is they're deeply somatic. So it's a very visceral experience with both of them. However, with Ayahuasca, you'd you purge a lot differently, like there's vomiting, there's, there's pooping, and you're stuck. So when things start to get too heavy, you're stuck on that trip for like, who knows on 610 12 hours sometimes. And with breathwork, you are much more in the driver's seat, because you can just switch up your breathing. And you can take a break if you need to, and then go back into it when you're ready.

Todd McLaughlin: 9:05

Are you open to speak about what your Ayahuasca experience was like?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 9:13

Sure. I did four of them. While we started with breathwork on the first night, and I didn't know it at the time, but I had three rheumatoid arthritis flare ups in my wrist, hip and shoulder. It was to the point where I was limping. I couldn't lift my arm up and I was kind of concerned. I'm like, how am I going to be able to do anything this week? How will I do yoga? And after that first breathwork class, all three of my flares were pretty much gone. And I was able then they were gone forever, completely the next morning. So the next morning I was fully functional able to do yoga. It was like they never happened.

Todd McLaughlin: 10:03

My amazing. That's cool. Yeah,

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 10:05

yeah. Because what breathwork does is it makes you so alkaline, temporarily that all of your cells become extra oxygenated. And disease really can't live in an alkaline environment. Yeah. So it's like an incredible anti inflammatory. Nice. And then on my Ayahuasca journeys, what I discovered was, I mean, I just covered a lot of stuff, but like the first place we went to was back into the womb. And I learned that my a lot of my depression wasn't in fact, mine. It had been passed down to me, generationally through the womb. Yes. And so I was able to purge that and get that out. But the thing that a lot of people often mistake with things like Ayahuasca is that it's gonna make all of your problems go away. And it doesn't do that, because my life, in fact, completely fell apart in the next three months after returning home from that

Todd McLaughlin: 11:12

retreat. Well, because

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 11:15

and you think breathwork sorry, what'd you

Todd McLaughlin: 11:17

say? I was just gonna say, was it? Do you think that was a outcome of the work that you did during that retreat? Or is it more just circumstantial? Things that occurred? Like, I don't know how to leave my apartment, I had to or my house or I had to, I lost my job or, like, do you think that the those three months post that experience were because you were trying to get grounded after that experience? Or like, come to terms with what you felt unlearned? Or what did it feel disconnect, like not necessarily connected to that?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 11:53

It was 1,000% connected to it. And at the time, I was really confused, because I was like, Okay, well, my depression is gone, like life should be good now. But I actually ended up getting really sick with the rheumatoid and also PCOS, and I was running a massage therapists and personal training business up north. But I couldn't work because my hands would flare. What else happen? So I had to close my business. I was in so much pain, I couldn't take care of myself. But what that was teaching me was that I needed to make a change, basically. So I, oh, Oska. And even breathwork. What they do is they they change your frequency and your vibration. And so after I did all of that healing that week, in Costa Rica, my entire vibration had changed and was different like you are because you're your true self after you heal from things. And you can't, you can't remain well in the same environment that made you sick

Todd McLaughlin: 13:09

to plant.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 13:11

So basically, what my soul and what my body was telling me was, you can't stay here anymore. You need to do something different. And I had always been wanting to move to Florida, for California, and basically the rheumatoid ended up pushing me down here, because this is where my mom lives.

Todd McLaughlin: 13:30

Cool. Very nice. Yeah, I hear ya. I've heard people say from the plant medicine experiences, like, be careful, because like it can have this sort of effect of like, what your what you experienced, but I guess why I guess maybe don't need to be careful of that is that if you do make a positive change, that's a positive thing. But I can see where that can be fairly tumultuous to really navigate or to navigate through through that terror. Yeah.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 14:04

And they told us to and to, to continue helping us integrate, because it is it's like doing 20 years of therapy whenever you do something as hardcore as psychedelics, and it takes your brain a long time to kind of like reshape itself and reorganize, it doesn't happen overnight. That's why they call it integration after you do things like that. And doing breathwork regularly after that experience, not only helps you kind of like readjust and rewire your brain, but it it helps you take your own control back because a lot of people end up chasing plant medicine as a pill, like a magic pill. And I've actually done several more Ayahuasca ceremony He is an mushrooms. And they're not a pill. They're not a pill. They are a tool. They're like your teachers. And so what happens when you get taught something you have to learn how to implement that into your life? Your teachers can't do it for you.

