indra’s grace
A YOGA AND MEDITATION STUDIO
Just Breathe Program
Proper breathing is a master key to optimal health. Today most people don’t breathe properly. At Indra’s Grace we focus on and put emphasis on the importance of a proper breath. A shallow breath can be the root of many common ailments and can be a precursor to more complicated health problems and illness. Just Breathe is a program designed to teach you the basics of breath work to help you journey towards healing and wholeness.
Did you know that oxygen deficiency plays an important part in cellular contamination? That is because oxygen is a powerful detoxifier and when it is deficient, toxins begin to devastate bodily functions and deplete the body of life giving energy. Initial symptoms of oxygen deficiency may include: overall weakness, fatigue, circulation problems, poor digestion, muscle aches, dizziness, mood issues, memory loss, irrational behavior irritability, acid stomach, and bronchial complications. When the immune system is compromised by a lack of oxygen, the body is more susceptible bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections, colds, and flu. In the extreme, oxygen deprivation can trigger life-threatening diseases.
Oxygen plays a very important role in the body acting as a guardian and protector against unfriendly bacteria and disease organisms. One of oxygen’s major functions is disintegration. Garbage, toxins, debris, and any useless substances are destroyed by oxygen and carried out of the system.
The number one thing that robs us of our breath therefore our oxygen supply is stress. Take a moment and notice if you hold your breath often. How is your breathing? Does your breath stop in the throat? Or are you a chest breather? Or do you use the fullness of your breath into your abdomen? (Think of a baby sleeping, watch the rising and falling of the belly.)
“Breathing strongly influences mind, body and moods. By simply focusing your attention on your breathing, and without doing anything to change it, you move in the direction of relaxation. There are many worse places to have your attention - on your thoughts, for one, since thoughts are the source of much of our anxiety, guilt and unhappiness. Get in the habit of shifting your awareness to your breath whenever you find yourself dwelling on upsetting thoughts.” - Dr. Weil
Breath is the only function in your body that you can do either consciously or unconsciously. To increase oxygen absorption you can learn how to breathe properly. By taking the time to focus on and condition your lungs consciously you train your body to breathe deeper even when you do not focus on your breath. Breath is a doorway into your autonomic nervous system since it is something you can do both consciously and unconsciously. As you learn to regulate and control your breathing you see shifts in other areas of your body that are controlled by the autonomic nervous system like better digestion, slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, and slower breathing. Breath work allows us to naturally balance the two branches of the nervous system, both the sympathetic branch and the parasympathetic branch. Your sympathetic branch controls your flight or fight response which unfortunately in many today is over activated. Breath work helps to bring the parasympathetic branch and sympathetic branches back into balance. Our breath becomes more shallow with stress. Read on to understand what stress actually does to your body as it robs you of your life force energy, breath.
“Stress is classified into two types - acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term). People experience acute stress when they are dealing with a dangerous or life threatening situation. Because these circumstances were common in our evolutionary past, humans have a built-in mechanism that is commonly referred to as the "fight or flight" response, so named because of the way our bodies react to such an event. Immediate physiological responses, mediated by the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, prepare the body for this "fight or flight" response by increasing blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. In fact, blood flow can increase 300 to 400 percent in order to prepare the legs, brain and lungs for the added demands of either fighting off a physical threat, or running to safety.
When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace. ~Author Unknown
For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth. ~Sanskrit Proverb
What is Just Breathe?
Just Breathe, is a program founded by Sandra Vanatko. Today, most people don’t breathe properly. A shallow breath is the root of many common ailments. Through the regular practice of breath work individuals find that energy increases, illness decreases, blood pressure is controlled, digestion improved, immune system strengthened, and moods managed.
Conversely, other major body systems such as the digestive tract are shut down short-term, as they are considered non-essential during a stressful event. These physical changes were vital for survival in prehistoric times, and this response can still be important today when we are in a dangerous situation or even during an athletic event or a competition where a "ramped up" system can enhance the way we perform. The problem, however, is that this system now operates inappropriately in our modern world. Although heavy traffic, work deadlines and credit card statements are not life threatening, the system is activated by our response to them, often many times throughout the day. This is chronic stress, and over time the repetition of the "fight or flight" response, designed to allow us to survive occasional real threats, begins to alter our everyday physiology and health.” -Dr. Weil
Some physical consequences of chronic stress:
Heart Disease. Sudden changes in heart rate and increased demands on the cardiovascular system can precipitate angina even increase one's risk for a fatal heart attack. Repetitive increases in blood pressure can damage the inner lining of the artery walls, leading to atherosclerosis.
Stroke. Prolonged or frequent episodes of stress can gradually worsen high blood pressure, affecting the cardiovascular system and the arteries that lead to the brain, thus increasing the risk of stroke.
Depressed Immune System. Prolonged exposure to stress can blunt the immune system response, increasing the risk for colds and more serious infections.
Weight and Body-Fat Changes. Chronic stress can cause either a loss in appetite and weight loss or an increase in cravings for fat, sugar and salt, which leads to weight gain. A recent study suggested that chronic stress can cause abdominal fat accumulation in otherwise thin women. The researchers attributed this fat accumulation to an increased secretion of the hormone cortisol, which is released during stress - some release more cortisol than others. Central distribution of fat increases one's risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Insomnia. Chronic stress makes it difficult for people to get a restful night's sleep, which interferes with the body's mechanisms for recovering and repairing itself. A lack of sleep can also worsen psychological stress and prevent one from recognizing problems and dealing with them rationally.
MIgraines. Studies have suggested that migraine attacks occur more frequently when one is under increased levels of stress.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome. (IBS). A strong correlation has been associated between stress and IBS.
(Information in italic is off of Dr. Andrew Weil’s website.)
As you begin to control your breath which in Yoga is called Pranayama you begin to control your stress levels. By learning to control your breathing, hence your stress levels, you get a doorway into your autonomic nervous system which in turn helps you control your health, healing, and stress response. Pranayama is a powerful form of self-care.
Breath work is very subtle yet powerful. Water doesn’t carve a canyon over night and pranayama works in a similar way. Regular practitioners of breath work notice that their sense of well-being, energy, and ability to relax steadily improves over time.
What We Offer
Our Just Breathe Program is designed to assist individuals on an one-to-one basis. Our program consists of three sessions in which you will go through a series of breathing exercises to be memorized and practiced daily at home for optimal results.
The first set of breathing exercises taught is used for strengthening and toning the intercostal muscles which are used in breathing. The second set of breathing exercises is designed to strengthen exhalation and also for increasing lung capacity. The third set of breathing exercises is used for detoxifying the body. The fourth set is designed to help relax and restore emotional balance.
Each session is approximately 50 minutes in length and the cost is $45. Please email or call Sandra with any questions.
