Can strength training, breathwork, and self-awareness completely transform a life shaped by bullying, low confidence, and an eating disorder? In this powerful conversation, professional strongwoman and strength & performance coach Sandra Bradley shares how she became one of the world’s leading strongwomen and how tools like Oxygen Advantage® breathing, mindfulness, and process-focused training have shaped her body and mind.

We explore:

- How Sandra went from watching World’s Strongest Man on TV to becoming a top strongwoman athlete

- Her journey from eating disorder, bullying, and dissociation to self-acceptance and inner strength

- Why lifting odd objects and historical stones (including the famous Fullsterkur stone in Iceland – 154 kg) builds real-world resilience

- How Oxygen Advantage style breathing, cold exposure (ice baths), and mindfulness support nervous system regulation and recovery

- The difference between ego-based goals vs intrinsic goals in training and life

- How to use strength sports, breathwork, and presence as tools for self-confidence, emotional regulation, and personal growth

If you’re interested in Oxygen Advantage breathing, mental performance, strength training, ADHD, burnout recovery, or how to build unshakable confidence, this episode is for you.

Timestamps

0:00 – Intro: Who is Sandra Bradley?

1:00 – Getting into strongwoman and lifting odd objects

8:00 – Historical stone lifting & the Fullsterkur story (154 kg)

10:00 – Process over outcome: what “success” really feels like

15:00 – Burnout, World’s Strongest Woman, and shifting her mindset

18:40 – Daily routines: breathing, ice baths, walking, self-check-ins

22:00 – From bullying and eating disorder to inner strength

29:00 – Practical tools: journaling, nature, and body awareness

33:00 – ADHD, mental noise & using breathwork to self-regulate

37:00 – Social media, distraction, and taking back agency

42:00 – Choosing the right people & building a real support system

44:30 – Coaching: when strength goals become ego goals

49:00 – Lessons from trophies, titles, and what really matters

51:00 – Looking back: why she wouldn’t change the hard times

As we close out Season 6 of the Oxygen Advantage® Podcast, this special finale brings together five standout moments that capture the depth and diversity of conversations we’ve had this past few years.

Featuring:

• James Nestor on the lost art and power of nasal breathing

• Dr. Nathan Bryan on nitric oxide and whole-body health

• Ihor Verys on breath as a tool for world-class endurance

• Dr. George Dallam on the science of nasal vs. mouth breathing in sport

• Robin Rothenberg on where pranayama meets modern breath science

Whether you’re new to the podcast or a long-time listener, this episode is a powerful recap of the ideas shaping the future of breathwork.

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Patrick McKeown meets James Nestor, author of Breath The new science of a lost art

James Nestor is the author of a new book on breathing called:

Breath: The new science of a lost art : https://www.mrjamesnestor.com/breath

James Nestor is an author and journalist who has written for Outside Magazine, Men's Journal, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, The New York Times, Scientific American and more.

Nestor’s new book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, will be released through Riverhead/Penguin Random House on May 26, 2020. It explores how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly over the past several hundred thousand years and is now suffering from a laundry list of maladies — snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease— because of it. Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren’t found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo. Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head.

Nestor has appeared on dozens of national radio and television shows ― including ABC’s Nightline, CBS Morning News, and dozens of NPR programs. More at mrjamesnestor.com.

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