Breath & Cacao: A Heart-Opening Journey.

What to expect:

Cacao has been honoured for centuries as a sacred plant medicine, celebrated for its ability to open the heart and bring us closer to our authentic selves. Unlike ordinary chocolate, ceremonial cacao carries a gentle yet powerful energy that invites us to slow down, turn inward, and feel more deeply. It enhances focus, lifts the mood, and creates a sense of warmth and expansion, making it the perfect companion for inner work.

When paired with breathwork, the medicine of cacao deepens even further. Breathwork activates the body’s natural healing intelligence, clears stagnant energy, and helps us access expanded states of awareness. Together, cacao and the breath create a powerful synergy: cacao softens the heart, while breathwork unlocks the wisdom held within the body.

This workshop is an invitation to:

🌱 Open your heart and connect more deeply with yourself

🌱 Release stress and stagnant emotions through conscious breathing

🌱 Cultivate clarity, inner peace, and presence

🌱 Experience a grounding ritual that nourishes body, mind, and spirit

Through deep rhythmic breathing, we’ll embark on a journey of self-exploration, fostering greater understanding, healing and self-compassion. Breathwork allows us to bypass the conscious mind, opening a direct pathway to the subconscious - where our inner wisdom resides.

This evening is designed to provide a supportive space for you to nurture yourself and go on a journey of deep self-enquiry. With gentle guidance, you’ll be encouraged to embrace vulnerability, let go of defences, and allow yourself to ‘feel’. As you connect with the core of your being, you may uncover old memories, feel a wave of emotions, or simply experience a blissful state of being. These moments of reconnection can lead to profound shifts, helping you heal emotional wounds, overcome limiting beliefs, and access a deeper sense of self-love.

Throughout the session, we will also incorporate guided meditations, reflective exercises, and integrative practices to help you fully process and integrate your experience. You may leave feeling lighter, more connected, and empowered to continue your journey of self-discovery and healing.

At the end of the event, there will be some additional time provided for you to stick around and connect with other like-minded people.

About your facilitator: Katharina

Kathy is a certified Breathwork coach with over 500 hours of training and years of experience in the field. She is also a Practitioner of Neuro Transformation Therapy and holds certifications in Reiki Level 1+2. Her method is a unique blend of breathwork, subconscious reprogramming, intuitive movement practices, sound and guided meditation. She has been holding breathwork sessions since 2021 and her focus is on providing a more holistic Yin approach to breathwork. By offering and applying the knowledge and teachings that have served her along her own transformational journey, Kathi helps people improve their physical, mental & emotional well-being.

A few notes directly from Kathy:

How to prepare:

• No prior experience required
• Please don't eat a large or heavy meal within 2 hours of the session. We don't want to do Breathwork on a full belly (a light snack like banana, nuts etc. is great)
• Avoid coffee or other stimulating drinks (Cacao would be okay)
• Optional - an eye mask or somethibng to cover your eyes, journal & pen
• Read the CONTRAINDICATIONS below carefully

On the 'work':

The majority of breathers first experience deep (and at times, intense) emotional release or catharsis. It is possible to feel anything from grief/pain/discomfort to ecstasy/joy/bliss and anything in between. Again, these are parts of self that are not being met in waking life (even ecstasy and bliss can be energies that are being unconsciously repressed) and thus want the freedom to be completely and uninhibitedly expressed in a safe container of exploration, as we will create.

However, not everyone is ready for this kind of transformative dive, especially if they are new to inner work and self-awareness. And, as always, we honour where each person is on their path of healing and awakening. That said, *please have a self-check in and make sure you are fully ready for a deep and powerful journey into your being. This also includes a willingness to meet any discomfort, hurt, grief, pain or wounding that you are unknowingly holding onto.

Contraindications

If you are on the contraindication list, you are *not* a candidate for the full breathwork technique, however Katharina will happily discuss modified, gentle breathwork with you for a later date. Please do not continue to book the session if you have any of the contraindications listed below.

