Breathe The Simple, Revolutionary 14-Day Program to Improve Your Mental and Physical Health

225 Pages·2016·3.38 MB·English

by  Belisa Vranich

BREATHE
The Simple, Revolutionary
14-Day Program to Improve Your
Mental and Physical Health
DR. BELISA VRANICH
St. Martin’s Griffin New York
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Table of Contents
About the Author
Copyright Page

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In memory of Liam Mikael Kowal.
Life is precious, please don’t drink and drive.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have
lived. This is to have succeeded.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
This book would never have seen the light of day without the vision of my
literary agent, Peter McGuigan, of Foundry Media, and the inspiration of Senior
Editor Daniela Rapp, of St. Martin’s Press. To them I give heartfelt thanks for
having the foresight and open-mindedness to understand the far-reaching
significance of the inhale and exhale on the body, mind, and soul. To the
Foundry team of Emily Brown, Kirsten Neuhaus, Alicka Pistek, Heidi Gall, and
Claire Harris, and to the St. Martin’s/Macmillan team of Brant Janeway, John
Karle, Angelique Giammarino, Anne Marie Tallberg, Jessica Preeg, and Dori
Weintraub, I express my deepest appreciation for their poignant feedback. I wish
to acknowledge the contributions of those forward-thinking writers and
journalists who covered this topic in its youth—Lisa Held, Carole Sabas,
Sumathi Reddy, Cassie Shortsleeve, Marissa Stephenson, Jason Fine, Alix
Strauss, Anna Maltby, Joshua David Stein, Drew Grant, Phyllis Korkki, Amy
Maclin, and Alison Davis. I openly express my debt to Vernick Alvarez for his
steadfast friendship, even under grueling deadlines; to Max Smith for his
patience in translating my impulsive e-mails; to Connor Mitchell for his
modeling skills in the illustrations; to the capable artists Gerald Echeverria and
Hilary Mockewich for their talent and remarkable flexibility.
Steve Kardian was a stalwart, unfaltering in his belief in Breathe from day
one. Kellen Mori and Patricia Moreno were always there for me with their
unfailing encouragement, as were Tricia Williams and Peder Regan with their
unswerving support, and Jeff Burns of Sci Med Media with his time and
valuable input. I would also like to thank my yoga teacher, Monica Jaggi, and
my dependable assistant and sister-friend, Alyson Cook, without whom I’d be
helplessly teaching on my own in California. Don Saladino, you have truly been
my anchor in your generosity and friendship over this year. For their mentorship
in business and friendship alike, I thank Melissa Hobley, Martin Lindstrom,
Karrie Wolfe, and Corinne Pipitone.
Shirine Coburn, my friend, neighbor, and impromptu business mentor, I’m so
lucky to have you in my life. Cesar Millan recognized the importance of breath
in both man and dog, Serena Lee generously gave her legal advice and wit, and
Henry “The Professor” Akins was unfailing in his encouragement and
friendship. Earnest thanks are due to Adam Furman, Buddy and Renata at Saibot
Media Inc.; my UK team, Caspian Dennis, Sandy Violette, Ben Fowler,
Michelle Pilley, and Jo Burgess; and Kim and Denise of Bikram Yoga
University Village. For their enduring encouragement throughout the year, I
must express my gratitude to Shawn Perine, Sejal Patel, David Wallace, Robert
Penzel, Social Diva Peg Samuel, Jen Widerstrom, and Hank Nation. To Tom
Hermann and Agent Gregory Saunders, I deeply appreciate your understanding
of the importance of breathing for endurance and stress management. I would
also like to thank Joe March for his tenacity in bringing this part of health to
light and, of course, David Elliot for introducing me to breathwork from its
inception. Thank you, Caitlin Mitchell, for your unwavering friendship and
generosity in helping this book to move forward and the classes to succeed. Dr.
Amy Brown, your guidance and insight have been priceless. Rachel Ash, Dr.
Anthony Lyon, Maureen Dodd, Dr. Stephanie Marango, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, Dr.
Jack Mantione: thank you so much for inviting me to be part of the team. I
cannot close without recognizing the role of Sean Hyson, for coming along this
path with me in so many ways—a veritable testament to our friendship.
INTRODUCTION
