The Importance of the breath in Long Covid & ME/CFS Recovery
I think many of us will have taken things for granted until we don’t have them. Our health, relationships, jobs, financial security - and of course our breath. Certainly that was the case for me - I never considered my breath until I caught Covid, and then developed Long Covid. I went from someone who could run half marathons and climb mountains, to someone who was out of breath just lying in bed. It was confusing and terrifying, and an experience that many of you will be able to relate to.
Now, not everyone with Long Covid & ME/CFS have obvious breathing issues. Many do feel breathless, particularly during activity. But poor breathing patterns can manifest in many different ways and at different times.
The truth of it is - everyone can breathe better.
And the better we breathe, the more efficient our body is, the more regulated our nervous system is, and the better we are setting ourselves up for healing.
Your breath is a critical fuel source - and yet one we don’t give enough credit to. We can survive without:
- Food - 21 days
- Sleep - 10 days
- Water - 3 days
- Oxygen - only a few minutes
Not that food, sleep & hydration aren’t important - they are! But our breath, that under-appreciated but vital thing, is the foundation of health, and the foundation of recovery.
And not only will better breathing lead to better efficiency and greater autonomic resilience, it will also give us a better chance of success using other healing modalities.
The breath was the first thing that I found that helped me in my recovery
When I was told that changing the way I breathed would help me, I was very skeptical - surely something as simple as breathing wasn’t going to make any difference? It sounded like hippy-dippy rubbish! I had a “real” illness demanding a “real” cure. But I was also so desperate that I was willing to try anything.
And guess what? It did help!
Not only did it help me to feel better, it also led me to other things that helped. I credit my recovery to 3 main things:
- Breathing - learning to breathe functionally, and then using specific breathing exercises to help me to down-regulate in challenging situations
- Yoga Nidra & real mental rest - allowing me to rest my overactive brain as well as my body
- Cold water immersion
And that was the reason that I felt drawn to do what I do. I couldn’t see myself going back to working in schools. I decided that Jaxter 2.0 had a place in the world sharing what I’d learned. Because although the breath was transformational for me, I had to DIY things myself - and that meant a lot of trial and error (crashing). As someone with lived experience, I could help people to avoid that error.
What does that actually mean?
It means that I help people to breathe better in a way that is safe for them - because traditional breathing protocols are too strong for most people with Long Covid & ME/CFS. I have taken the principals from Buteyko and modified them. I work with people to help them to find what is right for their nervous system - what helps one person to feel safe is not always the same for others.
Because that what it comes down to - the need to feel safe.
And that sense of safety can be felt through the breath, through what we eat, through movement, through many other strategies.
But if we are breathing poorly, then every breath we breathe is sending our nervous system cues of danger. However, if we are breathing well, then every breath we breathe is sending our nervous system cues of safety.
That also means learning breathing practises that are appropriate for you - what feels good for your body? How do you know what’s good for you? Learning our own bodies is a fundamental part of recovery.
The breath is a tool that we learn out of necessity to help us in recovery. But it’s a tool that will support you for life.
Links:
- The Long Covid Podcast: www.LongCovidPodcast.com
- Breathing for Long Covid & ME/CFS: www.LongCovidBreathing.com
- Free breathing tracks on Insight Timer: www.InsightTimer.com/LongCovidPod
Learn more about Jackie HERE and about Breathing for Long Covid & ME/CFS courses, classes & workshops HERE
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