You may email Katharina at [email protected] to discuss a more gentle alternative.

• Pregnancy (at any stage)
• Severe PTSD or trauma
• Actively using recreational drugs
• Taking any Medic*tion that alters brain chemistry like anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, ADD, OCD medications, etc.
• Occular Issues: (detached retina/glaucoma)
• Kidney disease
• Unmedicated High Blood Pressure
• Cardiovascular disease (incl. angina, previous heart attack or stroke)
• Aneurysms
• Osteoporosis
• Uncontrolled thyroid conditions
• Diabetes (any type)
• Severe Asthma— for mild to moderate asthma, we can discuss but you must bring your inhaler to the session
• Epilepsy or history of Seizures
• Prior diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or previous psychiatric condition
• Complex PTSD
• Severe psychosomatic disorders
• Recent surgery, stitches or injury
• Hospitalisation for any psychiatric condition or emotional crisis within the last 10 years
• Any other medical, psychiatric or physical conditions which would impair or affect ability to engage in any activities that involve deep physical and/or emotional release
• Adverse reactions from recent Covid vaccination OR vaccination within the last 6 months

Things to note:

Centre of You has plenty of bolsters, blankets, and cushions for you to get cosy with. We recommend wearing comfortable, loose clothes to enable deep breathing and sitting/laying upon the floor with ease. Something to cover your eyes, if you wish to do so (eg. eye mask, scarf). A journal is recommended as are any familiar personal items that will aid you in feeling grounded (crystal, teddy, scarf, etc).

Personal responsibility: Please make an assessment on whether you are feeling stable and resourced enough to explore the practices on offer in this event.

No Photo/Video Content Will Be Captured: We recognise that being at an event where content is being captured can impact the personal comfort and nervous system regulation of our community. As such, it should be known upfront that this event is a photo and video free space. No content will be captured. We ask all participants to honor this agreement in respect of the shared experience by placing any recording devices away on arrival.

Arrival: Endeavour to arrive between 6:15pm - 6:30pm. To preserve the experience for all involved, doors will close at 6:45pm. Truly, it breaks our heart to have to turn latecomers away yet the disruption to the whole group experience by virtue of lateness does require management. We ask that you find understanding and consideration for the timebound nature of the container and make every effort to arrive on time.

Driving: Know Centre of You is on Chapel St and ample time to find a car spot is best to be factored into your plans. Park direct on Chapel St (spots unmetered after 5pm) or in Anchor Place, the open-air parking lot in the side street that runs opposite Centre of You (unmetered after 4pm).

Public transport - tram: Both the number 6 tram & 78 tram stop on the corner of High St/Chapel St. This is stop 31 on the number 6 tram (Moreland/Glen Iris) & stop 45 on the number 78 tram (North Richmond/Balaclava).

Public transport - train: Both Prahran & Windsor stations along the Sandringham Line will get you walking distance to Centre of You.

Finding Centre of You: Centre of You is nestled within the arcade that Chapel St Bazaar is in (217 Chapel St). It is up a flight of stairs with a wide landing at the half-way-point. Unfortunately, this current version of Centre of You does not have a wheelchair accessible lift. If you could use support in getting up the stairs or would like to discuss ways to make your experience at Centre of You more comfortable, please reach out via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Accessibility: At COY we aim to ensure our community and events are inclusive and accessible while alongside upholding the needs and responsibilities of our business and the businesses of our collaborating facilitators. Should you be in a time of financial challenge and unable to pay the full ticket price comfortably, please reach out via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram

Ticketing T&Cs: We get it, life happens, therefore we will gladly refund you up until 24hrs before the event start time. After that, we have a strict no refund/no transfer to future events policy. If you are no longer able to attend and wish to pay forward your ticket to someone within the community, be in touch via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Questions? Email [email protected] or reach out via Instagram DM.

Event Venue

Centre of You, Upstairs, 217 Chapel St, Melbourne, Australia