Todd McLaughlin: 15:14

Yeah. Yeah. Good point. Yeah, I hear ya. So I'm curious, then, with transformational breathwork, what are the main characteristics of this technique that make it quote transformational breath work?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 15:34

Okay. So there's many, many types of breathwork. The one that I will, I'm going to teach us at the workshop, a few different kinds, like, I'm going to teach people how to breathe for a core stability and pelvic floor strength. There's ways to breathe to down regulate your nervous system to upregulate, your nervous system and balance or nervous system. Transformational breathwork is under the umbrella of what is called Conscious connected or conscious circular breathing. So what that means is you are basically breathing in succession, once one breath ends, another begins, and it's just continuous. So what it does is it puts your body into a state of stress. But you're doing it consciously. So it's a little different. If you get a panic attack, your breath is controlling you and breathing you and you're freaking out, right? But if you go in to do transformational breath work, and you're like, I'm going to breathe this fast on purpose, you're taking your control back, and you're breathing the breath.

Todd McLaughlin: 16:49

Yes. Got it.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 16:51

So the method that I use is a three part breath. That's all done through an open mouth. We basically breathe deep into the belly, up into the heart, and then the exhale just falls away. And there's a lot of things happening as you breed that way continuously for 40 minutes.

Todd McLaughlin: 17:12

Yes. That's so interesting, because, you know, we had an opportunity to host someone here teaching breathwork, and it was under a different title. And it sounds like it was exactly the same thing as transformational breathwork just that somebody changed the name of it. Maybe there's like a trademark thing with it, or is that is that something with this with the transformational breath work where it's like trademark, like you have to take a training under a trademark transformational breathwork teacher to then be able to use the words transformational breathing.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 17:50

Maybe, like Wim Hof, for example, is the same kind of breathing. So he's conscious circular breathing, yeah. Um, Holotropic breathing, that's also conscious circular breathing.

Todd McLaughlin: 18:05

So Holotropic and transformational is more or less the same.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 18:11

There's some differences. So with Holotropic breathing, you can either breathe through your nose or your mouth. Sometimes they just use a two part breath. So it might be like a big inhale and exhale. So the music I think, is a lot more intense with Holotropic. And they're longer Holotropic breathwork sessions go for like two hours, and you're just breathing like that for two hours. And I'll use art. So a lot of times in the circles afterwards, they'll have people draw, or paint, and talk and things like that to help like, begin integrating from the breathwork journey. The way that I was taught, and I had two different trainings that I went through, I went through one with Rebecca core Deki. And I went through a second one that was much more involved with breath masters based out of Bali. They basically taught us the art of a playlist. So the playlists that I create for these journeys are all done with intention and purpose and the music itself will actually take you on a journey and support your journey with the lyrics and the vibes and the melodies, the harmonies. So I create a playlist for every single journey that I take people on. And then there's also my facilitation. So while you're breathing, I am guiding you and saying things like, You are worthy, you are enough and it's time to forgive that person that hurt you. It's time to forgive yourself. Keep Going you've got this and that helps you to rewire your subconscious.

Todd McLaughlin: 20:06

Very cool. Yeah. Have you had any experience with the what does that call? There's no is there like a specific term for like, where the hands will like crab claw up? Like sometimes the extremities will get that like really intense cramping experience. Do you know what that what does that call that? And there's like, yeah, that happening? You? It has? Yeah.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 20:26

Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 20:28

A little tense. Like, it's, it's a bit like, Whoa, what a blood clot. Yeah, what's gonna happen? Like my whole body going to do this? What have you what is your been your experience with that?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 20:41

Yeah. Um, so that is completely normal. It's called tetani. And the reason that that happens is it's because we are messing with the gas exchange. So basically, we are, we're building carbon dioxide levels up in your body a little bit. And we're constricting the way that we're breathing is constricting all of your blood vessels. And so sometimes it will make people cramp. But all it's not permanent. And if it's too much for some people that I just tell them, so get off the ride, change up your breath, let your hands kind of come back and then go right back in another reason cribbing can happen during a breathwork journey is a vitamin deficiency. So if you're like dehydrated, it could be like magnesium, zinc, electrolytes, that can also add to any cramping that happens, but it's totally normal. And it's not going to happen forever.

Todd McLaughlin: 21:49

Got it? There's no ill health effects from having that happen.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 21:57

No, it's really just because of your blood vessels being constricted, and then also, you can slow down to sort of people start to cramp too much and it gets too intense. Instead of going. You can just slow down a little bit. And that will kind of lessen the intensity of it.

Todd McLaughlin: 22:20

Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Yeah. Cool. How do you explain the lessening of depression, linked to going into a breathwork session?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 22:43

Okay, so our bodies, our bodies hold on to everything, whether we realize it or not. And even if you are in a situation that let's say you you're in a like a frightening situation, or you're at it, you're in a place and you're uncomfortable in that place, you might unconsciously hold your breath, because you're uncomfortable in that place. While you're holding your breath, and your diaphragm is constricting, you might even go like this with your shoulders to kind of protect yourself. All of those emotions are being can be stored in those places that you're constricting, if you don't let them go. And what happens with trauma is your the, the event is either so large, that your nervous system hasn't been able to discharge it fully yet, or if it's complex trauma, it's just getting assaulted like consistently, and you're not able to shake it off. So the way that breathwork helps with depression is or anxiety or insomnia or eating disorders or anything. It really comes back to getting back in your body and allowing yourself to really lean into that discomfort and then you're able to grieve during the breath work and your body has such a physical experience. Like there's shaking, there's vibrating, there's tingling. People cry we do we do add in some yelling to get out any residual anger. And that's how you free yourself with the breath.

Todd McLaughlin: 24:35

Got it? Have you noticed since sounds like your first breath work experience was a year ago. It sounds like maybe 2022 Did you say?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 24:48

Yeah, it was a little over a year ago. Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 24:51

How has this year been practicing breath work? What sort of ups and downs Have you noticed towards there been a leveling out?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 25:03

Wow. So actually my first weekend doing my training, it was on Zoom. And my dog died in the middle of the training. So he was with us on Friday. And then he was not there with us on Saturday. And I decided to go continue with the training.

Todd McLaughlin: 25:23

Sorry to hear that.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 25:25

Thank you.

Todd McLaughlin: 25:27

I know, I have a dog. So before I had, oh, when people told me about their pet passing, I didn't understand. And now I understand. Yeah, yeah,

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 25:38

it's one of the worst days of your life. I mean, it was horrible. It was horrible. But I'm grateful for the timing of it. Because I it happened during my training. And so I got to breathwork journeys that weekend. And, and being able to do breath work on the day that he passed away. And again, the next day, I was able to move through so much of my grief. And I could actually feel his energy with me in the room. That's how transcending breathwork is. Because you you do go to an altered state of consciousness, you can reach the astral planes, and these higher planes when you're doing breath work.

Todd McLaughlin: 26:26

Yes.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 26:28

I agree with you me immensely.

Todd McLaughlin: 26:30

The first time I did the breathwork class, like what you're explaining with the technique, I was amazed at how intense it was, like, I didn't think I practice pranayama. And I've been practicing pranayama for years. It's just a different type of technique. So when I went into the transformational style breathing, I just thought, I'll be fine. Like, what are they talking about? Why is everybody saying like, I mean, and yeah, it's kind of it's amazing how powerful it is. So then I didn't want to interrupt you, though. I'm sorry. So after that experience in over this last year, is it something that you can do on your own? Or do you have a deeper experience when you're facilitated by somebody, or with somebody,

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 27:15

you can do it on your own, I actually did it by myself two days ago, um, and I was able to really work through some shit.

