By Rachel Hupp Cline | March 24, 2026

Welcome to Radiantly Rooted. I’m excited because I’ve got a very special guest with me today: Tabatha DeBruyn.

Tabatha DeBruyn is a Transformational Breath Master trained in the neuroscience and energetics of breath to facilitate profound inner change. One of only a few certified 9D Somatic Breathwork Practitioners worldwide, Tabatha helps people improve, stabilize, and optimize their mental, physical, and emotional well-being starting with one breath — guiding thousands through deeply immersive journeys that awaken, heal, and transform.

She began her career as a high school teacher, where she loved empowering students to grow in confidence and step into their potential. While teaching, she entered the health and wellness space to create financial flexibility for her family and discovered a deep passion for entrepreneurship, impact, and freedom, which led her to mentor startup entrepreneurs. As she worked with high performers, she saw how limiting beliefs and self-sabotaging patterns held people back, prompting her to study metaphysical psychology and become a certified Rapid Transformational Hypnotherapist to work directly with the subconscious mind. After caring for her mother and experiencing her own struggles with functional depression and panic attacks, she found profound healing through breathwork. Today, as one of the few certified 9D breathwork practitioners worldwide, Tabatha integrates breathwork, neuroscience, sound, and hypnotic techniques to help people release what no longer serves them and step into aligned, regulated, and fulfilling lives.

Tabatha’s mission is a mindful approach to help people stop living in burnout loops and start living in brilliance. Through transformational breathwork and somatic awareness, she empowers others to regulate their nervous system, release emotional blocks, and reclaim their energy, clarity, and joy — one conscious breath at a time.

She’s deeply passionate about empowering people to develop a genuine sense of self-love, inner safety, and personal agency — to feel at home in their bodies, clear in their minds, and confident in their worth. Her work is centered on helping people move out of fear, anxiety, depression, and disconnection, and into a life grounded in vitality, presence, and possibility. She believes that when people learn to regulate their nervous systems and reconnect with themselves, they naturally recognize that they are capable, deserving, and worthy of a life they truly love.

You can watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify, or keep reading below.

Listen on Spotify: Transform Your Life One Breath at a Time

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Speaker names are color-coded for easy reading.

What Is 9D Breathwork?

Rachel: So, Tabatha, it sounds like you have had a very rich life. Tell us a little bit more about this 9D breathwork.

Tabatha: It’s really been a windy journey, but a very aligned one. There was always a need, and when I found a need, I would open the door and get really curious. But after my mom passed, I was a transformational coach and had been for many years, so I was able to support others.

Tabatha: But in the privacy of my own thoughts when I was all by myself and no one needed anything, I was finding myself with my hands going numb, panic attacks, insomnia, and real frustration and embarrassment because I thought: I’m supposed to know how to be able to solve these problems, how to be able to grow beyond them.

Tabatha: And that’s when I believe when the student is ready, the teacher comes. And I met Brian Kelly online, and Brian Kelly is the founder of 9D Breathwork. He takes conscious, connected, active breathing to change the state in the body and the state in the mind, and then adds a soundscape with music that evokes emotion, guided coaching with neurolinguistic programming (so really powerful language, asking my subconscious questions), binaural beats that put the brain at ease and the body in a safe place, particular frequencies. In music, a lot of times we use 432 hertz.

Tabatha: So without actively working at it, my body was starting to feel safe and my mind was starting to open, and I was able to unearth subconscious beliefs and subconscious understanding. I was angry. I was disappointed. I was sad, I was frustrated. I had resentment, but none of it was I aware of. I just had it all kind of buried in there.

Tabatha: And through the wisdom of the body and active breath, my body released these tensions, these frustrations, and I really felt an incredible sense of peace on the other side of that somatic breathwork journey and a new understanding that everything had unfolded perfectly for me and it was okay to feel this way, but I didn’t have to hold it in any longer, and I didn’t have to have it be a negative. I was able to learn from it, grow from it, and move beyond and optimize from it.

Tabatha: And after having one experience, 90 minutes later, feeling so incredibly empowered and calm, I thought: this is exactly what my transformational coaching needs is a through line to help people go to that next level of living in joy, empowerment, and optimization.

Rachel: That sounds so powerful and I can relate to a lot of what you said because when my own mother passed away a few years ago, I found myself in this place where I was experiencing all of these feelings. And society teaches us to push them down, not to let them out, not to share them that they’re bad, but my history in yoga and mindfulness taught me that all feelings are feelings. They’re all meant for us to explore. They’re not positive or negative, but they’re all just part of this rich human experience.

