Reclaiming Your Breath with Dr. Belisa- EP048
“[People] are empowered, and that’s exactly why I love doing what I do is because you have everything you need to get yourself to feel better… Breathing is something that’s yours, and we’ve forgotten that. We’ve forgotten how powerful it can be. We’ve forgotten how to do it right.”
Dr. Belisa Vranich is the Director of Breathing Science at the Ash Center for Comprehensive Medicine in New York City. Dr. Belisa began her career as a clinical psychologist with the intention of having a long-standing therapy practice. As she explored different methods of reducing stress, Dr. Belisa developed an interest in yoga breathing and martial arts-based breathing techniques. The result of her study is The Breathing Class, a practical, science-based method that addresses the physical and psychological problems related to ‘bad breath.’
Dr. Belisa is also a sought-after public speaker and the author of Breathe: The Simple, Revolutionary 14-Day Program to Improve your Mental and Physical Health. A regular guest on platforms like CNN, the Today Show and Good Morning America, Dr. Belisa joins us today to share the right way to breathe, explaining how we start out breathing correctly and later adopt the stress breath that works against our body design. She discusses her science-based approach to improved breathing, the classic studies around breathing muscle strength, and the different breathing strategies she recommends for precision versus power sports. Listen in for Dr. Belisa’s insight on the benefits of horizontal breath for athletes in terms of endurance and recovery!
Topics Covered
[1:01] How Dr. Belisa’s background in clinical psychology led to the study of breathing- Studied psychology to have therapy practice
- Breathing affects us physically and mentally
- Looking for ways to reduce stress
- Breathing practices in yoga, martial arts
- Developed science-based, practical method
- Use right muscles to breathe efficiently
[4:06] How breathing impacts performance and long-term health
- Achieve elusive parasympathetic state
- Move faster/longer, lift more and recover better
- Stress breath, contrary to body design
- Utilize shoulders for deep breath
- Uses auxiliary muscles, underutilizes diaphragm
- Unabashedly let belly grow (expand, narrow in middle)
- No posturing, stiffness in torso
- Belisa estimates 95%
- Measured with Breathing IQ (BIQ)
- Evaluates location, range of motion
- Bigger inhale, smaller exhale = better breath
- Can be done in 14 days
- Lie on back with something on belly (e.g.: book)
- Push object away on inhale to engage diaphragm
- Apply expansion, narrowing when sitting/standing
- Tempo will naturally slow down
- Five count in and out resonates with heartrate variability
- Bracing in middle prevalent, hurting our health
- Society of sitting, stress and technology
- Improves endurance (lower body breath takes less energy)
- Aids recovery (oxygenates, heals muscles)
- Exercises, stretches using horizontal breath
- Train breathing muscles (nothing else)
- Classic studies on breathing muscle strength by Alison McConnell
- Work around endurance in cycling, swimming
- Power lifter needs big, deep breath for explosiveness, to protect spine
- Extend ‘sweet spot’ in exhale when heartrate low in precision sports like golf
- Aim for breath as expansive, narrow as possible
- As grade improves, so does health
- Impacts stress, digestion, back pain, sleep, anxiety
- Keeps muscles strong, improves recovery
- Better results in performance almost immediately
- Endurance skyrockets with continued practice
- Untapped potential in breathing muscles
- Teaches trance breathing, ice baths
- Safe practice in extreme temperatures for resilience
- Every experience very personal, positive
- Known to resolve issues like brain fog, asthma
- Model appropriate breath behavior
Learn More About Dr. Belisa
Breathe: The Simple, Revolutionary 14-Day Program to Improve Your Mental and Physical Health by Dr. Belisa Vranich
Resources
Holotropic Breathwork by Stanislav and Christina Grof
