Happy 2nd Anniversary Breath By Design

TWO YEARS OF BREATH BY DESIGN.

You Were Always the Reason. 🤍

To the beautiful community that gave Breath By Design its heartbeat,

Two years ago, Breath By Design began with a vision. A vision to create a space where people could come exactly as they were, without needing to pretend they were okay, without needing to have it all figured out, and without needing to carry the weight of their lives alone. We wanted to create something that went beyond a breathwork class. A place where people felt safe enough to fall apart, brave enough to begin again, and supported enough to discover that there was still so much life waiting for them on the other side of what they had survived.

But somewhere along the way, something far more beautiful happened.

You turned that vision into a community. You gave it a heartbeat. You gave it meaning. You became the breath in Breath By Design.

As we celebrate our second anniversary, we could share numbers, milestones, sold-out events, collaborations, retreats, and all the incredible places these past two years have taken us. And we will, because what this community has accomplished deserves to be celebrated. But before we share a single number, there is something far more important we want you to know.

Thank you for allowing us the honor of walking beside you through some of the darkest, most vulnerable, and most transformative moments of your life.

Thank you for trusting us with the parts of your story that you may have never spoken out loud. Thank you for allowing us to witness the tears you spent years holding back, the grief you didn't know where to put, the anger you were never allowed to express, and the version of yourself you had spent a lifetime trying to protect. Thank you for trusting us with your heartbreak, your childhood wounds, your fears, your losses, your uncertainty, and your hope that maybe, just maybe, something could feel different.

Thank you for walking through our doors when everything inside you wanted to stay home. Thank you for signing up for that first session even though you didn't know what to expect. Thank you for lying down on a mat surrounded by strangers, putting on your headphones, closing your eyes, and giving yourself permission to feel. Thank you for returning when the work became uncomfortable. Thank you for choosing yourself on the days when choosing yourself felt like the hardest thing in the world.

And thank you for reminding us, over and over again, why this work matters.

Because we know that behind every person who walks into one of our sessions is an entire life we may never fully understand. There are responsibilities, relationships, losses, invisible battles, and stories that have shaped the way you move through this world. Some of you arrived carrying decades of unprocessed grief. Some were learning how to live after trauma. Some were exhausted from being everything to everyone. Some were navigating divorce, heartbreak, illness, burnout, or the painful process of rebuilding a relationship with themselves. Some of you didn't even know why you were there. You just knew something inside you was asking for more.

And some of you walked through our doors simply because you wanted to breathe.

Every single reason was enough. Every single person mattered. And every single one of you still does.

There have been moments in these two years that no photograph, testimonial, or social media post could ever fully capture. The person who finally allowed themselves to cry after years of holding everything together. The mother who realized she could begin changing the patterns she had inherited. The person who found the courage to establish a boundary they had been afraid to set. The stranger who reached for another stranger's hand during a difficult moment. The laughter that followed the tears. The hugs that lasted a little longer. The quiet conversations after class when someone whispered that they finally felt a little more like themselves.

We have watched people arrive as strangers and leave as friends. We have watched people who once struggled to take up space begin finding their voices. We have witnessed people choose to try again after believing they had nothing left to give. And we have watched people begin to understand that healing isn't about becoming someone entirely new. Sometimes it's about finding your way back to the person you were before the world taught you to abandon yourself.

These are the moments we carry with us.

And while we may have had the privilege of facilitating the experience, you were always the one doing the courageous work. You were the one who showed up. You were the one who chose to feel. You were the one who made room for something different. We simply had the honor of holding space while you discovered what was possible for yourself.

TWO YEARS. ONE COMMUNITY. THOUSANDS OF RIPPLES.

When we look back at what this community has created in just two years, the numbers are extraordinary. But we don't want you to see these as business milestones. We want you to see them as a reflection of what happens when people come together and choose to make their well-being, their healing, and one another a priority.

Together, over these two years, you have helped make possible approximately:

5,111 breather experiences — thousands of moments when someone made the decision to show up for themselves, whether it was their very first journey or their fiftieth.

2,502 hours of breathwork — thousands of hours dedicated to reconnecting with the body, exploring emotions, practicing nervous system regulation, and making space for ourselves in a world that rarely encourages us to slow down.

1,434 complimentary session experiences — opportunities for individuals to receive support, experience community, and explore breathwork without financial barriers standing in the way.

