Ashley Roberts
Ashley Roberts is best known as a member of the global pop group The Pussycat Dolls, but beyond the stage, she has become a passionate advocate for breathwork and emotional wellbei...
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Who are you?
Hi, my name is Ashley Roberts. You probably know me as a pussycat doll. I currently host Heart Breakfast Morning Radio 6:30 AM to 10:00 AM Alive. Good morning. Also, you may know me from different TV shows. Hung out with Ann Deck for a little while, ate some bugs in the jungle. I enjoy hanging out by the beach and the sunshine breath work. Of course, what I'm here to talk about today and what else do I like to do? I enjoy a good cartwheel every now and then.
How did you first discover breathwork, and what made it resonate with you?
I love this question. How did I discover breathwork? I discovered breathwork by signing up to this retreat in Bali. I was living in Notting Hill, feeling just a bit low, a bit down in the dumps, didn't really know where life was going, and I just was looking for something, searching for an adventure, and found this retreat in Bali. So I flew out there by myself and I knew there was going to be different people speaking and giving tools for life, but I didn't know we were going to be doing breath work. So it was also 12 days, no cell phone, complete digital detox, which again, was interesting, right? We don't realise how addicted we are to these devices that we have. And then I realised, as I said, in between different speaking conversations, we're going to be doing this stuff called Kundalini breath work. And I was like, okay, cool. I am on board. I mean, I like yoga also. I'm just down to try anything that would help me. And I remember after the first class sitting there and just connecting to myself actually does make me emotional because I was just the most relaxed that I had felt. I mean, I couldn't even remember the last time that I felt that relaxed and I wanted to know more. I just got intrigued by the feeling of, my friends always ask me, how does breathwork feel? Why do you do this stuff? And I'm like, I feel like my monkey mind that is always going a thousand miles an hour for just a bit calms down, right? It's like the chaotic thoughts, the patterns that our brain tends to go into. And then I come back here, I come back into my heart, into myself. I'm like, oh, there I am. I feel more peaceful. I feel more calm. I feel more joy. I feel more creativity. I feel like, yes, I can do this. I can handle this thing called life. And then I was kind of hooked. I was doing it just kind of sporadically. I came back to the states after that and I was like, I'm just going to look up breath work class Kundalini classes. Where can I go? And then I discovered through doing some blood work that my system and the way that it is programmed within my body, my DNA is a little wonky with my serotonin levels and stuff. And the doctor was like, I really recommend doing breath work. I was like, Ooh, cool. Love it. And then I dedicated every single week for years showing up to class, and then I just became obash. Just something that helps me. It makes me feel again to repeat. It makes me feel like I can handle life sometimes. She crazy. She chaotic at times.
What impact has breathwork had on your ability to manage your mental health?
Breath work has had a huge impact on me handling my mental health. I mean, I think a great example is the people I have around me because they know me the best and they're a small group of people, but the feedback I've gotten from them is that they've seen a shift. I feel it within myself, but when you're outside circle and you're chosen family, it's like, wow, I've noticed a difference on how you handle things. My bounce back, I like to call it, where maybe I get off kilter and I go down a wormhole of thoughts that are not positive or I feel anxiety and stress. My bounce back to feeling centred and stronger is quicker than it used to be, and I know it's because I'm showing up and doing these practises and these exercises because it's like anything, right? You can't expect to go to the gym and do a lunge and have the quads that you're like, Ooh, those are the ones I want. That's not going to happen. The more and more I do these practises, or the more and more you show up for yourself and the body starts to understand that it can be calm and safe and the mind relaxes a bit. The more you do that, then the more the body can go back to that state and then the foundation that you have to handle whatever's going on in life is much stronger. So yeah, big impact. I mean, listen, I am in no way sitting here being like, I'm cured. Everything's fine. I'm great. That's not it. You're always going to be triggered. Things are always going to happen. Life's going to get tough. The news is outrageous, and so having these tools to help you feel like you can get back to centre quicker, it's the golden tickets, the nuggets of life. I'm very passionate about this stuff. It's helped me a lot.