Todd McLaughlin: 27:24

And I think I saw your Instagram post from that day, we were like I was on the floor sobbing. Here I am on the beach, like,

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 27:32

rolled around in my own snot, like I was a mess. Yeah. But you know what I was able to really get through something that day. And it's funny, you asked me that, because I, I did. And I've done breathwork by myself before like that a bunch of times to my playlists, and the music will kind of carry me. But it is so special to have another person there with you, for you holding space for you, encouraging you because I wanted to quit like a whole bunch of times. And so it would have been really nice to have another person there. A lot of people I'm noticing they get really shy and uncomfortable about doing this in groups, because they're afraid of being vulnerable like that in front of strangers. And one thing I can tell you is the group environment adds this whole other layer of love and connection that we as people aren't getting in our lives anymore. And you really start to notice like, Oh, I'm not alone in my journey. I'm not alone in my struggles. Peep look at this, people do actually care. It's just so beautiful. Like i That's why I'm so excited to be doing this live live in studio with you. I haven't been able to do a live group since August up in Boston. Oh, cool.

Todd McLaughlin: 29:03

Yeah. That's awesome, Kayla.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 29:08

And it's just a beautiful, you're kind of all in ceremony together. That's basically exactly what it feels like. And you're holding space for yourselves and each other and to be vulnerable like that. And to be brave like that with your other humans is just so incredibly beautiful. And I'm deeply grateful that I get to witness that kind of miracle in my work.

Todd McLaughlin: 29:32

That's really neat. Caitlin, you made a comment that we don't there's things in life that we aren't getting that we need, or at least that's what I understood that you were saying is that like maybe there's certain elements that I mean, obviously as a massage therapist, you're aware of how important touch is and and we also I think probably everybody in the globe right now is really aware of what isolation is can do from a personal experience and relation what happened with COVID? How that's not super healthy? And so is that, what are some of the things that you are witnessing in our current culture that you think we don't get enough of, in addition to maybe those two things that we mentioned, touch and sense of community?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 30:23

I know touches so huge to, um, in our culture, you know, what I feel like our culture, in many ways is going kind of backwards a little bit. I think that, um, you think that canceled culture is actually pretty toxic. I think that it leaves like no room for error, and people. And so people are now afraid to speak up for fear of being ridiculed or punished. It also tells us that we have to be perfect. We're not allowed to make mistakes. And of course, we are like, that's what we're supposed to be doing here in life is making mistakes and learning from them.

Todd McLaughlin: 31:07

Yeah, that's a good point, I

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 31:08

think. Yeah. The other thing, I think is, aside from what we just said, like emotional awareness, and emotional intelligence, I think critical thinking has kind of gone out the window in the last couple of decades. Our educational system, I feel, has really made us more of like, memorizers. Yeah, like, we're not taught to think for ourselves. We're taught to be controlled, sit there. Don't say anything. Don't argue with the teacher. Don't argue with your boss. And it's like, sometimes they're wrong, though. Or like, what if there's a gray area here, we're not allowed to even talk about it. And so I think critical thinking skills, and the ability to receive and be open to other people's opinions without getting like, fired up about it or triggered. That's something else I think we all need to work on.

Todd McLaughlin: 32:06

Yeah. Great points. And even while you're talking about that made me think about the chat GPT Are you? Are you hip to that with that? Chat. GPT is an AI technology that now for example, you have to write a paper in school. So you go into chat GPT and say you have to write a paper about Mockingbird. So you just write in mockingbirds, what are what are the traits of a Mockingbird and the AI takes all of the information from the entire internet world. And then it will write a paper for you about the mockingbird. And then you can hit the reset button, and it'll completely rewrite a whole new thing. So that no two papers are the same. They're trying to outlaw New York now because kids in school I mean, like, remember, back in the day when we had to read a book and write a book report like, yeah, that's just like out the door now, totally out the door. You don't I mean, so on some levels. I agree with you, because I watched with my own children in terms of what they have to do for schooling and the memorization process. It's grueling for them. It's so dumb. I mean, I understand I understand that we need to study in the process of using our brains and memorizing something is a good thing for mental development. So I'm 100% in favor of memorization, but I agree with you also, a lot that it's just become rote li memorization, all memorization So, but the chat GPT LMS is phenomenal. And I mean, even what we need to start paying attention to now even as people are using social media is that you can go in and you can have chat GPT right, your social media posts for you. So now instead of actually being a human being, and writing what your thoughts and feelings are, you can go in and say write about transformational breathwork on chat TPT and it'll write this really awesome little paragraph for you and you can just copy paste, put on your social media and boom. So it's from what I understand from all the social media people what they're saying is that it's actually cool because you can just build up what you already have. Like, it's, um, you know, you can use it to help add into what you're trying to do, but we, in essence, it's allowing for us to never actually be human like, we don't even have to like write down our thoughts or express our thoughts more hence why I do believe something like this medium of where we're actually having a conversation. Like we're not able to type into the computer and say, Here's speak for me and act like me and ask you the next you know what I mean? Like we're still using our brains right now but right I don't know it's crazy. I didn't want you to take us too far off into the weeds over there, but I'm never even heard of that. Yeah, check it out. I think if you go online, and type in open AI or open source AI, something like that it's totally free. But eventually they're gonna charge you to use it. But anyway, yeah.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 35:09

