In this episode of Healing From Emotional Abuse, host Marissa F. Cohen sits down with Jackie Troller, founder of Ocean Troller Snorkeling and Free Diving and Breakthrough Breathing, to talk about what the breath can teach us about trauma, tension, and healing.
Jackie shares how a chance introduction to free diving turned into a career studying the science of breath holds, training Red Bull athletes and water rescue units, and coaching the crew on Avatar: The Way of Water. She explains why breathwork was showing up in PTSD research long before it showed up in her own life, how tension and trauma get stored in the body without us realizing it, and why telling someone in distress to "just take a deep breath" often backfires.
The conversation moves into practical territory, including a guided breathing exercise you can follow along with, a visualization technique for separating yourself from anxious or traumatic feelings, and why Jackie believes so much of that tension lives in the diaphragm. She closes with real, usable advice for survivors who want to start working with their body instead of against it.
Connect with Jackie Troller:
breakthroughbreathing.com
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Timestamps
00:00 Welcome and podcast mission
00:03 Meet Jackie Troller
00:03 From marine science to free diving
00:05 Discovering the science of extended breath holds
00:06 How breathwork research connects to PTSD
00:07 What happens when we let go of body tension
00:08 Recognizing trauma stored in the body
00:09 The difference between holding a breath and being breathed
00:10 Why "just focus" and "just breathe" don't work
00:12 A simple technique to help someone in distress
00:14 Why the body needs to be part of trauma release
00:15 A guided exercise: the inhale and hold
00:16 Anxiety interrupters and playing with breath
00:17 Sponsor message: Foundations of Healthy Relationships
00:18 Recognizing anxiety in her own body
00:19 Visualizing tension as separate from yourself
00:21 A grounding exercise for anxious states
00:22 Working with trauma and sexual assault survivors
00:23 How breathwork helped one client's trauma trigger
00:24 Why trauma often lives in the diaphragm
00:25 A live guided breathing exercise
00:27 Meeting your body where it is
00:28 Working with high performance athletes
00:29 How to connect with Jackie and closing thoughts
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