From Physio to Breathwork: How I Found My Way Back

Dan Kurlapski shares the full arc leading up to to his life’s work for the last 15 years — from a childhood shaped by Eastern European grit, Bruce Lee films, and a father who never let him quit, to the two breathwork sessions in Bali that brought him back to himself. This is the origin story he's never told in full. He went from sports science to physiotherapy to Sydney FC, built coaching practices for founders and leaders, and then spent 2-3 years at the edge of his window of tolerance after a 12-month business separation and a severe physical injury. What pulled him through wasn't more discipline. It was two sessions of FBR Breathwork with Edward — and dinner afterwards that changed everything. The thread running through all of it: the highest-performing people Dan works with don't come to him in crisis. They come because they want to feel alive again. Healing isn't a recovery tool. It's a path to living a fuller life. An edge in business, and an edge in life. BREATHWORK AND NERVOUS SYSTEM HEALING Facilitated Breath Repatterning (FBR) isn't a wellness trend — it's as close as you get to clinical-grade somatic intervention. Dan breaks down what happened in those two sessions with Edward in Bali, why breathwork cut through years of accumulated stress in ways nothing else had, and how that experience directly shaped Breathwork Byron. He also unpacks why FBR isn't about chasing the big cathartic hit — it's about the full spectrum: the capacity to activate fully and then genuinely restore. That second part is what most people, and most modalities, miss. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND HIGH PERFORMANCE Dan spent over a decade working with founders and leaders before he understood what was actually holding them back. It wasn't strategy or mindset. It was a dysregulated nervous system running chronic threat responses. When the body is stuck in survival mode, no amount of coaching reaches the deeper layer. This video explains why nervous system regulation isn't soft — it's the foundation everything else is built on. CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP AND THE ORIGIN STORY Before the Deep Dive Protocol™, before YES& Conscious Leadership, there was a teenager who found Seven Habits of Highly Effective People at 16 and never looked back. Dan traces the full lineage — Vipassana in Japan and Australia, his first 10-week meditation course at 24, working with Master Brahm, Ayahuasca with the Shipibo tribe — and connects all of it to the question that sits underneath his work with every founder and leader: how are you meeting life? Not managing it, not optimising it. Actually meeting it. CHAPTERS 0:00 Growing up with Bruce Lee 1:15 Seven Habits at 16 2:30 Sports science, physio, Sydney FC 3:45 What he actually loved about the work 5:20 Meditation, plant medicine, Vipassana 7:00 Bali: injury, breakdown, two sessions 8:45 Dinner with Edward, domain secured 10:15 Healing is for thriving, not crisis 11:30 What his best clients all say 12:20 FBR: activate fully, genuinely restore FREE RESOURCE → 21 Days to Live Well with Calm Momentum: https://yes-conscious-leadership.kit.... WORK WITH DAN → Book a clarity call to explore the Deep Dive Protocol™: https://conscious-leadership-apply.we... Together in deep work, rest and play. This video is for founders, entrepreneurs, and leaders who've built something real — and still feel like something's missing. If you've ever said "I just want to feel alive again," this is for you. Topics covered: breathwork for high performers | FBR breathwork | nervous system regulation | somatic healing | conscious leadership | breathwork Byron | how to feel alive again | burnout recovery for founders | inner work for entrepreneurs | facilitated breath repatterning #Breathwork #FBR #FacilitatedBreathRepatterning #NervousSystem #NervousSystemRegulation #SomaticHealing #ConsciousLeadership #DeepDiveProtocol #HighPerformance #Burnout #Leadership #SelfImprovement