Meet Sam Hirschmann: Movement & Breathwork Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Hirschmann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
“Nothing Human is Foreign to Me”

One of my teachers in acting school said this to us in class and it never left me.
I used to write “nothing human is foreign to me” down on the top of my notebook every day before acting because if you didn’t know, I worked in finance before going to acting school so getting up in front of my whole class to perform a scene was slightly terrifying to me. The beautiful thing about acting is that it pushes you to live out every single emotion, even the ones that you have been shamed to maybe feel.
So reading that quote every day reminded me “wait a second, I’m a human and I’m allowed to feel it ALL with no shame, no guilt, and no punishment.”

Since acting school I’ve taken this quote with me everywhere. I take it with me to my Breathwork classes, to Instagram, to my relationships, to movement, you name it I take it there. There is this very sneaky undercurrent out in society that makes us feel the need to look “put together” all the time. If we don’t we look messy or we look crazy or if we show our true feelings we’re too much. “Nothing human is foreign to me” reminds me that it is joyful, positive, and ‘cool’ to embody the WHOLE human spectrum. When we make friends with all our desires and feelings we inspire others to do the same.

What should our readers know about your business?
Joy. I channel in joy to everything I do and offer in Breathwork and Movement. In most of my 20s I was someone who took everything very seriously: academics, athletics, work, acting, healing, eating healthy, staying in shape, etc. I had this idea that once I achieved the “thing” I could have fun and be joyful.

It wasn’t until the end of 2020 when I was offering my last Breathwork circle of the year where I had this realization that I was more fun than this. I was starting to hold space that felt very serious and that wasn’t my true nature. I realized what people needed (including myself) was to feel more joy and to have more fun in life. And by no means do I believe we are never going to feel the heavier emotions of devastation, sadness, anger, grief, but how do we channel in joy while feeling and moving through life. I wanted to add more of our most innocent and playful inner children to my work.

I now emphasize in all my Breathwork circles that it’s allowed to be joyful and we don’t have to take any part of the healing process too seriously. I’m currently about to offer a Somatic Movement experience to channel more of this joy into the process of coming home to ourselves. I’m doing this because I know this is what I wish I had in my young to mid 20s. I really wish I had someone who said to me, common find the joy in living and stop trying to be so perfect.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a South Bay girl so my spots would be: Coffee: Two Guns
Breakfast: Cafe Wild, Local Yolk, North End, or Uncle Bills
Lunch: Sloopy’s or the cafe at Gum Tree
Dinner: All the Slay resturaunts or Nando. The Kettle if you want to be on the more cozy side
Craving awesome Mexican food: El Terasco on Rosecrans

Then for activities:
Long walk on the Strand
Bring margaritas down to the beach for sunset (my husband makes the best margs:)
Drive down to Palos Verdes and hit up all the hiking trails there for a sunrise or sunset!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh my goodness so many people deserve a shout out in my story.

First and foremost The William Esper Studio and all my teachers there: Jennifer Monaco, Bruce Mccarty, Nancy Mayans, Eric Loscheider, Jules Helm, Akil Davis, Judith Grodowitz, Anne Waxman, and David Kaplan.
All those teachers will forever hold a massive space in my heart. They all taught me the beauty and fascination of being a human with a heart. I am forever grateful for each and every one of those names. I will also add all my classmates who were on the same courageous journey of finding truth in each moment.

I will then of course give a huge thanks to David Elliot, my Breathwork teacher who opened my whole world to healing and “having fun” with it. Nicola Behrman, for reminding me of the magic, joy and ease in every moment. Kellie Jean for being my first ever introduction to the world of energy and Reiki at the age of 19. Brynne Dippell for opening my eyes and ears to the grace of the Akashic Records. My husband and my family for their support, love, and finding the never ending entertainment of watching my journey front row. And lastly, my grandma Elizabeth Hirschmann who told me to follow my dreams.

Website: https://samhirschmann.com

Instagram: @sahirschmann

Image Credits
Ashley J Photo