Danika MichellE

YOGA THERAPIST (C-IAYT)
PSYCHOSOMATIC THERAPIST
BUTEYKO BREATHING PRACTITIONER (C-BBM)

Discover relief and healing through the power of mind-body medicine with Danika.
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Are you struggling with anxiety, asthma, insomnia, breathlessness or chronic health issues? You’re not alone - Danika, the founder of Breathing to Heal, has been there too.

​​As an internationally certified yoga therapist, Buteyko breathing instructor, and trauma informed - psychosomatic therapist, Danika not only has the credentials but also personal experience with these challenges.
Having battled lifelong chronic asthma, Danika has transformed her health through the same techniques she now shares with her clients.

Understanding firsthand how hormone imbalances, stress, and dysfunctional breathing patterns can impact wellbeing, Danika has found healing and calm. Now free from chronic asthma, she blends her lived experience with expert knowledge to offer personalised support for those seeking relief.

With nearly 20 years of experience, Danika combines her background in yoga therapy, breathwork, psychology, and psychosomatic therapy to deliver individualised solutions. In addition to her work with breath and yoga therapy, she uses psychosomatic techniques to help clients release stored emotions and traumas held in the body, as well as correcting postural imbalances. This therapy identifies physical, mental and emotional imbalances and guides clients back to alignment, where health and happiness thrive.

Danika tailors each session to meet the specific needs of her clients. Her compassionate and intuitive approach sets her apart, meeting clients where they are in each session, bringing them back into balance while keeping long-term goals in focus.

Danika’s work is grounded in both intuition and evidence. Undergoing continuing education and as an avid reader of research in respiratory health, epigenetics, yoga therapy, psychology, nutrition, and manual therapy, she ensures her programs incorporate the latest evidence-based techniques. This unique combination of training, strong intuition, and scientific rigour helps her offer a truly holistic approach to health.

Driven by a deep reverence for all living beings and a commitment to kindness and healing, Danika’s life is dedicated to helping others find balance and peace. With her unique combination of personal experience, education, and heart-centred care, you can trust that you're in safe hands.

Experience a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life with Danika’s individualised approach to breath and mind-body healing. Contact us now to book a session.

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Dr. Christian Thoma
​(BSc, MSc, PhD, ACSM-Certified Clinical Exercise PHYSIOLOGIST)

Christian is a nutritionist, clinical exercise physiologist, and senior lecturer with an enduring fascination for how diet, physical activity, sleep, staying in tune with nature’s rhythms, and breathing can be used to restore health and optimise mental and physical performance.

His previous research reflects this broad interest and includes work looking at the effects of diet and/or exercise on vitamin status, cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes. His current research is examining the effects of different traditional breathing techniques and technology augmented breathing on the central and autonomic nervous systems, so the brain, and the part of the nervous system that shifts us between a fight, flight, or freeze state, and rest and digest state.

As a lecturer he teaches courses on anatomy, physiology, nutrition, physical activity, health and wellness to health science and allied health students. He also enjoys sharing his passion with the broader public in-person and online via videos and workshops on similar topics, but with more focus on application.

Although mostly blessed with reasonable health, a lifetime of hay fever and animal allergies leading to a lot of mouth breathing in his sleep and during exercise, meant that he has had to be proactive about retraining his breathing. The development of some food intolerances in later life also gave him an appreciation for the importance of personalising diet and indeed all therapies to the individual.

When not working, Christian enjoys spending time with his family. His daughter in particular is a great source of joy and learning, especially of the self-knowledge kind.

Qualifications:
MSc in Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
American College of Sports Medicine – Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist
PhD titled Exercise, Glucose Control, and Liver Fat: Providing the Evidence for Translation into Clinical Care, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

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Hedgepig McDiggery 
​(Zen Master and Mascot)

Hedgepig McDiggery (aka Hodge Podge) is a rescue animal and the first member of our McDiggery Clan of rescued hogs. During her time with us, she taught many valuable lessons in; interesting pranayama techniques (breath control), handling with great care, and the importance of the unfettered mind. She startles easily and recovers quickly by shaking off the surplus energy, letting go of 'the story' and returning to the present moment peacefully, as if nothing ever happened. We would do well to treat our stresses the same way. ​Hedgepig is back roaming around in the wilderness of Grey Lynn under guidance and sustainable release advice from the SPCA.

McDiggery Blog

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