#177 Rapid Breathing Development

Alternative holistic programs including breathing development, breathing exercises, optional diet, ergonomics, and environmental factors needed for optimal breathing. From a small interest, need or goal to a large interest, need or goal. From beginner to advanced holistic comprehensive mastery. Choose the highest level if you have the most curiosity and commitment. Choose the lowest level for entry-level understanding. The more items you checked on the breathing test, the higher the level appropriate. Good for:

• Health Challenges from Question #28 in Breathing Tests
• Breath Therapy
• Chest Pains
• Depression
• Diaphragm Development
• Heartbeat Irregularity
• Hyperventilation
• Oxygen Increase
• Reducing Prescription Drugs
• Stress Management

Illness free and want to develop your breathing? Click here #177 Rapid Breathing Development, Wellness & Vitality.

Long story short approximately 10 years ago described these symptoms to my doctor, adrenal surges, not being about to catch my breath, waking up at night many times gasping for air and feeling like I am suffocating. Was put on Zoloft or Paxil off and on for about 10 years. I would tell the doctors that I didn't feel depressed and really had no idea why these physical symptoms would happen to me and be so debilitating, but they just treat symptoms with meds. People would tell me, well just take a deep breath. OK, "I'll do that," I would say, but I could not seem to get a handle on being able to get a real breath when I'm suffering this panic and anxiety.

One fine day last October it finally dawned on me, I do not know really HOW to breathe! With all of the Yoga, meditation, bodywork, no one has been able to really teach me "HOW TO BREATHE." So I got on the WWW and said help!!! Punched in "breathing" and Wa La came "breathing.com" and Michael. Got Michael's tapes in his #210 Optimal Natural Breathing Kit.

#120 Better Breathing Exercise #1 was such a shock for me. What I mean is I had no idea there was a reflex action at the bottom of the exhale breath that actually "breathed your body." The shallow breathing that I was in the habit of doing had never allowed the development of that reflex action. So naturally, I'm waking up at night breath holding, panic stricken and clueless why this is happening. My body has been oxygen-starved and getting worse as I get older. EVEN THOUGH ALL OF THE CHILDHOOD ISSUES ARE WORKED OUT, GONE, DONE WITH, the old breathing habits had remained. I was not aware of something better.

#130 Better Breathing Exercise #2 was even more fantastic! The exercise uses what you have learned in tape #1 and gives you the tremendous tools and power over the physical disablement of being oxygen-starved and emotionally stressed.

Very soon after starting the tapes, I visited Michael for 6 days in North Carolina to get private instruction. I can only tell you all that it was the best thing I could have ever done for myself. I am now, of course, still practicing proper breathing (50 years of bad habits), off meds and have not awaked at night even once since starting the tapes and getting private instruction from Michael.

Again Michael, thank you a million times over for actually dedicating your life to helping people understand the importance of the breath and actually in detail showing how to really practice it.

-- Phyllis Ross

I have tried e-mailing this testimonial sometime in May, but somehow it never got through. Since then, my daughters have been urging me to send in my testimonial because of how much your breathing exercises have helped me "cure" my chest pains, shortness of breath and lower my blood pressure. So I am sending it in now hoping this does get through to you.

I need to thank God for leading me to your Web site back in March when I began experiencing mild to severe chest pains every night. I had gone through a full bottle of 30 nitroglycerine tablets within two weeks. My chest pains always occurred at night when I am going to bed, so much so, that I was afraid to go to bed. I need to explain something, Mike. Because of my past two open heart surgeries and heart problems, I am quite knowledgeable about the symptoms of a possible heart attack when you experience chest pains. In my case, I had just gone through an ultrasonic and a treadmill test in February. During the treadmill test, at the final stage, I complained to the attending nurse that she had to stop the treadmill because I was experiencing severe chest pains and was out of breath. She insisted I continue because the test is almost over, and I needed to go on just for another minute or so. Somehow I got through the run and nearly fainted, heaving and breathing rapidly.

