Breath therapy training: Information from Melanie Nohr - Training as a breath therapist is the ideal complement to my work as a yoga teacher

Melanie Nohr

Please introduce yourself briefly.

I am Melanie Nohr. I currently work as a yoga teacher. I have my own yoga studio and my own yoga practice, as I also work quite a lot in the field of birth preparation. However, I originally come from the advertising industry. After the birth of my second child, I asked myself where I wanted to go professionally. What should my professional future look like? I came to the conclusion that I wanted to stay in the movement sector. But I didn't want to focus exclusively on yoga. I did a lot of research and looked around a lot.

Why did you become interested in respiratory therapy?

For me, respiratory therapy was the most conclusive form of therapy. The courses are very practice-oriented. I can combine this activity well with my family.

Why are you attending the breathing therapy course at the Breath Institute?

I live in Bern and that's why I wanted to do a breathing therapy training course directly in Bern. The Swiss Breath Institute has now given me everything I wanted and imagined for my professional career.

How does training in breathing therapy affect your life?

I can already integrate the path to becoming a breath therapist, as I experience it here in the training, into my yoga studio and practice. I am already working in the field of breathing therapy during the training. I would now like to steadily expand this activity as a breathing therapist. It is basically spreading into my whole life because it encompasses the family through my own process. All in all, the breathing therapy training only benefits me. Whether through communicating differently, creating new ideas and better interaction within the family. Yes, breathing therapy is already a big part of my life today.

What do you like best about the course?

The content of the Swiss Breath Institute is very practice-oriented. The first thing in the morning at the school is the introduction to breathing therapy practice. This is exactly what I like. I am a movement person and love to accompany myself and other people through life. First and foremost, breathing therapy is taught through practice - the theory comes alongside. The two go hand in hand. But the practical aspect of touching, meeting, respectful interaction and being with each other is the overriding principle at the school. It's everything we also cover in theoretical subjects, it's simply practice-oriented. There is no extra learning on top or memorization as there might be in other training courses, it just flows here. It flows into my body and I can feel it in my body. I can feel the process within me and the change in my colleagues.

What were your challenges?

For me, the challenges of the breathing therapy course really lie in the writing. In a way, we record everything we experience and experience in our bodies. In other words, a written reflection of what happens during breathing therapy. For me, this is also a process in itself. A challenging one for me. But also a good process. What I think, feel in my body and then write down manifests itself in me. So I can consciously experience it again. But it is challenging for me.

Has your personal condition changed as a result of the breathing therapy training?

I think that in general, I have always been very much in touch with sensitivities because of the advertising industry as I used to know it. So I have always reflected on my sensitivities. Today, in a certain way, this simply happens much, much more sensitively. I have developed much finer antennae towards myself, but also towards others. We work with our hands in breathing therapy. The moment I touch myself or others, many different emotions and sensitivities come to me. So my intuition is becoming more and more refined.

Which breathing therapy topics helped you the most during your training?

Basically everything. It is difficult for me to emphasize a single aspect of breathing therapy here. However, I myself am simply incredibly moved by working on the couch. I like being on the couch with my own process, but as a therapist I also enjoy working on the couch and touching people. To perceive what the person lying there is experiencing and to witness it. I am always amazed at how this comes to light in breathing therapy training. When I go into contact for breathing therapy and think nothing is happening, then suddenly something does happen.

Who is a respiratory therapy course particularly suitable for?

I think the breathing therapy course is particularly suitable for people who enjoy dealing with other people. You should be empathetic and have a feeling for other people. Be able to put yourself in other people's shoes and be compassionate. Be able to accompany others. People who like to be in contact or in connection with others.

Did you have a special "wow" moment during the course?

As I come from a yoga background and have been working with the breath for a long time, I had a special aha moment in the breathing therapy course when I realized that this is not a simple continuation of well-known knowledge. Breath therapy is fundamentally different. For me, it really is a completely new way of experiencing and experiencing the breath. I am not familiar with the original, completely natural and very own breath from yoga. So it came as a complete surprise to me and was very different from what I expected.

How is the atmosphere in the class and with the lecturers?

I find the atmosphere here in the class at the Ateminstitut unique. I have rarely experienced training courses where we treat each other with such personal closeness and respect. There is a very high value in the learning process of breathing therapy, in the personal process, in accepting who is here every day and how each person develops for themselves. What they bring with them. I find it very harmonious. I am very happy with our breathing therapy group.

What do you particularly like about the Bern location?

For me personally, the Ateminstitut in Bern is extremely convenient because I live very close by and can get there by bike. When I walk in, I simply feel at home at the Ateminstitut. There are large rooms with big windows. I am happy in these rooms. You can even bring your own breathing therapy clients and there are several options available. There is a shared kitchen where we can retreat to discuss something in pairs or threes. The rooms are well suited to our group sizes and give a good feeling of practicing breathing therapy.

Do you see any other advantages to this apprenticeship?

Breath therapy training at the Breath Institute is easily compatible with family life. There is a good rhythm over two weeks at a time. We can also use all vacations as vacations. This means that the family knows exactly that I'm involved every other week throughout the year. This creates a routine and provides planning security.

Overview of respiratory therapy schools for training as a respiratory therapist