Rachel: And so I turned to my breathwork, I turned to my yoga practices to allow me to sit with those feelings and be with them and let me process them and wash through them. But it sounds like if I had had some of the tools that you offer to not only yourself but your clients, that it may have been a much more peaceful process, maybe a more holistic process.

Tabatha: I find I am a big fan of all different modalities for different people at different times, but I find conscious connected active breathwork, especially with the 9D soundscape, can really shorten the learning curve. Those feelings that I just didn’t even know, I couldn’t even acknowledge because I wasn’t aware of them, came to the surface, came and saw the light, so I was able to let go of what no longer served me and move forward much quicker.

Tabatha: Some people say it’s like 10 years of therapy in one session because so much comes up. Then it actually moves out of the body. And then because we work with reprogramming the subconscious mind in a more positive way to be able to have these new belief systems anchored in, then people on the other side not only feel better, they’re stabilized, then there’s hope and there’s clarity to optimize very quickly.

90% of People Live in Chronic Fight or Flight

Rachel: That sounds so powerful. So can you tell us a little bit more about this somatic breathwork, the 9D breathwork and how it helps you, and not only you, but as you’ve touched on, your clients as well, to shift from something that you’re exploring to something that actually truly changes you?

Tabatha: So first I’d love to just teach a little bit of downregulation. And it’s interesting because both of us are aware of our breath, and before the recording, both of us took a deep breath in through the nose and we’re breathing longer on the exhale because we really wanted to come in and express from an aligned state and not be nervous.

Tabatha: And at the same time, I think we both really want to make sure we’re conveying accuracy and passionately. So there’s a bit of pressure that one can feel. So most people live 90% of their days in chronic fight, flight, or freeze in the sympathetic nervous system.

Tabatha: And they do that by breathing really short, in and out through the mouth, as opposed to in through the nose, deep into the belly, and having a longer exhale out through the mouth on the exhale.

Three Powerful Breath Techniques You Can Use Right Now

Technique #1: The Downregulation Breath

Tabatha: So if we could all, it doesn’t matter if you’re driving, if you’re multitasking, you can do this and be very, very safe. On the count of three, if we could all take a deep breath in through the nose and push it into the belly like you’re inflating a balloon, and then you’re going to breathe out through pursed lips, and you’re going to breathe longer on the exhale. And I just want you to notice what you feel.

Tabatha: In 3, 2, 1: Take a deep breath in through the nose and inflate that belly and then breathe out through pursed lips like you’re breathing through a straw, longer on the exhale.

Tabatha: That one breath pattern brought the heart rate down, brought the blood pressure down, and what I find fascinating is it also brought more blood flow to the prefrontal cortex to your brain, so you can think better as well.

Technique #2: The Energizing Breath

Tabatha: Sometimes we will actively breathe that’s longer on the inhale and shorter on the exhale. And if we do that now, I wouldn’t recommend one do this if they’re driving or if you’ve got to concentrate fully. But if you breathe in through your mouth really, really deep, lots of oxygen coming in into the belly, and then you take another sip of air into the chest, we’ve made that inhale really long, and then you relax and let go. You don’t even think about the exhale.

Tabatha: Into the belly, into the chest, relax and let go. If you just do five of those breaths, it can actually be better and more energizing than a cup of coffee. You’ve got heat going on in the body, we’re immediately changing the state, but you also probably felt a little bit lightheaded, and that’s intentional.

Tabatha: That’s because we took the blood flow away from the brain and put it into the muscles in the body so that you can go and get things done. You can be really creative. You can be more in that masculine energy and complete those tasks that you’ve put out. Even if you feel a little bit lethargic, not really highly motivated, try five of those deep breaths in longer on the inhale, short on the exhale.

Technique #3: The Physiological Sigh

Tabatha: I will teach one more because scientifically the physiological sigh is the fastest way to change the state and regulate the body. So if you’re ever in a situation where anxiety is coming up, cortisol is coming up and the adrenaline is coming up in the body, you can feel it. Just take a deep breath in through the nose, into the belly, about 60%, and then take another sniff of air into the chest. Relax and let go.

Tabatha: If you can audibly sigh, “ah,” we can’t always do that if we’re in a conversation with somebody, but that audible sigh causes a vibration in the body that stimulates the vagus nerve. Vagus nerve is the largest nerve. It goes from the brain to every organ in the body, and it shows the body and it signals the body to feel safe. And when you feel safe, other people feel safe around you as well.

