BAD BREATHING TRAINING
I worked with a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease case who was recently poorly trained in breathing at a leading health institute by an alternative health practitioner from the oriental healing tradition. The training was BAD training. Very BAD, especially for a COPD case who already HAS bad breathing and does not need it WORSENED.
Furthermore, this kind of training was bad for ANY breathing body. This client was totally convinced that he was now breathing correctly. When I got through working with him ALL his relevant vital signs were much improved. He was VERY clear and deeply felt how this trainer had given him bad guidance. Without the feedback of specific vital signs, it is impossible to know for certain that progress has really been attained. Even seemingly healthy people can be miss-led into a practice that can cause future trouble. Without specific measurable criteria, how do you know that you do not have compromised breathing right from the very beginning of these training? If you want to manipulate someone about something, find out what they know then you can tell them anything.
How does a health practitioner know that the person they are working with does not have some degree of hidden breathing compromise? The answer is, they don't, without proper training. It is rather daunting to impossible to know how to qualify a trainer when it comes to respiration. Without Optimal Breathing School training, I believe that any health professional is capable of making the very same mistakes. Once they have our training, their "usual and customary" practices will become significantly more effective. more about
A bad breathing exercise and why in bold.
Inhale deeply through your nose.
If your pattern is not excellent the deepness will worsen your future ability to breathe in a balanced way.
Then exhale slowly through your mouth; any mouth breathing that is not tied into a healthy breathing window for speaking will eventually shorten the breathing in and out cycle that we call the Optimal Breathing Window and invite shallow breathing. cont'd
feel your belly button (go ahead, we'll wait) go toward your spine;
Will get you in the habit of belly tightening more than you already do and worsen the abdominal startle response
hold it there briefly.
Will add to the belly tension already epidemic in our society.
Repeat three or four times. yech!
"Dear Mike:
I’ve incorporated many areas of wellness into my life, and the lives of my children, exercise, holistic nutrition, spirituality, meditation, yet we continue to struggle in finding the balance for overall wellness. My children and grandchildren cope with the stresses of life in the same way I do. We hold our breaths. I’ve imprinted various levels of anxiety upon my children and today I see the impact it has on how we breathe. My daughter says she well remembers the fear I instilled in her as a child, and she, in turn, does the same to her child. Ironically, she tells me my methods kept her safe, alert and out of a lot of trouble. I worked in law enforcement for over thirty years. I recall intentionally instilling fear in my children by telling them stories of horrifying things that can happen to them if they disobeyed mom’s instructions or were not aware of their surroundings. I infused my own levels of fear and anxiety of strangers and certain family members into my children until I saw those feelings reflected back at me. It was my way of protecting them from the horrible incidents I had experienced and witnessed as a child and a cop. For example, many of us have some unsavory member of the family we do not want around our children at all. I would pull my children onto my lap and point the person out and quietly but firmly describe that person as an evil monster. I was not satisfied until I saw my children hold their breaths and their eyes widen with fear. I always ended the story by telling them to scream and run if that person ever came near them! I’ve taught my children how to respond and react to different stresses of life by using their fight or flight responses. Fight for it! Work for it! Never give up! Never quit! Run, to fight or live another day! It’s no wonder our wellness balance is off kilter. I kept us pumped up on adrenaline for years. I never taught them to “breathe” through anything! When stress began to break my body down I introduced yoga, meditation, and spirituality into our lives, but we all struggle with being able to be still long enough (especially in meditation) for any real benefits. My daughter suffers from panic attacks; I feel as if I don’t get enough air, my son is quick to impatience and now my grandchildren are displaying the same traits.
In my communications with Mike White, and viewing his Optimal Breathing, UDB page at Breathing.com, and learning about The Optimal Breathing Wave, I have been convinced his theories on optimal breathing are a cornerstone of wellness. Optimal breathing is our missing link. Now, as a grandmother, I’m determined to learn, practice, and introduce this crucial awareness of breathing into the lives of my offspring to help correct many of our issues. I would be lacking in my teachings as a parent if I were to exclude Mike’s theories on Optimal Breathing and UDB, and the connection it has with hundreds of health conditions. UDB is Unbalanced Dysfunctional Breathing – Unbalanced Deep Breathing – Undisclosed Dysfunctional Breathing – Undiagnosed Dysfunctional Breathing. I took the online breathing test at Breathing.com that measured my own breath and I scored “fair.” I’ve realized for some time now that I have impaired breathing because I breathe into my neck. I call it “neck-breathing” because it feels as if I’m breathing only into the end of my neck with very little air getting into my chest. I am constantly reminding myself to unclench my jaw, loosen the tongue from the roof of my mouth, and relax my neck and breathe deep. Even in a relaxed state my neck muscles contract when I breathe. According to the breathing test this is viewed as upper chest breathing because of my neck muscles contract, my jaw clenches and my collarbone, shoulders and upper chest rise. It does not feel like I’m getting any air into my chest at all unless I’m concentrating on deep breathing. I’ve experienced various breathing exercises through yoga and once with a wellness practitioner. In both cases, I experienced blockages. In particular, with this practitioner’s “wave-breathing” I experienced a short period of relief from back pain through deep breathing exercise. I was directed to lie face down on a massage table with a face holder and breathe deeply for thirty minutes or more. I was to concentrate and direct the energy of my breath up and down my spinal column. It worked at first, and I felt relieved of pain, emotional releases and the euphoria of being able to breathe so deeply while lying on my stomach. After several weeks of practicing deep breathing in this way, I began to experience being overheated during every session. I’d get up from the table soaked in sweat as if I had just completed a cardio workout. I started to experience increased blockages and my back pain returned, and my neck breathing seemed to increase. I asked about the blockages, the return of pain and the perspiration.
“You are working hard,” was the response I received as if it was a good thing. I asked if I was breathing correctly and where should I be directing my breath. I was told to breathe my breath wherever I wanted it to go. I canceled all future appointments not because their energy theories do not work; it was no longer working for me. I needed a more clinical explanation as well as documentation of my symptoms. I wanted to understand the cause of the blockages and how to fix it. I’ve been holding my breath and breathing shallowly for years. In observing my children and grandchildren, I realize that my 12-year-old and her mother may have UDB, as well. Thanks to Mike White’s breathing development programs I have the opportunity to learn correct and incorrect breathing. I can use his techniques to investigate, locate, measure, and correct UDB using the Optimal Breathing tools to track the progress. I have been taught to breathe through the pains of giving birth and broken bones but never through stress and emotional pains. Just hold it, stuff it, and run it! I’m looking forward to correcting UDB in myself, and my children, and to incorporate The Optimal Breathing Wave as part of the foundation of wellness."
Sincerely, Celia Holliday
