Interrupted sleep even though you have a good mattress & pillow
Low energy/fatigue that even coffee doesn't fix
Recurrent infections, colds, and/or flus that drag you down more times per year than you like
Poor metabolism or digestion despite diets and supplements
Hormone imbalances affecting libido, workouts, ambition, or normal physiology
Poor focus, concentration, or memory, like forgetting why you walked into the room too often
Slower healing than you feel is normal or slow recovery from workouts
Less endurance and stamina than you want despite regular exercise
Chronic inflammation that no one can explain
Chronic disease, autoimmune disease, sleep apnea, or asthma that Western medicine hasn't been able to help
If you answered yes to any of the points listed, you've probably tried several treatments, diets, herbs, homeopathics, and everything the internet recommended, but, there's something you might not know....
When breathing habits are dysfunctional, other treatments, diets, herbs and supplements may not be as effective as they could be.
This is why Chinese medicine includes Qi Gong, Ayurveda includes Pranayama, and many cultures all over the world incorporate breathwork practices like this into their healing arts.
But today, few people use these practices and with the level of stress most people experience these days, dysfunctional breathing is on the rise and because breath is unconscious, dysfunctional breathing goes unnoticed.
Here's just a few of the important things breath influences:
Coordinates the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest & relax) states of your nervous system
Calms the mind and improves focus, concentration, and memory
Regulates
pH balance of your blood, which is important for nutrient
absorption,
immune system function, and cardiovascular health
Benefits heart rate and blood pressure
Enhances
healing and tolerance to pain
Guides hormone balance
Improves lymph system movement and fluid metabolism
Strengthens
muscles, bones, and connective tissue
Increases resiliency, stamina, & speeds up post-workout recovery
When we're under stress, we often focus on trying to control things in the external environment.
Truly reducing the effects of stress comes from regulating your response to stress by controlling your nervous system, which is your internal environment.
Breath is a unique tool to access the nervous system because it directly influences the state of your nervous system and it's under conscious and unconscious control, which means you can consciously control an unconscious system. If you learn to bring your breath into your conscious control, you can also do it with your nervous system.
Here's a few ways you can assess your breathing habits right now!
1. Are you breathing through your nose or your mouth? How often do you notice yourself breathing through your mouth? Do you snore or suffer sleep apnea? Do you wake with a dry mouth or suffer excessive dental issues? Mouth breathing during the day or night is a sign of stress breathing and long term may cause imbalances that impact sleep, impede the flow of the spiral shaped nasal passageways (use it or lose it), increase the rate of gum or dental disease due to insufficient exposure to salivary enzymes that support a healthy mouth.
2.Place your right hand over your heart and your left hand at the bottom of your sternum where your ribs flare out and take a deep breath and notice which hand moves first. If your right hand over your heart moves first, this indicates a stressed breathing pattern.
3.Start a timer for 60 seconds and count the number of inhale & exhale cycles you complete in one minute. If you counted between 10-14 breaths, you have room for improvement, if you counted more than 15, you have significant room for improvement.
4.Take a few relaxed breaths and after your third exhale, using a stopwatch, see how long you can hold your breath just to the edge of discomfort, the point when you need to breath, but before you have to gasp for breath.* If you hold for 25-35 seconds, you have room for improvement, if you hold for less than 25 seconds, you have significant room for improvement. If you had to gasp for breath at the end, subtract 5 seconds from your time!
*If you have had recent surgery, experience any heart conditions, uncontrolled high blood pressure, blood clots, embolisms, seizures or other cardiovascular or neurological conditions, or if you are pregnant, especially if you have any complications or placental concerns, do not practice extended breath holds without the guidance of a trained professional or advice from your care provider to avoid serious injury.
Developing healthy breathing habits is one part of using breath for a healthy nervous system.
The second aspect is to use your breath to restore the natural healing ability of your body and mind.
The body is capable of regeneration beyond what science understands, but the innate healing ability is affected by daily stressors ranging from things as common as driving a car and the morning coffee habit, to those unexpected stresses like losing a job or caring for an ill family member.
While we can't eliminate stress, we can have a more healthy response to it so it doesn't impact health and wellbeing.
Restoring your body's natural healing ability requires a healthy nervous system that is able to respond to stress with resilience so the body, mind, and emotions remain clear and strong no matter the challenge at hand.
Stressed and dysfunctional breathing patterns lock your nervous system into fight or flight so it cannot reach the state of rest & relax, where healing and regeneration occur.
The rest and relax state requires developing healthy daily breathing habits and incorporating deeper breathwork practices that enable you to hit the reset button on your nervous system by using rhythmic breathing in specific patterns that have been shown in studies to regulate brainwave patterns for optimizing the stress response and awakening the natural healing ability of the body.
This guided workshop will offer a variety of breathwork practices you can incorporate into your daily lifestyle, foundations of breathwork to ensure you are optimizing your practice, and three guided breathwork meditations to help you restore healthy nervous system function and use your breath to promote overall health and wellness.
After completing this program, you will have a breathwork tool box to help:
Promote better, more restful sleep
Increase your energy in as little as 5 minutes
Reduce the symptoms of respiratory infections
Increase your focus and reduce acute stress
Improve your circulation and increase muscle tone and strength
Access your subconscious mind to rewire negative thoughts and improve your mood
When: On-Demand. You have access to the material instantly through an easy-to-use learning portal. You will receive the first week upon enrollment and a new module will be unlocked each week following for the full three weeks.
Where: Online
Who: Many of the practices in the workshop are suitable for everyone, regardless of age or health status. A limited number of practices may be contraindicated for those who have had recent surgery, experience any heart conditions, uncontrolled high blood pressure, blood clots, embolisms, seizures or other cardiovascular or neurological conditions, or if you are pregnant, especially if you have any complications or placental concerns. In these cases, please contact me prior to registration and we can discuss whether modifications will be suitable or if this workshop may not be a good fit for you at this time.
Schedule:
Week 1:
Foundations of breath and respiratory science
Techniques to improve your breathing
Measurements of your respiratory health
Physical practices to improve respiratory system health
Guided breathwork journey for relaxation and balance
Week 2:
The Autonomic nervous system & breath
The nervous system & breath from the Eastern Medicine cyclic perspective
Other healthy lifestyle considerations to support the parasympathetic nervous system for mental and emotional health
Physical practices to improve nervous system communication and balance
Guided breathwork session for nervous system balance
Week 3:
Breath, brainwave states, and subconscious awareness
Breath practices to access your higher thinking
Guided breathwork session to increase subconscious awareness
Tips to establish a daily practice
Investment: only $67 for all materials, plus 3 downloadable guided audio journeys to take on the go.
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