About House of Breath Sanctuary
House of Breath is a quiet, intentional space created for people to be met as they are — and supported in becoming more themselves, without being told who they should be.
This is a place for presence rather than performance.
For listening rather than fixing.
For slowing down enough to hear what is already true.
The work here is not built around methods, systems, or solutions. It is built around steadiness, consent, and respect for each person’s inner timing. Nothing is rushed. Nothing is imposed. You are not asked to explain yourself before you’re ready.
House of Breath exists as a bridge — between what has been and what is becoming.
Why “Sanctuary”?
House of Breath Sanctuary is not a religious space. The word sanctuary is used here in its oldest, simplest sense: a place where one is safe to arrive as they are.
A sanctuary is a pause from the demands of the outside world — a space where nothing is required of you except your presence.
At House of Breath Sanctuary, sanctuary means:
no fixing
no performance
no doctrine
no agenda imposed upon you
It is a place set apart from urgency, advice, and expectation — where listening, honesty, and human presence are enough.
This work does not belong to any religion, belief system, or spiritual hierarchy. It asks for no shared language, philosophy, or faith.
What is held here is respect:
for your autonomy
for your inner knowing
for the truth of your lived experience
Sanctuary, in this context, is not about escape — it is about return.
A return to breath.
A return to yourself.
A return to what is already present, but often unheard.
The Person Holding the Space
I am Maya Manseau, and I am the founder of House of Breath Sanctuary, and my work has grown out of many years of listening — in conversation, in creative spaces, and in moments of transition where people needed room to breathe rather than answers.
I don’t see myself as a teacher, healer, or fixer. I see myself as someone who knows how to hold a steady, human container — one where people can think, feel, grieve, imagine, and orient without being analyzed or directed.
My approach is grounded, relational, and deeply respectful of personal autonomy. I trust that people already carry their own wisdom, even when it feels quiet, tangled, or unfinished. My role is not to lead anyone somewhere new, but to walk beside them as they come into clearer relationship with themselves
How This Space Is Held
House of Breath Sanctuary is not therapy, coaching, or spiritual instruction. There are no diagnoses, prescribed outcomes, or hierarchies of knowing.
Instead, this space is guided by a few simple principles:
Presence over urgency
Listening over advice
Consent over assumption
Relationship over transaction
People come here during transitions — visible or invisible — when something is shifting, loosening, or asking to be honored. Some arrive with clear questions. Others arrive with only a feeling. Both are welcome.
These words represent what the House of Breath stands for!
Reverence: Because we bow to the miracle of being alive, but never so low that we can’t wink at the divine while we do it.
Belonging: Every soul gets a seat at this table, whether they arrive in their Sunday best or wrapped in yesterday’s heartbreak.
Sovereignty: Your soul, your breath, your choices. No one here’s handing out crowns — you were born wearing yours.
Joy: Not the polite kind that sits in the corner, but the unruly joy that dances barefoot on the altar and invites everyone to join.
Truth: Spoken in voices that shake, whispered through tears, or roared from the belly — truth is the sacred currency here.
Courage: The kind that knows fear is coming along for the ride and still throws open the door to the unknown.
Reciprocity: We give and receive in the same breath, knowing that generosity is a circle, not a scoreboard.
Play: Because sacred doesn’t have to mean serious, and sometimes the holiest act is a belly laugh that shakes the rafters.
Grace: That merciful space between “I tried” and “I’ll try again,” where we hold ourselves and each other tenderly.
Liberation: Freeing ourselves from the stories that keep us small so our souls can stretch, yawn, and claim the sky.
Writing & Books
In addition to this work, I am the author of several books exploring grief, belonging, self-trust, and becoming. Writing has been another way of listening — and of making space for people to recognize themselves in language.
If you’re interested in my published work, you can find a list of books here:
Navigating the Small Business Path: 10 Steps to Doing What You Love, Earning Your Dream Life (2024)
Living Intentionally after Loss: 8 Steps to Reclaiming Your Passion (2023)
The Photographer’s Focus: Do What You Love, Tell Client’s Stories through Images, and Have the Business of Your Dreams (2023)
Sacred Art of Honoring Grief: Lessons Learned from the Loss of a Child (2022)
There is no expectation to read anything in order to engage with this space. The work at House of Breath stands on its own.
An Invitation
If this space feels like it might be supportive, you’re welcome to explore the offerings or reach out with a question. There is no rush, and no obligation.
You are welcome exactly as you are.