Two weeks later when I returned to my cardiologist for the results of my test, the cardiologist stated that I had over 75% blockage on my right carotid artery and 50% blockage on my left carotid artery. He immediately recommended an angiogram to determine the actual extent of the blockage. After consulting with my wife, I decided to forego the angiogram and in fact vowed that I would not go through that invasive examination again. Right after that was when I started to experience my chest pains. However, as I mentioned to my wife, the chest pains that I was experiencing could not be heart-related but instead, I suspected it may be initiating from my lungs. After my treadmill test, I also started to cough out some mucous. Its color was pure white and not yellow or black so I felt that I may have a latent lung problem. After all, I am over 73 tears old. Besides during my chest pains, I did not experience any of the usual symptoms of a pending heart attack. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and the center of my chest hurt badly. The pain vanished after I slipped a nitro tablet under my tongue. My blood pressure was not low at the time, but it wasn't high either. Of course, I was frightened. I would get chest pains for two or three nights, then none on the next night, and then it started again. About that time, I read an article in our local newspaper about breathing. I went on the Internet, and I can't tell you how or why I selected your Web site. I spent all day reading the information on your site especially the testimonials. I ordered your Optimal Breathing package and received the tapes in early April.

Now, let me tell you what happened.

I started out on the middle of my living room floor, arranging some couch pillows on a towel on the floor. Didn't take me long to adjust myself on the floor and started with the Tibetan Caffeine tape. As God is my witness, by the time I was into the second half of the tape and into the exhale and inhale on a single bong strike, my right leg from my thigh to my feet felt like ice. I continued my breathing exercises and had my wife cover my legs with a blanket. I went through the entire exercise which took me nearly an hour that very first time. Mike, that night I did not have any chest pain. I did the same exercise twice the next day, once in the morning and then again before going to bed.

The second night, my chest pain returned, but this time instead of taking a nitro tablet, I went into the living room and sat on the edge of my couch and in the dark, started to breathe slowly. The chest pain slowly subsided, and after a few minutes it was gone, and I was able to go to bed. From that day on I have had no chest pains and have not taken a nitro tablet. This all happened in April after I started with your breathing exercises.

Today, I do breathing almost the entire day, mostly because subconsciously the breathing exercises are part of my daily routine. There is a lot more I can tell you about my health as a result of the breathing exercises I learned from you. My daughter who lives in Hawaii has just visited you in North Carolina, and I am grateful for the teaching and help you have given her. I have told my youngest daughter about the Tibetan Caffeine (#130 Better Breathing Exercise #2), and she too will be doing the healing breathing exercises herself. In closing, here is my email address, bobby7778@hotmail.com for anyone who is fortunate enough to find your Web site, they can contact me, and I would be happy to tell them how wonderful breathing the right way can be for them.

Aloha
-- Bruno Yim

I was a long-term severally abused child, physically and emotionally. I am steadfastly determined to improve my sense of wholeness, to strengthen my self-esteem and self-love and spiritual connection with others. As a result of this commitment, I have spent much of the last 30 years looking for help with my breathing, which has always (since adolescence) felt tense and shallow and "locked up" and eventually led to me having to give up my chosen profession.

Over the years, I've tried every type of healing modality I could think of that might impact the experience of never being able to get a satisfying breath. I've tried medical doctors, chiropractic, various psychotherapies including Psychoanalytic, Gestalt, Short-Term Psychodynamic, and others. I've tried body-oriented therapies including Reichian, Alexander Technique, Rebirthing, Rolfing, Rosen Work, Biofeedback, Massage Therapy, Bioenergetics, Core Energetics, Primal, Reiki, Cranio-Sacral, etc. I also studied Yoga and Tai Chi. For many of these modalities, I tried more than one practitioner of that style. I also committed extensive periods of time to a number of these practitioners, many of whom I studied with for periods of 1 to 3 years, in hope of getting some help.

While some of these teachers and therapists were very smart and dedicated people who were able to help me move forward in one way or another, no one was able to help me find relief from my core complaint -- my inability to breathe satisfactorily.

I recently discovered the Web site of breathing.com and opened a dialogue with Michael Grant White, the director of the site. Eventually, I decided to travel to North Carolina for a week, to work intensively with Mike.

Mike started by showing me how some simple adjustments to my posture could give me more space to breathe. He then, using very specific rib/chest/shoulder/neck accessory breathing muscle release techniques went on to show me how to get the ribs and diaphragm moving so that the breath could expand into the increased space he had found for me in my posture. Some of the beliefs that I had held about what a coordinated breath feels like, had to be corrected. Finally, there was a wonderful moment with Mike when everything "clicked" for me, and I was able to sing loudly and happily with no pain or straining, for the first time I can remember since early childhood. Mike was able to get me back to the same state again, and I eventually returned home with a set of exercises and "homework" to do to help continue the development. I was quite satisfied and happy with my lessons with Mike.