534 classes and workshops — more than a thousand gatherings where strangers became friends, stories were shared, emotions were welcomed, and people were reminded that they didn't have to navigate everything alone.

156 business collaborations — hundreds of opportunities for wellness professionals, small businesses, and community leaders to come together and create something meaningful for the people they serve.

200 gift cards purchased — beautiful reminders that someone experienced something meaningful enough that they wanted to share it with someone they loved.

12 corporate wellness programs — bringing conversations about emotional well-being, burnout, stress, and nervous system health into workplaces where people are so often expected to keep performing without being asked how they are actually doing.

9 intimate private retreats — spaces created for deeper connection, reflection, and personal growth.

4 Reclaim Your Light retreat experiences — opportunities for people to step away from the familiar, reconnect with themselves, and carry their experiences and insights into everyday life.

And a community whose impact has reached across continents, bringing together people from different backgrounds, experiences, and walks of life through one shared human experience: the breath. But here is what we hope you understand when you read those numbers. Those aren't just thousands of people on an attendance sheet. Those are thousands of moments when someone chose themselves. Those aren't just thousands of hours. Those are hours that people gave back to their bodies, their emotional well-being, and their relationship with themselves.

Those complimentary sessions aren't just gifts. They represent people being welcomed into a space where their ability to pay didn't determine whether they deserved support. Those collaborations aren't just partnerships. They are people and businesses choosing community over competition, creating opportunities that none of us could have created alone. And those retreats aren't simply beautiful destinations or stamps in a passport. They represent people willing to step outside their comfort zones, explore their inner worlds, and discover what might be possible when they give themselves the time and space to listen.

Every milestone has a human story behind it. And that story belongs to you. None of this happened because of a logo, a business name, a beautiful venue, or a pair of headphones.

It happened because of you.

THE PART YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE

There is also a side of Breath By Design that most people never see, and we want to share a little of that with you, because it is part of your story too.

Behind every beautifully prepared room, every blanket folded, every mat laid out, every pair of headphones waiting for you, and every little gift bag placed with care, there have been countless hours of work that happen long before the doors open and long after the last person leaves.

There have been late nights washing mountains of blankets, sanitizing mats, cleaning and charging headphones one by one, packing and unpacking equipment, preparing workbooks, organizing supplies, putting together gift bags, answering messages, moving furniture, loading vehicles, unloading vehicles, and making sure every little detail was ready to welcome you.

There have been nights with very little sleep. Days when our bodies were exhausted. Moments when the finances were stretched thin and we wondered how we would make the next experience happen. There have been sacrifices, missed moments of rest, and countless hours poured into things that would never appear on a balance sheet or in a social media highlight reel. And if we could go back and do it all again, knowing everything it would require of us, we would.

Because if all those hours, all those blankets, all those late nights, and all those sacrifices created a space where even one person walked through our doors and felt seen, heard, supported, or a little less alone, it was worth it.

If one person left knowing they mattered, it was worth it.

If one person realized their past did not have to define their future, it was worth it.

If one person went home and held their child a little differently, communicated with their partner a little more gently, set a boundary, asked for help, or gave themselves permission to rest, it was worth it.

If one person who had spent years believing they were too much, not enough, or somehow unworthy of love began questioning that belief, it was worth it.

Because you are worth the effort. You are worth the preparation. You are worth every little detail.

We never wanted you to walk into a room and feel like another ticket sold or another name on a registration list. We wanted you to feel that someone had thought about you before you ever arrived. That your comfort mattered. That your experience mattered. That your story mattered. Even on the days when we were running on very little sleep, we knew that someone might be walking into that room carrying the hardest season of their life. And if we could make that room feel a little softer, a little safer, and a little more welcoming, then every minute of preparation had meaning.

YOUR HEALING DOESN'T END WITH YOU

This is perhaps the most beautiful part of everything we have built together, and something we hope you never forget.

The impact of your decision to show up does not end when your breathwork session ends.

When you begin learning how to respond instead of react, the people around you experience that change. When you begin recognizing your own needs, you create opportunities for healthier relationships. When you give yourself permission to grieve, to rest, to feel, or to ask for support, you show others that they can do the same. When you begin interrupting patterns that have existed in your family for generations, you create the possibility of a different experience for the generations that follow.

The work you do within yourself can become a ripple that reaches your children, your partner, your friendships, your workplace, and people you may never even meet. And those people create ripples of their own. That is how we change the world. Not all at once. Not through one extraordinary moment. But one breath, one person, one choice, and one act of courage at a time.

