Breathwork Techniques for Mental Health

Stop your heavy breathing….wait, no, don’t. I have five primary presentations I deliver as a keynoter. 🎤 Without giving you all the detailed titles, the subject matter covers burnout and resilience, energy optimization, boundaries, confidence, and sustainable well-being. Recently, I was asked to put together a different talk. One encompassing one of the most impactful free well-being assets we own. BREATH 💨 In this new presentation, we follow “Luca,” a busy finance professional, through her hectic, nutty day. First, we observe her launch into the morning, her stressful first presentation to a new team, her afternoon caffeine-demanding slump, her segway from financier to soccer mom, and finally, her collapse into bed at the end of an insane day. Then, with the audience’s help, we begin again at the start of Luca’s day. This time, we help Luca use specific breathwork to navigate the most stressful parts. 🔥 We teach her about “Cyclic Sighing” upon waking, “Lion’s Breath” before the big meeting, “Alternate Nostril Breathing” for the afternoon slump, “Breath of Fire” for her transition back to mom, and finally, “4-7-8” for calming the mind at night. Because we paint a detailed story of our character Luca, the five breath techniques are simple to remember by just recalling Luca's day! The audience is engaged throughout the presentation, learning and practicing these breath techniques in real time. They depart the presentation, adding five new tools to their well-being toolkit. ✨ Let's equip your team with implementable well-being strategy tools - message me for details. “Luca” and I are happy to show up to delight and oxygenate even the most stressed-out audience. #breathwork #wellbeing #speakerforhire #keynotepresentation

How I help my clients reduce their stress response in less than 2 minutes. Fear is Natural Paralyzing Exhilarating Impetus for action Sometimes accurate Sometimes inaccurate An opportunity to be brave A signal about our surroundings Fear Can Lead to resentment Crush us with anxiety Push us towards growth Cause us to retreat inward Steer us down the wrong path Bring about our best performance There are lots of different kinds of fear. Our brains and our bodies don’t always know the difference. Ever used a virtual reality headset? You can know that you are literally in your own living room. Know that you are wearing a piece of technology. But still FEEL terrified the zombies will get you or you’re about to fall off a cliff. The same is true with work stress. Our brains and bodies can interpret a work mistake as life/job threatening. 99% of the time it's not life threatening. Our evolutionary brains are playing catch-up. Our ancient ancestors survived based on their fear response. For the majority time, humans have been on the low end of the food chain. The rustle in the bushes could be a rabbit or saber-tooth cat. It’s better for survival to assume the worst. What helped us 100,000 years ago is hampering us today. One way to help slow things down is to get better at breathing. Fear activates the sympathetic nervous system. Heart rates jump, blood pressure and breathing increase. We have to consciously activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This will slow our breath and blood flow will divert back to our vital organs. 2 Breathing Methods to Return to Baseline: 1. Physiological Sigh ➡️ Take one deep breath through your nose. ➡️ Fill your belly and your lungs nearly to capacity. ➡️ Then top it off with a quick ‘sip’ of air, again through your nose. ➡️ Let it all out suddenly through the mouth. 2. Box Breathing or 4x4 Breathing ➡️ Breathe in slowly through your nose, counting to 4. ➡️ Hold your breath, counting to 4.  ➡️ Slowly breathe out through your mouth, counting to 4. ➡️ Hold your breath with empty lungs, counting to 4. ➡️ Repeat as necessary until feeling more calm. Anyone tried these before? Let me know in the comments! ⬳ Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, please repost ♻️ and follow me for more ideas like this in the future.

I can see her there now, that 20 something version of myself attempting to validate my existence by taking care of everyone else while ignoring all of the signs and symptoms my body was attempting to show me. I was trying so hard to please a client that I literally gave myself a fever. Has this ever happened to you as an #eventprof, #meetingplanner, or #eventplanner in the #hospitalityindustry? Have you ever experienced anxious tendencies combined with states of pure overwhelm, worry and exhaustion? I know I sure have, to the point of being bed ridden and literally making myself so sick during a work trip in Mexico of all places. There I was, in paradise, doing the job that I absolutely love, burning the candle at both ends and fully embodying the unhealthy traits of “people pleasing.” 20 hour days in paradise, but with very little food, sleep or water, topped off with an abundance of wine and a mind that felt like 40 browser tabs were open and stuck on the wait symbol. Eventually (and always) the body will take over and win the battle, forcing us to slow down and tune in to the deeper messages and meanings within. I got sick of feeling this way and knew there had to be a better way to handle the demands of a stressful yet FUN role we know as being an #eventprof Fast forward to today, and this elevated version of myself has become aware by routinely practicing regulating my nervous system. If you’re needing a simple and powerful reset and want to get back to a place of calmness, peace and clarity, I invite you to watch the full video and add the 4-7-8 breathing technique into your #eventprof toolkit! Would love to hear how you FEEL after giving yourself 90 seconds to reset your nervous system. If it’s your first time practicing this technique, I recommend doing so while lying down before bed. Hope you enjoy this simple and FREE medicine that resides within you!