Start Well

One of the things that few people know about me is that breathing is yet to be easy for me.

What I do now as someone who has struggled all my life to breathe well is that everything is so much easier when the body receives the breath it deserves.

Before I coach I teach. I teach everyone who I notice isn't breathing well to pause and breathe. It is simple yet so so powerful.

Try it now. Pause. Take a normal exhale out and then pause.

Now take a slow, long, even and shallow breathe in. Yes shallow. It can be as deep or low down as you want but make it shallow, slow and long. Keep it natural though. Pause when you feel your lungs filled up.

Now slowly and evenly exhale.

I discovered this simple technique to bring myself clarity and calm when I was struggling to get enough oxygen into my body.

If you hear me speak or see me in person you won't notice how I still struggle to breathe well. Unless you know what to look for. I don't wheeze nor gasp for breath (well not often anyway) which are the standard signs of someone with breathing difficulties. You won't see me reach for an inhaler or medication when I my body struggles for sufficient oxygen just to do the basics. Nevertheless, there are days when trying to breathe like any normal person is frankly a great effort for me.

Before I continue on with this story, let me share with you why I have included it on this website.

The more I have learned in my journey towards natural, highly effective and efficient breathing the more I recognize the power and potential of this elsewhere in my life. Especially in the workplace.

The better I practice better breathing - the better my work and working day is.

Through sharing my story here on this page about my journey to the best breathing I can possibly experience right in this moment, I hope to share also how I have benefited in other ways too. I'd like to think you can take something away from reading my story that will help you do something naturally better too.

I have struggled to breathe normally since a non-fatal (obviously!) drowning incident as a toddler.

Since then my ability to breathe naturally and well has been further complicated by misadventures, illnesses and some environmental working conditions. Each incident was treated accordingly at the time but no thought or caution was given for any on-going after effects. So no one noticed, least of all me that I had in essence become a sub-standard breather and have stayed that way for pretty much all of my life.

When I discovered I was breathing at less than 20% capacity of the average healthy person it made so much sense as to why I seemed to make hard work of so many things especially when physical exertion was involved. By sheer willpower and determination I often achieved what I set out to do but that took its toll. Even mental activity which uses a lot of oxygen too, made me foggy and made it difficult for me to think clearly at times. When I was on my game I was so different to when I was off it and that bugged me no end.

To return to full breathing capacity takes dedication. The technique I have found best for me requires a type of breathwork in sessions upto four times a day with strict limitations on activities up to 2 hours prior to each session. To date this may take up to six weeks to acheive for me and lasts only as long as I am not triggered. When triggered my breathing then defaults back to abnormal breathing ways again. Each time I reset my breathing to its natural best, it lasts a little longer where I now may enjoy up to several months of good breathing.

Practising good breathing is now a way of life for me. I factor it into my day every day. For those weeks that I am at full capacity I am able to forgo any practice and move into the next activity of my day. It is the first thing I think about checking each morning. It is the first part of my power hour. I know I can't afford to miss this time if I am to function even moderately well in my day.

At the time of writing this, I am in another 6 week cycle of breathwork as my breathing capacity had dropped to 30% after a bout of hayfever.

Knowing how ill I feel when I am at a breathing capacity of anything lower than 30% and how much this influences my wellbeing and enjoyment of life, I have made this a priority in my day. I have to if I want to achieve anything in my day.

It has taught me though so much about priority, value, efficiency, management, appreciation, self-leadership, personal performance and more.

Every time I go through a stint of this breathing I learn something more that I can transfer into another area of my life, and how I approach working with my clients and what results and outcomes are needed to be more than just getting by.

And that is what I dearly want for my clients. For you. For everyone. To not have to experience just getting by. Be it with breathing, with enjoying your working day, with earning a good living, with running a successful business. Getting by isn't enough. It wasn't meant to be like that and it doesn't have to be like that.