How I Rebuilt My Life One Breath at a Time – Exclusive Interview with Anna Grozdanova
This interview explores how conscious breathing and cold exposure can influence stress, resilience, focus, and everyday well-being. From discovering breathwork in Bali to overcoming burnout and bankruptcy, the conversation reveals how simple practices can help people reconnect with themselves and approach life’s challenges with greater awareness.
Anna Grozdanova, Breathwork & Human Performance Expert & Instructor
What first convinced you that breathing could become a practical tool for changing how people feel and perform?
In 2017, I spent a year and a half living in Bali. During that time, I happened to attend a Wim Hof Method workshop, initially attracted by the idea of immersing myself in ice-cold water. I had never heard of Wim Hof and had no idea that breathing exercises were part of the experience.
When we started breathing, I experienced such profound changes in my body and mind that I could hardly believe what was happening. By the end, I felt as though I had discovered a superpower, as if I could achieve anything!
Then came the ice bath. I had never imagined experiencing such deep relaxation, inner peace, and even warmth while immersed in freezing water.
That moment changed everything. I realized that learning to regulate our breathing gives us freedom, freedom from stress and the ability to control our reactions, even in the most challenging situations.
Later, I explored the health benefits of the method and witnessed remarkable results among my participants, including reported hearing recovery, fewer illnesses, and improvements in chronic sinusitis and allergies.
I realized that breathing is one of the most powerful tools available to us. That was when I decided this knowledge needed to reach every person in the world.
How do you decide when someone needs functional breathing retraining rather than a more intensive Wim Hof Method practice?
For me, functional breathing and the Wim Hof Method are two different tools that complement each other. The choice depends on a person's health, individual needs, and goals.
Functional breathing is the foundation. If someone frequently breathes through their mouth, has rapid or excessive breathing at rest, experiences chronic stress, fatigue, sleep problems, or difficulty concentrating, I first focus on restoring their natural breathing patterns. The goal is to help them breathe calmly, lightly, and efficiently through the nose and develop healthy breathing habits they can apply in everyday life.
The Wim Hof Method is a powerful tool that induces significant physiological and biochemical changes in the body. Scientific studies suggest that the practice can influence immune responses and inflammatory processes. It can also help people develop greater resilience to stress, explore their personal limits, and build confidence.
However, if someone is experiencing acute and frequent panic attacks, I would start with gentler functional breathing techniques, as intensive breathwork may intensify their symptoms. For individuals with epilepsy, uncontrolled high blood pressure, or serious cardiovascular conditions, intensive Wim Hof Method breathing is not recommended without prior medical evaluation.
My goal is to provide people with the right tools to improve their health, well-being, and overall quality of life.
What breathing patterns do you most often see limiting energy, focus, or performance?
In my practice, I most often encounter three main problems: overbreathing, mouth breathing, and shallow chest breathing rather than diaphragmatic breathing.
Many people breathe faster and more deeply than their bodies actually need, even at rest. This often leads to increased stress levels, as this is how we naturally breathe when we perceive danger. It also disrupts the balance of respiratory gases, causing us to exhale too much carbon dioxide, an essential gas that plays a crucial role in how efficiently oxygen is released to our cells to produce energy.
Most people believe that breathing more means getting more oxygen and energy, but the reality can be quite the opposite. This phenomenon is known as the Bohr effect.
Another common problem is mouth breathing. Our nose is not simply an opening for air. It filters, warms, and humidifies the air we breathe. Chronic mouth breathing can contribute to sleep disturbances, leading to low energy during the day, increased stress levels, and dental problems, including misaligned teeth in children.
Among people working under constant stress, I often observe rapid, shallow breathing and unconscious breath-holding while sitting in front of a computer.
What continues to amaze me is how few people realize that breathing can be one of the most accessible tools for improving how we feel and function.
My mission is to help people rediscover this natural resource we were all born with and learn how to use it consciously every single day.
Where do you think the wellness industry oversimplifies breathwork or cold exposure?
I believe the wellness industry often presents breathwork and cold exposure as universal solutions that work equally well for everyone. The truth is that the same method can have very different effects on different people. For example, we often hear the advice, “Take a deep breath to calm down.” But when we breathe too deeply and too rapidly, we can exhale too much carbon dioxide, which may lead to dizziness, heart palpitations, and increased anxiety in some people.
Furthermore, even breathing exercises designed to reduce stress can have the opposite effect on individuals with dysfunctional breathing patterns. That is why it is important to first understand how a person breathes in their everyday life before choosing the most appropriate practice. The same applies to cold exposure. The goal is not to stay in the ice for as long as possible, but to learn how to remain calm and regulate our responses in a challenging environment. It is essential to adapt the practice to how our body feels on any given day, approaching ourselves with understanding and respect.
Many facilitators aim to impress people with transcendent experiences and highly intense practices. My goal, however, is different: to provide people with practical, effective tools they can use every day to improve their health, well-being, and overall quality of life.