The other thing I think we're missing is our sense of agency. And in my brand, what I'm trying to build or attract is I'm trying to attract people who are willing to do their work to become healthier, to become more emotionally regulated, to become more successful in their lives. I feel like, I feel like we just give our power away so freely to the medical community, to the pharmaceutical industry, to the government. And I'm not trying to sound like a wacko conspiracy person. But like, um, you know, it's like, when you go to the doctor for complaints, like I went to the doctor for my rheumatoid, and they like, didn't do anything aside from run, like for blood tests, and then just offer me pills. And to be honest with you, I have not once taken one pharmaceutical medication for my rheumatoid, I have done all of my own treatment with trauma release, nutrition and movement. And it's going away on its own.

Todd McLaughlin: 36:21

That's cool. I'm glad you

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 36:22

bring it when you know what I mean. Like if people are constantly seeking somebody else to fix their stuff.

Todd McLaughlin: 36:30

Yes.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 36:33

Where does that get you?

Todd McLaughlin: 36:34

That's a great point. And I liked it. You did use the word agency and I just came across that from reading Gabor Ma Tei. His work? Are you are you. Oh, I figured you had to already be reading him based on everything you've already said. But Isn't he amazing?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 36:50

Yeah, he's an Ayahuasca too.

Todd McLaughlin: 36:52

Yeah. I just read mushrooms the myth of normal by him. Have you read his new book? The Myth of normal?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 37:00

It's on my list. But I am very aware of what book Yeah, I love him.

Todd McLaughlin: 37:04

What about the Body Keeps the Score? I have not read that one yet. Have you read that? Yeah,

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 37:10

I've read that one. What

Todd McLaughlin: 37:10

are your thoughts on that book, someone else told me they said I keep that book by my nightstand like, so good.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 37:17

Yeah, that helped me a lot actually, with Yeah, with just understanding everything and how we and mainly understand to like, why regular psychotherapy never worked for me. You can't explain your pain away. Like, if my dog dies, I can't just say to myself, we'll get you of course, you're sad your dog died. So just stop being sad about it. I have to grieve, I have to cry. I have to sob and wail because that's how it's gonna get out of my body. You know what I mean? Like the Body Keeps the Score. It gives you such a better understanding of how trauma affects our bodies and our minds and how you need to get both of them together in order to fully release it.

Todd McLaughlin: 38:12

How has your understanding of trauma aware approach in relation to your body work and or your own healing process evolved in the last few years?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 38:29

Wow, I feel like I'm becoming a polarity therapist was really the thing that changed how I viewed massage and touch.

Todd McLaughlin: 38:43

Can you explain tension therapy because I keep seeing that? I don't really know what that is. Wow.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 38:52

I think I'm going to try to put together a polarity workshop that maybe I can do at your place too, because nobody knows what it is and it's like the best kept thing.

