From Pain to Purpose: My Journey with Ixchel Therapies

A little over a year ago, I found myself in a place I never expected to be, completely stuck. My body had betrayed me. My knee seized up, leaving me unable to run, unable to move, and ultimately, unable to be myself.

The frustration was unbearable. Running had always been my freedom, my connection to the world, and suddenly, it was gone.

I did all the things you’re supposed to do when pain shows up. I went to physios, doctors, and specialists, none of them could give me an answer beyond, “Well, you’re getting older.” But I refused to accept that. I knew deep down that my body was trying to tell me something. I just didn’t know how to listen.

A Different Approach with Ixchel Therapies

That’s when I was introduced to Victoria at Ixchel Therapies. A friend had worked with her and experienced a massive transformation, not just physically but emotionally as well. I was sceptical but also desperate.

Victoria asked me to do something simple, record a video of myself walking. I thought, What difference will that make? But when she analyzed my movement, I was floored.

“You’re tripping over yourself,” she said. “You’re collapsed. You’re not looking forward. Your head is down. Your whole posture is dragging you along rather than propelling you forward.”

I had never seen myself like this before. She didn’t just see my posture, she saw me. My stuckness. My emotional holding. My way of moving through the world, not just on two feet, but in how I faced life.

My pain wasn’t just about my knee. It was about how I carried myself through life.

Healing from the Inside Out

Through Ixchel’s approach, I started working on realigning my posture, releasing tension, and, most importantly, connecting with my body in a way I never had before. I learned how breathing patterns and stored emotions influence pain. I discovered that my body wasn’t just a machine to be pushed harder but a deeply intelligent system that needed care, awareness, and presence.

Over time, things started to shift. My knee pain lessened. My posture changed. I began walking with more ease, and eventually, I started running again. I felt myself again. But this wasn’t just about physical healing. It was about reconnecting with my body’s wisdom, something I had ignored for too long.

And just when things started to flow again… I slipped. As life got busy, winter rolled in, and old habits crept back, I stopped doing the work. My body tensed up again. Pain returned.

But this time, I had tools. And I had a deeper understanding of what my body was holding. So I came back to the work, not just as a client, but as a trainee practitioner.

Practitioner Training

A Deeper Calling

Becoming a practitioner with Ixchel has been a profound full-circle moment. I’ve now taken the same Level 1 course three times, each time with deeper awareness. My body feels different. I move differently. And I see differently, in myself, and in others.

The work has shown me how the body holds what we can’t always say. That emotional blockages live in posture, breath, and movement. Sometimes, healing starts not with words but with how we walk through the world.

This experience didn’t just heal my body it cracked me open to a new calling. I now support others on this path through Body Coaching with Ixchel Systems, where we bring awareness back to your body as a source of wisdom, healing, and presence.

If you feel stuck, in pain, or disconnected from your body…

If you’ve tried everything, and nothing seems to shift…

If something in you knows there’s more…

Then perhaps, like me, it’s time to listen differently.

---

Debbie Brupbacher

About the Author

Debbie Brupbacher is a Transformation & Career Coach, ultra runner, and founder of Embodied Transformation, guiding leaders, individuals and teams through deep personal growth and self-awareness. Drawing from endurance sports, somatic practices, nature and transformational coaching, she helps others navigate life's challenges with resilience, trust, and embodied presence.