Breathwork

And not just boosts- SOARS. Deep rhythmic breathing releases serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, GABBA, DMT and melatonin, a powerful cocktail of natural chemicals that allow you to come back to yourself, feel deeply connected and grounded. Not to mention, breathwork also releases anandamide, the “Bliss Molecule,” also known for inducing runner’s high, for an ultimate mood bump! Get ready to fly high off your own supply! 

Deep rhythmic breathing stimulates your vagus nerve– the longest nerve in your parasympathetic chain, responsible for putting your body in “rest and digest.” The ying to this yang is the sympathetic nervous system, the “flight and fright nervous system,” that dumps cortisol into the body, wreaking long-term havoc on your cardiovascular system, immune system, and nervous system. 8/10 Americans are afflicted by stress on a regular basis (1). It’s time to downshift that nervous system and decrease cortisol!

Breathwork is fantastic for increasing heart rate variability (HRV). As one inhales and exhales, heart rate increases and decreases, respectively. Higher HRV, arising from respiratory sinus arrhythmia, is beneficial as it translates into robust responses to changes in breathing and thus a more resilient stress-response system (2).

Literally. Deep breathwork induces a state called transient hypofrontality, fancy words for describing your prefrontal cortex (or thinking brain) dimming and taking a nap! On any given day your brain computes between 60-80,000 thoughts, which is about 74 GB of information. As a result, your cognitive center starts to feel overwhelmed. Good thoughts get lost, important things get missed because your brain is so overwhelmed with the enormity of information. Any time you’re involved in a deep rhythmic breathing pattern, your prefrontal cortex goes dark, allowing you to dump all the useless trash and refresh your noggin’ for mental clarity, focus and calm.

The single biggest predictor of longevity is total vital capacity. How much air you can actually hold in your lungs. Quick physio lesson: Oxygen in = energy, CO2 and waste products out = detoxifying your body. Your lungs mature between 30-35 years old. Between the ages of 35-50 the average total lung capacity lost is 17%, making you less efficient to get oxygen in and waste products out. After 50, it falls off a cliff. Why? Due to our sedentary lifestyles, you stop using your breathing muscles as much as you did when you were young. But you can actually reverse this and increase lung capacity as you age with vigorous breathwork training, making you feel younger, more energetic and alive! That’s why our breathwork feels like a HIT training for your respiratory system

70% of your toxins get released from your body via the breath: (3) When you exhale, you’re detoxifying your body by breathing out fat, alcohol (4) and other waste substances. You don’t burn fat, you actually exhale it out. So imagine all day barely breathing and keeping all that sh*t in, backing up your body and your mind!

Breathwork is the only scientifically proven practice to alkaline your body. Your stomach is at a pH of 1, acidifying anything you ingest. Your lungs and respiratory system don’t touch your stomach, so focusing on your breath can actually change your blood pH. Disease thrives in acidity, not in alkalinity. Alkalinity is a defense against autoimmune disease, inflammation, all the way to cancer, hence the wellness trend!

To all those night owls, we got something for you. Slow, deep breathing has been shown to result in melatonin production which not only promotes relaxation, but is an essential sleep-inducing hormone. The release of melatonin promotes parasympathetic tone (a calm nervous system) and inhibits sympathetic tone (a stressed nervous system) (5), allowing your body to more easily fall asleep and stay asleep when night time comes around.

Breathwork, including breath holds, help push your anaerobic threshold. Ever felt fatigued on the field or during a paddle out? That’s your body slowing down in its ability to take in O2 and clear CO2/ lactic acid. Our breathwork involves superventilation and breath holds to strengthen your 10-12 lbs of respiratory muscles, increase your CO2 tolerance, build more red blood cells and improve your body's ability to take in the fuel it needs.

Breathwork improves immune function in several ways. The continuous pattern of stretching and relaxing of the lungs during breathwork stimulates an immune response in your respiratory system against invading viruses (6). Furthermore, deep rhythmic breathing relaxes the body, promoting blood flow, lymphatic flow and a reduction in cortisol, a stress hormone known to cause inflammation and suppress the immune system.

As seen with asthma, COPD, and other respiratory conditions, the lungs lose that springiness. They don't return to the same level as when you start breathing, and air gets trapped in the lungs. Over time, stale air builds up, leaving less room for the diaphragm to contract and bring in fresh oxygen. With the diaphragm not working to full capacity, the body starts to use other muscles in the neck, back and chest for breathing. This translates into lower oxygen levels, and less reserve for exercise and activity. If practiced regularly, breathing exercises can help rid the lungs of accumulated stale air, increase oxygen levels and get the diaphragm to return to its job of helping you breathe (7).

Have trouble sitting in a lotus position thinking of nothing? Turns out the sound of your breath is the easiest way to shut off the mind and go deep within! Our welcoming breathwork coaches will guide you through every step of the Breathe Degrees Method and show you how it’s done for impactful results!

Learning how to control your nervous system is the strongest, most powerful aspect of cold plunging. Because your nervous system controls every tissue and every cell in your body. It's the ultimate brain-body connection. But more importantly, your nervous system also controls your perceptions and your thoughts. And you have actual direct access to where you are in time and space in your nervous system by the way you breathe. There are two things that hold you back in life: Fear and Pain. Step into both and let our experienced coaches teach you how to breathe through intensive situations!