Kat McGill completed the Liquid Breathwork facilitator training in July 2025 without a clear plan for what she'd do with it. Seven months later, she led a 20+ person Breathwork session at Gem & Jam music festival in Arizona, and just last week she brought Liquid Breathwork to Peak State festival in Austin, TX.
She's still a chef. She still loves that career. But she's also growing her own Breathwork and Reiki practice (Breath&Blossom) on her own terms, in spaces she's genuinely excited about. This is what it looks like when someone takes the training and runs with it.
How Kat got here (it wasn't a straight line)
Kat McGill is a chef. That's her thing, she loves it, and she's not leaving the kitchen anytime soon. But she'd been coming to Shelby's Breathwork classes for a while, and something kept pulling her deeper.
When we opened up the Liquid Breathwork facilitator training for our July 2025 cohort, Kat was interested but nervous. She didn't have a big plan. She wasn't thinking "I'm going to become a Breathwork facilitator and take this to festivals." She just knew the practice had given her a lot, and the idea of going deeper excited her.
In her own words: "This is a path I've wanted to go down for quite some time, and they are teaching me how to trust myself on this path."
That's honestly how most of our students come in. Not with a five-year business plan... just a feeling. A pull toward something. And they trust that enough to show up.
What Kat said about the training
We'll let her speak for herself here. After going through the three-day intensive, Kat described the experience as "really powerful and very informative."
She also said something that stuck with us: "Ryan and Shelby both are really knowledgeable about how to curate a safe space and make people feel welcome."
That's the part we care most about, honestly. The science and the techniques are important (we spend a lot of time on respiratory physiology and the mechanics of facilitation), but if people don't feel safe in the room, none of that matters. So hearing Kat say that meant a lot.
Breathwork at Gem & Jam: 20+ people, one festival, zero plan B
Fast forward to February 2026. Gem & Jam is a music festival here in Arizona (February 6-8, 2026). Art, live music, crystals, community... the whole thing. Kat decided she wanted to bring Breathwork there.
So she applied. Reached out to the festival, pitched it, and they accepted her as part of the wellness offerings. No one handed this to her. She made it happen on her own.
Her group Breathwork session pulled 20+ people. At a music festival. Where the other options are live sets, art installations, and late nights. Twenty people chose to lie down on the grass, close their eyes, and breathe together with Kat guiding them through it.
She also offered donation-based one-on-one Breathwork and Reiki sessions throughout the weekend. And the feedback? People said it was exactly what they needed. A reset. A chance to decompress between the high energy, the constant stimulation, being on your feet all day, the lack of sleep.
Breathwork at festivals makes so much sense when you think about it. Everyone's running on adrenaline and not enough rest. A surrender-based session where you just lie down and let your nervous system recalibrate... that's not a nice-to-have. That's medicine.
Peak State festival in Austin
As if Gem & Jam wasn't enough, Kat just got back from Austin, Texas where she led Liquid Breathwork sessions at Peak State (April 15-19, 2026 at Valkyrie Ranch). This one's a wild concept.
Peak State is the brainchild of Brent Pella (comedian, MTV's Wild 'n Out) and Nikki Howard. They threw a full-scale donation-based music and arts festival AND filmed a comedy feature film during it. The festival was real (headliners included Equanimous, Goldcap, Ruby Chase, Savej, and Skysia), and the attendees became part of the movie's world.
Kat led Liquid Breathwork sessions as part of the wellness lineup. Same format as Gem & Jam: group sessions where festival-goers could step away from the noise, reset their nervous system, and actually rest for a minute. The perfect counterbalance to days of music, filming, and creative chaos.
Why Breathwork belongs at festivals
We've all been to a festival where by day two your body is wrecked. Sleep-deprived, overstimulated, feet aching, voice gone. Most people push through on caffeine and willpower. But what if you could actually recharge?
That's what Breathwork at festivals offers. It's not woo-woo. It's practical. A guided somatic Breathwork session that calms your nervous system, helps you release tension, and gives your body actual rest (even deeper than a nap in some cases). You walk out feeling like you slept eight hours.
Festival wellness spaces used to be just yoga and sound healing. But Breathwork is showing up more and more because it delivers something different. It's active recovery. You're not just relaxing, you're letting your body process and reset at a physiological level.
For facilitators, festivals are an incredible setting to practice in:
- People are open-minded and willing to try new modalities like Breathwork, Reiki, and meditation
- The contrast between high-energy sets and deep Breathwork makes the experience hit harder
- You meet people who've never tried Breathwork and get to be their first session
- It builds your confidence leading groups of all sizes and backgrounds
- Word spreads fast in a festival setting (one good session fills the next one)
Breath&Blossom: building something on her terms
Here's what we love about Kat's story. She didn't quit her job. She didn't rebrand her entire life overnight. She's still a chef and she's happy about that.
But she's also building Breath&Blossom, her own Breathwork and Reiki practice, on her own timeline. She's already hosting local events in the Phoenix area (like her Sunrise Liquid Breathwork & Reiki sessions at Los Olivos Park), taking on private clients, and obviously... festivals.
That's what becoming a Breathwork facilitator actually looks like for a lot of people. It's not always "I'm going to open a studio and do this full-time." Sometimes it's "I want this skill. I want to share this practice with people. And I'll figure out the shape of it as I go."
Kat figured out the shape pretty quickly. Festivals, parks, private sessions, community circles. Wherever people need to slow down and breathe, she shows up.
What this means (for anyone thinking about the training)
We share Kat's story not to sell you on anything. We share it because people ask us all the time, "What do your graduates actually do with it?"
This. They do this. They find the thing that excites them and they go after it. Some bring Breathwork into their therapy practice. Some take it into corporate wellness. Some teach weekly classes at local studios. And some, like Kat, take it to festival stages and park sunrise sessions and everywhere in between.
Our next facilitator training cohort is June 12-14, 2026 (three days in person at our Mesa home, plus ongoing support after). We keep it small (six people max per cohort) so everyone gets real attention. If you've been curious... if you keep coming back to the idea... you probably already know.
You don't need to have it all figured out. Kat didn't. She just trusted the pull and showed up. The path reveals itself once you start walking it.
Curious About the Liquid Breathwork Facilitator Training?
Three days in person, six students max, and ongoing support as you build your practice. No experience required, just a genuine connection to the work.