Posts tagged “Breathing”

Stress effects people with ADHD dramatically. Over time, this stress load can build up on people with ADHD to become anxiety and restlessness. Deep breathing techniques have been shown to counteract the effects of stress and help people with ADHD to relax. By reducing stress and relieving anxiety this can be a huge win for people with ADHD 
I understand running is not for everyone. Whether you struggle to run 100 yards, a 5 or 15km route that’s ok. Everybody struggles at some point with running. So what’s the point in running?  
If you’ve been following the Innate Strength Socials, you may have noticed that I undertook a 30-day Oxygen Advantage Breath Training Challenge. The reason I took on the challenge was to take my performance to the next level. I set out with the intention of improving my fitness levels, my ability to think clearly under pressure, and to improve resilience in mind and body. Although my progress was stalled due to sickness, there were a whole host of valuable insights gained within the 30 days. 
Back in 2002, a new research recruit was welcomed to Dr. Justin Feinstein’s neurophychology lab. This recruit had a peculiar condition which affected her ability to feel fear. The condition affected the amygdala – the area in the brain where fear is thought to originate. Up to this point in 2002, both life and researchers had tried to illicit a fear response from her without success. She had been exposed to experiences of sexual, emotional, mental and physical abuse without even a flinch from her. All of the experiences left her emotionless. They were akin to watching a kettle boil for her - nothing.  
Disruption to your sleep, snoring, increased daily blood sugars, stress and anxiety are just some of the symptoms from chronic mouth breathing all day and at night. But is all mouth breathing bad for you? 
Life throws curve balls at us the whole time. There are large ones that really knock us off centre and there are small ones. The small ones are the curve balls which put us off our game on a daily basis and create the idea of the daily grind. 
Reading Time: 3-5 mins 
Exercise Time: 5-6 mins 
 
You can read all the books, listen to all the podcasts and delve into the scientific literature all you like but the only way you are going to know if Breath Training works for you is if you experience it for yourself. In my life experience, I have come to know that Breathing really Works. Breathing can enhance performance up to 110% in just 3 minutes. I’ll prove it to you by giving you the test protocol at the end of this article. 
It sounds so silly right? After all everybody knows how to breathe. We do it all day every day of our lives. From birth to death there isn’t a day goes by where we don’t breathe, in fact, there isn’t even an hour goes by without breathing. How then, can we over-breathe and does over-breathing really kill us? We’re going to dive into these questions and then give you 3 Ways Over-breathing is Killing You. 
If you know me as a coach, you’ll know by now that nose breathing is where it’s at when it comes to health performance. But just as a quick reminder, let’s find out why nose breathing is so great and then give you 3 top tips for nose breathing. 
You have a natural breathing pattern when you are at complete rest, and it is called the Optimal Resting Breath Wave [ORBW]. There are 5 Characteristics of a Great Breath. It is a breath pattern that is to be felt, rather than quantified. It is low and slow. It is so silent you can hardly notice it, and it is best summed up by Lao Tzu, the famous ancient Chinese Philosopher when he said: 
 
“The Perfect Man Breathes as if he is not Breathing.” 
It sounds so stupid because it’s so simple, right? I mean, of course, I breathe right. I do it every day. It’s a subconscious act, like my heart beating; otherwise, I’d die... but could I tell if I wasn’t breathing correctly? And does better breathing improve my life?