Now that I am back from my SOMA Breathwork Advanced Certifications Retreat in Ibiza, Spain and back to a normal sleep schedule, I have been able to process the amazing techniques and integrative modalities I was trained in and can’t wait to share them with you! This week’s breath notes is filled with lots of great information so that you can better understand why breathwork matters and how it impacts your overall wellness! There is a lot of useful information below and I hope you take the time to read through it and to take on the Weekly Breathwork Challenges I have presented for you this week. Also, I have provided important information and a link to register for the Breathe Together: SOMA Awakening Breathwork Journey for Saturday 12/17/22 at 9am ET that I will be facilitating! Sit back and enjoy this week’s Breath Notes!
Part 1: Are you breathing in a way to promote overall wellness?
Primer: When we breathe (respiration) chemically, it looks like this:
Glucose + oxygen produces carbon dioxide, water and energy (ATP)
C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2 –> 6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + ATP.
Are you breathing correctly?
The healthiest form of breathing is diaphragmatic, nasal breathing at a rate of 5-6 breaths per minute… goals!
Are you a belly breather (nasal, diaphragmatic breathing) or a mouth breather (chest breather)?
How to check what type of breather you are:
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1. Place your left hand on your belly and your right hand on your chest.
2. Breathe normally and see which hand rises first.
3. If your belly rises first, you are likely breathing in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth. This is the healthiest way to breathe as it slows down the number of breaths per minute that you take. If your chest rises first, you are likely breathing in and out through your mouth and this can contribute to both emotional and physiological compromise over time… this type of breathing leads to disease! I invite you to be mindful throughout the week to how you are breathing!
Why mouth breathing is not healthy from a biologic perspective:
The simplest explanation is that when you inhale and exhale through your mouth (chest breathing), you activate the sympathetic portion of your central nervous system (flight or fight mode) which can make you feel anxious and nervous and over time can contribute to disease, sleep apnea and poor sleep. The biological reason as to why this happens is that when you inhale too much oxygen you also release too much carbon dioxide. Chemically, chest/mouth breathing (inhaling too much oxygen = hyperventilation) does not allow oxygen molecules to be released from the hemoglobin molecules in your blood. In order for your tissues and cells to receive the necessary oxygen to promote good health, carbon dioxide and nitric oxide levels need to be elevated in the blood. Elevated carbon dioxide triggers the release of the oxygen molecule from the hemoglobin molecule, while elevated nitric oxide levels help to direct the released oxygen molecules to the tissues and cells that need it most (Bohr Effect).
Why belly breathing is healthy from a biologic perspective:
When you diaphragmatically (belly) breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth, you promote the Bohr Effect, you activate the parasympathetic portion of your nervous system (rest and digest mode). This type of breathing elevates your carbon dioxide and nitric oxide levels in the blood so that oxygen is released from your hemoglobin molecules and is delivered to your cells and tissues! This promotes feelings of calmness, even flow and wellness throughout the body.
Whew…that is one complicated concept put into two short paragraphs! Now that we know how to breathe in a healthy manner and why, lets learn how we can prepare ourselves for the SOMA Awakening Breathwork Journey to maximize the benefits we can gain in the session or in a future session if cannot attend this free event (there are more coming in 2023)!
Part 2: Preparing for the SOMA Awakening Breathwork Journey (12/17/22 at 9am ET via ZOOM). This session will take approximately 75-minutes and includes the introduction to the session and the pre-breathwork and breathwork sessions. There will be a closing circle immediately following for an additional 10-minutes to share your experience.
The SOMA Awakening Journey combines a series of ancient Pranyama breathing techniques, arranged in a specific order, accompanied by intricately designed music to get you to a state of neurosomatic bliss and to help clear imprints, where breath retentions, in the right sequence, allow you to change the brain itself. Does that catch your attention? Well, read on!
