Passion Struck with John R. Miles
Bryant Wood on How to Unlock Healing with Spiritual Biohacking | EP 584
Thu, 13 Mar 2025
In this enlightening episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles sits down with Bryant Wood, a renowned breathwork coach, healer, and expert in spiritual biohacking, to explore the profound intersection of mind, body, and spirit in personal transformation.Bryant shares his deeply personal journey—from a childhood rooted in faith to losing his spiritual connection, battling addiction, and ultimately finding healing through breathwork, mindfulness, and self-discovery. He introduces spiritual biohacking as a powerful approach to rewiring the mind, healing emotional wounds, and reclaiming inner peace.Link to the full show notes: https://passionstruck.com/bryant-wood-spiritual-biohacking/Key takeaways:Healing Inner Wounds: How suppressed emotions manifest as physical pain and how to address them through breathwork and energy work.The Disease of Disconnection: Why many people feel lost in today's world and how to reclaim a sense of belonging and purpose.Spiritual Biohacking: How to activate your energy centers and break free from limiting beliefs for greater vitality and clarity.Breathwork for Transformation: The science behind breathwork and how it regulates the nervous system, reduces anxiety, and enhances focus.Reclaiming Masculinity with Compassion: Bryant’s insights on redefining strength and embracing vulnerability as a pathway to true power.Technology and Mindfulness: How virtual reality and modern tools are shaping the future of meditation, healing, and human connection.Connect with Bryant Wood: https://learn.spiritualbiohacks.com/bryant-wood-spiritual-biohackingSponsors:Factor Meals: http://factormeals.com/factormeals50off and use code “FACTOR MEALS 50 OFFRosetta Stone: Unlock 25 languages for life at “ROSETTASTONE.com/passionstruck.”Prolon: Reset your health with 15% off at “ProlonLife.com/passionstruck.”Mint Mobile: Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at “MINT MOBILE dot com slash PASSION.”Hims: Start your journey to regrowing hair with Hims. Visit hims.com/PASSIONSTRUCK for your free online visit.Quince: Discover luxury at affordable prices with Quince. Enjoy free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/PASSIONNext on Passion Struck:In the next episode of Passion Struck, John sits down with Dr Samuel Wilkinson, YALE professor and author of the book "Purpose.". In this discussion, we go over why, for generations, we've been told that evolution suggests that life has no deeper meaning, that we're simply the result of molecular accidents.For more information on advertisers and promo codes, visit Passion Struck Deals.Join the Passion Struck Community! Sign up for the Live Intentionally newsletter, where I share exclusive content, actionable advice, and insights to help you ignite your purpose and live your most intentional life. Get access to practical exercises, inspiring stories, and tools designed to help you grow. Learn more and sign up here.Speaking Engagements & Workshops Are you looking to inspire your team, organization, or audience to take intentional action in their lives and careers? I’m available for keynote speaking, workshops, and leadership training on topics such as intentional living, resilience, leadership, and personal growth. Let’s work together to create transformational change. Learn more at johnrmiles.com/speaking.Episode Starter Packs With over 500 episodes, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. We’ve curated Episode Starter Packs based on key themes like leadership, mental health, and personal growth, making it easier for you to dive into the topics you care about. Check them out at passionstruck.com/starterpacks.Catch More of Passion Struck:My solo episode on The Science of Healthy HabitsMy episode with Arthur C. Brooks on Finding Success, Happiness, and PurposeCan't miss my episode with Robert Waldinger on What Are the Keys to Living a Good LifeCatch my interview with Susan Cain on What is the Happiness of Being BittersweetListen to my solo epísode on Why Happiness Leads to Success: 3 Lessons from Richard BransonIf you liked the show, please leave us a review—it only takes a moment and helps us reach more people! Don’t forget to include your Twitter or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally.How to Connect with John:Connect with John on Twitter at @John_RMiles and on Instagram at @John_R_Miles. Subscribe to our main YouTube Channel here and to our YouTube Clips Channel here. For more insights and resources, visit John’s website.Want to explore where you stand on the path to becoming Passion Struck? Take our 20-question quiz on Passionstruck.com and find out today!
