The Woman After.
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The Woman After.
A Breathwork Case Study in Self-Leadership and Identity Transformation
by Elise Small
To the woman who knows there is more for her,
There’s no denying you have already seen the version of yourself you are meant to become.
You have felt her clarity, her certainty, the way she moves through life without second-guessing every step. You have touched that version of yourself in moments of expansion, in breath, in stillness, in the quiet knowing that you are not here to live the life you are currently tolerating and yet, you have also felt how quickly that clarity can slip.
How easy it is to return to old patterns, old decisions, old ways of holding yourself when life asks more of you.
This book was not written to give you another experience, it was written to show you what it actually takes to become the woman you have already met.
As you read, I invite you to stay with yourself, not just in what resonates, but in what challenges you.
To notice the thoughts that arise, the patterns that repeat, the places where you already know the truth but have not yet lived it and to ask yourself, with honesty,
What version of me is currently making my decisions?
What do I return to when I feel pressure, uncertainty or discomfort?
What do I believe about myself when things are not working the way I expected?
Where do I abandon myself in order to stay in what feels familiar?
What am I still waiting for before I allow myself to fully move forward?
What would change if I trusted myself in the moment instead of searching for reassurance?
What does it actually require of me to lead myself, not occasionally, but consistently?
Because the shift you are looking for is not found in another moment of clarity, it is found in the way you think, the way you respond, and the way you hold yourself when it matters.
What you will find in these pages is not theory. It is the lived process of rebuilding a life through motherhood, separation, burnout and identity loss, and learning how to regulate your body, steady your mind and continue moving when everything in you wants to retreat.
Breathwork became the entry point, not as something to escape into, but as a way to stay present, to hold what was coming up and to respond differently in the moments that mattered.
As you read, you will begin to recognise yourself in these patterns, in these decisions, in the places where you have felt both your strength and your hesitation.
Not only in where you have been, but in who you are capable of becoming.
You already know there is a version of you who moves with clarity, trusts herself and does not collapse when life asks more, you've felt her enough to feel the gap between who you are right now in this moment and who you are here to be.
'The Woman After.' is not a book about awareness or another self-help tool that does not deliver on its promise.
It is a case study in what it actually takes to become her, because the shift you’re looking for does not happen in a breakthrough.
It happens in the moments where you choose to stay, to regulate and to move forward when everything in you wants to retreat.
Through lived experience of motherhood, separation, burnout and identity loss, this book shows you what it means to hold yourself under pressure, move without second-guessing and lead your life without falling back into old patterns
Breathwork becomes the entry point, not as an escape, but as a way to meet yourself in real time and respond differently when it matters.
This is not about finding a new version of you, it is about integration and becoming the one you have already seen.
““I’ve done years of healing work and for the first time I could see exactly why I kept falling back into the same relationships and habits. This book didn’t just resonate, it confronted me. I started noticing how I was responding in real time, not just reflecting after the fact. That changed everything.””
Sandra T. (Melbourne)
““I already knew what I needed to do, that was never the problem. I just couldn’t hold myself an be in it. This book showed me where I was losing myself. It’s the first time something has translated into how I live, not just what I understand. Finally a book that isn't all rinsed and repeated self-help garbage.” ”
Emily (Mama of 2, Brisbane)
““I’ve experienced breathwork before, but this is completely different. Elise was right when she says it's not about the experience, it’s about what you do with it after. I stopped chasing being able to cry and started using it to actually change how I respond in my life. I'm not the same after reading this, I've read it 4 times now.””
Chloe (Potts Point, Sydney)
““This book showed me that I wasn’t avoiding action, I was avoiding what came with it. Once I saw that, I couldn’t unsee it. I’ve stopped pulling back every time things start working. I can't thank you enough, Elise."”
Nat (Bondi, Sydney)
Part wild heart, part truth-teller, part barefoot rebel here to remind you that you were never too much for this world.
Hi, I’m Elise. I work with women who are ready to stop circling their potential and start leading themselves in it. My work is grounded in breathwork, somatic intelligence and identity-level transformation, not as techniques to learn, but as ways to build the capacity to hold yourself when life asks more of you. I came into this work through lived experience. Solo motherhood, separation, burnout and the process of rebuilding showed me the gap between knowing and becoming. That gap became the focus of everything I do. I am the founder of Orygen Breathwork™, where I train women to develop the stability, self-trust and leadership required to hold their lives and the work they are here to do. My writing reflects the same standard. It is not here to inspire you for a moment, it is here to show you what it actually takes to become the woman you already know you are. The Woman After is where that work begins.