Episode Details
Back to EpisodesS1 E13: Breath by Breath: Healing Chronic Illness Through Yoga, Pranayama & Self-Compassion with Amanda Halls
Description
In this episode, athletic therapist and yoga teacher Amanda Halls shares her powerful journey of navigating chronic illness and rediscovering her identity through yoga, Pranayama, and self-compassion.
Amanda first encountered yoga at fourteen, learning from a family who lived their yoga—teaching her early lessons about spirituality, connection, and embodied wisdom. Her path led her into Athletic Therapy, where she worked with high-performance athletes, Field Hockey Canada, box lacrosse teams, and spent 14 years at Sheridan College.
But when a chronic neurological disorder suddenly changed her ability to move, breathe, and speak, Amanda was forced into a profound transformation. What followed was a journey of loss, resilience, and rebuilding her relationship with her body.
Through breathwork, yoga philosophy, and learning to listen to her body, Amanda found new ways to regulate her nervous system, reclaim her breath, and redefine what healing means.
In this episode, you’ll learn about:
- Early spiritual influences and what it means to live your yoga
- The realities of chronic illness and invisible disability
- How Pranayama can support breath regulation and diaphragm dysfunction
- Using yoga and breathwork to navigate grief, identity loss, and self-doubt
- Moving from helping others to learning how to heal yourself
- Finding resilience, meaning, and connection on the hardest days
Amanda’s story offers hope for anyone living with chronic pain, invisible illness, or the sense of losing who they once were. Her wisdom reminds us that healing isn’t returning to the past — it’s becoming who we’re meant to be, breath by breath.
Amanda's wisdom shines through in this podcast asking important questions for herself, but also questions that we can reflect on.
🌿 Recommended Books + Resources
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön •
Paths To God by Ram Dass •
Women Who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés •
The Alter Within by Juliet Diaz •
All About Love by bell hooks •
Knowing by Tanya Talaga •
We Were Made for These Times by Kaira Jewel Lingo •
Workbooks:
Sacred Powers by Davidji •
The Desire Map by Danielle Laporte
To find out more information about Amanda:
IG: @therebornalchemist
therebornalchemist.ca
If you enjoyed this show, make sure you like, subscribe, follow and download the episode or simply leave a comment. I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts, episode ideas or simply to say "hello"!
This episode is sponsored by Jackie Vandertuin Therapy. With over 30 years of practice as a Certified Athletic Therapist and professor of Athletic Therapy, coupled with her experience as a yoga therapist, Jackie Vandertuin MSc, CAT(C), will help guide you in the management and treatment of various disorders including: low back pain, sprains, strains, anxiety and depression. Reach out www.jackievandertuintherapy.com for a free discovery call.
If would like to be a guest of this podcast, please reach out to jackie@jackievandertuintherapy with a short bio of your story and how yoga has helped you in your journey of healing.
If you are interested in sponsoring an episode or this podcast, reach out to Jackie Vandertuin at jackie@jackievandertuintherapy.com.
Stay in touch at:
Website: https://www.jackievandertuintherapy.com
Instagram: jackie_vandertuin_therapy
Facebook: Jackie Vandertuin Therapy
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