Think about that for a moment.

Somewhere, someone may be living a little differently because of the work you have chosen to do within yourself. Someone may feel safer expressing their emotions because you have begun making room for yours. Someone may feel less alone because you had the courage to share your story. Someone may finally believe that change is possible because they watched you take your first step.

You may never know how far your ripple travels. But please believe that it matters. And that is why we believe this community is changing the world. Not because we have hosted thousands of experiences. Not because our rooms have grown larger or our events have sold out. Not because of the countries we've visited or the opportunities that have come our way.

But because every person who walks through our doors carries their experiences back into the world. Into their homes. Into their families. Into their relationships. Into their communities. And that is where the real impact begins.

TO THE ONES STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR STORY

For those of you who are still in the middle of it, who haven't had a breakthrough, who still feel overwhelmed, who are grieving, who are exhausted, who have returned to old patterns, or who are wondering why your healing doesn't look like someone else's, we want you to hear this too.

You are just as much a part of this celebration. You do not have to have a beautiful transformation story to belong here. You do not have to be healed, regulated, happy, or thriving to be worthy of celebrating. You don't have to turn your pain into a lesson or find gratitude in something that hurt you. You are allowed to be exactly where you are.

Sometimes the accomplishment is simply making it through another difficult week. Sometimes it is recognizing a pattern you couldn't see before. Sometimes it is asking for help. Sometimes it is resting instead of pushing through. Sometimes it is coming back to yourself after a season of feeling lost.

And sometimes it is simply taking another breath. We celebrate those moments too. Especially those moments. Because the person who is still finding their footing deserves just as much love and recognition as the person who feels like they have found their way. Your worth has never been determined by how far you've come. You mattered before you began this journey. You matter in the middle of it. And you will matter long after it.

TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, THANK YOU.

To everyone who has ever attended a class, joined us online, experienced a private journey, traveled with us on retreat, participated in a workshop, shared our work with a friend, purchased a gift card, collaborated with us, volunteered their time, or simply believed in what we were trying to create, thank you.

To those who have brought friends, partners, parents, children, and loved ones into our community, thank you for extending that invitation. To those who have trusted us enough to return again and again, thank you for continuing to allow us to be part of your journey. To those who have quietly supported us from afar, thank you for being here.

And to the people who have sat with us after a session, tears in their eyes, sharing a piece of their story they had never felt safe enough to tell before, please know that we have never taken those moments lightly.

Your trust is one of the greatest honors of our lives.

As we enter our third year, our vision continues to grow. There are more experiences to create, more communities to reach, more opportunities to make this work accessible, and more beautiful possibilities ahead. But no matter how large Breath By Design becomes, we never want to lose sight of what made it meaningful in the first place.

The person walking through the door.

The person lying on the mat.

The person on the other side of the headphones.

You.

We never want to become so focused on filling rooms that we forget the individual life represented by every space in that room. We never want to become so excited about reaching thousands that we overlook the one person who needed somewhere to feel safe enough to exhale. And we never want to measure our success only by how much we grow, but by how deeply we continue to care for the people who make that growth possible.

Because two years later, the mission remains the same.

To create spaces where you are welcomed as you are. Where your story matters. Where your nervous system is treated with care. Where your humanity comes before your healing journey. Where you never have to earn your place by being further along than you are. And where you are reminded that you deserve to be cared for, too.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for giving Breath By Design its first two years. Thank you for every breath, every tear, every laugh, every hug, every story, every moment of vulnerability, and every act of courage that has filled these spaces.

Thank you for allowing us to witness the beautiful, messy, imperfect, deeply human process of becoming. Thank you for trusting us to walk beside you. Thank you for reminding us that the smallest moments can carry the greatest meaning. And most importantly, thank you for showing up for yourself. We may have created Breath By Design, but you are the ones who brought it to life.

You are the community. You are the ripple. You are the reason. You are the breath in Breath By Design.

And together, one breath at a time, we are creating something that reaches far beyond the walls of any room we will ever gather in.

Happy Two-Year Anniversary to every single one of you.

This celebration belongs to you.

With all our love, gratitude, and the deepest honor,

Dr. Rachel Sims & Lisa Young

Co-Founders, Breath By Design

Two years of breathing together. A lifetime of ripples still unfolding. 🤍