A DJ and bestselling author who says breathwork helped him to grieve his girlfriend’s death has shared his experiences ahead of a major wellbeing festival in Birmingham.

Stuart Sandeman, host of BBC Radio 1’s Decompression Session, the author of Sunday Times best-seller Breathe In Breathe Out, and the founder of Breathpod, is a world renowned breathwork coach and will be hosting a workshop at the upcoming Mind Body Spirit Festival.

Mind Body Spirit Festival is set to attract more than 10,000 people over three days when it takes place at NEC Birmingham from Friday 17 November to Sunday 19 November.

Stuart’s workshop at the event, titled Breathe to Align, will help people use breathing as a tool to manage their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

He lost is girlfriend to cancer eight years ago at the age of 31 and after taking his mum to a breathwork session he immediately noticed how it supported his grieving, by providing a quiet moment of peace and enabled him to better feel his emotions.

Stuart, based in London, has used breathwork to support Olympic rowers and UFC fighters to enhance their performance, while also working with top business executives and other individuals to help them live happier and healthier lives.

“When my girlfriend passed away, I was in a very bad headspace, at that time the last thing I thought I would end up doing is teach people to breathe, I’d always spent my life too busy to breathe,” said Stuart.

“If anything, I was always a sceptic of anything like this, I had always been very masculine and had a ‘hold it together’ mentality. However, when I was faced with something like grief, I found it gave me a safe space.

“It was weird and wonderful, because when I closed my eyes and did the breathwork session I felt like my girlfriend was there with me.

“I often tell people who are sceptics that if you are doing something 20,000 times a day, you would want to know if you were doing it right.

“Breathing is also linked to how we feel," he added. "It is quite a powerful tool if we are feeling stressed, going through grief, loss, a breakup, or facing the challenges of daily life.

"You don’t need a mountaintop monastery to breathe. You can do it sitting at the bus stop, at your desk, in the park. It’s universal, and it doesn’t take much to learn how we are breathing and how it can impact our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing."

Stuart has hosted workshops at previous Mind Body Spirit Festival events, including in London and Birmingham.

He added: “This will be my fourth Mind Body Spirit Festival and I love it. It’s always an eye opener into different practices and tools that people use to support their wellbeing, from ancient traditions to new scientific approaches. I really like where science meets the mystical and Mind Body Spirit does that very well.”

Mind Body Spirit Festival brings together inspirational, motivational speakers, musicians, artists and performers from across the globe, while also featuring a large exhibition from independent organisations, companies and therapists with a wealth of experience, expertise, treatments and treats for you to sample, try and buy.

The exhibition will feature 120 exhibitors, with over 100 free talks for visitors, including talks on yoga, health, nutrition, spirituality and the wellbeing market.

A newly launched ‘Midlife Wisdom’ stage will support women on their holistic health journey, including practical advice and guidance on topics such as menopause, gut health, nutrition, hormones, tiredness, and life after 50.

There will also be presentations from nationally renowned experts, including hypnotherapist Paul McKenna, Lorna Byrne, astral projection teacher Jade Shaw, and many more.

Josh Roberts, Managing Director at Mind Body Spirit Festival, added: “Our Birmingham event continues to reach new heights and we are delighted to be expanding the show again this year.

“It’s great to be able to welcome Stuart Sandeman to the event, he is a globally renowned expert in his field and he will be sharing insights and expertise that any person can benefit from in their day-to-day life.

“The popular Wellbeing Studio, Alchemy of Sound area and Aspects of Healing stage will all be returning and we’re expecting it to be our biggest event yet in Birmingham.”

Tickets for Mind Body Spirit Festival start from £15 plus booking fee. To find out more about the festival visit mindbodyspiritfestival.co.uk/birmingham