Just Breathe Breathwork · A private studio in the Forest

Restore, or retrain

Two ways to work with your nervous system, in a private studio near Chepstow. One is hands on and deeply restorative. The other is a progressive course of breath work that changes how you breathe day to day.

See the sessions Book a session

Why one to one

Most people who come to me are not falling apart. They are functioning perfectly well, and quietly running on empty.

You know the signs. The shallow breathing you notice at three in the afternoon. Waking at 4am with your jaw tight. Being fine, and fine, and fine, until something small tips you over.

Group sessions are good, and I will keep running them. But there are things the body will only offer up when nobody else is in the room. One to one gives you that. We work at your pace, with your nervous system, on what is actually going on.

Two ways in

Something to receive, or something to learn

Gemma cradling a client's head during a Wave session

Somatic bodywork

The Wave

Something you receive rather than something you do. You lie down fully clothed, warm under a blanket with a bolster under your knees, and I work through the body with slow rocking and gentle pressure through the neck, shoulders, rib cage, hips and belly.

The rocking is steady and continuous, and it speaks to the nervous system in a language older than words. Most people find they have settled long before they decided to.

  • You are wrung out rather than anxious
  • You hold tension you cannot stretch out
  • You want to be met, not coached
  • You need one deep exhale after a long stretch

Nothing to prepare, nothing to learn, nothing to take away and practise. Most people take it as a one off, whenever they need it.

£70
Book The Wave

Or book a block of three, £180

Buying for someone else? Gift a session

The Wave is a somatic method developed by Evangeline Di Michele, which I am certified and insured to practise. It is nervous system settling rather than therapy or treatment for a medical condition.

Gemma talking with a client in the studio

Progressive coaching

One to One Breathwork

This is active work, and it builds session to session. We start by looking at how you are breathing now, including the habits you cannot see, then work through breath based practices that change it.

  • Anxiety and a nervous system stuck on high
  • Disordered or dysfunctional breathing patterns
  • Sleep, and the 4am wake up
  • Breathing for training, performance and recovery
  • Stress that has stopped switching off

You will have practices to do between sessions. That is where most of the change happens, which is why this is best taken as a package.

£75
Book a single session

If you have breathlessness, chest tightness or any symptom you have not had looked at, please see your GP before booking. Breathwork sits alongside medical care, not instead of it.

Packages

Change happens in the repetition

One session will give you relief and a practice to take home. Several will change your baseline. Packages are for the breathwork sessions and can be used at whatever pace suits you.

3

A short arc. Enough to understand your pattern, change it, and have the practice land in daily life.

£200 Book three sessions
6

The deeper piece of work. For anxiety, long held stress, or when you want the change to hold under pressure.

£360 Book six sessions
Hands resting on a client lying on the studio floor

What actually happens

Nothing you need to prepare for

Before

A short form

I will send you a brief health and consent form to complete before you come. It takes two minutes and it means we can start properly rather than filling in paperwork on the mat.

First

We talk

What brought you, what your days look like, what your body has been doing. Nothing you need to have worked out in advance.

Then

You settle

A warm, quiet, softly lit room. Blankets, a bolster under your knees, and you stay fully clothed throughout. I explain exactly what we are going to do and you can change your mind at any point.

The work

The body, or the breath

In The Wave, I work with touch and you receive. In breathwork, I guide and you follow, sometimes active, sometimes very quiet. Either way, consent is asked rather than assumed.

After

You land

Time to come back slowly, water or tea, and, in the breathwork sessions, a practice to take with you. I will follow up a few days later to see how you are getting on.

Who you will be with

Gemma Kelly

I came to this work through my own nervous system, not through a textbook. Six years ago I left a career as an event director in London, running on adrenaline and calling it ambition. Breathwork was the thing that finally got underneath it.

I now work with people who are capable, busy and doing everything, and slowly disappearing inside it. My job is not to hand you another thing to do. It is to give you somewhere to put it all down.

Gemma working with a client
  • 1,000 hours of breathwork training
  • Trauma informed facilitation
  • Certified practitioner of The Wave, trained with Evangeline Di Michele
  • Advanced personal trainer, pre and postnatal specialist
  • Nutrition coach and Pilates teacher
  • Six years in practice

Before you book

Questions people usually have

I have never done breathwork before. Is that a problem?

Not at all. Most people arrive having done nothing more than breathe. You do not need to be good at it, flexible, calm, or spiritual. You need to be willing to lie down and give it a go.

Which one should I choose?

If you are wrung out and want rest, choose The Wave. If there is something specific you want to change, such as anxiety or how you breathe day to day, choose the breathwork. If you are unsure, email me and tell me what is going on. I will tell you honestly which one fits, even if that is neither.

What if I get emotional?

Then you do, and it is welcome. Emotion moving is often the point rather than a mishap. Nothing that happens in the room will faze me, and none of it leaves the room.

What should I wear and bring?

Comfortable layers you can lie down in. You stay fully clothed. Bring water and, if you can, leave yourself a little time afterwards rather than running straight into a meeting.

Is there anyone The Wave is not suitable for?

I cannot work with recent surgery or open wounds, acute infection or inflammation, undiagnosed lumps, active cancer without medical guidance, blood clots or DVT, or anyone in acute psychological crisis. Please also tell me about pregnancy, recent fractures or joint replacements, cardiovascular conditions, fibromyalgia, recent bereavement, or medication that affects sensation, so I can adapt the session for you.

Is there anyone breathwork is not suitable for?

Some breathing practices are not appropriate during pregnancy, or with epilepsy, uncontrolled high blood pressure, cardiovascular conditions, glaucoma, or a history of psychosis. Tell me when you book and we will adapt the session. If you have symptoms that have not been medically checked, see your GP first.

Where is the studio?

The studio is a few minutes from Chepstow, and I will send you the address and directions when you book. I mostly work in the daytime at the moment, which many people find is actually the better hour to take for themselves. Evening slots are limited, so do ask if that is what you need.

What if I need to cancel?

Please give me 24 hours and we will move it, no charge. Less than that and I will need to charge for the session, as the space is held for you. Life happens though, so talk to me.

The studio, with a futon on the floor and doors open onto the grass

The room

Somewhere quiet, with nothing asked of you

A futon on the floor, blankets, a bolster, low lamp light, and doors that open onto grass and trees. Most people notice the quiet first.

Nothing clinical, nothing to perform. Somewhere you can arrive, lie down, and stop.

Booking is open

Somewhere to put it all down

Sessions are running now, in a quiet studio near Chepstow. If you are not sure which one is right, just ask.

Book a session Book a free 20 minute call

Gift vouchers

An hour of rest, for someone who will not book it themselves

We all know someone who is holding a great deal and quietly getting on with it. A Wave voucher gives them a warm, quiet room, an hour where nothing is asked of them, and permission to put it down for a while.

It arrives by email, so it works even when you have left it late, and they book a time that suits them.

Buy a gift voucher

Birthdays, Christmas, a thank you, or someone going through it. If you would like it to arrive on a particular day, email me and I will send it then.