I had to train myself to breathe through my nose as an adult because most of my childhood I had a blocked/snotty nose because of hay fever and discovered allergic rhinitis, so it was much easier to breathe through my mouth. It’s still quite possible to breathe shallowly through your nose and I do catch myself sometimes. There’s also a thing called screen apnea where you hold your breath while writing emails/scrolling/working without realising!
Ooh this is so interesting. Thanks Gabrielle. Bless you having to deal with allergies as a youngster. My 13 year old son suffers with severe hay fever, this year it’s been off the scale bad.
I really felt for him, hay fever is debilitating. It makes you so tired and your head is so heavy literally because the sinus air pockets are filled with gunk, you can’t think properly.
As a meditation teacher one of the first thing that we learnt was that most people don’t breathe properly as they are take shorter and shorter breathes due to stress and everyday living. Taking time to breathe effectively is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your wellbeing. 💫🙏
At the risk of sounding ... boring (?) I’d say yoga is the best way to learn to breathe properly. Through the nose, even when the going is tough, it helps focus the mind to pace yourself in effortful moments, breathing or pranayama is at the core of yoga and there are lots of different breathing exercices to learn to ‘see’ breath as another body attribute rather than a function. But as I said, boring... you probably know this. And you have the sea air to enjoy too! Xx
Not boring at all. I noticed how poor my breathing was when I used to attend Pilates classes. Autumn I’d a good time for me to join a new class. Thanks for the nudge. 🙏
I have to remind myself to breathe properly, I so quickly revert to the shallow breathing and it really affects how my body feels. Thanks for Podcast tip x
I had to train myself to breathe through my nose as an adult because most of my childhood I had a blocked/snotty nose because of hay fever and discovered allergic rhinitis, so it was much easier to breathe through my mouth. It’s still quite possible to breathe shallowly through your nose and I do catch myself sometimes. There’s also a thing called screen apnea where you hold your breath while writing emails/scrolling/working without realising!
Ooh this is so interesting. Thanks Gabrielle. Bless you having to deal with allergies as a youngster. My 13 year old son suffers with severe hay fever, this year it’s been off the scale bad.
I really felt for him, hay fever is debilitating. It makes you so tired and your head is so heavy literally because the sinus air pockets are filled with gunk, you can’t think properly.
It’s tough to watch. Local honey always helps 😋
I’m a shallow chest breather!! 😓
I came across breath work when I heard a podcast with Rebecca Dennis - and it was one of those lightbulb moments!!
Not breathing properly literally affects everything: Internal organs, memory, concentration, mental health, immunity ...
and I’m sure not breathing effectively has contributed to my anxiety!
It’s been a turning point for me ☺️
Let me know how you’re going with your new found breath awareness and if it’s making a difference for you 😃
And if you’re in need of any more books 😉 I’d highly recommend ‘And breathe’ and ‘Let it go’ by Rebecca Dennis x
Thanks so much! I’ll check those recommendations out asap 🙏
As a meditation teacher one of the first thing that we learnt was that most people don’t breathe properly as they are take shorter and shorter breathes due to stress and everyday living. Taking time to breathe effectively is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your wellbeing. 💫🙏
Thank you. I’m thoroughly enjoying reading everyone’s responses. All so beneficial. 🙏
At the risk of sounding ... boring (?) I’d say yoga is the best way to learn to breathe properly. Through the nose, even when the going is tough, it helps focus the mind to pace yourself in effortful moments, breathing or pranayama is at the core of yoga and there are lots of different breathing exercices to learn to ‘see’ breath as another body attribute rather than a function. But as I said, boring... you probably know this. And you have the sea air to enjoy too! Xx
Not boring at all. I noticed how poor my breathing was when I used to attend Pilates classes. Autumn I’d a good time for me to join a new class. Thanks for the nudge. 🙏
I have to remind myself to breathe properly, I so quickly revert to the shallow breathing and it really affects how my body feels. Thanks for Podcast tip x
Glad it's been useful. You'll enjoy the podcast. We can discuss it more in our Rage on a Page sessions :)