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When I was going through my first transformation that I wrote about in 8 Lessons Lupus Taught Me: From Surviving to Thriving with Autoimmune Diseases the big revolutionary findings were focused on epigenetics and the fact that we could turn on or off our genetic predispositions with lifestyle choices.

Now I am struck by the revolutionary findings of today which are focused on the microbiome and the emerging evidence that our lifestyle choices can support or sabotage our health based on the health of our “bugs” in, on, and around us.

What is the natural response for most of us when it comes to bugs? Kill em, kill em all! Pests! Disease! Unfortunately, we have not understood the role of the bugs and as a result have inadvertently created much bigger problems. The degree of damage is still being determined as the microbiome is being studied and revealed.

The most basic understanding that is widely accepted now is that we are host to trillions of biota that live in, on, and around us. Microscopic organisms that have various roles in our survival. Probably the most recognized are the microbiome of the digestive tract. Lesser recognized, but I would argue also extremely important are the microbiome of the skin.

The question is not as much where they are (just assume they are everywhere) but rather what is their role and how can we cohabitate for thriving together?

Year after year, study after study, the complexity of the microbiome is beginning to be understood. Now it is common to replenish and support the biome with prebiotic and probiotic foods and supplements if you do need to take antibiotics. Doctors do not prescribe antibiotics as quickly and broadly as they once did thanks to the superbugs that began to create a firestorm of terror in the medical community (especially hospitals and nursing facilities).

Some of the latest studies are linking our gut health (aka gut biome) to immune function and brain function. Interesting when you look at the amount of bug killing compounds in our foods and environment. Could it be causing the rise in autoimmune diseases and mental health conditions of all kinds in all ages?

We are making huge strides in understanding the biomes of the body, what some eat, how their waste is necessary to support our organs, how each one is individual and unique like a fingerprint. Western medicine is coming along in some ways but old habits die hard.

Just like epigenetics turned our understanding of DNA on its head, I see the microbiome turning our understanding of our bodies systems and physiology on its head. There is still so much to learn and understand but I believe that the statement that Living WOW is founded on rings more true than ever.

Our bodies are indeed designed to heal if we give them the environment to do so. Trusting and listening to your individual body so that you can become the expert in YOUR body is key while the scientists figure out the universal details for EVERYbody

Introduction to Breath Work

Breath work is one of my all-time favorite lifestyle hacks. I think it’s underrated by most people. Because we breathe all the time, we just take it for granted and you don’t realize the power that is in your breath.

There are a few reasons for that and today, I want to talk about intentional breathing.

Living WOW is an intentional lifestyle choice rather than SAD which is autopilot. Everybody’s doing it. It’s the way we were raised, our beliefs and all those kinds of things. So SAD is over here in this surviving bucket of autopilot and Living WOW is over here in this intentional thriving bucket.

Based on the choices we make and the little tweaks we do to our choices every day, little tiny steps add up to this intentional Living WOW. Then, the benefit of it is that we end up thriving because we get to the bottom of our dis-ease. We get to eliminate those triggers and recognize the things in our environment and in our lifestyle that either support a healthy lifestyle and thriving or sabotage it.

I’m a speech language pathologist by profession so I’ve always taught breath for the purposes of voice therapy and also for fluency. That kind of breathing you are probably the most familiar with is called diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing. It’s when we’re breathing way down deep into our diaphragm.

So, we have diaphragmatic breathing, thoracic breathing, and clavicular breathing, but in the last 10 years I’ve changed my perspective of breath from this autonomic function that we have that keeps us alive to a more internalized, more spiritual aspect of our breath and how it supports our health. How it can create an environment for healing.

It’s interesting to think about breath. Without it you’re dead. It is your life and it is your life source. In Chinese medicine and healing arts they refer to qi as your life source and it is related very closely to your breath. You can move your qi as you move your breath.

I just explained to you how I understood and used breath in my practice and for healing. But it falls short!

The Significance of Breath

I don’t view my breath the same way I used to. I view it as my spirit so I can listen and hear. I can adjust what’s happening in my body as I work with my spirit. It’s become much more of an internal regulator and tool.

Today, I’m going to give you some strategies and perspectives that might change the way you use your breath to change your healing environment.

Breathwork is one of the most powerful ways to counteract stress. I have found that any type of stress response, be it positive or negative, can often be a catalyst for a flare. It’s the one thing that I still experience. Something will happen and it will catch me off guard and I will end up with a flare three days later.

What I have learned now is to be able to turn on my parasympathetic nervous system. Your sympathetic is your fight or flight and your parasympathetic is the system that calms. Your sympathetic system and your parasympathetic system are opposite so you cannot be in fight or flight if you’ve activated your parasympathetic system.

Activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System

Guess what the number one way to activate the parasympathetic is? Just breathe.

Because your body physiologically sends a message to your brain that says “everything’s ok”. All of the chemicals are dumping and creating all sorts of chaos inside, whether you have an outward stress response or not.

I’m going to teach you some strategies. Any of these strategies will interrupt that fight or flight. It automatically sends a signal to your brain that says, “We’re good. You can shut off”. It’s the number one way to stop stress in its tracks.

Breathwork for Health and Healing

I think it’s important to point out that a lot of times when we’re trying some sort of healing modality, we’re thinking that we’re not doing it right. With breathwork, you’re not going to do it wrong. There’s no wrong way to breathe!