I’m Ria, a mum of five, a Human Services worker, and a 9D Breathwork facilitator.
My path into this work wasn’t born from having everything figured out. It came from years of living in survival mode, carrying responsibility, raising my children, supporting others through some of the hardest moments of their lives, and eventually realising that I had spent a lot of my life being strong without truly knowing how to slow down and connect with myself.
I grew up surrounded by experiences that shaped how I learned to survive - instability, trauma, addiction, family violence and circumstances that taught me to keep going, adapt and carry on. Those experiences eventually led me into Human Services, where I have spent years working alongside children, families and people navigating trauma, crisis and significant life experiences.
But supporting other people also forced me to look at myself.
9D Breathwork came into my life during a period where I was beginning to question old patterns, people-pleasing, survival responses and the parts of myself I had learned to suppress just to keep functioning.
Then I lost my dad.
Grief changed the way I understood healing completely.
I realised there are things we cannot always think, talk or reason our way through. Sometimes the body is carrying what the mind is still trying to understand.
Breathwork gave me a space to stop performing strength and actually feel.
It allowed me to reconnect with parts of myself I had pushed aside for years and showed me the power of creating a safe space where people can simply arrive as they are without judgement, without needing to explain everything and without having to have all the answers.
That is what led me to become a facilitator.
For me, this work is not about “fixing” people.
It is about holding space for people who have made the decision to choose themselves.
Whether you are navigating grief, burnout, disconnection, life transitions, emotional overwhelm or simply feel like you have lost yourself somewhere along the way, my intention is to create an environment where you feel safe enough to slow down, breathe and reconnect with yourself.
As a Polynesian woman and mother, I am also deeply passionate about bringing this work into communities where conversations about emotions, nervous-system regulation and healing have not always had space.
RIA represents Release. Integrate. Awaken.
Release what you have been carrying.
Integrate what your experiences have taught you.
Awaken to the person underneath the survival, expectations and noise.
You don’t need to come into a session knowing exactly what you need.
You just need to be willing to show up for yourself.
I’ll hold the space. Your body and your breath will take it from there.