128: From Self-Punishment to Self-Compassion

<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Getting sober, changing a behavior, or understanding your patterns doesn’t always mean you’ve healed from what’s underneath them.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In this episode, I'm joined by Leif Bjelland, longtime recovery advocate and founder of Heroic Breath, to explore the difference between taking responsibility for your past and continuing to punish yourself for it. Leif shares how his own recovery from alcoholism eventually led him beyond sobriety and into meditation, breathwork, and a deeper understanding of self-compassion.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Leif and I discuss the shame and repetitive thought patterns that can keep us stuck, why we often turn to busyness or other forms of escape to avoid what we’re feeling, and how embodied practices can help us move beyond simply understanding our patterns. This episode is an invitation to stop using your past against yourself and begin experiencing compassion, forgiveness, and healing in a new way.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">What You'll Learn</strong></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Why stopping a behavior and truly healing are not always the same thing</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">The difference between taking responsibility and continuing to punish yourself</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">How shame, repetitive thoughts, and escapism can keep old patterns alive</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Why intellectual understanding alone may not be enough to create lasting change</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">How meditation and breathwork can help you reconnect with your body and quiet the thinking mind</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">What it means to experience self-compassion instead of simply understanding the concept</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">About Leif Bjelland</strong></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Leif Bjelland is an entrepreneur, longtime recovery advocate, breathwork facilitator, and founder of Heroic Breath. More than 10 years into his own sobriety journey, Leif draws