Reset Breath

We take 960 breaths an hour, 23,040 a day, 8,409,600 a year, and approximately half a billion breaths in a lifetime.That means we have over 20,000 opportunities every day to start fresh and presence ourselves. With every inhale, we can choose to invite what we want more of, and with every exhale we can let go of something we no longer need. It’s an evolutionary and revolutionary act to share the gift of conscious breathing with our family, friends, and clients. We believe You are an example of evolutionary well-being just by being an LMT, as you offer hope, care, and possibilities to every person you touch! We encourage you to incorporate conscious breathing into every session and every day, so you feel good while giving, and so your clients, friends, and family feel good in the receiving of your touch, inspiration, and presence. We can all take a deep breath into that! There are so many benefits to conscious breathing. Included is a reliable breathing technique that we use regularly to bring ourselves and our clients back into harmony. From the inside out, we can impact how we feel and we can feel better. 

THE RESET BREATH

Conscious breathing pioneer Gay Hendricks advocates the following breathing practice to optimize several of the scientifically validated benefits of conscious breathing, like reduced anxiety and depression, lowered blood pressure, feeling less stressed and overwhelmed, increased energy levels, and encouraged muscle relaxation.3 Because many people do not take full inhalations (think chest breathers) and do not exhale fully, a tremendous amount of CO2 stays trapped in our pleura and our body.

This excess CO2 concentration leads to higher blood acidity and the age-related wear and tear associated with oxidation. To prevent this metaphorical rusting

of our body, utilize the Reset Breath to balance your pH, avoid getting sick, and powerfully presence yourself.
1. Enjoy a few easy diaphragmatic

breaths (as described above).

2. Next, inhale through your nose and gently exhale out your mouth. It’s essential not to hold your breath at the top of the inhalation and likewise exhale in a smooth, easy way.

3. After you exhale all your air, hold your breath, without tightening any muscles, for one or more heartbeats. Just before your body would tense to reach for more breath, gently inhale through your nose and exhale as you enjoy a few transitional diaphragmatic breaths.

4. When you’re ready again, repeat steps 1–3 for about two minutes. You just infused your bloodstream with higher levels of oxygen and created inner alchemy!

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” 
― Thich Nhat Hanh,

This is an excerpt from our Conscious Breathing article in Massage&Bodywork Magazine. Access the full article Now!