Chapter 1: What inspired Bryant Wood to pursue spiritual biohacking?
And when you can rally and start making slowly conscious decisions for your health that nurtures you, your friends, your family, they come along because you're taking care of yourself.
Welcome to Passion Struck. Hi, I'm your host, John R. Miles, and on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself.
If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays. We have long-form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now let's go out there and become passion struck. Hey, passion struck fam. Welcome to episode 584.
Whether you're a longtime listener or tuning in for the first time, I am so grateful you're here. You've joined a global movement dedicated to igniting purpose, living boldly with intention and creating a life filled with meaning and connection. Before we dive in, let's reflect on the powerful conversation we had earlier in the week with Dr. Laurie Santos.
Laurie is one of the world's foremost experts on happiness and well-being, and she took us on a deep dive into the science of joy, why our minds mislead us, and the power of connection in building a truly fulfilling life. If you haven't had a chance to listen, I highly recommend going back. It's packed with wisdom that can transform the way you approach happiness and meaning.
Now let me ask you this. What if the strength we've been taught to value isn't real strength at all? What if true power comes not from suppressing emotion, but from embracing it? And how do we redefine masculinity in a way that fosters deep connection, emotional resilience, and authentic living.
That's exactly what we're diving into today with Bryant Wood, a former model and bodybuilder turned master breathwork instructor, spiritual guide, and transformational coach. Bryant has dedicated his life to helping others break through emotional barriers, reconnect with their true selves, and harness the power of breath to heal from within.
His work is rooted in empowering people to unlock their highest potential through mindfulness, movement, and deep inner work. But Brian's personal journey is what makes his message so powerful. Once consumed by external validation, numbing himself through substances, and disconnected from his spiritual core, he reached a breaking point that forced him to turn inward.
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Chapter 2: How did Bryant Wood's personal challenges shape his journey?
Through breathwork, prayer, and radical self-exploration, He rediscovered his purpose, and now he's here to help us do the same. In today's conversation, we explore the power of breathwork as a tool for emotional and spiritual transformation.
how to cultivate true strength through vulnerability and self-awareness, the science of signature frequency, and how to step into your most authentic self, as well as practical strategies for fostering belonging, connection, and personal growth.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating personal challenges, seeking deeper emotional healing, or looking to redefine what it means to live with true authenticity and purpose. Bryant brings profound wisdom, raw honesty, and an undeniable passion for helping others break free from limiting beliefs.
And for those who want to go deeper, check out our episode starter packs on Spotify or at passionstruck.com slash starter packs. With over 580 episodes, we've curated playlists on themes like mental health, personal transformation, and physical well-being. to help you find the insights that resonate most with you.
And don't forget to subscribe to my Live Intentionally newsletter for exclusive weekly insights, tools, and actionable strategies to live with greater intention. Now, let's dive into an inspiring exploration of breathwork, emotional healing, and redefining strength with the one and only Bryant Wood.
Thank you for choosing PassionStruck and choosing me to be your host and guide on your journey to creating an intentional life. Now, let that journey begin. I am absolutely thrilled today to bring Bryant Wood on PassionStruck. Welcome Bryant.
Thank you, John. Really grateful to be here.
I have to give some credit to our mutual friend, Emma Sapella for introducing us. And I thought maybe that would be a great starting point. Emma was a guest of the show last year. She and I have gone on to become very good friends and collaborators. And I really think she's one of the leading people out there as you and I talked about before on
really bringing breath work and mindfulness and other things to the mainstream and also exploring the science of happiness but how did you first get introduced to emma emma's a legend anyone that's not familiar with her work i highly recommend checking it out because she has i think 20 to 30 years in academics on the forefront of the research of meditation and breath work and this is supporting veterans of ptsd this is supporting college kids with stress i mean she's
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Chapter 3: What role does breathwork play in healing and transformation?
I was supposed to interview him last year and unfortunately it fell apart for very sad reasons. My sister who was a Buddhist died of pancreatic cancer and it was just weeks ahead of when I was supposed to interview him. So we weren't able, I wasn't able to get to where he was and we couldn't pull it together, but that is still something I would love to do.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I've actually had the pleasure of interviewing him about three to four times. So I got in there and he's like a kid. He's a kid with just the utmost wisdom. You look into his eyes. It's pure, unconditional love. He always answers things in a way that's like specifically for you. It's a very magical thing to be able to interview him.
