"The Body Needs to Feel Safe First." Mindfulness in Physiotherapy

Community Story: Lisa Jordan

Last updated: 03.03.26

Earlier this year, physiotherapist Lisa generously volunteered to run a four-part online Pilates course, raising over £900 for Breathworks — enough to fund approximately four bursary places on our eight-week mindfulness courses. We sat down with her to find out more about her journey to Breathworks, why she values our approach, and what moved her to give something back. 

Pictured above: Lisa Jordan (and furry friend!)


Can you tell us a bit about your work as a physiotherapist?

Early in my NHS career, I had an experience that shaped the way I work. I remember a patient who came in with lower limb pain. They were visibly anxious and held their body with a great deal of tension. The treatment plan at the time focused on exercise, but it quickly became clear that movement felt unsafe for them.

Looking back, I can see that their nervous system was highly sensitised and on constant alert. What they needed first wasn't more exercise, but a sense of safety — something I didn't yet know how to offer. That moment stayed with me.

It sparked a lasting curiosity about persistent pain and the role of the nervous system, emotions, and lived experience in shaping physical symptoms. This led me to complete a Master's in Advancing Physiotherapy and to develop a more psychologically informed, biopsychosocial approach.

Today, I work within the NHS supporting people living with long-term pain, fatigue, and complex symptoms, both individually and in groups. Much of my work focuses on helping people rebuild trust in their bodies through mindful movement practices such as Tai Chi and Qigong — often for the first time in a way that feels safe and compassionate. Alongside this, I work in private practice, teach Pilates in my local community, and contribute to university education around pain and self-management.

Throughout my work, I remain guided by that early patient, and by a belief I share with Breathworks: that healing often begins with awareness, compassion, and learning how to settle the nervous system, rather than pushing through pain.

Healing often begins with awareness, compassion, and learning how to settle the nervous system, rather than pushing through pain.


What role do you think mindfulness plays in managing persistent pain?

I spend much of my time with people whose bodies are living in a state of ongoing stress or threat. Many of the people I support, particularly those with persistent pain or fatigue, have nervous systems that are constantly on high alert. When the body is in this state, symptoms tend to feel louder, recovery becomes harder, and even gentle movement can feel unsafe.

This is where mindfulness, and an understanding of the mind-body connection, can be profoundly helpful. Practices that invite people to slow down, to notice what is happening in their bodies with kindness rather than judgement, and to experience a sense of safety can gently shift this state. Learning how to settle the nervous system, allowing space for rest, and stepping out of the habit of constantly pushing or fixing can change how symptoms are experienced and lived with.

Mindfulness also offers people a different relationship with their symptoms. Instead of meeting pain or fatigue with fear, frustration, or self-criticism, there is often more curiosity, patience, and compassion. Over time, this can reduce the sense of threat, rebuild trust in the body, and support change that feels sustainable rather than forced.

I find myself wishing these skills were taught much earlier, even in schools. Many of the people I work with have never been shown how to recognise stress in their bodies, how to regulate it, or how to listen when their system is asking for rest. If these tools were offered before symptoms became overwhelming, before pain or fatigue took hold, people might feel more resourced, less frightened, and more able to respond with understanding when their bodies struggle.

From my own experience, I’ve come to understand that mindfulness isn’t something to reach for only when things fall apart. It’s a life skill, one that quietly supports health, resilience, and self-awareness long before we’re aware we might need it.

Learning how to settle the nervous system, allowing space for rest, and stepping out of the habit of constantly pushing or fixing can change how symptoms are experienced and lived with.


Why were you drawn to the Breathworks approach to mindfulness?

What really stood out to me was hearing about Breathworks directly from patients.  Several people I worked with had either taken part in Breathworks courses or had been recommended them by others, and they spoke about the experience in a way that felt different. They didn’t describe being ‘fixed’, but rather feeling understood, supported, and given practical tools to live kindlier alongside their symptoms.

From a clinician’s perspective, that was incredibly meaningful. It reflected exactly what I value in my work, an approach that doesn’t deny the reality of pain but also doesn’t reduce people to their symptoms.  Breathworks’ emphasis on mindfulness, compassion, and lived experience felt genuinely aligned with the biopsychosocial framework I work within, and with my belief that people need skills that support both body and mind.

A Pain-Management Approach Rooted in Lived Experience

Pictured right: Breathworks Co-Founder, Vidyamala Burch OBE

Vidyamala’s story resonated with me on a deeply human level because it is grounded in lived experience. There is a quiet authority and compassion that comes from having had to navigate pain from the inside. When an approach is shaped by someone who has learned not how to ‘fix’ pain, but how to live with it, it carries a gentleness and honesty that people can feel. It speaks to the reality of good days and hard days, of hope, frustration, and continual adaptation. Rather than promising solutions, it offers companionship, supporting people to reconnect with meaning, dignity, and a sense of wholeness, even in the presence of ongoing symptoms.

In my own work, I see just how powerful this is. For many people, feeling believed, heard, and genuinely understood matters as much as, and often more than, any technique or exercise.  Knowing that Breathworks was founded by someone who has lived with persistent pain themselves sends a simple but profound message: ‘you are not broken, and you are not alone.’ That sense of shared humanity can soften shame, ease self-blame, and help people feel safer engaging with the work.

