Hey guys,
It's Ross.
Welcome to this week's update.
A few nights ago I sat down to watch the documentary called Air Hunger.
I'll be honest,
I was hooked from the start.
And I had a proud moment because one of the experts in it is Patrick McKeown,
Who trained me as a breathing instructor.
The film follows a group of very different people who all turn to their breath for help.
Elite athletes,
Special forces veterans,
Scientists,
People living with asthma,
A journalist training for an ultramarathon.
What struck me is how different their reasons were,
Yet they all came back to the same thing.
The way you breathe is autonomic,
Automatic.
But you can change it in a second,
In a moment,
To change how you perform,
How you sleep,
How you recover,
And how you feel.
Let me share a few moments that stayed with me.
There's a world champion kickboxer who tapes his mouth shut at night so he breathes through his nose while he sleeps.
For him,
It's all about better sleep and better recovery.
That's something I talk about with people all the time and it was great to see it at the top level of sport.
There are NFL players using their breath to stay calm and sharp under huge pressure.
When the crowd is roaring and everything is happening fast,
A slow breath is what brings them back.
Then there are the veterans,
Men and women who've been through things most of us will never see,
Using breathwork to release stress and trauma that's been stuck in their bodies for years.
That part hit home for me.
In 24 years as a paramedic,
I carried plenty of jobs home with me.
I wish I'd known then what I know now about the breath.
And even though the breath work that these veterans was using was holotropic breathing,
Very different to what I do,
It still works in its own special way.
There's also a scientist who battled chronic fatigue and found breathwork helped him get his life back.
He's now researching it,
And he says we're only just starting to scratch the surface of what the breath can do.
And this is where the title comes in.
Air Hunger is that feeling of wanting to breathe more.
That pull for more air.
The film shows two very different sides of breathing.
On one side,
Fast,
Powerful breathing that scientists are studying with brain scans.
People can have big emotional experiences with it.
On the other side,
There's Patrick's message and the type of breathing that I use.
Slow,
Light breathing through the nose.
Breathing a little less than you want to,
Getting comfortable with a gentle air hunger so your body becomes calmer and more efficient over time.
I'm a huge advocate for nasal breathing,
But.
.
.
The film shows both nasal and holotropic mouth breathing have their place in different situations.
But for everyday life,
For sleep,
Stress and focus,
It's that quiet,
Light nasal breathing that does the heavy lifting.
You can do it anywhere,
And no one even knows you're doing it.
And in addition to this,
One thing I really appreciated is the film is honest.
Fast,
Powerful breathing through the mouth isn't for everyone.
If you're pregnant or have a medical condition,
Check with your doctor first and never practice breath holds in or near water.
So here's my takeaway for you this week.
You don't need to be an elite athlete or a special forces soldier.
Just notice your breathing today.
Is your mouth open?
Are you breathing fast and high in your chest?
If so,
Close your mouth.
Breathe in gently through your nose.
And let the out-breath be slower.
And longer.
That's where it starts.
If you get a chance,
Air hunger is well worth the watch.
I'll see you next week.
