Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Oakes.
Hi Ashley, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a small town, and some of my earliest teachers weren’t people, they were horses, animals, and the land around me. I spent years riding and competing in horse shows, and looking back, I think that’s where I first learned to pay attention to things you can’t always put into words. You learn very quickly with a horse that you can say you’re calm, but your body tells the truth. They feel your tension, your fear, your confidence, and your presence before you ever ask them to do anything.
I didn’t have words like “nervous system regulation” or “somatic awareness” for that back then. I just knew that our bodies were communicating all the time.
Eventually, I went into healthcare, where I’ve now spent more than a decade. I’ve worked alongside incredibly skilled people and seen what modern medicine can do for the physical body. But over the years, I also became increasingly aware of what was often missing from the conversation. We could treat the body, but what about the grief someone was carrying? The chronic stress? The fear? The loss of connection to themselves, their purpose, or God?
That question became personal for me after losing my dog. The grief hit me much harder than I expected, and during that period I developed asthma. It was one of the first times I really understood that what we experience emotionally doesn’t always stay neatly contained in our minds. Our bodies are part of the story, too.
Breathwork became a major part of how I moved through that grief. It gave me a place to actually feel what I had been carrying instead of constantly trying to think my way through it. Over time, as I grieved and worked with my body, the asthma resolved as well. I would never claim that breathwork is a replacement for medical care or that every physical symptom has an emotional cause, but that experience fundamentally changed the way I understood my own health.
It made me curious.
That curiosity eventually became years of studying and working with breathwork, meditation, sound, functional breathing, nervous-system regulation and other mind-body practices. I’ve now had the privilege of guiding more than 1,000 people through somatic work, from people taking their very first conscious breathwork class to those doing much deeper personal work.
And somewhere along the way, my work became less about “breathwork” and more about helping people come home to themselves.
I’m especially interested in that place where the physical, emotional and spiritual meet. I believe we can take science seriously without removing the sacred from the human experience. I also believe healing should eventually give us more freedom not make us afraid of every emotion, dependent on another healer, or convinced that we are endlessly broken and need fixing.
Today, my work is really an extension of everything that has shaped me. Working with groups, cooperations, and 1 on 1 private sessions, I share peace through breathwork, movement, meditation, and nervous-system practices. While creating spaces where people can reconnect with their bodies, move through what they’ve been carrying, and discover just how much healing, wisdom, and connection already exists within them.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely has not been easy and honestly, I think the struggles are a big part of why I do this work the way I do today.
For a long time, I was very good at pushing through. I worked in healthcare, stayed busy, exercised, and did all the things we’re told healthy people are supposed to do. But I eventually learned that functioning well and actually feeling well are two very different things.
Grief became one of my greatest teachers. After losing my dog, I developed asthma, and that experience completely changed my relationship with my body. It showed me how much we can carry physically when we don’t have a place for what we’re feeling, and ultimately led me deeper into breathwork and somatic healing.
I’ve also had to find my own voice in the wellness world. The deeper I went, the more I realized I didn’t agree with everything being taught. I don’t believe every uncomfortable emotion needs to be “healed,” or that we should spend our lives endlessly searching for what’s wrong with us. Learning to trust my own discernment has become a huge part of both my personal life and my work.
And of course, there’s the very real challenge of building something of my own while still working in healthcare. There have been plenty of moments of uncertainty, but that’s also what keeps my work honest. I’m not teaching from a place of having life completely figured out I’m teaching what I’ve had to practice myself.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My practice is centered around helping people reconnect with the wisdom of their own bodies. I specialize in breathwork, nervous-system regulation, meditation, movement, sound, and somatic practices, with everything from gentle restorative experiences to deeper holotropic-style breathwork journeys.
What I think sets my work apart is the way I bridge science, spirituality, and real life. I love understanding the physiology of breathing and the nervous system, but I also believe there are parts of the human experience that can’t always be measured or explained. I create space for both.
I’m also very intentional about not positioning myself as someone who has the answers for another person. My goal is actually the opposite. I want people to become more connected to themselves, more confident in what their body is communicating, and less dependent on someone outside of themselves to tell them what they need. I always say, “I can hold the door open for you, but whether you walk through it is your choice.”
I’m probably best known for creating experiences that make deeper inner work feel approachable. You don’t need to be spiritual, flexible, experienced with meditation, or even “good” at slowing down to come to one of my classes. People show up exactly as they are.
What I’m most proud of is the community that has grown around this work. I’ve now guided more than 1,000 people through somatic practices, and I’ve watched people walk into a room as strangers and leave feeling lighter, more connected, and often surprised by what their own body was capable of showing them.
And while I believe deeply in self-trust, I also believe in the power of being witnessed. There is something profoundly human about having someone sit beside you while you move through the things that are hard to hold alone. I’m not here to heal you or tell you who to become. I’m here to create the space, hold the door open, and walk beside you while you remember what has been within you all along.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
What has worked for me is building genuine relationships and being curious about what other people are creating. Some of my best opportunities have come from simply reaching out to someone whose work I respect, attending their class or event, asking questions, or suggesting a collaboration. People can feel the difference between someone who genuinely wants to connect and someone who is only thinking about what they can get from the relationship.
When it comes to mentors, I also don’t think you need to find one person who has all the answers. I’ve learned from teachers, colleagues, other facilitators, healthcare professionals, clients, friends, and people doing things completely differently than I am.
My biggest advice would be to put yourself in rooms with people who inspire you, stay curious, and don’t be afraid to be the person who reaches out first. Community has opened far more doors for me than trying to build everything alone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.quantumsolbreathwork.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breathe.with.ashley?igsh=bTZ6NnVpYXU2MzZo
- Other: https://insig.ht/1uJaJnf1nYb – insight timer
Image Credits
Personal Photo- credits to Melissa Robin