The Intention for the breathwork session on 12/17 will be self-love!
a. Pre- breathwork
Before we begin the breathwork session we will begin with a movement experience (5-7-minutes) to raise your vibrational energy and to wake up the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This will be followed by a grounding session with toning/chanting (2-minutes). This grounding exercise will stimulate your endocrine system so that you can experience the production of serotonin and oxytocin (neurosomatic bliss) throughout the breathwork session to promote good feelings in your brain and body connected to my guided meditation/visualization and to the intention of self-love!
b. Breathwork will be active for approximately 30-minutes and will include 3 basic techniques:
1. Rhythmic breathing – 2:4 (inhale through the nose for 2-seconds and exhale through the mouth for 4-seconds) and 4:4 (inhale through the nose for 4-seconds and exhale through the mouth for 4-seconds).
2. Breath retention on exhale (see below) with neck lock if sitting (not necessary if laying down).
3. Breath retention on inhale (see below) while squeezing the pelvic floor.
c. Closing Circle – Share your experience (10-minutes)
This will be an extremely powerful self-love session, unlike any breathwork you have experienced before!
Weekly Challenges:
1. Create a breathwork journal!
2. Mindfully, learn the science of breathwork as you pay attention to your daily breathing patterns. Think about the science of breathwork presented here!
3. Take 2-minutes in the morning before you get out of bed and 2-minutes just before bed time and diaphragmatically breathe in through your nose for a count of 5-seconds and breathe out through your nose for a count of 5-seconds for a total of 2-minutes, rhythmically and not forced. Take notice how you feel before you breathe and how you feel after the two-minutes. Record it in your breathwork journal!
4. Practice rhythmic, diaphragmatic, breathing for 2-minutes (a) inhale through the nose for 2-seconds and exhale through the mouth for 4-seconds. Record how you felt before and after breathing in your breathwork journal. Once again for two-minutes (b) inhale through the nose for 4-seconds and exhale through the mouth for 4-seconds. Record how you felt before and after breathing in your breathwork journal.
ONLY perform Weekly Challenges 5 & 6 if you do NOT have any of the contraindications listed at the end of this section.
5. Exhale fully in through the nose and exhale fully out through the mouth making a shhhhh sound while exhaling and laying down. How long can hold your breath comfortably without gasping for air once you inhale again?. IF you choose to do this exhale breath retention seated, after you exhale, it is important that you move your chin to your chest to prevent air from entering or escaping your lungs (neck lock). Record the time in your breathwork journal and describe how you felt before, during and at the end of the exhale breath retention.
6. Breathe in fully through your nose and squeeze your pelvic floor = sphincter muscle (as if you are holding in urine) and send the energy up through your spine and out your forehead (3^rd eye = pineal gland) for 30-seconds. Look to your 3^rd eye while doing this. Record how you felt before, during and at the end in your inhale breath retention in your breathwork journal.
Contraindications & Safety Precautions:
Breath retentions should NOT be performed by anyone who:
1. Is pregnant
2. Has a pacemaker
3. Has had recent surgery
4. Has recently had a heart attack
It is recommended that you have a conversation about breath retentions with your doctor if you have the following:
1. Severe critical disease/infection
2. COPD-II and COPD – III
3. Organ failure or late-stage terminal illness
4. Cancer
NOTE: The following conditions may be aggravated by breath retentions:
1. Tinnitis
2. Hernias
** Rhythmic breathing is safe for everyone!
Note: If you have any of the contraindications, I encourage you to participate in the SOMA Awakening Breathwork Journey as you will still experience the benefits of this session and you can rhythmically breathe or breathe normally during the breath retention phases.
TO REGISTER FOR THE SOMA AWAKENING BREATHWORK JOURNEY (12/17/22 AT 9am ET), click or copy this link to your browser. https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=26558790&appointmentType=34581875 (https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=26558790&appointmentType=34581875)
YOU have the ability to control how you are feeling in any moment, so remember to just breathe and let peace be your guide!
Serenity
Wellness & Coaching