Burned Out But Still Performing? Breathwork Changed Everything | Izabella Soko | TEDxPraça Gil Eanes

NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk as a substitute for mental health advice. This talk only represents the speaker's personal views and understanding of breathwork, the nervous system, and the body. Several claims lack scientific support. We've flagged this talk because it falls outside the content guidelines TED gives TEDx organizers. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

What if your success is coming at the cost of your nervous system?

In this powerful and deeply personal TEDx talk, Izabella Soko, a certified breathwork facilitator and trauma-informed executive coach, shares the moment a panic attack on the streets of Toronto changed her life, and how breathwork helped her reclaim it.

If you’re a high achiever who feels disconnected, anxious, or stuck despite your accomplishments, this talk is for you. Izabella reveals how chronic stress and emotional shutdown often go unnoticed in successful people, and how the breath holds the key to healing. Drawing from neuroscience, somatic tools, and her own story, she explains why real power begins with nervous system regulation.

This isn’t just about managing stress, it’s about finally feeling safe enough to thrive. Izabella Soko is a TEDx speaker, certified breathwork facilitator, and executive coach who helps leaders, high achievers, and burned-out professionals build resilience, expand their capacity, and live from deep alignment. A former corporate high-performer turned trauma-informed coach, she has spent the last eight years studying the nervous system, stress recovery, and the science of breath with doctors, yogis, and scientists worldwide.
Izabella’s work bridges neuroscience and mysticism, blending ancient practices with modern performance psychology. She is on a mission to make nervous system literacy as mainstream as mental health. Her message is simple but radical: real change begins with your next breath. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx