VIDYA with Verity

Verity Jo Coonan
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Breathwork, somatic healing, and nervous system regulation, real conversations about what it actually takes to transform. VIDYA with Verity is a podcast hosted by Verity Coonan, founder of VIDYA Breathwork™. Each episode goes deep into breathwork facilitation, trauma healing, grief, resilience, and the inner work behind building a life that's genuinely yours. Raw. Real. From the inside out. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe and breathe deep.

  1. 6d ago

    The Neuroscience of Chronic Vigilance: When Your Nervous System Never Turns Off

    Most high-achievers don't identify as stressed. They identify as driven, focused, and switched on. But underneath the performance, something else is running, a nervous system locked in chronic activation, quietly accumulating a cost that doesn't show up until it has to. In this episode, Verity Coonan breaks down the neuroscience of chronic vigilance: what the HPA axis is actually doing when the stress response never fully deactivates, what chronically elevated cortisol does to the immune system, sleep, memory consolidation, and the dopamine system and why the high-achiever stops feeling the wins long before they stop achieving them. She also explains why understanding the pattern is never quite enough to resolve it and what the research says about where the real work has to happen instead. For anyone who functions brilliantly and feels nothing. Who lies awake at 3am with a brain that refuses to stop. Who has read all the books, done all the work, and still can't switch off. 🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it. Connect & Train with Verity ● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification ● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app ● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

    15 min

  2. Jun 15

    Why the most ambitious thing you can do right now is feel safe

    In this episode, Verity Coonan challenges the idea that safety is passive and makes the case that it is, in fact, the most ambitious thing you can choose right now. If you're high-achieving, driven, and quietly exhausted, this one is for you. We get into what chronic threat response actually does to your thinking, creativity, and capacity to receive and why the most accomplished version of you requires a regulated nervous system, not a pushed one. This is Episode 1 of Season 3: The Foundations. In this episode: - What safety actually means (and what it doesn't) - What happens in the brain and body under chronic threat - Why driven people resist safety and why that resistance is costing them - The moment on the floor of Verity's bedroom that changed everything - Three practical ways to start building nervous system safety today VIDYA App find the three-minute belly breath practice mentioned in this episode: https://verityjocoonan.co/vidya-wellness-club-app VIDYA Breathwork Facilitator Certification: https://verityjocoonan.co/vidya-breathworkfacilitator Instagram: @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification @vidya.app

    18 min

  3. Jun 7

    What Happens in a Millionaire's Body Right Before They Level Up

    You've done the work. You've built something real. So why does your body feel like it's shutting down right when the next level is right in front of you? This isn't a mindset problem. It isn't fear of success. It's a nervous system event — and the mechanism is the same whether you're about to close an eight-figure deal or finally raise your prices. In this episode, Verity breaks down what's actually happening in the body at the threshold of expansion, why the most driven people on the planet still freeze, and what separates the ones who cross it from the ones who retreat. You'll learn:— Why your nervous system treats your next level like a threat— The three states that show up right before a big decision— What regulated people do differently (it's not willpower)— A 3-minute breathwork practice for any high-stakes moment The practice mentioned in this episode is inside the VIDYA app. Start free → verityjocoonan.co/vidya-wellness-club-app 🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it. Connect & Train with Verity ● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification ● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app ● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

    21 min

  4. May 31

    The 3 Minutes That Saved My Life: VIDYA App Turns One

    One year ago, Verity was on the floor of her bedroom in Darwin. Eleven years a Breathwork facilitator, and frozen out of her own practice. Dorsal shutdown. The oldest survival circuit in the body pulling the plug. In this episode, Verity tells the story of the three minutes that brought her back. A short belly breath practice, recorded on that floor, that went on to become the most-used practice in the VIDYA app. One year later, that app turns one. This is the origin story, told honestly. No romanticising the rock bottom. Just what actually happened, why the practice worked, and what it became. To celebrate the app's first birthday, Verity is running a free 60-minute live breathwork. 🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it. Connect & Train with Verity ● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification ● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app ● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

    23 min

  5. May 24

    Certified But Clueless: The Facilitator Industry Is Broken

    The wellness industry has a problem nobody wants to say out loud. People are getting certified to facilitate breathwork in a single weekend, and people are getting hurt. In this episode, Verity walks through what a 14-week trauma-aware certification actually covers versus what a weekend program leaves out. CO2 tolerance. Polyvagal theory. Contraindications and screening. What to do when someone dissociates, panics, or goes into a freeze response mid-session. The science and safety that most certifications skip entirely. She recently watched a "certified" facilitator tell a woman in full tetany to push through because "the trauma was leaving." It wasn't trauma leaving. It was a CO2 crash. That moment is why this episode exists. If you've got a certificate and a tight feeling in your chest, this one is for you. It doesn't mean you stop. It means you train deeper. Cohort 1 of VIDYA Certification closes Saturday midnight AEST. Comment TRAINING on the episode post and Verity will send you the page. Topics: What a weekend breathwork certification actually includes (and what it dangerously leaves out)Why you cannot learn clinical safety skills in three daysThe real risks: tetany, dissociation, dorsal vagal shutdown, flashbacksWhat VIDYA's 14 phases cover, from respiratory science to supervisionHow to know if you actually know enough to hold a room safely 🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it. Connect & Train with Verity ● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification ● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app ● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

    17 min

  6. May 20

    Why Meditation Doesn't Work (And What Your Nervous System Actually Needs)

    Tomorrow is World Meditation Day, and most of what you've been told about meditation is wrong for the state you're actually in. In this episode, Verity breaks down why stillness without regulation can make you feel worse, not better. The polyvagal theory piece your meditation app didn't mention. The CO2 tolerance science that explains why you panic when you try to slow your breath. And what to do instead. If you've ever tried to meditate and felt like you were doing it wrong, you're not broken. You were sold the wrong starting point. The free 21-min nervous system reset drops Thursday. Comment RESET on the episode post or DM RESET to get it sent straight to you. Topics:– Why meditation fails for activated or frozen nervous systems– Polyvagal theory in plain language– CO2 tolerance and why slowing your breath can trigger panic– The difference between regulation and stillness– What your nervous system actually needs first 🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it. Connect & Train with Verity ● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification ● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app ● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

    17 min

  7. May 10

    Breathwork Isn't Woo, It's Anatomy

    The breath is the only autonomic function you can consciously control which makes it the most direct access point you have to your nervous system. In this episode, I'm talking to the part of you that's a little skeptical. The part that thinks breathwork is just fancy deep breathing with a playlist. No woo. Just science. We go deep on the mechanisms most certifications skip: why CO2 tolerance matters more than oxygen, how your vagal tone is trainable, what's actually happening in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex during a session, and why emotional release, tetany and somatic waves are signs the nervous system is working not breaking. I'll walk you through the BOLT test so you can measure your own CO2 tolerance in real time, break down the breath styles I use with clients (slow coherent, box, 4-7-8, conscious connected, breath holds) and explain why a complete facilitator toolkit requires all of them. This is the episode I wish every Breathwork student and every skeptical client had access to. If you're a facilitator, this is the standard. If you're a practitioner, this is the mechanism. If you're curious, welcome in. In this episode: Why breath is the only direct intervention for the nervous systemCO2 tolerance and why breathing more doesn't mean more oxygenThe BOLT test, measure yours as you listenVagal tone, HRV, and why your baseline is trainableWhat breathwork actually does to the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and default mode networkWhy emotional release happens and why it needs skilled facilitationThe breath styles every facilitator needs in their toolkit 🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it. Connect & Train with Verity ● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification ● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app ● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

    27 min

  8. May 3

    You're Not Tired Because You're Doing Too Much . You're Carrying Too Much

    You had a normal week. You didn't work crazy hours. You slept okay. So why are you bone-deep exhausted by Friday? In this episode of The Dark Side with Verity, we unpack the exhaustion epidemic nobody's naming properly, the one that has almost nothing to do with how much you're doing and everything to do with what your nervous system is carrying. You'll learn: Why passive rest (scrolling, Netflix, lying down) doesn't actually regulate youThe nervous system bucket theory and what's secretly filling yoursWhy high achievers find rest activating and how to rewire thatThe hidden load carried by coaches, healers and anyone building in publicHow to complete the stress cycle so your body stops storing itA practical audit: what depletes you vs. what actually restores youIf you've been told to "just rest" and it's not working, this is the episode that explains why and what to do instead. 🌀 Take the 3-swallow test in the first minute to check your own nervous system state. 🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it. Connect & Train with Verity ● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification ● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app ● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

    20 min
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About

Breathwork, somatic healing, and nervous system regulation, real conversations about what it actually takes to transform. VIDYA with Verity is a podcast hosted by Verity Coonan, founder of VIDYA Breathwork™. Each episode goes deep into breathwork facilitation, trauma healing, grief, resilience, and the inner work behind building a life that's genuinely yours. Raw. Real. From the inside out. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe and breathe deep.

Information

  • Creator
    Verity Jo Coonan
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    65
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Verity Jo Coonan
  • Show Website
    VIDYA with Verity