By Megan Callus
Did you know you can learn to control your breathing to help with healing conditions like anxiety, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, asthma, and depression? That, and how you breathe – whether through your mouth or through your nose, how often you breathe, the depth of the breath, the ratio of inhalations to exhalations- impacts how focused you are, your blood pressure, how easily you get to sleep, how much pain you experience, and how likely you are to get a respiratory illness?
I spent the last decade studying the brain and body, and found the most powerful way of changing and healing the body was simply adjusting the way we breathe. So, I created Boundless Breath – where I specialize in respiratory training (aka breathwork) to teach clients how to use their breath to reduce stress and heal their bodies.
WHAT IS BREATHWORK?
Breathwork is a group of exercises that teaches you to manipulate your breathing rate and depth with the goal of controlling physiological and psychological states, to improve performance, and assist with healing.
There are more than 400 different types of breathwork practices. I only teach and utilize those practices that have been scientifically studied and verified in terms of benefits to health. I focus on the neurology, biochemistry, biomechanics and psychosocial elements of breathing. My audience includes those suffering from long Covid, anxiety, respiratory dysfunction (such as asthma and sleep apnea), endurance athletes, and those looking to holistic practitioners to improve their overall well-being.
Here is a simple breathing exercise you might want to try that aims to calm your nervous system. A regular breathwork practice can be created to meet your particular needs, and I am available in my studio or by Zoom.
Physiological Sigh* Researched by Neurobiologist Andrew Huberman, this breathing technique can help with anxiety.
Step 1: Inhale deeply through your nose
Step 2: Inhale again (this inhalation will be shorter)
Step 3: Exhale deeply – long and extended – through the mouth
Repeat 4-6 times
Megan Callus is a breathwork practitioner and founder of Boundless Breath. You can book a private breathwork session with Megan here.
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