What this episode is about
Gabriella sits down with Robyn Parets, yoga teacher, breathwork facilitator, and nervous system coach, for one of the most personal and practically rich conversations in this series.
Key takeaways
- Robyn Parets says it took her years to see she was living in survival mode. Her brain told her it was just her personality, and she believed it.
- Robyn says new patterns in your brain take repetition. She did an online brain retraining program for an hour a day, the way you'd go to the gym.
- Robyn says once you notice how you feel and where your body is, you can map your own nervous system and pick tools that bring you back to safety.
Moments from this episode
Word for word from the recording. Tap a time to hear it.
Seeing in Technicolor
“I feel like I can see in Technicolor compared to black and white. I feel like I was just seeing the world in black and white and shades for so long, but now everything's popping. Light, color it just feels good.”
Figure it out on your own
“We were living in that narrative of, you can do anything, you can be anything, but figure it out. Figure it out on your own. And so we didn't know how to ask for help.”
Support and inner work go together
“At the same time, being able to pull support from others along your journey is so critical. That co-regulation with others is so important, but they go hand in hand. You need to be able to access what's inside yourself.”
The power exists within you
“And the power exists within you to make the changes that you need in your health, in your life, to bring color into your life.”
“In order to be a functioning, successful human in the world, you have to be productive. You have to get things done. And our nervous systems, our bodies, I think especially female bodies, aren't wired for that.”
Gabriella Espinosaat 26:13
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Show notes
For more than 20 years, Robyn Parets lived with chronic illness, anxiety, and a body that always seemed to be fighting something. She saw countless practitioners, tried everything she could find, and kept pushing through , the way high-achieving women do. What she did not understand was that underneath every diagnosis, every symptom, and every exhausting flare was a nervous system that had simply lost its way home.
It was not until she discovered nervous system regulation and somatic breathwork that everything began to shift. Her body remembered what safety felt like. And from that place of safety, real healing became possible.
Read the full show notesShow less
In this installment of the Return to Her series, Gabriella sits down with Robyn Parets, yoga teacher, breathwork facilitator, and nervous system coach, for one of the most personal and practically rich conversations in this series. Robyn shares what 20-plus years of survival mode actually felt like in her body, the moment on the floor after a treadmill collapse that changed everything, and the two things that finally moved the needle after decades of searching. She also guides listeners through a simple breathwork practice they can begin using today.
Robyn Parets is a yoga teacher, somatic breathwork facilitator, and nervous system coach who helps others find their way back to safety, regulation, and aliveness after years of chronic stress, illness, and dysregulation. After more than two decades navigating chronic illness including POTS, Lyme disease, SIBO, and mold toxicity, Robyn found her healing through brain retraining and somatic breathwork and now guides others through the same journey. She and Gabriella met at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, during an intensive nervous system training.
Highlights from our discussion include:
- What 20 years of living in a dysregulated state actually felt like in Robyn's body and how she finally recognized it as survival mode
- The treadmill moment that became her turning point and why she knew on the floor that she was the only one who could heal herself
- How brain retraining works and why repetition is the key to creating new patterns in the brain and nervous system
- Why feeling safe in the body is not just an emotional experience but a physiological prerequisite for healing
- The physiological sigh, a simple two-breath practice that tones the vagus nerve and helps bring the nervous system back to safety in minutes
- What life looks and feels like on the other side , from black and white to technicolor
When Gabriella asked Robyn what she would say to the version of herself who was still searching for answers and still pushing through, her answer was short and completely whole.
You are brave. And you can do hard things. And the power exists within you to make the changes you need.
That is the heart of this series. And it is the heart of this conversation.
If this episode resonated, subscribe to Pleasure in the Pause and share it with a woman in your life who has been white-knuckling her way through something she cannot quite name.
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CONNECT WITH ROBYN PARETS:
Robyn's website: newenglandbreathwork.com
New England Breathwork Instagram
CONNECT WITH GABRIELLA ESPINOSA:
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The information shared on Pleasure in the Pause is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making any decisions about your health or treatment. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or Pleasure in the Pause.
About the guest
Robyn ParetsYoga teacher, breathwork facilitator, and nervous system coachGuest on this episode of Pleasure in the Pause.More about them
