About Astreya — a premier Fine Art Gallery & Breathwork Studio in San Diego
Astreya is a private fine art gallery and breathwork studio located at 4502 Cass Street, Suite 106, in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego. It was founded for people who are accomplished by every external measure — and who are ready to tend to something quieter because they are beginning to realize that the real accomplishments are those can't be seen.
The Astreya gallery is showing stop/motion, a limited-edition series of nine fine art photographs taken by artist Alicia L. Swift of the Drake Passage, the remote stretch of ocean between South America and Antarctica. The prints are large, impressionist, and modern - made to be looked at day after day, and discover something new each time.
Alongside the collection, Astreya offers Stillness Sessions: private one-hour breathwork and meditation experiences held inside the gallery, led by certified facilitator & artist, Alicia L. Swift.
where art and stillness meet
about alicia l. swift
Alicia L. Swift is a fine art photographer, certified breathwork and meditation facilitator, and the founder of Astreya. She holds a PhD in nuclear engineering and spent her first career as a nuclear arms control specialist and nonproliferation research director. That work demanded precision, sustained focus, and the ability to hold complexity without losing clarity — skills that turned out to translate well into understanding the body under pressure.
Her path into wellness was personal before it was professional. A chronic illness journey pushed her to study what actually helps the nervous system recover: breathwork, somatic practice, lifestyle engineering, and the emerging research on how beauty, space, and stillness can lower stress, expand perception, and restore a sense of possibility. She is now a certified breathwork and meditation facilitator, and the work she does at Astreya sits at the intersection of that science and her life as an artist.
Her photography has taken her to some of the world's most remote and demanding environments, including the Drake Passage, one of the roughest bodies of water on the planet. The stop/motion series emerged from that journey — nine images of the Antarctic Ocean at sunset, taken at the edge of the world and which somehow make it easier to breathe.
Her breathwork practice draws on ancient pranayama traditions, neuroaesthetics research, and the particular stillness that comes from spending time in wild places. Every Stillness Session she leads is shaped around a single question: what does this person actually need for serenity today?
who comes to astreya
Astreya's clients are senior leaders, executives, and high-performing professionals in San Diego who are looking for a more sustainable way to operate - at work, and at home.
They are people who have optimized everything on the outside. What they are discovering is that sustainable performance isn't about doing more — it's about recovering well. The choice is simpler than it sounds: a few minutes of genuine stillness each day keeps the nervous system ahead of the crash, allowing them to lead with more patience, come home more present, and actually enjoy the life they've built. The Stillness Sessions at Astreya are where that practice begins — and where it deepens. One hour, once a week, that makes every other hour run better.
They come to Astreya because it doesn't look or feel like a wellness clinic or yoga studio. It looks like a gallery. It feels like a pause.
Some come for the art. Some come for the breathwork. Most come back for both.
the astreya approach
Most wellness modalities ask you to change your lifestyle. Astreya asks you to change your nervous system - which changes everything else naturally.
The combination of fine art and breathwork is deliberate and grounded in neuroaesthetic scientific research. Both activate the same neural pathways: they slow the default mode network, lower cortisol, and bring attention into the present moment. Art and breathwork work in the same direction to reduce stress and live at a more sustainable (and enjoyable!) pace. Done together, inside the same intentional space, their effects compound.
A single Stillness Session produces instant calm. Breathwork is the foundation, but the work is broader than that. It's about redesigning your life so that calm becomes your baseline, not your occasional reward. After several sessions, you don't need to come back to Astreya to find stillness. You know how to get there yourself.
visit the gallery
Astreya is located in Pacific Beach, San Diego, at 4502 Cass Street, Suite 106. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM, by appointment.
Private gallery viewings of the stop/motion collection are available at no charge and can be reserved online. Stillness Sessions begin at $150.
If you are a senior leader or executive in San Diego looking for a private, evidence-informed approach to stress recovery, nervous system regulation, or simply a more considered way to spend an hour — Astreya was built for you.