Could Breathing and Posture Be the Key to Lasting Pain Relief – Interview with Kate Galustyan

From a background in dance to weight training and holistic movement coaching, Ekaterina Galustyan has developed a unique approach that combines postural correction, stress management, and breathwork. Her work focuses on helping clients understand how the brain and body interact, addressing chronic pain and movement inefficiencies at their root rather than offering temporary fixes.

Through applied neurology and biomechanics, she guides individuals to reconnect with their bodies, improve posture, and manage stress, emphasizing practical strategies that clients can integrate into everyday life.

In this interview, she shares the inspirations behind her methodology, the misconceptions she often sees about posture and movement, and the transformative results clients experience when they adopt her holistic approach to strength, resilience, and wellbeing.

Kate Galustyan, Personal Trainer

What inspired you to combine postural correction with stress management through breathwork in your coaching approach?

As a dancer in the past, I never thought that mobility might be a bad thing. After finishing my dancing career, I decided to try weight training. Years later, I began to notice things in my body I never felt before – some aches and pains, some postural changes, some breathing issues I didn’t have before. At first, I couldn’t understand the root cause – my muscles felt strong, but my body began to feel broken. I thought it’s just the aftermath of 2 pregnancies. I began to learn about breathing, pelvic floor health, hypermobility, tendon health, etc. Turned out I was living in a hypermobile body that I never supported throughout all these weightlifting years. I also learned that hypermobility and hyperventilation (low CO2 tolerance) go hand in hand. After learning and applying this knowledge, I now feel strong again and want to help others to learn to properly support and train their bodies!

How does your holistic methodology address the root causes of chronic pain rather than just providing temporary relief?

I’m currently learning about the brain’s connection and effects on posture, breathing, movement, and pain. It’s common to think about pain as damage (harm to tissue or structure). In reality, pain is a signal: something the nervous system creates to protect you – based on all available information – not just tissue condition alone. Therefore, we need to look for the root cause of poor incoming signaling (vision, vestibular, proprioception systems), fuel issues for the brain (breathing problems or metabolic issues that might lead to poor processing of the information), mismatch of incoming information from different systems, overflown thread bucket (reduction of stress or improving tolerance to different stressors), etc. Without addressing the above, the changes might not stick and only give temporary relief.

What are the most common misconceptions people have about posture and movement, and how do you correct them through your programs?

Most people view posture as a fixed position. They believe they can strengthen the weak muscles and stretch the tight ones to improve them. In reality, posture is the body’s moment-to-moment solution to the brain’s perception of internal and external demands. The brain constantly organizes posture based on:

• Balance input

• Vision

• Vestibular system (inner ear)

• Proprioception (body awareness)

• Pain/threat perception

• Breathing state

• Emotional stress

• Fatigue

• Previous injury

• Stability demands

So posture through the lens of applied neurology is an adaptation, compensation, or protection strategy. When we integrate tools that minimize threat, help relax the nervous system, and improve breathing and proprioception, we can achieve meaningful and lasting changes. In a group setting or online coaching, I always emphasize the importance of improving breathing mechanics, using proper positions, and applying different prompts to better connect to the body part you are training. With individual clients, we dive deeper into vision and vestibular training on top of everything else. Movement is an outcome of multiple systems working together, and to improve or correct it, we need to stimulate multiple drivers.

How do you help your clients regain physical resilience without relying on quick fixes like massages or physical therapy?

I educate them! I explain the importance of breathing on posture, center of mass shifts and intra-abdominal pressure distribution, as well as how it affects the nervous system and brain functions. I teach them that pain is a signal and might mean different things and there is nothing to be scared about. I help them understand how to act on it – whether to reduce the load, adjust the position, improve proprioception, be more present, relax the nervous system and release tension, create more space, strengthen the areas around the affected area, etc. We have everything we need within us to get out of pain or improve things: only you can move yourself, create or release tension, connect the brain to the body part, feel certain muscles working, etc. We just need to learn to connect to the body and listen to it.

What role does breathwork play in improving posture and reducing stress, and how have your clients experienced these benefits?

Through the lens of applied neurology and human biomechanics, breathwork helps regulate the nervous system, improve ribcage and diaphragm mechanics, and create a greater sense of stability and safety for the brain. When breathing becomes more efficient, the body often reduces unnecessary muscular tension and compensatory postural patterns, especially around the neck, shoulders, spine, and pelvis. Many clients experience improved posture, reduced stress, better movement fluidity, and less chronic tightness because the nervous system shifts from a protective “survival” state into a more adaptable and coordinated state. Over time, this can enhance body awareness, recovery, and overall movement efficiency.

What changes do you notice in your clients’ quality of life when they successfully integrate your strategies for pain-free movement and stress management?

Some of my clients were able to improve bone density during a menopause (no longer needed shots to support the bone density), go back to the activities they enjoy (like gardening or hiking) without aches and pains, improve quality of life with s-shaped scoliosis (being able to reduce the amount of headaches, neck tension, hands and feet numbing sensations during exercise, being able to wear heels again).

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