Reading the breath is like reading someone’s mind.
It’s the X-ray vision superpower of breath coaching.
There are only 2 breaths we need to look at
1: A breath at rest 😌
The frequency and depth of a breath. Whether it’s nasal or through the mouth. Whether the diaphragm is moving freely or the accessory muscles in the neck and chest are working. Whether the breath is forced or unforced. The tone of the muscles and the face.
All of these cues can tell us about the state of the nervous system and how somebody is wired to deal with stress or intensity.
2: A breath under stress 😖
Then, when we add stress to the system. With weight, endurance, hot, cold, breath holds, or just through conversation, the shift that all of the factors above make tells me all I need to know.
Breath is not static, it is tuned for life. In biology, adaptation is made based on repeated demands. By reading how the breath responds to a stressor, we can take a deep look into how someone’s behavioral patterns and fight/flight strategies are programmed into their nervous system.
This way, we’re not coaching someone’s story or belief systems, we’re coaching the state that creates and upholds that belief system. Working at the root of the problem.
This is what my breathwork coaching certification is all about (and much more).