But the biggest changes became apparent when I returned home. Suddenly, conversations with associates had a different character, the movement of my ribs seemed huge compared to before I traveled to North Carolina. A close associate has commented that I seem noticeably more relaxed. My dreams are much more vivid (some pleasant, some not so pleasant). A low-grade depression seems to have lifted, and I suddenly find myself easily working long hours whereas that was difficult for months before my trip.

I've also noticed an odd and unexpected difference in my diet after years of complacency, I've begun eating salads every day and generally eating less overall. Food is still very enjoyable, but it seems less like entertainment and comfort to me, and more like...well...food. Somehow, breathing a little deeper and easier has, without any conscious effort to do so, made me more realistic and less emotionally clouded about diet.

Another thing that changed immediately after returning home, is my exercise routines. I generally swim every day and do a good bit of flexibility work every day. But after studying with Mike, I'm beginning to feel that there really is only one form of exercise -- breathing development. Everything else (swimming, stretching, weight-training, tai chi, running, you name it) is just a variation of breathing development.

For example, when I swim now, I'm very conscious of moving my limbs and ribs in such a way that the breath deepens with every stroke, so that the breath is more expansive and elastic when I get out of the pool than when I got in. This is quite different than the way I used to swim. I swam a lot harder than I swim now, and there was a general sense of triumph and temporary relaxation in that, but the relaxation didn't extend to my breath, which was tight and shallow when I was finished. Mike has assured me that I'll swim even stronger than before, if I'm careful to slowly increase the cardio demand such that the breathing apparatus remains relaxed. I always thought that the more cardio fitness, the better, as long as one doesn't have a heart attack. But I've learned that you can do quite a bit of subtle damage to the enjoyment of your life (and even your long-term health) by placing athletic demands on your body that are out of synch with your breathing abilities. So breathing comes first for me now, particularly since Mike's given me some tools with which to increase my breath.

I've noticed the same thing with my stretch routines. I no longer believe that there's such a thing as an "ankle stretch." Sure, I do the same ankle routines as before, but the way I do them is completely different. I try to find a way to explore the movement of my ribs and diaphragm such that they soften and allow for more ankle movement! Again, all exercise seems like breath development work to me now. So there are no ankle stretches. Just "breath stretches" extended out to the ankles.

Mike also talked to me repeatedly about the ergonomics of my life, my chair, my work, my car seat. When Mike discussed these things, I listened and thought he made some good points worth considering. But since I've returned home, I'm beginning to feel that he was talking about something _really important_. I can see how slouching at my desk for a couple of hours leaves me with less breath, and that then induces a feeling of low self esteem and depression. I guess I never noticed before because I didn't feel that I had all that much breath to protect. Now, with my breath deeper, I'm beginning to think seriously about how to improve my ergonomics. (Mike gave me a number of good and inexpensive suggestions.)

Just now, as I sat and wrote this, I realized that I am indeed slouching and locking up my breath. I need to replace this desk chair with a more breathing-friendly chair (not a specialty item, just an inexpensive but different chair design than I'm currently using), in accordance with the suggestions that Mike gave me. So I got up and did about 10 minutes of my breathing exercises. Now, sitting back down to work, it's easier to work, the words are flowing with less effort, my self-esteem is higher, I feel more confident, life seems less like a burden. It's subtle, but tangible. No, it's not magic, my life isn't suddenly euphoric. But it's easier, less work, more filled with hope and promise, than it was 10 minutes ago. It makes me wonder how many of my internal conflicts and frustrations are nothing more than the effects of poor breathing habits.

Some people tell me let go of the past, grieve the losses, forgive those who hurt you, move on toward life. They mean well by encouraging me to fly, but they assume that I have the wings with which to fly. How can I grieve the past and move on, if my breathing is locked up so that I can't fully laugh, cry, or sing?

Mike has helped me see some of the possibilities for correcting my breathing pattern, and the results of that have been simple and immediate. It feels good to breathe better. And it's very reassuring to know that there are specific exercises I can do for my breath, that will help me to let go of the past and create the future.

-- Alan Paul

I thoroughly enjoyed my session with you. I was delighted by the degree of insight and sophistication that you bring to “breathing”. I am now opening up and breathing in a much more relaxed I look forward to another session to go a step further. I will also be recommending your approach to my patients.

-- Dr. Richard Gracer, Orthopedic Medicine