Rachel: That is such a powerful, again, another powerful way to use the breath. And I don’t know if the listeners are experiencing the same thing, but just during this conversation I found myself breathing more mindfully, more deeply into my belly, than I might normally. And so just like you said, having that awareness, knowing of how powerful the breath is, and when you’re consciously aware of that, you can make the subtle shifts. You can make the changes.

Rachel: And I like what you said about pausing after listening to what somebody has said, to really let it kind of resonate. I teach the power of the pause a lot, and it’s really about coming back to the breath, giving yourself a moment to respond mindfully and with intention rather than just reacting on autopilot. And it sounds like the breath is really a powerful tool for that as well.

Tabatha: For sure. Yeah. It can be a real difference maker in any area of your life.

What Shifts First When You Start Working with Breath?

Rachel: So what do you notice shifts first for people when they do begin working with breath more regularly?

Tabatha: I find people are more hopeful, and that sounds a little optimistic, I think, but when people feel safe in the body and they have clarity in the mind, and when you feel that way, more often than not, you start to realize: Wait a minute, I actually have control in my life. I can decide how to feel, how to react or how to respond as opposed to react, no matter what happens around me.

Tabatha: And because we work with so many of the positive affirmations within the subconscious and the conscious mind, they feel safe in the body, the mind has more clarity, and then the thoughts are programmed in a more positive, empowering way as opposed to the negative bias that so many of us have been stuck in.

Tabatha: Then when they feel more hopeful, they’ve got clarity. They also are more energized because the body hasn’t been under the stress and the tension for as long. Then they can execute on some of these things that make them feel so proud of themselves. They start to feel more productive. And when you are aligned and feel safe and energized and calm and taking those right next action steps, well the results start to happen.

Tabatha: I’ve had people say in one or two sessions, “It’s like magic. My whole life has changed.” Your body feels safe and your mind has more clarity and more positivity in it, and therefore the results are coming out. It’s not magic, it’s neuroscience.

The TAB Method: Transform, Align, Breathe

Rachel: So I wanted to talk to you a little bit about you mentioned your TAB method: Transform, Align, Breathe. And I wanted to see if you’d like to touch on that a bit for us.

Tabatha: As a transformational coach, people understand in the beta brain, in their conscious brain: This is what I feel. This is where I’m at. I feel stuck. I don’t want to be there anymore. And we’re in that negative bias. That’s all they’ve felt. They don’t know how to get out of it, and that’s okay. That’s why they get the support.

Tabatha: And then when they get to the point, “This is what I want to feel,” then I can show them how to be able to do that through the breath. So transform, align with, you know, you’re worthy. You’re worthy and capable of living this life you really love. And then we’re going to take you to the breath to change the state, change the psychology, reprogram the subconscious mind so you know you can do it. And that’s true transformation. And then it loops around back into the next level of transformation.

Breaking Burnout Loops with the Reticular Activating System

Rachel: So you mentioned that you help people stop living in burnout loops, and it sounds like your TAB method helps with that. Would you like to touch on that a little bit?

Tabatha: Burnout loops. We have to do a pattern interrupt and first of all, this is what I’d say if any of this is resonating with any of your listeners. If they go to my website, Tabatha.online (Tabatha is all A: T-A-B-A-T-H-A.online), I do a 30-minute complimentary discovery call.

Tabatha: And the reason I say that is: take that first step. Then trust that I’m going to ask the questions. You don’t need to know what to ask. I’ll ask the questions. We will figure it out. I’m going to give you some tools to take right then and there because a breath you have with you at all times. It’s absolutely free. And very quickly we can start to change the state so you can start to feel that hope.

Tabatha: But the pattern interrupt is: one, I don’t have to do this by myself. Two, reach out, take that action. It costs you nothing. A little bit of courage, but I’ve got you. I think both of us, I can feel the energy, really care about the people you work with. We fiercely got your back. We are not here to convince you of something that doesn’t feel aligned.

The Red and Blue Exercise

Tabatha: Then that pattern interrupt, we’re going to give you something that’s going to change the state in the body, the mind, and then we’re going to really help you know, not from a Pollyanna point of view, like know that it can be different. This is not toxic positivity, but it is neuroscience. And both of us work with the reticular activating system in the brain, that filter in the brain.

Tabatha: And if I could do a little experiment with your listeners to really understand that words that you say over and over again cast spells over your life, which sounds funny, but the reality is there’s a filter in the brain that puts anything that’s not important into the subconscious mind unless we are repressing it intentionally. But everything that is important goes into the conscious mind.

