Over the past 10 years, I have pretty much, on and off, suffered from an annoying cough.  I’ve been to the doctors and had many tests and diagnoses, these have included acid reflux, post-nasal drip, and chest X-rays amongst others.  I’ve had various types of medication to fix this but nothing that has ever led to a long-lasting remedy.

By the time I went off work last year with stress and grief, I literally couldn’t speak a sentence without fits of coughing.  It was one of the 20 or so mental and physical symptoms that had manifested over a prolonged period leading up to taking a significant amount of time away from work.

As I worked with my General Practitioner to try to alleviate this symptom, it was the same tests and medications I had tried a few times over the years with no immediate or lasting improvement. 

Also by this time, I had discovered chanting meditation which was helping me in other ways, and through reading about this type of meditation I started to think about breathing.

You may have heard of the Wim Hof method of breathing and the benefits Wim Hof speaks about in terms so healing our nervous systems.  At this time I also came across a couple of podcasts that brought this all home to me.  The first to reference is by Dr Andrew Huberman called “How to Breathe Correctly for Optimal Health, Mood, Learning and Performance” which you can find on all good podcast apps and on YouTube: (1) How to Breathe Correctly for Optimal Health, Mood, Learning & Performance | Huberman Lab Podcast - YouTube and the second is James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, who was interviewed by Steven Bartlett (Diary of a CEO) called “The Breathing Expert: Mouth Breathing Linked to ADHD, Diabetes and Child Sickness” also on YouTube: The Breathing Expert: Mouth Breathing Linked To ADHD, Diabetes & Child Sickness! (youtube.com).

As a snapshot:

Dr. Huberman speaks about the importance of ‘how we breathe’ and the benefits of breathing properly for mood, and to reduce psychological and physiological stress, and many other benefits – he even speaks about how to relieve hiccups, which is, apparently, one of the most searched for remedies on the internet.

James Nestor speaks about breathing being the pillar of our health and the ground-breaking research into the benefits of nose breathing. He gives practical steps to change the way you breathe, including a quick morning routine to check your health levels (see the time stamps on YouTube if you haven’t time to listen to the whole podcast).

Both of these podcasts are excellent providing some really good grounding knowledge into breathing correctly.

Who would have thought we have gotten so bad at doing something we all do automatically every day?

Back to my coughing; by the time I came across these two podcasts I had noticed an improvement through the chanting meditation and also knew that humming and singing were also beneficial – I wrote a blog on the benefits of singing a while back and you can read it here: What Are The Benefits of Singing to Our Wellbeing? (2022) — Jackie Mandeir

The more I learned about the importance of breathing, the more I wanted to explore this area as part of my wellness journey. Then I came across Owaken Breathwork – the founders are Helle Weston and Lukis Mac, this couple do fantastic work bringing ancient breathing techniques into their work that enable people to enhance their physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Weston and Mac go pretty deep in their work to the extent that people are unlocking emotions, trauma, and energy that have been suppressed or trapped in the body so people can begin to feel, heal, and reclaim their wellness.

Owaken Breathwork has a short 10-minute breathing exercise on YouTube, which is my go-to breathwork practice each morning.  You can find it here: Learn OWAKEN Daily BREATHWORK practice FREE - it could change your life! (youtube.com)

I can’t say my cough has completely disappeared but it is so much better than it was last year at the height of my health decline. It has become a marker for my wellness sense checks because it is the first thing I now notice when I am becoming stressed or in a stressful situation.  Just being able to notice and do something about it, is very important.

If you’re overwhelmed with life at the moment, why not consider breathwork as something you can also explore?

My Favourite Things This Week

With the arrival of Daphne the cacao ceremony mornings were put on the back burner but the few days I did this practice, I found was a wonderful start to the day.  I will pick it back up once we have established a new routine in the home.

Ted Talk

Great share on LinkedIn this week - How we treat each other at work has an enormous impact on how teams perform – with potentially fatal consequences if you work in healthcare. Chris Turner reveals the shocking impact of rudeness in the workplace, arguing that civility saves lives.  When rudeness in teams turns deadly | Chris Turner | TEDxExeter (youtube.com)

YouTube

One of my favourite ways to meditate is using guided meditation by Raising Higher Meditation by Jess Shepherd who has the voice of an angel.

Question

Have you ever thought about the quality and power of your breath and how it affects your wellness?

Thank you very much for reading – if would like me to cover any other wellness-related topic, please do let me know.  Wishing you a great week ahead.

Jackie