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In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, finding moments of peace and clarity becomes essential for our overall well-being. Enter conscious connected breath—a practice that taps into the transformative power of our breath to nurture both our mental and physical health. Let's explore the profound benefits this practice offers:
Conscious Connected Breathwork:
Profound Benefits for Mental and Physical Health
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As you embark on your conscious connected breathwork journey, remember that it's not just about the destination but also about embracing each moment along the way. Allow yourself to be fully present with your breath—honouring its power to heal, transform, and guide you towards optimal mental and physical health.
A Gateway to Balance - How Breathwork Affects Our Nervous System
In the hustle and bustle of modern life, finding moments of calm and balance becomes essential for our overall well-being. One powerful tool that can help us achieve this equilibrium is breathwork. By consciously engaging with our breath, we can tap into the profound impact it has on our nervous system. Let's explore how breathwork affects this vital system and why it holds the key to inner harmony.
As you embark on your breathwork journey, remember that each inhale and exhale holds transformative potential for your nervous system's well-being. Embrace this simple yet profound practice as an invitation to find balance amidst life's challenges—a gateway to inner harmony where calmness resides.
Soma Breath
What is Soma Breath about: It is all about LOVE - Raising the Level Of Vibrational Energy (L.O.V.E.)
The technique ever so slightly modified pranayama technique developed by ancient yogis but enhanced by modern science and technology. The technique is designed to help us become very efficient at using oxygen and to build a tolerance to carbon dioxide. The aim is to correct the breathing patterns and to slow down our daily breathing in general as lower breathing rates are associated with longer life spans.
Practice will make you more relaxed and energized at the same time and the goal is to allow us to experience a feeling of neurosomatic bliss, nirvana, samadhi, or spiritual liberation.
Soma offers entire holistic approach not to just breathwork but also lifestyle including fitness and yoga, nutrition and neurosomatic techniques for wellbeing.
The Technique Has 3 Main Components:
1. Music - Not just any music but specifically designed tones and sounds that create a state of change within us, it promotes stress reduction and the production of serotonin and melatonin.
2. Guided meditation, visualization with intention setting - After a few minutes of rhythmic breathing with We will be breathing rhythmically for a few minutes before moving to the breath retention phase.
3. Breathwork - breathing in beats that bring us to a state of heart coherence. Our heart is the primary generator of rhythm in the body, when our heart is in coherence our body responds to the rhythm, balances our nervous system, works on our thoughts, and emotions, and harmonizes the physiological functions of our body. We now know the best way to achieve heart coherence is through rhythmic breathing and by creating feelings of gratitude.
After a few minutes of rhythmic breathing, we will move on to the breath retention phase. Holding our breath on the exhale followed by breath-hold on the inhale
When we are holding our breath on the exhale - with our lungs empty we will try to hold it slightly beyond our comfort zone - that Create Deep meditation and put that in the state of intermittent hypoxia - that is where the magic happens.
Breath holding on the inhale with lungs full restores homeostasis, and resets the body. It gives directs blood flow to the brain or area in the body intention is placed.
During the process you may go through various stages of self-discovery, both in your mind and your body, you may get tingling sensations around your body like tetany, which is cramping of your feet or hands, and this can get slightly uncomfortable but please rest assured this is temporary and after few minutes this will go away.
You may also feel emotional, and I encourage you to feel those emotions instead of suppressing them, if there is a need to cry or scream, please go ahead and do it, this is your journey, and you are completely free to express yourself fully.
You may also feel aroused at times and that is completely normal, feel any emotions travelling through your body. Quite common effects are feeling of lightheaded, and enlightenment, the feeling of blissfulness can stay with you for hours.
Breathwork and rhythmic breathing has many benefits; however, the breath-holds can be contradicted in case of:
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Severe/critical diseases or infections
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COPD-II and COPD-III
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Organ failure or late-stage terminal illness
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Pregnancy
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Cancer (Exception: your doctor gives you specific permission)
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If you have epilepsy, a pacemaker, or an irregular heartbeat (Exception: your doctor gives you specific permission).
If this is the case for you, you are more than welcome to join and do the rhythmic breathing which is already very beneficial but do not take part in the breath hold exercise.
Also, if you are suffering from conditions like tinnitus the breath hold can worsen the symptoms and you need to remember to use the neck hold during breath retentions.
Scientific Explanation of SOMA Breath
The healing benefits of learning to breathe more optimally using Soma Breath techniques may seem remarkable, but they can be explained scientifically. By understanding the biology behind respiration and the effects of breathing on our body systems, we can appreciate how these techniques offer such transformative results.
Respiration is a process that involves inhaling oxygen (O2) and exhaling carbon dioxide (CO2) along with other gases. When we inhale, oxygen binds with red blood cells in the lungs' capillaries. This oxygenated blood then travels through our bloodstream to supply tissues and cells with the necessary oxygen for energy production.
Within our body cells, mitochondria play a crucial role in utilizing this oxygen to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is essentially energy. This ATP powers various bodily functions and supports daily activities. As a byproduct of this process, water vapor (H2O) and carbon dioxide are produced and exhaled.
The circulatory system plays an essential role in respiration by delivering oxygen to mitochondria within cells while eliminating waste products like carbon dioxide from the body. The heart's pumping action drives blood circulation through veins and arteries throughout the body.
Achieving optimal health requires balancing our breath because inadequate oxygen intake can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, affecting cellular energy production. Conversely, excessive levels of oxygen in the bloodstream can cause oxidative stress when free radicals outnumber antioxidants in our system, leading to tissue damage.
Our breath also influences the autonomic nervous system composed of sympathetic and parasympathetic branches that regulate various bodily functions involuntarily. Inhalation stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, energizing us, while exhalation stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system promoting relaxation. Balancing these two systems is crucial for overall well-being.
Inefficient breathing patterns adopted unconsciously due to stress or illness can disrupt cellular machinery and bodily function by activating sympathetic nerves excessively or causing oxidative stress from excessive oxygen intake. Oxidative stress leads to inflammation, tissue damage, and an increased risk of various health conditions.
Furthermore, oxidative stress increases the presence of free radicals in our system, which can attack proteins and DNA, leading to further cellular damage. Mental conditions such as depression and low mood have also been associated with inefficient respiration.
The balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide is vital for optimal functioning. The Bohr effect explains how high levels of CO2 lower blood pH, enabling the release of oxygen from haemoglobin to reach mitochondria for ATP energy production. Conversely, excessive breathing or hyperventilation can lead to insufficient CO2 levels in cells, hindering the release of oxygen from haemoglobin and reducing ATP energy production.
Soma Breath techniques empower individuals by providing tools and techniques to breathe more efficiently and consciously. By learning to control and balance their breath for consistent ATP energy production, individuals can experience increased vitality while mitigating disease risks associated with oxidative stress.
Through Soma Breath practices that energize and relax the body-mind system, individuals can develop resilience against daily stressors while enhancing overall health, wellness, and longevity. By unlocking the body's natural healing potential through conscious breathing practices like Soma Breath, individuals can embark on a transformative journey towards optimal well-being.