What if I told you that by focusing on breathing better, you could lose weight, sleep better, be less anxious, look better, be more alert when you need to be, more relaxed when you want to be, make better love, perform better at work and feel better overall in every single way. Would you believe that breathing right can do all of that?

Breathwork is trendy right now, but what does it all mean and how can it benefit you? Once you know a few secrets of breath, those secrets can set you and your kids up in good health for life. So, let’s take a look into this “breathwork” stuff.

I know, as soon as you heard the term “breathwork”, your heart sank, didn’t it? You started thinking about Wim Hof sitting in a bath of ice smirking at you. You started replaying those annoying sighs that people do at the end of yoga class. You already know “how to breathe, thanks – I’ve been doing it my whole life”. You are already feeling anxious about having to do any breathing things. But just stop overthinking it and just breathe.

We are going to keep it simple for you, don’t worry. Breathe in through your nose. Slowly, deeply. Allow your diaphragm to expand. Relax tightness in your chest. Breathe out through your nose. Slow it down. Relax. Now do it again.

The way to get healing breath in your life isn’t abstract, yoga-fuelled or needing tubs of ice. Attaining a healing breath takes awareness of a few simple truths and a little bit of practical knowledge – no incense or mantra required.

First, we need to know why breathing “wrong” ruins our health. Second, we need to know what breathing “right” is. Then we can resume our life, breathing how we ought to and experiencing the health gains we deserve because of it.

Breathing was meant to be simple. Automatic. Fluid. Easy. But, society, culture and the mad modern world, once again has forgotten about important things, you know, like how to breathe. Simple things have become hard. Asthma is common. Sleep apnoea is on the rise. Respiratory illness abounds. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Among nature-dwelling people and animals, respiratory illness is unknown, or rare.

So where have we gone wrong? Stress shuts down our body's natural breath. Ever heard of “fight or flight mode”? When our stress response activates, we start breathing from our upper chest, more like panting, than breathing. This adaptation to stress helps us in running away from threats, maximising oxygen volume.

Yet modern humans aren’t running away from threats, but our body still thinks we are. Instead of defending ourselves against Neanderthals, warring tribes, baboons etc., we are defending ourselves against stress.

Stress comes in many forms: relationships, work, lifestyle, toxins, spiritual crises, tragedy and more. But to the body, all stress is the same. So when stress happens, breathing becomes dysregulated. Repeat this dysregulation through time, and then we get faulty breathing patterns. This results in more stress and the negative feedback loop continues, resulting in apnoea, asthma, etc.

So how do we break the cycle? We do it by consciously directing the breathing back to what is good for calming our nervous system. And the best thing for calming your nervous system – nose breathing. How do I do that, you ask? I’m going to tell you how to do it.

Remember this simple sentence for the rest of your life, and you will become at least 10% healthier I guarantee it. But to get the results, you can never forget it because the implications are beyond massive. Are you ready for it? It’s going to shock you. Here it comes... “breathe in through your nose, breathe out through your nose, and always, slow it down.” That’s it. The secrets to yogi level breathwork without the fuss.

Now, I hear some yogis crying out “but what about breath of fire?” or “what about pranayama?” Sure, go for it – go nuts. Breathe all of the types of breaths you can breathe, and more. But you cannot build a castle without a foundation. Doing breathwork sessions will only be so effective if your basic breath isn’t on track.

Here is an extra pro tip, for the A+ students. Ready? “Lips together, teeth together, tongue on the roof of your mouth.” This saying is coined by world-class dentist Dr. Michael Mew, who is also an expert on how dental arches, faces and facial posture is formed. If our lips are together, tongue is on the roof of the mouth and teeth lightly touching, we develop good facial architecture, which in turn helps us nose breathe. This sing-song way to remember a healthy trick is genius, especially when teaching it to the little ones. “Lips together, teeth together, tongue on the roof of your mouth!”

If you are a self-learner and want to know more, follow the work of: Buteyko, Weston A. Price, Wim Hof, Daoist breathwork, Dr. Michael Mew and others. If you are someone who needs a coach, someone to help guide you and your family through the tricky terrain of health and lifestyle, or to work on challenging health problems, I can help – contact Asher at Life Rocks to book a free consult.