A few months ago, we were introduced to Kallie and her mom, Rachele. Kallie introduced us to her breathwork cards and videos.
Kallie is 7 years old and she loves swimming, playing with her friends and sister, horseback riding, creating art, and she loves doing breathwork with everyone in the world! She loves making videos for people and LOVES making people feel happy! Kallie has FPIES and food allergies, and knows it can be really hard so she wants to help other people through it too!
Kallie is an inspiration and we knew you’d love to hear about her work too!
Tell us a little about yourself.
“Hi! My name is Kallie. I am 7 years old and my family and I started doing breathwork when my little sister was in the hospital. It was a really hard time for me but I got through it and I really needed breathwork. I have FPIES and I started doing breathwork when I was having food reactions. It helped me SO much. Breathwork helped me so much that I wanted to teach the whole world how to breathe like this. So, I started ‘Breathing in Harmony and Hope’ because I knew other people needed breathing like this too. I make my breathwork cards and post pictures and videos so that other people can watch them and they can do the breathwork too. I want to spread joy to people with my breathwork and words :)”
What inspired your work, what inspired your website?
“What inspired me to do my website was I wanted to help other people with breathwork as much as it helped me. My goal is for my organization to get bigger and bigger so that everyone in the world can see breathwork so it can help more people! I really want kids to learn breathwork because this can really help all the time, even during a really hard time”
What service do you provide?
“I teach breathwork classes for kids to come and have fun and learn breathwork. I also make breathwork cards that I donate to anyone in the world who needs them! I made shirts with smiles and waves with breathwork on them so that people can wear breathwork too. It helps people everywhere they go to remember to do breathwork by having it on their shirt!”
Can you provide a sample video?
From Kallie’s mom, “Here is a video Kallie created with different breathing exercises for children with FPIES. These techniques can also help parents and siblings navigate through this as well!”
What ages do you recommend this for?
“I recommend my breathwork for any age! I recommend this for people new to food allergies or who have had food allergies for a really long time. This can help anyone :)!”
As the creator, do you have recommendations for utilizing your page?
“When you guys want to do breathwork, you can go to my page. I like to post my videos so people can enjoy breathwork anytime, anywhere! Practice my breathwork cards and videos and it can really help!”
Note from Kallie’s mom: “The page: https://www.breathinginharmonyandhope.com/videos on her website takes you right to her breathwork videos 🙂.
We recommend practicing her techniques a few times a day so our bodies can learn this new way of breathing! The more we practice, the easier it is for our bodies to remember how to utilize these techniques to their fullest potential!”
Is there anything else you would like to share that we did not ask?
“If you feel like you are alone, you can always remember you aren’t alone. You may feel alone, but there are lots of people in the world who have FPIES too! For all the parents and kids with FPIES, know you aren’t alone in making special food. I learned that lots of kids have to eat foods that are different from their friends. When I see kids eating foods that my body doesn’t like, I take deep breaths and I get a snack that I can eat. For a while, I couldn’t have birthday cakes and I learned that you don’t need a birthday cake to make the day special! Holidays and birthdays aren’t about the food, they are about family and love. My birthday was so special even without a cake.
When I’m having a reaction, my parents help me by helping me not feel left out. When I’m puking or have a very bad tummy ache, my parents help me with breathing. We breathe together and taking big, deep breaths really helps me. You can try breathing during any reaction you have too, it really helps me and I hope it can help you too!”
From Kallie’s mom: “Kallie’s story inspires us so much because for many years Kallie could only eat one food. Kallie is now 7 years old and we celebrate the huge milestones she has overcome and all of the foods she can eat now! While she still battles FPIES, she manages it so amazingly well. She uses breathwork to help her through the nervousness of trying a new food, and through the pain of a reaction, and she has even used breathwork to stop vomiting during an acute reaction. As soon as she felt well enough to talk, Kallie said, “Mom, we have to share this with other kids with FPIES because this REALLY helps!” We are so proud of her for all she has overcome and now she is reaching her hand out to offer support to others with FPIES♥️”
Kallie’s Story:
When Kallie was first diagnosed with FPIES, we had never heard of it before, and we felt very alone and worried. Through many food trials, food logs, ER/ doctor visits, and many hardships and tears, Kallie’s strength and perseverance taught us so much that we would love to share with you. As Kallie got older, she started noticing her friends could share food and that their food looked different from hers. Through this, Kallie taught us to change perspective. Some kids may need glasses to see or hearing aids to hear, and some kids can’t share snacks ♥️ but a child’s uniqueness is something to be appreciated. None of us are exactly alike, and that’s what makes our world so awesome. The experiences, hardships, and uniqueness we each have allow us to help one another! Our bodies are each so unique and we learned to celebrate and embrace our unique needs. With this, we also bought books to show Kallie the different meals different cultures eat. I highly recommend this as Kallie learned that even if our food looks different than her friends where we live… all over the world the meals for kids all look different! Kallie teaches us to focus on how grateful we are for the awesome foods that help her to feel her best 🙂
One of the most challenging lessons we have learned through our journey with FPIES, is how scary it can be to try a new food. Having no tests to predict what foods your child could have a severe reaction to, and then having to feed them to see their response… can feel so terrifying- for both a caregiver and a child. Here is what I have found to be so helpful for our family: We practice lots of breathwork before, during, and after adding new foods. I repeat to Kallie (and myself), “This new addition of food is going to go great! Your body is strong and healthy and we have all the tools and plans to keep you healthy and well! Mom and dad are here for you and we are proud of you for adding in a new food!”
If you are in the thick of it, in the trenches wondering if your kiddo is going to be ok., if they will get their birthday cakes, or if your lives will ever not have a food log…. I promise it gets better ♥️. We hope our message of hope inspires you today because you loving your little one as much as you do helps them more than I could ever express. You are doing an amazing job and one day you will look back in pride at all you managed and made it through all while being a loving parent too! I spent many nights awake researching, praying, and wondering how everything was going to work out when poor Kallie was so, so sick. Somehow, in some way, everything worked out better than I could’ve planned. So, take a deep breath with me, breathe in, and slowly breathe out. The FPIES Foundation is a tremendous resource and provided our family with so much support ♥️
Kallie creates breathing videos and shares inspiration to help others through all the ups and downs of life. You can find her videos and words of love at www.Facebook.com/breathinginharmonyandhope or https://www.breathinginharmonyandhope.com
Sending blessings and smiles 🙂,
Kallie and Rachele
Breathing in Harmony and Hope
www.breathinginharmonyandhope.com
The FPIES Foundation is happy to help Kallie reach more friends with her breathwork cards. Simply send us a message at contact@thefpiesfoundation.org and we will send you one of Kallie’s breathwork cards (or a digital download!), along with any additional FPIES awareness and advocacy materials you can use.
This post is a written interview by Joy Meyer, Co-Director with Kallie and her mother Rachele.
