Steven Ebbers is a breathwork coach in London and online

What attracted you to become a coach?

The process of personal growth and helping people.

My original background is in clinical psychology, from there I moved more towards the world of coaching.

Where did you train?

For my breathwork qualification I trained with Alchemy of Breath, which has a specific focus on release and processing anything that might be stuck.
My coaching qualification I did with the Solution Focus academy, which is a coaching version of solution-focused therapy.

What kind of coaching do you offer?

By now I offer a variation of practices. I combine coaching with breathing and bodywork. I've noticed that for some people it can be very beneficial to include the body in the process and that they have more access to feelings.

Sometimes our internal narratives are so strong that it's difficult to work with them, the body and the breath can serve as another entry point where we feel first and talk later.

How does breathwork coaching help people?

Fundamentally what we work with is the autonomic nervous system. So a big part is about learning to navigate our window of tolerance, down regulating when we feel anxious, overwhelmed or stressed, or maybe up-regulating when we feel down.

From there we start working on expanding the window of tolerance so we can start to feel less restricted and more in touch with our feelings.

What sort of coaching clients do you usually see?

This varies quite a lot. Some clients benefit more from functional breathing exercises and learning how to regulate themselves. Others come because a part of them is telling them that they are suppressing themselves, sometimes due to past difficult experiences.

In those case we first focus on feeling safe in the body again and from there we start to slowly develop and expand their authentic selves.

Do you ever suggest books or other materials to clients?

A great starting point to learn more about the importance of breathing is Breath by James Nestor.

Other gateways into the world of somatics are Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine and The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.

What do you like about being a coach?

What I enjoy most is seeing people change, becoming less restricted and slowly becoming more of who they are. It feels like a true honour to witness this.

What is less pleasant?

The irregular hours are sometimes difficult to manage.

What is one life lesson you try to live by?

That every moment of tension or feeling triggered is fundamentally my system sending me a message. This provides endless opportunities to learn more about myself when approached with compassion and curiosity.

What do you wish people knew about coaching?

"We live life through the lens of the nervous system." The state of our nervous system has a massive impact on how we perceive the world and our relationships.

Our breathing allows us to directly interact with this nervous system. I wish people knew about this - we can train our breathing.

Do you have a favourite client testimonial or particular success story?

Recently one of my clients took a friend to the beach. It was a stormy, windy day. At some point my client said to their friend: "Would you like to roar and yell into the sea?" They did and their friend experienced a massive emotional release. I like this story because my client told me they never would have felt the freedom to do so if it wasn't for our work and by doing so they were able to help their friend as well.

Contact Steven here

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