Breathe
Beep beep beep
Here we go
Breakfast
Orange Juice
Betablocker
Shower
Let’s go
January 2008
I’m off to pass my final exam. Six years of studies boiled down to one final performance.
We all wait in the same room. Anxiety fills the air. It’s my turn. First clinical case. Answer the questions. 5 more to go. Next one, that wasn’t good. Let’s focus on the following one. What? I can’t find the answer. It just won’t come out. Time is ticking. It’s finished. I know I failed. I’ll have to try again, to be a Doctor of Chiropractic.
Beta-blockers are only a mask. Medications that supposedly calm you. Yes, on the outside you do. On the inside, the same turmoil is going on.
You still do not know how to deal with stress. You are passive to what your body is telling you. You don’t hear the message, so everything is fine!
Sorry but it will be expressed. Usually when you least expect it, or when you really need to be at your best.
Stress is only a message. A physiological response to a situation. Internal or external. We are getting ready to perform. Stand up for ourselves. Show what we are made of. Or else, run as fast and far away as we can. Either, is good for us
Under stress, adrenaline is the main hormone released for us to perform. Beta-blockers steal adrenaline’s parking spot! They bind to the cells so that the hormone does not activate them. That way we do not feel the symptoms. Sweaty hands. Fast and strong beating heart. Short breath…
Not binding to those cells, adrenaline stays inside the body. Finding it’s way into other parts that will accept it. Possibly creating a host of other problems.
From the age of 18, I was taking beta-blockers every day. I had had a tachycardia episode a few months before my Baccalauréat (matura). I did not like the idea of taking medicine every day. I wanted to stop them. I tried conventional medicines and traditional healing techniques. It failed many times.
Find a peaceful place where you will not be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable chair or lay down. Put your phone into flight mode. And start breathing.
Breathe deep and let it go. Fully in and let go. You will feel that with every breath you can go deeper and deeper.
Do 30 of these breathings.
After the last exhale, simply stop breathing.
Feel the deep relaxation. Enjoy it.
Sometimes you might see some colours. Feel some tingling… All these sensations are normal. Remember that you are in control all the time.
When you feel the need to breathe in again, take a deep breath. Keep it in for 10-15 seconds and let it go.
Repeat this cycle two more times. With each one you will go deeper and deeper into yourself.
Today, I am finally operating 100% naturally. For the past 18 months I have not needed a beta-blocker. My heart and mind are in tune again.
On this healing path, the most powerful tool I have found is breathing.
Please give yourself this experience. It’s free!
It will take less than 20 minutes. The best time to do it, in the morning before breakfast.
Find a peaceful place where you will not be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable chair or lay down. Put your phone into flight mode. And start breathing.
Breathe deep and let it go. Fully in and let go. You will feel that with every breath you can go deeper and deeper.
Do 30 of these breathings.
After the last exhale, simply stop breathing.
Feel the deep relaxation. Enjoy it.
Sometimes you might see some colours. Feel some tingling… All these sensations are normal. Remember that you are in control all the time.
When you feel the need to breathe in again, take a deep breath. Keep it in for 10-15 seconds and let it go.
Repeat this cycle two more times. With each one you will go deeper and deeper into yourself.
For safety reasons, it is very important to only perform this breathing exercise while sitting or laying down. Do not do it in any situation where if you loose conciousness you can hurt yourself or someone else. Do not do it driving, swimming, riding a bike,…
I learnt this breathing from Wim Hof. The Iceman has achieved many incredible records with the cold. Now he teaches his method all over the world and participates in scientific research to prove the health benefits of his method. The most impressive study is the one that proved that we can learn to influence our autonomic nervous system in just 5 days.
What happens when we do this breathing exercise?
The main exchange of gas is O2 and CO2. The body charges up in oxygen and gets rid of carbon dioxyde. This helps the body become more alcaline, less acid. In these conditions the body stays younger and can heal better.
This happens by activating our diaphragm. Massaging our inner organs. Expanding our rib cage. Stretching our spine. Even increasing the movements of the small bones in our head!
When we breathe fast and strong, we simulate a stress reaction. So the hormones related to that state of being are released. We get used to what it feels like to be stressed in the comfort of our home. Knowing that all is safe. When we stop breathing, we go into a state of deep relaxation with a release of dopamine and endorphins. These hormones make us feel good.
Ten years after failing my final exam, I was back in Paris to learn from Dr. David Leaf, my Master Teacher.
When he comes to town, I am the guy asking lots of questions. Most of the time he answers. Sometimes he just walks away!
Here I ask him about a professional saxophone player we have at the office. I explain the case. To demonstrate how he thinks, Dr. Leaf asks a colleague of us to come up. I am to do the work on him!
Oh! Dr. Leaf and 100 colleagues, staring at me! I start working like I do at the office.
-No, not like that!
-I’m not used to doing your way.
-That’s why I want you to do it!
In that moment, I decided to stay focused. I went into myself. Accessed the information stored in my brain. Found the bone-muscle-nerve imbalance and corrected it, as Dr. Leaf does.
Breathing was a key tool to help me keep my focus, get into that state of flow and perform at my best.
Please experience this breathing. It has the power to heal, help you expand as a person and improve your performance.
Dr. Mathieu Spencer
Chiropractor