Breathwork
Breathwork
Breathwork is a broad term that encompasses various exercises involving the breath that “facilitate physical, mental and emotional healing. Breath and life, are obviously intertwined, as are breath and thought. It is by means of the breath that we remain physically alive. As babies we are born with the inherent knowledge to breathe correctly through our diaphragm, but as we grow into toddlers, children and onto adulthood our life experiences and emotions influence and change our unique pattern of breathing.
Whilst there are many Breathwork techniques and practitioners out there, Gerry tends to be more interested in peoples habitual breathing behaviour, as that’s what they’re doing 24 hours a day. Gerry Gajadharsingh estimates that 70% of patients that consult him do NOT breathe properly. How does he know that? Because he has assessed and treated over 3,500 patients for breathing dysregulation and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. it is often a significant factor in many patient presentations not just people who have obvious breathing problems.
He began utilizing capnometry and heart rate variability monitoring as a means of evaluating patients’ breathing behaviour in 2007. this is one of the most scientific ways of assessing someone’s breathing behaviour and how their autonomic nervous system is functioning.
For additional information on how Gerry uses non-invasive capnometry and heart rate variability monitoring, please visit the following link:
Click on the image above to download our Breathing brochure.
Breathwork
The wonderful and amazing saxophonist Amy Dickson interviews Mr Gerry Gajadharsingh DO in a series of videos on the benefits of developing a more relaxed pattern of breathing
Breathwork
Sighing a lot, difficulty in catching breath and talking very fast are all signs of not breathing properly. We often hear expressions, such as “take a deep breath and count to 10”, before reacting to something that has upset us.
Our emotions influence our breathing patterns and just as importantly,
our breathing affects our emotions.
It is no co-incidence that Chi Kung, Tai Chi, Pilates, Yoga and meditation all play significant attention to breathing as their main way of helping people relax. Many of these approaches have validated scientific evidence of their effectiveness in helping many medical conditions from pain to cardiovascular disease.
Many patients with medically unexplained symptoms (a proportion of those attending GP practices) will have Breathing Pattern Disorder as part, if not sometimes the main part, of their problem.
We need to understand that in diagnosis the normal medical model tries to find pathology – an obvious disease process. Luckily for us, the majority of time, no defined pathology exists. However, there is usually a cause of peoples problems; the answer can often be found in what we call functional disturbance. This can occur on a biomechanical, biochemical/nutritional, psycho/social/emotional level, or indeed a combination of all of these levels.
What links all 3 levels is breathing.
We breathe in oxygen (O2), we breathe out carbon dioxide (CO2). The main aim of respiration is to get O2 into cells to help with energy production and the many cellular reactions that our bodies need to survive – this action is dependent on an adequate level of CO2 being present in our bodies.
Almost always, when people are not breathing properly, the issue is one of overbreathing.
The effect of this is to breath out too much CO2 causing the levels of CO2 in our body to drop (hypocapnia) and reducing the ability of O2 to be delivered to the cells of the body (hypoxia).
Ironically trying to breathe more O2 in DOES NOT necessarily help this situation.
Somebody who is classically hyperventilating (deep and fast breathing), often with symptoms of breathlessness and panic, is breathing in lots of O2 but is actually expelling more CO2 then they should. So, the treatment for acute hyperventilation is to hold a brown paper bag over their mouth and nose, so that they re-breath their own breath (mostly CO2); they return to normal because their cellular O2 levels increase.
Breathwork
Here’s an overview of breathing therapy and techniques:
Signs of Improper Breathing:
- Sighing frequently
- Difficulty catching breath
- Talking very fast
Importance of Breathing:
- Chi Kung, Tai Chi, Pilates, Yoga, and meditation emphasize breathing for relaxation.
- Breathing affects physiological functions and emotional states.
- Many medical conditions may have breathing pattern disorders as underlying factors.
Understanding Breathing Disorders:
- Overbreathing (hyperventilation) is common, often leading to reduced CO2 levels (hypocapnia) and impaired oxygen delivery to cells (hypoxia).
- Treatment for acute hyperventilation involves rebreathing CO2 to restore normal levels.
Diagnosing Breathing Pattern Disorders (BPD):
- History and habits provide clues.
- Clinical examination:
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- Breath pause (<30 seconds)
- Observation of breathing patterns
- Breathing rate (optimal: 6 cycles/min)
- Nijmegen Questionnaire
- Capnography (measures CO2 levels) and breathing rate
Categories of BPD:
- Intermittent Over-breathing (situational)
- Chronic Over-breathing
Treatment Approaches:
- Intermittent Over-Breathing:
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- Osteopathic Manual Treatment (OMT) interventions (neck function, thoracic spine, rib cage, diagpragm)
- Cranio-sacral and functional osteopathic techniques
- Breathing re-education
- Nutritional support
- Supportive exercises
- Hypnotherapy/psychotherapy
- Chronic Over-Breathing:
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- Similar treatments as intermittent over-breathing
- Capnotraining:
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- Involves sessions with CapnoTrainer and OMT
- Personal capnotraining recommended
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Consultation:
- New patient consultations available for diagnosis and treatment planning.
- Sessions may include hands-on work, CapnoTrainer use, and personalized treatment plans.
New patients need to book a Diagnostic Consultation (60 minutes) with Gerry. Please note that the majority of Gerry’s patients have already seen various clinicians and therefore often have complex clinical problems. The cost of the Diagnostic Consultation also includes a comprehensive written report. Depending on the complexity of the situation there may or may not be time during the initial consultation for treatment.
Gerry’s up to date knowledge of Breathing Mechanics and physiology combined with Osteopathy, make a potent and immediately effective intervention in breathing disorders and stress management. Highly informative and recommended.
I have seen Gerry regularly and continue to be impressed with his ability to evaluate and respond to symptoms in a holistic manner, treating the person not the symptoms. I never hesitate to recommend him to others with similar complaints, whose feedback suggests their experiences have been at least as positive as my own.
I first came across his work as an Advanced Breath Practitioner over three years ago and to this day I still quote his lecture and the revelation of the therapeutic benefits of a good and coordinated breath.
It certainly changed my scope of practice.