So I really hope you get the chance to someday.
That's something that people tell me about His Holiness the Dalai Lama, too, is that he takes every message and he really personalizes it. Now, I think his overall message is he wants to end human suffering, but he really personalizes it to each person he interacts with and what part they can do to help people.
Did you get the same sense from your takeaways in any of those three interviews that you did?
So I like to pick up on... I'm very interested in why people become the way that they are, especially in the spiritual realms, because for me, there's not... more powerful place to be than to be someone that people respect in regards to directing their life path and how to think about life, how to behave. So he's reached the pinnacle of what I consider success just from an embodied state of love.
And when I observed him, he was very open with me in a way about his skill sets. One was he was extremely versed in the Vedas. So he knew Every of the ancient texts, he had it memorized. And I think he was like 10 years old, citing them off from memory. So obviously there's past life relationships with that information. And then simultaneously, there's the cities.
The cities are enlightened gifts that you get. And he has access to be able to read a TV screen and get intuitive hits that then can help a message resonate. And so there's psychic abilities mixed with the ancient Vedas and then just being an embodied loving person. And that's how I see him being so effective just from an observer perspective.
Thank you for sharing that. And Brian, I want to go back to your early beginnings. You've spoken in the past. I've heard you talk about that. When you were younger, you really developed a deep spiritual connection, but later you lost that connection. Can you discuss that? And was there an event that happened that caused that to happen? Was it just you aging and changing your belief cycles?
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Chapter 4: How does the concept of signature frequency contribute to personal growth?
Like the love of the natural love of life is pouring through me and I feel authentic and I'm grateful to be alive and it's a beautiful thing to be. But when you take something like the Kratom or opioids or anything like that, it numbs everything. It doesn't just numb the pain.
And I felt like I was in a fog, but there was a part of me that was always aware that I was in a fog and not connected to myself and knew I could be connected to myself if I chose to. So...
The disconnect I felt mostly was with my family and friends and because there's a lack of honesty of my use, of using the substance, of why I was using the substance, of what was going on that caused me to use the substance. There was just a lack of honesty and transparency, especially someone like me where I'm a leader in my community. I'm speaking about wellness stuff all the time.
It's just not a good look to be addicted to drugs, but it's important to discuss it. And I didn't have any real support during that time. It was pretty much ultimatums like fix this or you're by yourself. But I've always been someone that's totally down to admit where I was wrong. And at the end of the day, I was not the same person that I am without the substance, right?
It totally changed the chemistry of my brain, the way I was behaving, my emotions were flaring up and it wasn't who I was. Because disconnection is a byproduct of making less productive decisions. And when you can rally and start making slowly conscious decisions for your health that nurtures you, your friends, your family, they come along because you're taking care of yourself.
I want to ask a follow-on question about this, and I'm going to set the stage for you so you understand where I'm coming from. Last week, I was interviewing another one of Emma's friends, Sandra Matz, and she's got a new book coming out about AI and what its impact, the algorithms, et cetera, are doing to us as a society.
And we were exploring this whole concept that she grew up in this very small village in Germany. a village that only had a few hundred people in it and everyone knew your successes, your failures, et cetera. But you always had this feeling that people were watching out for you, that they cared for you, et cetera. And we were describing how that
village which you could think of your family unit is a village i grew up i think you live in pennsylvania i grew up in pennsylvania and i grew up in york and i always felt especially york it's not a very big town but within that i also grew up in a very catholic community so within that community i felt that and now we're going into a global village where many of the actors that were
interfacing with don't have our best interest at heart. And in fact, many of them are nefarious and are wanting to control us in certain ways. So how do you think, especially for young adults right now,
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Chapter 5: What are the dangers of addiction and disconnection from self?