Tabatha: So if you’ll just play, if you’ll take a look around your room. I want you, if you’re not driving, but if you’re just looking around your room and I want you to find and count up as many red things as you can find. Just look for red. Anything that’s red, red is really important. Like anything, the family of red, you’re counting up all the red items. Anything at all.

Rachel: I found 10.

Tabatha: Perfect. Can I get you to close your eyes? Obviously, if this is a safe place to do it, how many blue things can you recall?

Rachel: That is trickier for me. Three that come to mind off the top of my head.

Tabatha: You can open your eyes, take a look around and see how many blue things there are. My guess is there’s a lot more than three.

Rachel: Yes.

Tabatha: And that’s because what I did was I programmed the reticular activating system in the body. At any given moment, there are millions of bits of information coming in to us as humans. We would go crazy just trying to decipher all of them and retain them all. So that filter in the brain called your reticular activating system has said: red is important, red is important, red is important, red is important. Everything else, we’re just going to put that into the subconscious mind.

Tabatha: Even though you were looking around, your eyes were still focused all the time, you didn’t retain that information. But because with emphasis, importance, with emotion and repetition, I told you red was important. So your body then locked that in and all day long you will notice more red things than you ever have.

Tabatha: Now what happens is we prime our bodies, or society through pain points selling different things, that negative bias is there for us all day long. We’re primed in the negativity. So that’s what’s programmed right now in your reticular activating system. If you feel stuck, if you feel broke, if you feel sick, if you feel you’ve not got any energy, you don’t do anything right, these are the words, even if they’re not out loud, the thoughts that are programming that reticular activating system.

Tabatha: So all day long your brain is seeing all of these things. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and proving to you that you are correct. So when you change the state in the body, we start to change the psychology and program your brain with the positive things you want to see, the opportunities you want to be aware of. Then your reticular activating system goes out and proves all day long those things are actually all over the place. They’re right there for you to grab.

Rachel: Yes, yes. And thank you for sharing such a powerful example. It reminds me of when I was in the market for a new car and I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted to see, even though I’d really never noticed that type of car around that much before, all of a sudden I was like: oh my goodness, everybody’s driving this car! It’s not like everybody all of a sudden started driving those cars. It’s just that, like you said, my conscious mind was more aware of them, and so I was actually noticing them more, whereas before they had been in my subconscious. So I think that’s a really powerful exercise you shared with us.

You Are Worthy of Living a Life You Love

Rachel: And that is exactly the message that I love sharing here on Radiantly Rooted. And I love how passionate you are about empowering people to develop that sense of self-worth and inner safety and, like you said, personal agency so that they can feel at home in their bodies, clear in their minds, confident in their worth. And you just dropped a lot of really good insights for our listeners, but as we prepare to wrap up, is there anything on your heart that you would like to leave our listeners with as kind of a final thought?

Tabatha: I touched on it before, but this is a nice way to repeat it and program that reticular activating system: You are worthy of living a life you love, of living in a body that feels safe and a mind that is positive, and you have the ability to optimize and choose and create a life that brings you great joy.

Rachel: I love that. I love that, and it’s something that I feel like we can never hear too often. And so all of our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in today. I’ll encourage you to visit Tabatha’s website at Tabatha.online, and I will include some other links in the show notes for you to be able to connect with Tabatha in different ways and also connect with her social links. So be sure to check her out and take advantage of one of those free discovery calls if you feel inspired.

Rachel: And Tabatha, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom, for sharing such powerful ways to self-regulate, co-regulate, and actionable strategies that we can employ in our day-to-day life, even right now today.

Tabatha: Thank you so much for having me. It’s been a really beautiful, authentic discussion.

Connect with Tabatha DeBruyn

Through her signature TAB Method — Transform, Align, Breathe — Tabatha’s work fuses neuroscience, energetics, and emotional mastery. She helps individuals reprogram the subconscious mind, regulate the nervous system, and reignite the confidence and clarity needed to create lasting transformation in every area of life — from health and relationships to leadership and purpose.

Participants from all walks of life — high-achieving professionals, caregivers, athletes, and creatives — come to her for support with stress, untapped emotions, burnout, grief, addiction recovery, or simply the desire to live with more peace, purpose, and flow.

Ready to transform your life one breath at a time? Book a free 30-minute discovery call with Tabatha:

Website: https://www.tabatha.online

Instagram (Personal): @tabatha_debruyn

Instagram (TAB Collective): @tabcollective

Facebook: Tabatha DeBruyn

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