Luminous Core, which I had the pleasure of attending in Barcelona, has now made its way to Madrid. This time, we gathered at the cozy coliving space Calido Alcobendas — a beautifully designed, warm environment with access to multiple facilities such as a swimming pool, gym, and inviting work areas.
This second edition was once again focused on conscious wellbeing, biohacking, and integrative beauty. Staying true to tradition, we were welcomed with a matcha drink provided by Matcha & Co, setting the tone for the experience. The journey began with a fantastic breathwork session led by Cristina García-Forte, founder of AMÕRA.
The session was particularly powerful for me, especially as I’ve been diving deeper into a holistic approach to health. It was a reminder that something as simple and natural as breathing can have a profound impact on stress release and mental clarity.
I also had the chance to interview Cristina, as our conversation naturally flowed into topics like psychology and neuroscience.
Cristina, that breathwork session was honestly one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced — and your voice is magnetic. For someone like me who is always busy, what’s the best way to get the most out of simple breathing techniques in daily life?
Thank you, that means a lot! For people who are always “on,” the key isn’t doing more, it’s doing things with intention.
One simple technique I recommend for example is Box Breathing: inhale through nose for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale through mouth or nose for 4, pause for 4. If 4 second feels a lot, try 3 seconds.
You can do this before a meeting, a difficult conversation, or anytime you feel tension in your body. Even a few rounds interrupt autopilot mode and start helping your nervous system reset. When your breath slows down, your mind follows and from that place, decisions become clearer, communication improves, and you stop constantly reacting.
We briefly touched on neuroscience, and I’ve been obsessed with it lately. For years, I thought I was just stuck with constant overthinking and imagining dark scenarios. Learning about neuroplasticity — that we can actually create new neural pathways — felt like a superpower. In your practice, do you use specific techniques to help people actively build those new pathways?
Absolutely, I love that you call it a superpower, because it really is.
In my work, I combine coaching and breathwork to create mindset and embodied change. Awareness always comes first: helping people see how they think, without judgment. Once you can observe a pattern, you can start changing it.
From there, we work with clear intention and emotional awareness. The brain doesn’t change through insight alone, it changes when the body feels the experience, through new patterns that feel safe enough to be integrated. That’s where coaching and breathwork complement each other so powerfully. I always say: “If you can feel it, you can create it”.
When someone learns to regulate their nervous system while choosing a new thought, a new response, or a new belief, the brain begins to build new neural pathways. By practicing that inner state and teaching the body what it feels like to be that version of yourself, what once felt impossible or unsafe gradually becomes familiar. That’s real transformation, not positive thinking, but a regulated nervous system.
Tell me more about the workshops you run for major brands through AMÕRA. Since many companies are traditionally focused on numbers and logic, do you still encounter skepticism around this kind of work, or are people finally realizing how much they actually need it?
There’s often skepticism at first, and I get it. Most of us have been conditioned to live in our minds, to prioritize doing and thinking 
over feeling, and we forget how to listen to the body. Especially in environments where achieving targets takes priority, often at all costs. But something is shifting, companies are starting to realize that no strategy works if the people executing them are overloaded or reactive.
What I see in workshops is that once participants experience breathwork rather than just hearing about it, something clicks. A new possibility opens as they feel the impact immediately: greater clarity, calm, and connection. Suddenly, this work stops feeling optional and starts becoming essential.
I’ve seen clients move from living in survival to actually enjoying their work again, communicating more clearly, performing better and becoming far more resourceful. And the best part? When you change your internal state, you don’t just change your workday, you change your entire reality. That’s how individual regulation becomes collective transformation. And that’s part of AMÕRA’s mission.
You often speak about sustainable leadership. In a world that glorifies hustle and burnout, how can breathwork help a woman stay ambitious without sacrificing her health — or her sanity?
I believe ambition and well-being don’t have to contradict each other..
Our breath is an innate tool for transformation, regulation, release, and reprogramming, and I believe everyone should learn how to use it. In a world full of constant noise and distractions, reclaiming internal power and reconnecting with your core is essential.
We have two options: living from force or living from power. When women learn to recognize when they are pushing from fear, control, versus acting from clarity and empowerment, everything changes. They learn to pause without guilt, to rest without losing momentum, and to make decisions from alignment instead of urgency.
To me, “sustainable leadership” is about having the energy to keep going and enjoy the process, not just today, but in the long run.
When a company comes to you with a team that’s completely stressed and disconnected, what’s the first thing you teach them to help them reconnect with their “Core”?
It depends on each case. In a corporate context, professionals are often very “in their heads,” running on autopilot. The first thing I focus, as I mentioned before, is on awareness through coaching, then regulation through breathwork.
I believe these two disciplines are the essential pieces of the same puzzle: one provides mindset and strategy, while the other provides the biological safety to sustain them.
Through coaching, I accompany them to become aware of their thoughts and patterns (understanding what happens internally and how they are creating their reality, results through their actions) recognizing where stress comes from and naming tension without judgment.
Once they are conscious of these mental loops, we bring the work into the body. This is where breathwork becomes essential.
By tuning into their body signals and breath, they learn to calm down, become present and reconnect with their internal state. This is how they come back to their core again, not by forcing it, but by first noticing, then regulating, and finally acting from a grounded, empowered state.
Another part of the event that I truly enjoyed — and one I was experiencing for the first time — was a talk by pharmacist and cosmetologist Pedro Catalá, founder of cosmetics brad Twelve Beauty, who joined as a speaker with a session focused on integrative beauty.
During his presentation, Catalá shared his vision of skincare through a scientific, botanical, and holistic lens, emphasizing the importance of respecting the skin’s natural functions and approaching beauty as a reflection of internal balance.
I won’t lie — I’m slightly obsessed with my own skin. But walking into Sephora and seeing millions of products on the shelves often feels overwhelming, almost suffocating. It was refreshing to listen to a pharmacist and cosmetologist with deep experience in the field who could clearly explain what our skin actually needs, how to read ingredient lists, and where to find truly effective products.
The event continued with a red light therapy session led by Biohacking for Wellness and its founder, Natalia Esquivias. It was actually my first time trying this kind of mask, and I have to admit — it felt surprisingly good. I left feeling more relaxed, recharged, and overall lighter. It’s great to see how technology, when used well, can genuinely support self-care and wellbeing.
During the event, I was introduced to Bocados Fit, a brand focused on balanced and nutritious food. It was a another reminder of how important conscious nutrition is as a key part of holistic wellbeing and long-term performance. Honestly, it felt really good to enjoy baked treats without guilt, without counting calories, and knowing the ingredients were clean, real, and preservative-free.
It’s also worth mentioning that, as a small treat, we received gifts from GHABITS, inspired by the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi — the idea of embracing imperfections rather than hiding them. Their supplements are designed to support mental wellbeing and overall vitality, which felt very much in line with the spirit of the event.
I truly feel that this type of events are incredibly important for women. Led by Sheila Gómez, founder of Dark Femenine Energy, it created a safe space for women who are often operating in entrepreneurial roles. But this wasn’t just another wellness event, you had the chance to speak directly with professionals in their fields, take part in hands-on experiences, enjoy meaningful conversations, and actually rest.
I’m really looking forward to more events like this, because honestly, this is something that has been missing for a long time.
If you’d like to stay updated on upcoming events, check out the Dark Femenine Energy website and follow them on Instagram.
What kind of events do you feel are missing, the ones you’d genuinely like to take part in?