As a clinician, I also value how lived experience and evidence sit side by side within Breathworks. Vidyamala’s personal journey doesn’t replace science, it enriches it. It keeps the approach grounded in real bodies, real lives, and real challenges. That balance of compassion, authenticity, and practicality is what makes Breathworks feel so closely aligned with how I want to support people in my own practice.

Rather than promising solutions, [Breathworks] offers companionship, supporting people to reconnect with meaning, dignity, and a sense of wholeness, even in the presence of ongoing symptoms.


Why did you decide to take the Breathworks Mindfulness Teacher Training?

As my work increasingly moved into mind - body and psychologically informed approaches, I became very aware of the responsibility that comes with teaching mindfulness. I could see how powerful these practices can be, particularly for people living with persistent pain and complex symptoms, and I didn’t want to offer them in a superficial or un-contained way.

Pursuing formal training felt important for several reasons. It is enabling me to deepen my own mindfulness practice and, perhaps most importantly, to learn how to be with my own experience in a way that feels safe, compassionate, and steady. Developing that relationship with myself feels fundamental, I don’t believe we can genuinely offer mindfulness to others unless we’ve spent time practising it for ourselves.

As a physiotherapist, I’m used to working within clear professional frameworks, and mindfulness training feels like a natural extension of this, ensuring I have the right skills, supervision, and support to hold space well.

Ultimately, I choose to train formally because I believe mindfulness deserves depth and respect. For me, it’s not something to casually ‘add on’, but a meaningful human practice, one that starts with learning to meet ourselves with compassion, and then gently offering that same care to others.

I don’t believe we can genuinely offer mindfulness to others unless we’ve spent time practising it for ourselves.

Pictured above: Lisa Jordan (and furry friend!)


To be eligible for the training programme, you first needed to take an 8-week course. You chose Mindfulness for Stress. How was that experience?

I'll be honest — at the start, the Mindfulness for Stress course felt a little like a tick-box requirement. I already had an established mindfulness practice, so I approached it with curiosity, but without expecting anything radically new.

What surprised me was how different it felt to experience mindfulness through the lens of a participant. Even with my existing practice, the course helped me slow down — and as a clinician, experiencing the practices from the inside shifted something important. It gave me a deeper appreciation of how vulnerable this work can feel, and that has shaped how I now introduce mindfulness to patients, with greater gentleness and realism.

I also found it surprisingly hard to fully arrive as a participant rather than slipping into my professional mindset. I'm so used to holding space for others that "clinician mode" naturally showed up, even when I didn't intend it to. What really helped was the gentle guidance from the trainer, who normalised this experience. Simple things like setting a clear intention at the beginning of each session and reminding myself that this time was for me helped anchor the experience back into my own body.

I consciously decided to let myself experience the course simply as a human being — not as a physiotherapist, teacher, or future facilitator. This was more profound than I expected. I've spent much of my professional life doing things for others, and mindfulness gently showed me that this isn't something we can do on behalf of anyone else. To offer it authentically, we have to be willing to receive it ourselves.

I'd been carrying quite a lot of stress, pouring from an empty cup, and this course gave me permission to put myself first and reset. That shift has stayed with me — helping me feel more resilient and grounded, and making me a better wife, friend, colleague, and clinician.

What I valued most was the depth and humanity of the Breathworks approach. It doesn't promise fixes or demand perfection; it simply teaches how to meet life as it is. That combination of gentleness, authenticity, and realism is what makes it feel so unique.

I consciously decided to let myself experience the [Mindfulness for Stress] course simply as a human being — not as a physiotherapist, teacher, or future facilitator. This was more profound than I expected


Congratulations on your incredible fundraiser - over £900 raised! What moved you to run this for Breathworks, and how was the experience?

Offering the Pilates course felt like a very natural response to my experience with Breathworks and to the people I work with every day. Through my clinical work, I saw how life-changing it can be when people are offered compassionate, practical tools to help them live alongside persistent pain, and Breathworks offers exactly that. Not as a quick fix, but as something sustainable, humane, and empowering.

Attending a retreat with Vidyamala and Karen deepened this for me. It reinforced the values at the heart of Breathworks: kindness, lived experience, and meeting difficulty with care rather than resistance. It strengthened my trust in the integrity of what they offer.

I'm very aware of how limited access can be to high-quality, psychologically informed support for people living with long-term pain, and how many people fall through the gaps. Bringing together mindful movement and fundraising for Breathworks felt like a meaningful way to help reach those who need this work most.

I really enjoyed developing and delivering the course. Breathworks' values and the incredible work they do are truly close to my heart, so it meant a lot to be part of something that supports people in such a meaningful way. It was a privilege to help create a space where participants could move, breathe, and connect with themselves more deeply. I also love that they have access to the recordings, so they can revisit the sessions whenever they need and move at a pace that feels right for them.


Final words & resources

A very big thank you to Lisa Jordan for her time, not only in running this pilates fundraiser, but also speaking with us about her journey to teacher training. We would also like to thank every person who joined the Pilates classes for their engagement and generosity in raising funds for our charity.

If you are interested in exploring any of the themes from our conversation with Lisa, you may find the links below helpful starting points: 


8-week courses for health & stress management



Train to share mindfulness with others 



Upcoming Retreat: Balancing the Nervous System | 18th-25th September

Lisa mentioned at the beginning of this article the importance of regulating the nervous system and feeling safe in the body when managing pain or other health challenges. If this is an area of interest, we invite you to take a deep dive into this topic with our upcoming retreat, Balancing the Nervous System, which can be joined in-person or online. 

Click here to learn more
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