From Hustle to Healing: How Rest and Breathwork Are Redefining My Success
- Aug 19, 2025
- 4 min read
By Omi Bell
As the founder and CEO of Black Girl Ventures, I’ve funded over 550 under-resourced companies and impacted more than 20,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners. Needless to say, I’ve been on the grind - building a team, expanding my network, becoming an Aspen Ideas Fellow, and training women internationally in places like Nigeria, Oman, Cannes, and Jordan.
For a long time, I thought that the harder I worked, the more validation and awards I received, and the more money I made; that was what stability and success looked like. But in 2022, I hit a wall. It wasn’t just tiredness; it was what I can only describe as soul exhaustion. I was tired to my core.
I tried a two-week vacation, then a month-long vacation, but the truth was I needed something deeper. In 2024, I took a three-month sabbatical, and that’s where I found the real treasure: nervous system regulation. My mindset shifted from “team no sleep” to understanding that rest is fuel for my success. I am more successful when I am grounded and rested. I make better decisions and even more money when I am calm and clear.
“Fight or flight” may have gotten me to a certain point. But “rest and digest”? That’s how success is sustained.
For me, staying grounded while helping others heal starts with having a solid care team. That means surrounding myself with my favorite practitioners, trusted medical professionals, and practices that keep me well. Community is also everything to me.
I’ve learned that I can’t pour into others if I’m running on empty, so I have to practice what I teach. In my work at BGV and as a speaker, I support business owners because I’ve been in their shoes. I know what it feels like to navigate the demanding rhythm of building something from the ground up while leading a team behind the scenes.
That’s why my own healing practices are non-negotiable. I do breathwork and Yoga Nidra daily to help me stay grounded. I journal to stay connected with my higher self, my ancestors, and my guides. These practices help me show up grounded, present, and fully myself so I can hold space for others to do the same.
What happens in the body during breathwork:
Activating the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” state).
Regulating cortisol levels as chronic stress and high cortisol levels disrupt the body’s natural circadian rhythm.
3. Calming the mind by reducing mental chatter by slowing down brainwave activity.
4. Increasing my melatonin production, a hormone critical for sleep regulation.
5. Helping to process emotions and energetic buildup by releasing stored emotional tension, anxiety, and grief.
For a long time, entrepreneurship was built on hustle culture i.e. grind harder, sleep less, and put yourself last. But healing practices like breathwork, Yoga Nidra, and intentional rest are rewriting that narrative. They remind founders, executives, and teams that nervous system regulation, emotional processing, and clarity are not “soft skills,” they’re strategic advantages.
When entrepreneurs prioritize healing, they make better decisions, build more sustainable businesses, and lead with greater emotional intelligence. They’re less reactive, more creative, and more connected to their “why.” Healing work also opens space for innovation because it creates the mental and emotional bandwidth to see beyond survival mode.
Sparks of Sabbatical, Sabbatical Lounge, and Boardrooms & Breathwork are three ways I bring intentional rest and nervous system support to different audiences. Sparks of Sabbatical offers a deeply personalized 1:1 experience, Sabbatical Lounge creates a pop-up spa-style retreat for groups, and Boardrooms & Breathwork brings restorative wellness practices into corporate and organizational settings. Each is tailored to meet people where they are—whether individuals, communities, or teams—using breathwork, Yoga Nidra, sound healing, and other tools for rest, regulation, and renewal.
Healing isn’t a detour from entrepreneurship; it’s the foundation for doing it in a way that’s sustainable, impactful, and deeply human.
About Omi Bell, CEO Black Girl Ventures
Omi Bell is a certified breathwork and Yoga Nidra facilitator, sound healer, business visionary, and Kennedy Center Artist who bridges wellness and leadership to help people reclaim rest as a pathway to power. She has guided hundreds of people across the country through breathwork, sound bowl meditations, and nervous system regulation experiences offering accessible, transformational practices to everyone from executives and creatives to first-time participants.
As the founder and CEO of Black Girl Ventures, Omi has funded over 550 under-resourced companies and impacted more than 20,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners. Her approach to wellness is rooted in her lived experience: building a movement, facing burnout, and returning to herself through the power of breath, rest, and sound. An internationally acclaimed speaker, Aspen Fellow, and author of Originate, Motivate, Innovate: 7 Steps for Building a Billion Dollar Network, Omi brings a unique blend of cultural leadership and somatic healing to every space she enters. Whether on stage, in a boardroom, or holding space virtually, Omi’s work is about reminding people that you’re not just building something you are something. Learn more at omibell.com Follow on Instagram @OmiBell and on LinkedIn at OmiBell
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