Reset Your Breath. Change How You Feel
Your breath is not just a physical function. It is directly connected to how you feel, how you respond to stress, and how your body regulates itself.
Most people are breathing in a way that reflects tension, not ease. Over time, this affects energy levels, focus, and the nervous system as a whole.
This workshop helps you understand how your breathing patterns work and how to change them in a way that is simple, practical, and sustainable.
Understand Your Breathing Patterns
Breathing is often automatic, but not always efficient.
Many people rely on shallow, upper-chest breathing or hold subtle tension in the diaphragm without realizing it. These patterns can contribute to fatigue, restlessness, and a reduced ability to manage stress.
Before trying to “fix” the breath, it is important to observe it.
In this workshop, you will learn how to notice how you breathe in different situations, how your breath changes under stress, and how it supports or limits your movement and stability.
Awareness is the starting point for any meaningful change.
About This Workshop
This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to better understand their breath and its connection to the nervous system.
It is especially relevant if:
- you feel frequently stressed or overwhelmed
- you notice shallow or irregular breathing
- you experience tension in the chest, neck, or shoulders
- you want to improve focus, energy, and recovery
- you are already working with movement and want to integrate breath more effectively
We work through guided exercises and clear explanations that help you build a more functional and responsive breathing pattern.
What You’ll Experience
During the workshop, we explore how breath and body work together.
We focus on:
- how to observe your natural breathing pattern
- how the diaphragm supports both breathing and stability
- how breath influences the nervous system and stress response
- how to shift from tension-based breathing to more efficient patterns
You will learn practical techniques that can be applied in everyday situations, not just during practice.
This is not about controlling your breath all the time. It is about knowing how to work with it when it matters.
Your Benefits
With consistent awareness and practice, this work can help you:
- regulate stress more effectively
- improve energy and mental clarity
- reduce unnecessary tension in the body
- support movement with better internal stability
- feel more grounded and in control of your responses
These changes often begin subtly, but they have a strong cumulative effect over time.
About This Workshop
This workshop is designed for people who want to better understand their back and learn how to support it in a practical, sustainable way.
It is especially relevant if:
- you experience recurring back discomfort or tension
- you have been diagnosed with conditions such as disc bulge, hernia, or scoliosis
- you have completed physical therapy but feel unsure how to continue safely
- you want to move with more confidence and less fear
We work through a structured process that combines observation, guided movement, and simple corrective strategies that you can integrate into your daily life.
What You’ll Experience
During the workshop, we focus on how your body actually functions in everyday situations.
We will explore:
- how you sit, stand, walk, and transition between movements
- how your breath influences spinal support and stability
- how small adjustments can reduce unnecessary strain
- how to build strength without creating additional tension
You will also learn how to recognize the difference between effort and alignment, and how subtle changes can significantly improve comfort and control.
This is not about pushing harder. It is about moving more intelligently.
Your Benefits
With consistent practice and attention, this work can help you:
- reduce recurring discomfort
- improve stability and coordination
- lower the risk of reinjury
- feel more confident in everyday movement
- reconnect with your body in a way that feels supportive rather than restrictive
Many of these changes come from small shifts. But over time, those small shifts create a very different experience of being in your body.
Experience the Backcare Workshop
My goal for this workshop is to provide a clear, practical understanding of several common back conditions so that you can better recognize them, work with them, and make informed decisions about your movement practice. By the end of the workshop, you'll leave with a toolkit of effective strategies and a carefully designed sequence that draws on years of experience working with clients who experience back pain, as well as my own personal journey with back sensitivity.
Pilates and yoga are frequently recommended by healthcare professionals for people dealing with lower back pain. While these practices can be incredibly beneficial, I have also worked with many individuals who found that certain exercises or approaches actually aggravated their symptoms. This is an important conversation that I believe deserves openness, nuance, and a deeper understanding.
In this workshop, I share insights not only from my experience as a Pilates and yoga teacher, but also from living with a significant spinal injury myself. Despite this condition, I continue to practice, teach, and move every day, and that lived experience has profoundly shaped my approach to back care, movement, and injury prevention.
My hope is that you leave this workshop with greater confidence in understanding your back, recognizing potential triggers, and identifying movements that offer support. Most importantly, you'll learn how to adapt your practice in ways that feel safe, sustainable, and responsive to the unique needs of your body.
This workshop is for students who have...
- Recurring back spasms or muscle strains
- Tight, weak, or fatigued back muscles
- Core weakness and lack of spinal support
- Disc-related injuries, including bulges and herniations
- Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction (covered briefly as part of the workshop)
Whether you're currently managing back discomfort, recovering from an injury, or looking to better understand how to support your spine through movement, this workshop offers practical tools and guidance to help you move with greater confidence and ease.
Moving Forward
I cannot control what happens outside of our sessions.
But I can give you tools, structure, and awareness that stay with you long after the workshop ends.
My goal is not to fix you.
It is to help you understand how your body works, so you can make choices that support it every day.
When that understanding is in place, movement becomes more natural, less forced, and far more sustainable.
👉 Learn more about the Back Care Workshop
Sitting All Day? Let's Fix That.
Provide your team with preventative care. Many of our workplace environments, including work-from-home require sitting all day long—here’s a look at how that can affect your back & health:
- Atrophy of back muscles
- Stiffness and aching
- Muscle fatigue
- Spinal instability
- Developing poor posture
- Dysfunctional Breathing habits
- Poor concentration
Testimonial:
I attended the Happy Back Workshop because I was dealing with a back injury, muscle spasms, and disc bulges. Elaine, the owner of 2nd Story Pilates & Yoga in Queens, recommended that I work with Monika.
One of the most valuable things I learned was the importance of truly resting and allowing my back the time it needed to heal. The visual examples of what not to do were especially helpful, as they made it easy to recognize habits and movements that were contributing to my discomfort.
Monika’s handout is excellent. I read it as soon as I received it, and the photos and explanations were clear, practical, and easy to follow.
I highly recommend this workshop to anyone experiencing back problems. For me, it was exactly what I needed—both the workshop and the handout provided valuable guidance and support for the issues I was facing.
Thank you again, Monika! Rebecca Haase