Todd McLaughlin: 39:03

Now the great um, how do you explain it?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 39:08

Polarity Therapy. I'll tell you the history about it but it was developed by an osteopathic chiropractor. Randolph stone back in like the 60s. So it's not that old. He basically he was getting tired of treating people and them not getting results. So he traveled the world like 16 times and he just trained hardcore with like every guru in Asia, India, Western doctors, everybody and he pulled aspects from from Buddhism and Chinese medicine and Ayurveda and yoga and put it all together into one thing. So the pillars that we use in polarity therapy, and it is considered an energy medicine is we use dialogue or counseling, then we have a body work component and then we also have nutrition and movement because you need to do all of those things to create change in somebody's life in their fields and one of our things in there is giving people back there agency through dialogue

Todd McLaughlin: 40:21

very cool. Good explanation. Yeah.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 40:25

Yeah, it's like a really hard thing to explain

Todd McLaughlin: 40:30

there's four pillars You said so diet and movement are those each a separate one and then you said dialogue agency what was the or the the agent agency through dialogue what was the fourth one bodywork bodywork and then in relation to the bodywork element what type of bodywork anything and everything just touch in general? Or is it have a specific focus in relation to like deep tissue? Or more like, cranial sacral style? Like like really light touch? Is there? Is there like some specific body work method or technique that's that's utilized?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 41:08

There is so we utilize several different kinds of touch based on Iron VEDA. So we have rajasic tomasik. Is any this familiar? Because you have yoga?

Todd McLaughlin: 41:22

It is? Yeah, yeah. It has like the high energy to Masik is the low salt. Vic in the middle, lucid clear.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 41:31

Yeah, so with our touch any with our dialogue, like those three gunas are kind of like in everything that we do. So in, in the communication piece, for example, depending on who you are, or what you're going through, you might need me to be tamasic, when I'm speaking to you, you might need to be like, listen, Todd just said you wanted to get more inner peace, but here you are doing XY and Z. So you know, or that might not resonate with you, I might need to be more sattvic with you and say like, okay, you know, I'm hearing that you're, you're struggling with this, and we how can we get you to where you want to be. And it's the same thing with our touch. So like, tamasic, we use kind of like a deeper touch. Sofic is like very light, comforting, and then redraw sake is very, like stimulating. And depending on what pressure points or five elements that I'm working with, or what your field tells me, like no session is ever the same. I kind of just implement whatever your field does, wants me to do.

Todd McLaughlin: 42:43

Very cool. What type of training did that entail? Was that like an in house studio? in person training, online training? How does that work?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 42:51

That training was both so it's on I did the zoom for a lot of lectures. But then we also had two or three in person practicums, where we could really get more hands on. I work pretty closely with my instructor, Brian. And I might be a teacher's assistant for his upcoming class. And it's actually it's kind of like a bachelor's degree in medicine. I'm not even done. I just I just completed like level one. I still have two more years to go.

Todd McLaughlin: 43:23

Got it. Yeah, it's an intense program. Yeah, that's good. I was just thinking too, but when you mentioned the nutrition, I mean, that's such a huge subject in and of itself. So, too, I'm happy to hear that. It's not like it's like a single weekend. And then like, a master nutrition is body worker, counselor and physical fitness instructor all in one day. Yeah, sounds like something that obviously takes some time to, to harness.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 43:55

Yoga actually complements it, like super super well. Um, so like the movement component, and a lot of it is esoteric, and you can kind of make it your own thing. So like, I'm, I'm a nutrition certified. Sorry, my dog.

Todd McLaughlin: 44:14

That's all right.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 44:17

I'm a nutrition certified through precision nutrition. And so a lot of the concepts that I use with nutrition are based on that. Sometimes I might tell somebody like okay, like to support your water element. I suggest you eat like watery foods, like cabbage or lettuce. Yes. But you can kind of make all of that your own thing. He does use yoga movements and poses to also support people's energy shifts.

Todd McLaughlin: 44:51

Yeah, yeah. Very cool. Yeah. And you also mentioned functional mobility, training and war that you coach people And in that world of fitness, what is your preferred? Or maybe you, you'd like to utilize a ton of different approaches, but do you have a preferred method of working out? Exercising? Yeah,

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 45:16

I left. I lift weights.

Todd McLaughlin: 45:19

I weighed heavy stuff. You're a heavy weightlifter. Yeah. How did that? Where did that come in?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 45:26

Weightlifting actually was like the first thing to get me on my healing journey. Believe it or not, the thing about weightlifting is you learn so much about life. And this has been scientifically proven actually, like there's studies that show a heavy crossover between people who do resistance training, and how it teaches them discipline, self competence, consistency, resiliency, and even body awareness. Because, you know, I always check in with myself like, Okay, how is my body today? Do I have it in me to go for this personal record? Or do I need to like, stay where I'm at?

