These days we are all feeling the pressures and stresses of life more acutely. Who isn’t sometimes feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by life? 

If you want to learn simple techniques for reducing feelings of stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, Summer Breathe is the perfect class for you!

In Summer Breathe you will be guided through mindful breathing practices that will equip you to better manage feelings of stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and exhaustion. Through our exploration of mindful breathing you will: 

• Develop greater awareness of your breath and its relationship with your nervous system state

• Improve your ability to consciously control your breathing

• Learn and apply mindful breathing techniques that calm the mind, relax the body and connect you more deeply to yourself

Mindful breathing won’t change your external environment. It doesn’t eliminate stressors. But mindful breathing helps us create space. In the space you can create with your breath, you give yourself the power to choose your response to the external stressors. In Summer Breathe we are going to explore tools to create this space, giving you the ability to change your relationship with stress through the power of the breath.

"The breath is the remote control to the brain and you can take control of your mind at any time by taking control of your breath.”

Summer Breathe at Motivo LA is led by Matt Nichols, an LA-based coach with more than a decade of experience working with elite athletes, first responders and artists and creative professionals in film, music and dance. Matt’s coaching focuses on integrating high-performance physical training with essential wellness practices to create resilient humans who achieve and sustain peak performance without sacrificing well-being. 

Since 2021, Matt has been the strength & conditioning coach of the USA Artistic Swimming National Team - Silver Medalists in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Many of the breathing techniques that will be taught in the Summer Breathe series are techniques he has used with great success with Team USA.

Post-Covid, Matt has worked closely with the Santa Monica Police Department to introduce mobility and breathwork practices to help police officers manage fatigue and pain from repetitive use injuries and to provide officers with real-time tools for managing stress and making better decisions under stress.

Among many qualifications and certifications, Matt is an Extreme Performance Training (XPT) Master Coach, an Oxygen Advantage Advanced Instructor, and CrossFit Level 3 trainer. For more than 8 years, Matt has helped his clients explore and integrate breathwork and mindfulness practices as part of their high-performance lifestyles.