Keep calm in your toolkit for when the plan goes sideways and you still have a job to do
From special mission flying to adventure riding, I test breathwork where it actually has to work – then turn what holds up into practical tools you can use when things get messy.
Proof behind the practice
200+ people taught
15 years
‘Calm under pressure’ breathwork delivered through workshops, festivals, and events
Providing operational readiness training to militaries worldwide in a specialist aircraft
Crew Resource Management Trainer
Worked with
Teaching the human side of performance, decision-making and teamwork
Adventure Bike Rider Festival · Passenger · She Who Dares Wins podcast
You don’t just “have” a good response to pressure. You build one.
Feeling nervous before a big event, technical section or high-stakes moment doesn’t mean anything has gone wrong.
Your heart might race. Your breathing might change. Your brain might start offering some deeply unhelpful commentary.
That’s fear doing what fear does.
Calm ≠ no nerves.
Calm is having enough space to notice what’s happening without letting it make every decision for you.
It helps you:
keep thinking when things get busy
recover faster when something goes wrong
make the next decision instead of getting stuck on the last one
use the skills you’ve already trained when they actually matter
And that’s why I’m not interested in breathwork that only works when you’re lying down somewhere quiet with your eyes closed.
It has to earn its place in the real world.
I’m Elissa Challis
SPECIAL MISSION PILOTBREATHWORK COACHADVENTURE RIDER
There’s a desert rally in my sights that 5-years-ago-me would have considered completely unhinged.
I like putting breathwork into action and pushing my comfort zone — taking on bigger challenges and learning more about how I show up when the pressure is on.
I first started seeing its potential while co-hosting a women’s cold-water swimming community. I was using breathwork in my own practice and before swims, and could feel the difference it made to how calm and in control I felt getting into the water.
So I started teaching it before our group swims too. From there, breathwork became a tool I took into more and more parts of my life.
I used it to create space before flying and between busy days. I took it with me as I learned to climb, got into motorbikes and gradually pushed my comfort zone further in both.
Harder routes. Bigger rides. More ambitious adventures. And now, a desert rally sitting firmly on the list.
That’s what I love about the breath: you always have it with you.
It’s simple, accessible and can make a meaningful difference in a short space of time. I can use it wherever I am to steady myself, create some space and get on with whatever is in front of me.
And over the years, that has supported me in expanding my idea of what I’m capable of.
Five years ago, I wouldn’t have pictured myself doing half the things I do now. Today, I actively seek out experiences that test my resilience, teach me more about myself and take me somewhere I haven’t been before.
Calm has given me access to a much bigger life.
That curiosity shapes the work I do now: taking breathwork into the real world and giving other people a practical tool that can support them in seeing what they’re capable of too.
From paralysed by heights to Grade 3 scrambles
I used to be genuinely terrified of heights. Now North Wales is my favourite place to trad climb, and I’ve made it up Cadair Idris and Crib Goch.
I collect tattoos like postcards
Places I’ve been, things I’ve done and adventures worth permanently remembering tend to find their way onto me.
I’ve done some pretty cool shit
5 years of special mission flying
Including low-level flying over the sea, formation flying with other jets and towing targets for people to shoot at. Just a normal Tuesday.
My holidays have one very specific requirement
Forget the fancy hotel. I’m looking for a cold plunge and sauna. It’s one of the first things we search for whenever we go somewhere new.
Choose your calm
1:1 Breathwork
For adventure athletes who want to stay calm when the pressure is on.
Workplace Training
Practical tools to help your team stay calm, connected and effective under pressure.
Brand Partnerships
Adventure content for brands that want to reach more women in motorsport.
Train it for the moments when you need to think clearly, make good decisions and keep moving when the pressure is on.
Calm is a performance skill
I’m interested in breathwork that holds up in the middle of real life.
The kind you can use when there’s a lot happening at once. When your nerves kick in. When something goes wrong. When you still have a decision to make or a job to do.
That’s how I use it myself.
After 15+ years of special mission flying, I know how quickly pressure can build — and how much difference a little space can make.
Space to take in what’s actually happening.
Space to decide what matters.
Space to respond instead of rush.
So my approach is practical: train your response before you need it, then put it into action when you do.
Breathwork gives us a simple way to practise that skill, so you can access more of what you already know how to do when the pressure rises.
Because calm isn’t something you either have or you don’t. It’s something you can train.
Adventure Athlete Rituals
Ever wondered how experienced adventure athletes prepare to perform? I asked 6 of them to share their routines, mental strategies and hard-earned lessons.
From Dakar finishers to mountain athletes, this free guide is packed with practical ideas you can steal for your own adventures.