What if I said I had a medicine that would keep you calm but alert? That would
relax and energize you? That would help you recover, boost your immune
system, lower the oxidative stress that causes aging, power you up, and fuel
every cell in your body, from your frazzled brain to your taxed muscles? You’d
say, “Give it to me,” right? Well, here it is. And no side effects. Take it every
day—doctor’s orders.
Life-changing ? Yes, that’s a word I keep hearing over and over from my
clients. The first time, I thought it was an exaggeration. “Life-changing?” I
cocked my head. “Yes, life-changing,” they would insist, often after only the
first session.
Teaching people to breathe is giving them the easiest “lifehack” ever—it fixes
the problem (whether it’s breathlessness, anxiety, pain, or acid reflux) from the
bottom up, providing an immediate and almost confusing sense of relief.
Changing your breathing truly does affect—immediately—the body, mind, and
soul. And, most important, the impact takes place at both the cellular and the
muscular levels.
You know your breathing could be better. Maybe it just gets “stuck”
somewhere on the inhale, or you simply feel that you can never get enough air;
or maybe you just sense in your gut that something isn’t quite right. You know
how good a big, relaxing sigh and a deep, deep breath feel, and you wish you
could hold that sensation longer. You may not know the first thing about
respiration and pulmonary medicine beyond the plastic torso you’ve seen in your
pediatrician’s office, or the poster for the Heimlich maneuver you’ve stared at
while waiting for your food at your favorite take-out place, but the idea of
“breathing better” resonates with you. However, it sounds daunting …
Your body wants to breathe in the way it was designed to: in an anatomically
congruous way. Right now, it’s not.
Think about that feeling of picking up something you once did well.
Something you put aside because life got complicated and the years went by.
You start out tentatively, feeling rusty, and then all of a sudden, the motor
scooter balances, the piano keys all seem to be in the right place—and your body
remembers.
My background as a clinical psychologist working with children led me to
focus intently on how the information about breathing was presented in a
learning situation. When someone says, “How come no one ever explained it this
way?”, usually with an expletive or two along the way, or “This is so easy but so
game-changing,” I know I have reached my goal.
I’m talking about life-changing concepts presented in simple, digestible
language.
Breathing is the oldest, most basic thing we do every day of our lives. It’s the
first thing we must do when we are born, the thing we do most often until our
last breath. Everyone breathes, regardless of age and country of origin. That’s
why the concept of teaching breathing seems so unusual, doesn’t it? But when
you recognize the extensive critical problems incorrect breathing has created,
breathing the right way becomes mind-blowing. Simple but mind-blowing. Life-
changing.
The very first step is to see how you breathe. Since you’re already reading this
book, it might be that you have a very, very specific reason for doing so: It could
be a breathing disorder, after having smoked for years, or a feeling of anxiety
and a sense that you breathe too fast, or maybe people keep telling you that you
“don’t seem to be breathing.”
Just as in any appointment with an expert, when you come to see me, you
have to talk about symptoms—but I want to know important details and nuances
going all the way back to your childhood. I want to know about you because I
truly believe that you are the expert on your own body. I’ll follow with
information, recommendations, and homework.
This might be the easiest and the most profound change you will ever make.
Easy? Yes, your body wants to breathe fully. And once you start, you may
find yourself saying, “I can’t stop thinking about my breathing” or “I’m almost
obsessed with my breathing!” And it’s due to the fact that our breathing has
gotten so bad and the explanations feel so intuitively “right,” that a lightbulb of
understanding goes off. As a result, it’s hard not to want to make some changes,
even if they’re small ones.
You might find you naturally remind yourself about your breathing
throughout the day, or you might find that, the first week, you need some help