Want to learn the 12 philosophies that the most successful people use to create a limitless life? Order John R. Miles’s new book, Passion Struck: Twelve Powerful Principles to Unlock Your Purpose and Ignite Your Most Intentional Life.
Step Inside The Ignition Room
The Ignition Room is live — our exclusive new space for Passion Struck listeners and supporters to go beyond the podcast and into powerful conversations, personal growth, and real connection.
Inside, you’ll get:
- 🔥Episode discussions and direct community access
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We’ll also be using it as a touchpoint for future content drops, book releases, and live events.
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“The lost nights, the heartbreaks, the wild dancing—they made the woman I am today. Would I change anything? Never. What a life. I’d come back and do it all over again.”
biet simkin
Breaking Open to Awaken: Biet Simkin on Breath, Loss, and Rebirth
In this soul-stirring episode, Biet Simkin opens up about her incredible transformation—from addiction and profound loss to becoming a renowned spiritual teacher and artist. Through raw storytelling and deep insights, she explores the pivotal moments that shaped her path, including her Soviet upbringing, the early death of her mother, and the many awakenings that led her to sobriety and a life of meaning.
As John R. Miles and Biet dive deep, they discuss how spiritual connection, creative expression, and radical truth-telling helped Biet find her way back to herself. Known for fusing high fashion, music, and meditation into unforgettable experiences, Biet shares how she brings the divine into everyday life—not through perfection, but through presence.
Key Takeaways from This Episode with Biet Simkin:
- Awakening Through Adversity: Biet shares how loss, addiction, and grief cracked her open to deeper truths.
- Breath as a Gateway: Her unique four-minute breathwork practice helps people reconnect with their purpose instantly.
- Music Meets Meditation: How she brings soulful, raw music into her spiritual work without sacrificing edge or beauty.
- Spiritual Sobriety: Biet explains how staying sober doesn’t mean staying small—it means expanding into the divine.
- God, Grit, and Grace: Her evolving definition of God as an ever-present force of connection and remembrance.
WHY IS THIS EPISODE WITH BIET SIMKIN A MUST-LISTEN?
This episode is a masterclass in how to turn pain into power. Whether you’re facing loss, craving deeper meaning, or exploring spirituality outside the box, Biet’s story will move you. Her vulnerability, wit, and unapologetic honesty offer a fresh perspective on what it means to truly wake up—and stay awake.
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STARTER PACKS
Are you new to the show? These Starter Packs are collections of our most popular episodes grouped by topic, and we now have them on Spotify.
You can also browse starter packs for existing listeners to find your old favorites. Every week, John interviews everyday heroes from all walks of life. Learn how to subscribe to the show and never miss a new episode and topic.
Like this? Please subscribe and join me on my new YouTube platform for peak performance, life coaching, and personal mastery.
Breath, Beats, and Belief: How Biet Simkin Found God in the Chaos
During the episode, Biet Simkin opens up about the unique way she weaves breathwork, music, recovery, and spirituality into her daily life — not as separate tools, but as one integrated path to awakening. Her relationship with these elements is anything but conventional. It’s gritty, artistic, embodied, and deeply personal.
She shares how breathwork, in particular, became a cornerstone of her spiritual practice after years of addiction and emotional turmoil. Biet doesn’t talk about breath as a soft, spa-like experience. For her, it’s a radical tool for remembering who you are — a kind of internal wake-up call that gets you “high as balls” (her words). In fact, her signature 4-minute breathwork technique is designed to spark clarity, presence, and creative energy, especially for people who feel overwhelmed by life or disconnected from meaning.
This direct experience of transformation through breath is what inspired her book, Don’t Just Sit There!: 44 Insights to Get Your Meditation Practice Off the Cushion and Into the Real World. In it, she offers techniques for everything from stress and low energy to unlocking emotional memories and accessing joy. It’s a powerful resource for anyone who wants to feel more alive without needing to escape their reality.
But breath is just the beginning. Biet also talks about her deep love for music — how it was her first language long before spirituality — and how she initially believed she had to choose between her artistic self and her spiritual calling. For two years, she even stopped making music entirely. Then, during a moment of deep prayer and introspection, she received what she describes as a divine message: Now you get to do both. That moment changed everything.