That's a beautiful question. So with her UN work, one of the biggest things that drew me to her first as a friend, second as a life partner was her sincerity and wanting to help other people. So she has a really strong balance of being able to be the coolest person in the room at Hollywood events. But speaking up and directing people's attention to
things like refugees that really need some support. And I've had the opportunity a few times to go with her when she's speaking to refugees. For example, I believe in Budapest with the UN and the stories you hear are just so, I mean, you wouldn't even imagine the stuff that people go through, but most importantly, the hope that they have.
And she goes in there and tells their story and speaks to them as a role model and someone that understands the mindset of people that have been through similar things. And she just does a lot of good. So my main thing is her sincerity. I love it. It's my favorite thing. You can feel it. You can feel someone that's actually there for others when they walk into a room. And I
When I go as far as a support system, I'm just going there to keep the kids present and talk about nothing, because sometimes that's all that they need. They need people to see them as human beings, not as someone that's struggling, and then help them remember to smile. And her work is just a plus. It's really, it's God's work, man. Like you don't even, it's extraordinary. It's very special.
I mean, I hope that answers your question.
It's interesting. I told you my fiance, Corey, I told you about her earlier, but what I didn't tell you is she's a nurse practitioner. She happens to work for an eye institute who does a lot of glaucoma and cataract surgery. So many of the people she's meeting with are older adults. And oftentimes she may be the only person that they're interacting with in a given day.
And she really just cherishes those interactions because she really views it as an opportunity not only to clear them for their surgery, but also to make them feel like they're seen and heard. And it's one of the qualities that I admire about her the most is she's an empath and she's Jewish and I think has this nurturing quality about her that
I can't tell you how many times since we've been dating, she hears how she has saved people's lives or just made them feel better. And it's eye-opening just how a small minute or two conversation can change the whole trajectory of a person's day, week, even life.
We call those good people. It was my highest compliments. That's a good person right there. And it's a lost skill set to be able to be fully present with someone and listen to their story and just be there. I always say like one of the secrets to life is walking into a room and someone before any sort of financial exchange or do this because I asked you to just ask them how they're doing.
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Chapter 6: How can we foster authentic connections in a digital age?
then i came across a method and that i've tweaked and mastered called the emotional freedom process and this is actually how to deal with emotional turmoil that's causing physical pain or any sort of physical symptoms and this is way different than what breathworks telling people to do where you just go into a practice for a long period of time and hope your shoulder pain dissipates so
this technique you actually go into in a safe uh parasympathetic way the sensation and then it untethers the sensation and then you rewire the brain that's holding that sensation in place and it actually solves the pain the tension the anxiety it solves it now i'm teaching a more of an embodied
breath work that's inclusive of kind of these rewiring of the brain practices to actually solve some of these issues. Because what I realized was I was just trying to elevate my frequency so much, but not actually deal with these emotional wounds that I was carrying.
Makes me think as people set new year's goals and they look back on the failures that they've had over the past year for not achieving, for not achieving their goals. How much of that do you think has to deal with these emotions being shut off? And then, cause I think it matters a lot more than people realize.
The foundations matter more than anyone realizes. Sleep, food, hydration, connection, meditation, yoga. I mean, all of these simple things. I think people don't realize how hard it is to let go of a bad habit if you're not replacing it with good habits. I think that's the biggest thing.
And we have to find good habits that resonate with the people and what brings them joy and what feels effortless to them, not something that necessarily feels like hard work. Yeah. It's all foundations.
Well, I had an interesting conversation. I'm not sure if you know who Susan Cain is. She's an author. Wrote a great book called Quiet and then came out with another book last year called Bittersweet. And I really wanted to interview her about it because she was really going into these hard emotions we don't want to talk about. Sorrow, suffering, sadness. And we tend to shut those things off.
And this past year, I experienced them in a profound way. I brought up my sister. But then we were also impacted with three feet of water in our house after the hurricanes and had a lot of emotional impact. And I saw just how much it completely halted a lot of the goals that I had for the year. It was like a tale of two years for me. At the beginning of the year, I put out a book.
I feel like I'm in cloud nine. My sister dies. Then the hurricane. And it was so hard for me because I was emotionally shut off to get back into those things. And it had a ripple effect in that it started impacting what I was eating and how I was exercising and then how I was showing up to others.
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