Breathwork
Hi I’m Scott!
I am excited to bring my understanding and practice of breathwork to Aloft Healing Studios.
Why breathwork?
-You’re tired, talked out, and ready for something beyond your experience and logical mind.
-You’re ready for an energetic shift from stress-anxiety imbalance to a balanced state of calm, stillness, and healing.
-You’re eager to learn new techniques and practices that are scientifically proven to enhance an energy shift in your brain and nervous system
-Stress anxiety is blocking your ability to live life to the fullest.
-Your sense of joy and happiness has diminished to the point you feel lost, disconnected, and helpless.
-You’re feeling an urgent need to reinvent yourself and find a way to let your true Light shine every day, without any restrictions.
What is breathwork?
Deliberate control of the breath (breathwork) has recently received an unprecedented surge in public interest because breathing techniques have been shown to improve mental health and well-being.
Five thousand years ago, the Valley of Indus (Iran, Afghanistan, Western India) supported a thriving civilization with advanced technologies of roads, sewer systems, running water, communal pools, and the use of metals- all based upon focused breathing.
They had no wars or internal strife. The Chinese adopted their system in the year 3,000 BC to become known as “yoga.”
Seven books of the Chinese Tao focus entirely on breathing.
Yoga is one of the most popular and fastest-growing activities in the world. The cornerstone of yoga is breathwork- slow deep breathing.
Mindful breathing has been taught and emphasized for thousands of years as the key means to Inner Peace.
Current leaders – such as the Dalai Lama, Eckhart Tolle, Jack Kornfield, Thich Nhat Hanh, Deepak Chopra, Thomas Merton, Herbert Benson, MD – endorse breathwork.
The stones of our breath pave the path to our inner peace. No lasting inner peace is possible without mindful breathing-breathwork.
Medical science is now including breathwork techniques as a key part of healing and recovery.
No matter the approach to stress-anxiety management, no lasting change will occur unless you include breathwork.
What are the benefits of breathwork?
When you focus on breathing, you allow your body the chance to reset and recover from the negative side effects of stress.
Physical health benefits of breathwork may include:
- Balanced blood pressure
- More time in deep sleep
- Reduction of PTSD and feelings of trauma
- Stronger respiratory function
- Better immune system
- Release of stress hormones from your body
Emotional benefits may include:
- Fewer feelings of depression and anxiety
- Better mental focus
- Decrease in addictive behaviors
- Allowing emotional scars to heal
- Better outlook on life
- Contentment and joy
Cons of Breathwork
Dizziness: Hyperventilation may occur when practicing the most challenging breathwork techniques. Those techniques are not part of my practice and are not necessary to achieve positive results.
How does the practice of breathwork work?
Your brain perceives a threat and activates the sympathetic nervous system for fight, flight, freeze. When you take time to slow down and purposefully breathe deeply and slowly, you tell your brain that everything is OK. Your brain communicates to your body that it's safe to relax.
Your parasympathetic nervous system helps you relax, sleep, and digest to balance periods of fight, flight, freeze. But these days, many of us are in a mental fight-or-flight mode even when our bodies aren’t under physical duress. For example, all of the stressors of modern work and life.
Breathwork, then, is a way to activate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system and help you de-escalate and de-stress.
There are many different approaches to breathwork, all of them with a similar goal — to help you lower your response to stress. Trying different techniques will help you find the one that works best for you.
The one that works for you is the one you will practice.
Here are three Breathwork Practices to get you started.
Deep abdominal breathing.
1. Find a comfortable seated or lying position.
2. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
3. Inhale deeply through your nose, allowing your belly to rise while keeping your chest still.
4. Exhale slowly through your mouth, feeling your belly fall.
5. Put on headphones and listen to soothing music like “Weightless” by Marconi Union.
6. Breathe deeply for 5-10 minutes. Silently repeat a phrase like the one below with each breath.
Holotropic breathwork. It’s best to have an experienced instructor help you practice this technique. The idea is to achieve a continuous inhale and exhale pattern with no pause in between. This type of breathing floods your body with oxygen and renews your cells.
Focus on the phrase above (I am, at peace) as you practice circular breathing. Here is a link to my video demonstration:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_b-mguytjagiKOy9rI8K6Ac730Ta16k6/view?usp=sharing
Finding a Breathwork Community
While self-practice is powerful, joining a community can deepen your experience.
In the coming months, look out for updates as Aloft Healing Studios starts our own breathwork community.
I have published a book, The Breathe Love Method: Harnessing the Power of Conscious Breathing for Mental Health and Well- Being.
My transformative book integrates dynamic energy healing practices rooted in breathwork, Reiki, and energy psychology.
Readers are skillfully guided to harness love energy through conscious breathing paving the way to comprehensive holistic wellness supported by insights from pioneering quantum scientists such as Albert Einstein.
The book promotes love energy as the universe's most potent and creative force. Historical references draw connections between conscious breathing and love energy across ancient languages and texts including the Bible.
Practical techniques are provided to empower readers to help overcome the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) associated with repressed fear, anger, and anxiety.
My book can be purchased on Amazon in hardback, paperback, Kindle and audio formats.
Conclusion
Breathwork is a profound practice that invites you to tap into the power of your breath and unlock your potential. Whether you're looking to reduce stress, enhance clarity, or explore your emotions, there's a breathwork technique that can benefit you. Start small, be patient with yourself, and enjoy the journey of self-discovery.
Stay tuned for more blogs with additional insights and techniques to help your exploration of the world of breathwork!
If you have questions or want to share your experiences, feel free to contact me at scott@alofthealingstudios.com
Let’s breathe our way to a more mindful, connected life together!