Todd McLaughlin: 46:14

Yeah. Cool.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 46:17

And when you were, like 400 pounds, you can't help but feel like a total badass. And that's gonna come up out in your life.

Todd McLaughlin: 46:26

Yeah. Yeah. I, I like that. Because in the yoga world, where we get really, we can get like Clicky. And snobby kinda like, maybe a weightlifter might be like, I'm not doing yoga, or a yoga person. I'm like, I'm not doing weights. And I like the fact that you're brought up that you can learn a lot about yourself. And it makes sense. Because no matter what we do physically, if we're like, really getting into the dynamic of physics and the experience of like, getting our mind and body connected to actually pull the sport off that we're doing, I can see where like, obviously, whether you're a skateboarder surfer figure skater by weightlifter Yogi gymnasts, like it's it kind of all does have the same essence in a way. Would you agree?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 47:15

Yeah, I love yoga, too. I do yoga. I do. Well, yeah, I've done yoga there with you guys. That I love yoga, because it allows you to get into your body in a different way than strength training. Yeah, it allows you to be soft with yourself. And to listen more to like pieces of your body, and actually in the Body Keeps the Score, he strongly recommends that people do yoga, especially people who are disassociated from their bodies. Because it will help bring you back to that.

Todd McLaughlin: 47:58

That makes sense. Yeah, that book is on my list, like maybe two or three books away. So I can't wait to do that one. So many books right. Enough time? Not enough time. Would it be great to like just win like a one week lottery. And then like you're then they said like, the only way you can cash this one week lottery chip in is you have to read for the whole week. Like you got to read eight hours a day. That'd be like, a dream come true for me. Yes.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 48:28

Didn't Bill Gates say something? Like, if I could have one superpower, it would be to absorb information from books in seconds. Oh, man,

Todd McLaughlin: 48:36

right. You know, I knew some I had a massage client that I was told prior to working with him. Don't ask him any questions, because he knows everything. And I thought, Oh, that's such a egotistical outlook on life. And so I he was a very wealthy individual. And so I decided, let me all abide. I'll play by the rules. So I just didn't say anything. And during the sessions, the TV was on, there was a newspaper, and the telephone, and so he would be like, listening, reading and then taking phone calls all during and so at first I was turned off, I was kind of like, geez, you know, because sometimes the body workers were like, This is a chance for you to actually turn off all that extraneous stuff and actually pay attention to like what you're feeling and right so I'll think like that's maybe the ideal and but then when he started ask questions, and the doorway opened up, and then I started to ask questions. He actually is one of the smartest people I've ever met in terms of knowing information about everything I couldn't even believe it like, and I realized like the guy wasn't joking when he said to me, Tony, ask him anything because he already he's already read about, you know. So I'm not saying that that's my deal. And that's a little intense. I want to try to be present and not always engaged in, you know, my mind somewhere else. But I just thought that was interesting. But you know

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 50:15

what, like, here's something that one of my coaches told me. So like, if this is everything there is to know in the whole universe, right, you're

Todd McLaughlin: 50:27

holding up a circle on a piece of paper, because some of this will be audio. Some people might not be watching us, but I just wanted to all narrate the visual.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 50:34

Yeah. So here's my circle. Here's everything in the whole universe to know. And then we have what we know that we know. Here, a little circle inside the circle. Yeah. So like, I know that I know how to give a massage. I know that I know how to ride a bike, then we have what we don't know, or what we know that we don't know.

Todd McLaughlin: 51:02

Slightly bigger circle inside the circle. So I

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 51:05

know that I don't know how to give brain surgery. Yeah, I know that. I don't know how to fly a plane. Then we have all of this. Here's everything that we don't even know that we don't know. You know what I mean? Is over that guy, even though he's super smart. Yes.

