Facilitator of breathwork, embodied practice, and trauma-informed work
Merja Kallunki is a facilitator of breathwork, embodied practice, and trauma-informed work. Her approach brings together long experience, embodied understanding, and a deep interest in human experience.
Merja's roots are in Lapland. She spent her childhood in Salla surrounded by nature, and her relationship with nature remains an important part of how she understands humanity, connection, and wellbeing.
Merja has worked with people for more than ten years. She holds a Bachelor of Social Services and has studied education, special education, and psychology, as well as qualifying as an NLP Master Practitioner. Her work focuses on trauma-informed breathwork and embodied practice, attending not only to breath but also to bodily sensations, movement, touch, voice, the nervous system, and the person's experience as a whole.
For Merja, embodied practice does not mean forcing the past to the surface or trying to ‘release’ experiences. The focus is on increasing safety, strengthening connection with one's own body, and gradually becoming more aware of what is happening within.
Personal experiences have deepened her understanding of how people can survive even difficult experiences—and how much space, safety, and connection are needed for life to hold more freedom again.
Merja's facilitation brings together groundedness, warmth, and depth. She does not try to tell people what they should experience, but creates space in which each person can safely listen to their own body and find a deeper connection with themselves.
Her work is guided not only by academic training, but also by deep personal experience, spiritual seeking, and a strong dedication to embodied transformation. Merja has gained experience and inspiration working under the guidance of internationally recognized professionals such as Eryk Nisarga Dobozs, Giten Tonkov, Saara Kantanen, and Andy Buru.
At the heart of Merja's work is a safe and respectful space that listens to the body's own pace. Breath, touch, and somatic work can open profound experiences, but they do not need to be met alone, quickly, or through force. Every process follows the person's nervous system, boundaries, and current life situation.
Merja's work is supported and reflected on with a qualified trauma therapist acting as her professional supervisor. This helps maintain quality, ethics, and safety when a process touches deep embodied or emotional layers.
Merja's facilitation is informed by contemporary trauma research, an understanding of nervous system regulation, somatic practice, and listening to the body's signals. The work is not based on quick fixes, but on helping each person notice, regulate, and integrate experiences at their own pace.
Merja does not offer programmed quick fixes or promises of rapid change. She creates a space where a person can meet themselves safely and with respect for their boundaries. When needed, the practice is softened, adapted, or stopped altogether.
