So what is it you do??

It’s funny this last week I have been asked, ‘so what is it you do?’

I think some people really struggle to understand breathwork. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that we all do it, about 20,000 times a day without even thinking about it. Like the beating of our heart we pay little attention to it, as our bodies do it for us. It’s only if breathing becomes difficult that we become aware of it.

Think back to the last time you were connected to your breathing. I asked this question last week and got the following answers..

• ‘When you go into a really hot sauna or steam room and it takes your breath away’ ‘Getting into a cold shower’ ‘When I had a cold and found it hard to breathe’ ‘When |I had an interview and could not get my breath’ ‘Every time I speak to a group of people’ ‘When I gave birth to my baby’ ‘When I cried after losing my friend’ ‘Running to catch the last train’ ‘My back is really sore and when I bend down or twist I hold my breath as the pain is so intense’ ‘When I broke my leg playing football’

The way be breathe affects our bodies in different ways, most of us don’t realise we can have an influence over what happens in our bodies, just by breathing. Our breathing patterns have a direct impact on our daily lives, which ultimately impacts both our mental and physical health. If our breathing pattern is frequently using the upper chest/shoulders, shallow, through the mouth and quick our breathing pattern is not healthy and these are signs your body and mind are not coping. This typically shows through sleep disturbances, anxiety, high blood pressure, panic attacks, low tolerance to pain, worrying, asthma, overwhelm in the mind, poor dental health, anger, inflammation ….. the list goes on!!

Breathing exercises are not new at all. If you research the first yogic teachings, breath was more important than the movement. These teaching go back hundreds of years.

The way we breathe can be broken down into 3 parts…

The chemistry in our bodies. There are chemical reactions that happen in our bodies by the way we breathe; some of these are your heart rate, blood pressure and the efficiency of oxygen delivery around the body.

The mechanical way we breathe. Our breathing muscle, the diaphragm is the orchestrator, followed by the muscles within our ribs as well as muscles such as the pelvic floor that people don’t realise get involved with breathing. The diaphragm is a large dome shaped muscle. Like all muscles, to perform at their best they need be exercised in the correct way. The diaphragm is amazing, not only does it keep you alive, if working correctly it massages your digestive system (this is often why people have IBS or digestive issues; if their diaphragm is not working correctly) and has direct contact with your nervous system, more specifically your vagus nerve (the calming nerve).

The third part is the cadence of your breathing. It’s the speed/rythmn of the breath. It’s reported that on average we now breathe up to 16 breaths per minute. However day to day breathing should be more like 6 – 10 breaths per minute. Our breathing rate should be through the nose, slow, low down and quiet. We should not be breathing on a day to day basis using the upper chest, through the mouth or breathing very deeply.

I have found that people have very little understooding about how oxygen is delivered to the cells, tissues etc. Very few people realise it’s carbon dioxide that is the key to releasing the oxygen from the red blood cell, which is filled with oxygen on an inhale. I describe it to children like a motorway. The empty cars are the red blood cells and on an inhalation the cars (red blood cells) fill with oxygen. The cars move along the motorway (around our body) but oxygen cannot leave the car to the tissues, organs, cells etc without a key to open the doors. That key is carbon dioxide. That’s not the end of it though. We all know we exhale carbon dioxide and it’s always been given the title of being a waste gas, a gas we don’t need. The tricky bit is, we all have our own personal sensitivity to carbon dioxide, which is monitored by sensors in our brain. When our build up of carbon dioxide hits our tolerance/sensitivity we breathe out. When we breathe out too much carbon dioxide (our sensitivity is low) by over breathing we do not allow full delivery of oxygen to all the tissues, organs and cells (therefore there are limited keys for the doors on the cars to be opened so oxygen delivering is restricted). Our bodies are incredible and adapt to this inefficiency, sending oxygen to parts of the body where it’s needed in that moment. But over long periods of time certain areas of the body can begin to become unwell, if breathing is not changed (it depends on each individual where this occurs), this is the start of inflammation in the body. Inflammation can then set off a cascade of disease to certain parts within our bodies. Don’t worry you can change this through learning and practising different techniques which allows oxygen delivery to improve and you gain balance/homeostasis within the body.

It is now a fact that inflammation is associated with some of the biggest diseases we face now, heart disease, cancers, strokes, type 2 diabetes…..

My personal journey to discovering breathwork was finding something to manage moments when I could not rely on swimming, cold water, being out in nature or mindfulness; moments typically in public and with lots of people around. Connecting to my breathing meant I had full control in those situations, no one knew I was controlling my breath and ultimately my mind. I could make good decisions and support others in the right way. I had no idea what I would discover about myself, my health and what else improved that I had just got used to living with!

Don’t get me wrong it isn’t just about breathing right and you will be healthy. It definitely is not that simple but I have also learnt over the years that we must find what works for us. The key is to gain an understanding of our mind/body and the choices we make.

For me this has been through breathwork, natural movement (not fitness!!!!), cold water, wild swimming, being in nature, creating with nature along with looking at my nutrition; more on the above in my next post. I come from a farming background and have grown up connected to the seasons, understanding mother natures important role in growth, caring for both animals and the land. For me nutrition starts by buying local, connecting with your local community and where possible your local farmers/butchers/shops who sell your food and that does not just involve supermarkets!! We all have a responsibility to look after ourselves and the planet. It’s not for others to do. Whatever people chose to eat is their choice, whether they are meat eaters, vegetarians or vegans. Just remember food takes time to produce, in fact it takes months and even years in some cases to produce, so please do not waste food and think about where your food comes from.

I have chosen to cut down on sugar, but for me that has not meant just switching from refined sugars to natural sugars like honey or maple syrup. This would not be sustainable if everyone switched this way. There certainly aren’t enough bees or maple trees in the world for us all to switch and I also think I would not have addressed my sugar addition if I had. I was a chocolate and biscuit lover!!! I have not given up these things completely and have found what works for me.

For me the sugar thing has been a big one and again has been linked to inflammation in our bodies and disease. It’s additive and we use it to reward ourselves, so understanding why we need sugar is a big one. Again when you dig a bit deeper the answers are always there, it’s just sometimes we don’t want to look and having support from someone to help find that route is essential; I think.

I’ve also studied how our brain works, in particular why we react to certain things, hang onto things, become anxious, make up stories in our head or worry. A wonderful lady called Jill Bolte Taylor did a TED talk many years ago now. She is a neuroanatomist who had a stroke and had to rebuild her life over the next 8 years and she discovered we have 4 characters within our brain that make us who we are. When you work out who those characters are, you have the power to overcome those worries, anxieties and stories in your head; supported y uour 4 charactersas working as a team. Thanks to Jill I now know who my characters are and can help others find theirs. I highly recommend you watch the TED talk, it became the second most viewed TED talk of all time and was the first TED talk to go viral.

So what do I do? I guide others through my knowledge and experiences to find ways to improve both their mental and physical health. I am not a phychotherapist, psychologist or doctor. What I teach/coach others is things that have worked for me. Life can be tough but it doesn’t have to be. My passion is providing people with choices for them to make. If we chose our own path we are more likely to stick with it.