by Coach Pat Marques
We all know we need to breathe to live, but we don't give it much thought after that. Breathing is a foundational skill, as important for the brain as it is for the body. Most people are unaware that you can even have "poor breathing," let alone that it can have several adverse effects. Keep reading to learn more.
Unfortunately, you don't have to have a diagnosed respiratory condition such as asthma or COPD to have sub-optimal breathing.
Optimize Breathing, Performance Breathing, Mechanics
Most people are unaware that poor breathing can have several adverse effects.
Increased Anxiety – Poor breathing increases your unconscious stress levels at a neurological level, increasing an unconscious "fight or flight" response, which increases anxiety and stress.
Decreased Immune Function – Unfortunately, this issue became front and center during the recent pandemic because chronic poor breathing increases your unconscious stress levels, suppressing your immune system.
Musculoskeletal effects – Improper breathing mechanics go hand-in-hand with poor and/or painful posture – rounded shoulders, carrying the head too far forward, and rigid spinal joints, especially in the important thoracic (mid-back) area.
Poor Sleep/Chronic Fatigue – Poor breathing habits can contribute to dysfunctional breathing patterns while sleeping, resulting in restless sleep and frequent asking, and thus chronic fatigue due to poor rest.
Gut Issues – Chronic chest breathing (bad) can often cause or exacerbate gut issues due to the lack of diaphragmatic breathing and proper Vagus nerve stimulation.
Brain Fog/Poor Focus or Concentration – Improper breathing has been shown to disrupt the blood's critical oxygen and carbon dioxide ratios, reducing blood flow and oxygen distribution to the brain.
Luckily, breathing is a skill that can be re-trained!
You weren't born with poor breathing, but it is an, unfortunately, all too common result of a modern lifestyle for many reasons. A conscious breathing program can make huge, positive changes to your quality of life and fitness.
After 12 years of training folks from all walks of life to regain good breathing mechanics and habits, we've distilled these skills into an easy-to-use online course, Performance Breathing Level 1. This course aims to introduce you to the basic requirements for good breathing that support your life and your activities. This course's knowledge, specific exercises, and programs will improve your breathing, resulting in better stamina, less stress, better cognition and focus, and improved sleep.
The education and exercises focus on the three areas of good breathing training:
Breathing MECHANICSBreathing PHYSIOLOGY
Breathing HABITS
With the Level 1 course, you get the following:
Specific breathing assessments so you can easily monitor progress
A neurological assessment methodology to individualize your exercises and program
12 different breathing exercises that require NO equipment
Regressions and variations for the exercises
Education on the 5 Breathing Habits you want to attain and how to do it
A 14-Day Breathing Habit Builder, with three levels of programs to choose from based on your time available to train
A roadmap for how to continue and advance your Performance Breathing
Better breathing improves EVERYTHING – health, quality of life, sleep, fitness, focus, etc. Improve yours today with the Performance Breathing Level 1 course.
And for our loyal clients, we'd like to extend a 15% discount code for the course! Enter the code "15OFFNA" when checking out to receive your discount.
Here is the link to purchase the course:
Click below for tools to start putting the article to good use!
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