A podcast that'll change how you inhale
I found a fabulous podcast about breathing techniques. Yes, there are techniques. And they are powerful. One even helped Tsunami survivors to cope with their trauma.
We breathe in and out about 22,000 times a day. What a number! 22,000 times! This is roughly about 15 breaths every minute. Every minute! Fortunately, our bodies perform this task unconsciously. No help needed. However, when breathing becomes a conscious act, it can really light up fireworks in your body.
Up to this year, I had nothing to do with breathwork. Except maybe some random pranayama sessions during yoga classes in my 20s. But that's two decades ago, and it never gave me an aha-moment. That definitely changed with the Wim Hof workshop I attended this May.
I wrote about my full-body orgasmic experience here:
To sum it up shortly: It was wild and sent me straight to dopamine heaven, and after that directly down the research rabbit hole.
And gee, there are sooo many breathing techniques I’ve never heard of: Tummo, Apnea, Holotropic Breathing, Vivation … the list goes on and on. This is certainly a world I’m keen to explore and, of course, I’ll write about it. But for now, I’d like to introduce you to a podcast that helped me big time navigating through the world of breathing techniques.
Meet Mike Maher from “Take a Deep Breath”
I found Mike and his show thanks to my fabulous Google mojo. Interestingly, his breathwork journey also began with a Wim Hof workshop. But well, he took it several steps further. Not only did he get trained in various techniques, he also interviewed a lot of breathwork professionals on their specific techniques. From holotropic breathing therapists to free divers, he has hosted them all. Their stories, from battling depression to overcoming autoimmune diseases just by using the power of breath – are super impressive! This podcast is definitely a goldmine of knowledge.
Healing tsunami survivors with the Vivation technique
You probably can't go wrong just picking a random episode (this is how I am doing it), but while listening to a couple of episodes, the interview with Paul Hughes from Vivation really stuck with me. Yep, Vivation – it sounds like a new hippie techno festival, I know, but apparently it's one of the oldest breathwork techniques designed to help release stored emotional tensions and traumas. And it seems very powerful according to the podcast episode.
Do you remember the devastating Tsunami in 2011? After what happened, Paul travelled to Japan to help the survivors overcome their trauma with the Vivation technique. And there he met this woman who lost both her parents to the Tsunami. When the water was coming, her parents realized they won't make it. They were simply too slow, so they told their daughter to run – and leave them behind. She did, and while she was running for her life, she looked back and saw the waves carrying her parents away. I can’t even imagine the level of trauma she was experiencing.
So Paul helped her to process everything through Vivation. I knew breathwork is powerful, calming down your nervous system powerful, but this story really impressed me. So if you’d asked me for an episode recommendation, I’d say this one.
🎧 Interview with Paul Hughes on Spotify, Apple Podcast
But to be honest: Every time I'm cherry-picking episodes from this podcast, I learn something new. So if breathwork even slightly tickles your interest, knock yourself out.
🎧 The “Take a Deep Breath”-Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcast
Cheers,
Katie
P.S. And of course, I can't let you go without reminding you: With every breath you take …
Great Substack Launch!! Go go go!