Since then, she’s been creating immersive events that combine meditation, pop music, and aesthetic beauty — think art galleries, fashion-forward spaces, and music festivals like Bonnaroo. She’s not trying to make spiritual experiences feel sacred in the traditional sense. She’s trying to make them real, relevant, and resonant for a modern audience.
And that’s where her definition of “God” comes in. Biet doesn’t preach a religious view of divinity. Instead, she describes God as the state of union, that raw, blissful connection to the source of life — something she felt even during her darkest moments, including her years using heroin, LSD, or chasing highs in the underground music scene. She believes that the moment we remember we are one with the Divine, we instantly matter. No external validation required.
This episode is filled with moments where Biet reminds us that healing doesn’t have to be sterile, and awakening doesn’t require perfection. Through the breath, through the beat, through every high and low, she’s learned to walk hand-in-hand with what she calls God — and invites all of us to do the same, one intentional inhale at a time.
THANKS, BIET SIMKIN
If you enjoyed this interview with Biet Simkin, let her know by clicking on the link below and sending her a quick shout on Instagram
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Click here to let John R. Miles know about your number one takeaway from this episode!
If you want us to answer your questions or you want John to discuss a topic on one of our upcoming Momentum Friday episodes, drop us a line at [email protected].
RESOURCES FROM THE SHOW WITH BIET SIMKIN
Please note that some of the links on this page (books, movies, music, etc.) lead to affiliate programs for which The Passion Struck podcast receives compensation. It’s just one of the ways we keep the lights on around here. Thank you so much for being so supportive!
- Biet Simkin’s Website
- Biet Simkin’s Instagram
- Biet Simkin’s LinkedIn
- BUY Biet Simkin’s Book ‘Don’t Just Sit There!’
- APA’s recognition of mattering as critical to child mental health
- Passion Struck Core Value System: https://passionstruck.com/the-passion-struck-core-belief-system/
- Listen to Passion Struck’s interviews with New York Times bestselling authors Gretchen Rubin and Seth Godin.
- Check out Passion Struck’s Episode Starter Packs on Spotify or Passion Struck starter packs to get started with the podcast.
My solo episode on Why Hope Matters: How Small Actions Create Big Ripples
Can’t miss my episode with Ethan Kross on How to Make Emotions Work for You
My episode with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor on Loving and Leaving Alcohol
Catch my interview with Randy Blythe on How to Make Peace with Your Inner Battles
Don’t miss my episode with Francesca Sipma on How to Unblock Your Purpose Using Hypnobreathwork
My interview with Gabby Bernstein on finding profound freedom and inner peace
About Today’s Guest, Biet Simkin
Biet Simkin is a dynamic spiritual teacher, artist, and breathwork guide whose life journey embodies transformation and awakening. Drawing from her rich experiences—from growing up in the Soviet Union to overcoming addiction and embracing sobriety—Biet has developed a unique approach to healing that blends breath, music, and meditation. As the creator of the signature Guided By Biet™ breathwork method, she empowers people to reconnect with their inner selves, release emotional blocks, and tap into their fullest potential.
Biet’s teachings invite a fresh and accessible way to experience spirituality, encouraging her community to bring mindfulness off the cushion and into everyday life. She is also the author of Don’t Just Sit There!: 44 Insights to Get Your Meditation Practice Off the Cushion and Into the Real World, a compelling guide that inspires readers to deepen their meditation practice while embracing real-world challenges with presence and purpose. Known for her raw honesty, profound insights, and heartfelt storytelling, Biet continues to inspire and uplift audiences worldwide through workshops, talks, and personal coaching.
Follow John R. Miles On Social
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* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_r_milesacks for existing listeners to find your old favorites. Every week, John interviews everyday heroes from all walks of life. Learn how to subscribe to the show and never miss a new episode and topic.
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Learn more about me: https://johnrmiles.com.
Passion Struck aspires to speak to the humanity of people in a way that makes them want to better, live better, and impact the world.
Passion Struck’s mission is to unlock the power of intentionality for the benefit of us all. To create a world where we live better, be better, and impact the world through our unique and powerful content.