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Aug. 9, 2022
SE4: EP3 How Functional Breathing Can Ease Our Menopause Symptoms
Panic attacks, insomnia, and anxiety are all common symptoms of menopause that can side-swipe us.
Today I am joined by Tracey Howes who considered herself a healthy person yet struggled with the above. And then through her love of freediving discovered 'The Oxygen Advantage' by Patrick McKeown and how it can us to better manage stress and anxiety. She now is a certified teacher and is working with menopausal women to help them manage anxiety and stress through breathing.
In our conversation, we talk about:
- How women's breathing is different to men's
- The impact of our hormones on our breathing
- How hormonal fluctuation causes us to hyperventilate
- What is functional breathing and the Oxygen Advantage approach
- How breathing this way strengthens our breathing muscles
- Why strengthening our breathing muscles helps to reduce anxiety, insomnia and even hot flashes
- How yoga and functional breathing can go hand in hand to help reduce stress and anxiety
- If you find mindfulness and meditation hard functional breathing can be the first step to getting going
- The role of habit stacking and how functional breathing can combine with other routines to help us sleep
- And the role of mouth tape in supporting us to breathe better
Plus Tracey leads us in a breathing practice - do follow along and notice the effects it has on you.
You can connect with Tracey here https://linktr.ee/traceyhowes and follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/traceymayhowes/ and LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyhowes/
Read more about The Oxygen Advantage https://g.co/kgs/YTSHK7 and Habit Stacking https://g.co/kgs/WSM63W
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Tracey Howes
Functional Breathwork Instructor
Tracey Howes is a RAID Advanced Freediver and Oxygen Advantage Instructor based on the south coast of England. Having grown up in a seaside city in South Africa, Tracey is a keen supporter of ocean activities that encourage health and wellbeing.
Freediving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus. Tracey has competed in the UK British Freediving Association Pool Championships and is a member of AIDA, the worldwide rule and record-keeping body for competitive breath-holding events.
The powerful breathing techniques that she’s learned in her freedive practice prevent anxiety and stress negatively influencing thought processes and performance. This specialised training inspired Tracey to expand her knowledge of functional breathing and enable her to teach others how to breathe efficiently to enhance their physical and mental health. The Oxygen Advantage is recommended reading within the freediving community which is how Tracey discovered it.
By incorporating functional breathwork techniques into daily practice and training programmes, Tracey’s clients have transformed their breathing habits to improve resilience and sleep quality, reduce sports-induced asthma and anxiety, train for marathons and prepare to swim the English Channel. Tracey is particularly interested in female breathing with scientific evidence supporting ongoing research into women’s sports and overall quality of life.
Tracey works on a 121 basis and in small groups over Zoom (no restriction on locati… Read More
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