What are high performers most likely to misunderstand about the relationship between stress, breathing, and resilience?
I frequently conduct corporate training sessions, and one thing that consistently surprises me is how little people know about the impact their breathing has on the stress they experience.
A person can be on vacation, have millions in the bank, and have no real problems in their life at that moment, yet their body can still be experiencing chronic stress simply because of the way they breathe.
Most people are completely unaware of this, and I see how surprised they are when I share this information with them. After my training sessions, participants often tell me, “This is something we should be taught in school!”
We cannot expect to have high energy levels, good sleep, productivity, and focus if we are not breathing properly. I often compare our body to a wood-burning stove. The wood represents the food and supplements we consume, but without sufficient oxygen entering the stove, the fire cannot burn efficiently or produce enough heat.
The same principle applies to our bodies. We can follow the healthiest diet, eat the cleanest food, and take the best supplements, yet still struggle with low energy if we are not breathing properly.
Breathing is one of the most fundamental aspects of our health, energy, and performance, yet it is often the one we overlook the most.
What is one breathing change someone can make during a stressful workday to regain calm and focus?
First and foremost, if someone has the habit of breathing through their mouth, the most important change they can make is to start breathing through their nose.
The nose is designed for breathing, while the mouth is primarily for eating and speaking. One very simple and effective exercise that we practice with people when they enter ice baths is to extend the exhalation.
I usually recommend inhaling for 4 seconds and exhaling for 6 seconds. However, if someone finds this difficult, there is no need to focus on achieving those exact numbers. Simply make the exhalation slightly longer than the inhalation while keeping the breathing light, calm, and effortless.
This can help stimulate the vagus nerve and calm the nervous system. Within just a few minutes, a person may notice a reduction in tension and regain a sense of calm and focus.
You can practice this exercise anywhere, before an important meeting, after a stressful conversation, or whenever you feel stress beginning to take over.
Our breath is the remote control of our nervous system. When we learn to use it consciously, we gain the ability to influence how we feel and how we respond to the challenges of everyday life.
How can cold exposure be used to build resilience without turning discomfort into a test of toughness?
For me, cold exposure is not a test of endurance, but an opportunity to learn how to remain calm in a challenging environment.
When we enter ice-cold water, our body reacts automatically: our breathing becomes faster, our heart rate increases, and the stress response is activated. This is where the real practice begins. Instead of fighting the cold, we learn to accept the sensations, regulate our breathing, and remain calm despite the discomfort.
This is a skill we can carry into our everyday lives. When we face a stressful situation, instead of reacting impulsively, we can pause, take control of our breathing, and consciously choose how to respond.
During my workshops, I always encourage people to listen to their bodies. The goal is not to stay in the ice for as long as possible, but to discover their own limits and gradually expand them without forcing themselves. We are different every single day.
True resilience does not mean never experiencing stress or discomfort. It means learning how to regulate our reactions and recover from challenges.
The ice bath is simply the training environment. The real transformation happens outside of it, in the way we face life's challenges.
How did bankruptcy and burnout change your understanding of strength and success?
At that time, I identified myself entirely with my work and the success I achieved. My entire focus was directed outward. I didn't realize that I also had an inner world that needed attention.
We had built some of the most successful restaurants and clubs in Bulgaria. I knew everyone, and everyone knew me. People came to our venues, and I had recognition, status, and a vibrant social life.
When I lost everything, I also lost my sense of identity. In my own eyes, I went from being somebody to being nobody. My ego suffered tremendously. My friends disappeared, and I found myself alone. Frozen bank accounts, debt collectors, loans, mortgages. It was an incredibly painful period when I no longer knew who I was or what I was going to do with my life.
But that experience became one of the most valuable lessons of my life. I began learning to enjoy my own company, discovering who I truly was, and reconnecting with my inner world. I realized that my worth as a human being was not defined by my business, money, status, or the recognition of others.
So much has changed since then that sometimes I feel like a completely different person. Today, I am grateful for the journey I have been on, despite all its challenges. I learned that true strength is not about what we own or achieve, but about knowing who we are, even when we lose everything.
What do you hope people ultimately learn about their own capacity to influence their health and wellbeing?
If I managed to transform my life so completely, I believe that every one of us has the power to change the direction of our own lives.
Years ago, I drank heavily, smoked excessively, went days without sleep, and lived under constant stress. I went through bankruptcy, burnout, and a period when I completely lost my sense of identity.
Today, I live a radically different life. I take care of my body and mind, I no longer drink alcohol or smoke, and my greatest satisfaction comes from helping others improve their health and quality of life.
If someone had told me years ago that I would become the person I am today, I probably wouldn't have believed them. But my own story has shown me that our past does not have to define our future. Every day, we have the opportunity to make a new choice, change our habits, and take our lives in a different direction.
We don't have to change everything at once. We simply need to take the first step and keep moving forward. Because the most valuable result of transformation is not just what we achieve, but the person we become along the way.
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