Todd McLaughlin: 51:29

Still. Great answer, Caitlin. And I like the visual. I like that. You pulled out a nice, blank blue marker as well. You got some colors on? Yeah. Yeah, so So rule number one never say, don't ask me a question. Because I already know the answer. It's just a very, that's a slippery slope, isn't it?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 51:59

Yeah. And it's like, why aren't you open to receiving new information? Yeah. Or? Yeah. How do you know what you know, is true or correct? Well, good, great point. He doesn't know. Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 52:17

Well, on that line of thinking. When you're feeling like, I'm just gathering based on what you've said to me, and then I've also, you know, I've I've had my bouts with depression. So I feel like I can relate. So when you're in those dark nights of the soul moments where those questions are coming up? What do I even know? How do I even you know what I mean? Where you're really in this weird place of like, questioning everything. Nothing makes sense. What is your current technique for reeling yourself back in? I know you and I know, you gave me tons of different things that you're doing. I love that, like your life has informed your career choices in relation to learning and teaching, bodywork breathwork physical fitness and training for polarity therapy. But um, like, for some of us, like questioning, and we're becoming aware of all the things that we don't know, sometimes it almost gets overwhelming. And we don't need to even think about anything. Like, don't ask any deep questions when you're in that place. Right? Like, yeah, what have you noticed with all that?

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 53:33

I feel like my best friend said this to me once she was like, there is a very fine line between spirituality and insanity. And I I feel like I ride that line every day. What I think about, like, all the stuff that I know now, even about myself, I'm like, wow, that's a lot of stuff to know. I kind of wish I didn't know it, but I can't unknow it. Good point. And then you're like, Man, I don't eat. Why are we here? Who put me here? What's out there? Who's out there? I don't know. It's too much. So I get it. I get very overwhelmed too.

Todd McLaughlin: 54:18

Yeah. Cool. Well, it seems like you're in a pretty grounded place right now, though.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 54:25

I'm trying. I'm trying to do a lot, you know, down here a year ago. So I'm restarting my whole business up from scratch. Yeah. I don't know anybody down here. And so I am like, so extremely grateful for you extending this opportunity to me. Okay. I'm like, truly I'm so excited and deeply grateful.

Todd McLaughlin: 54:51

All right. Well heard. And thank you so much for for for being here now and for sharing, and I really enjoyed this conversation. I liked you. Yeah. So in on that note, we're coming in close on our hour mark. And I know we both scheduled in about an hour to chat with each other. And so super excited to have you hear that. You listening, if you want to join in, you'll see the link on our website native yoga center.com, you'll see on their transformational breathwork workshop with Caitlin Burkhart. So it should be pretty easy. Um, any other? Anything you want to leave us with Caitlin, any other thoughts? Yeah, please.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 55:41

Um, well, in addition to offering all of these things that I do here in Florida, I am also launching a retreat business of my own. Because I felt like after going to several retreats, there was just some things that I loved and didn't love. And about each one, even the one in Costa Rica, like, super great, but it was way too structured. And I would have liked to have a little more downtime. So I'm starting my first retreat up in April, in Cape Cod in Boston. It's three days, two nights, we're going to be offering body work with energy work, nutritious organic food, mobility workshops, breathwork journeys, there's also going to be some psilocybin. What else? I have several workshops planned to give people back their agency and how to take care of themselves better moving forward after the retreat. But my goal is to really just like blow people's minds and help them find their way back to themselves so that they can live a fuller life.

Todd McLaughlin: 56:57

Is Kailen. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. All right, excited. Well, that sounds amazing. I know you said that, that retreat informations can be on a separate website that will be available very soon. Remind me the name of your current website.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 57:24

My website's name is badass city, sport and soul, giving you the badass city to transform your life. But it's spelled Bo D acity. Sport and soul. Yeah, I'm really happy to be there and awesome. Maybe meet some people and change some lives.

Todd McLaughlin: 57:47

Cool. Caitlin. Well, thank you so much. And I'll see you on Sunday.

Caitlyn Burkhardt: 57:53

Yeah, I'll see you Sunday. Thank you.

Todd McLaughlin: 57:55

All right. I'll see you soon. Take care. Bye. Native yoga podcast is produced by myself. The theme music is dreamed up by Bryce Allen. If you liked this show, let me know. If there's room for improvement. I want to hear that too. We are curious to know what you think and what you want more of what I can improve. And if you have ideas for future guests or topics, please send us your thoughts to info at Native yoga center. You can find us at Native yoga center.com. And hey, if you did like this episode, share it with your friends, rate it and review and join us next time