Being able to breathe is an amazing gift. I am 30 years old and the majority of my life was spent not breathing properly. I’ve always been an anxious person but my anxiety continued to get worse starting in high school. My anxiety had turned into a panic disorder by the time I had got to college. Attending class was difficult and I ended up in the hospital after a massive panic attack.
I felt so embarrassed when I found out that I was causing my issues. I tried a number of different things to help like therapy, medication, and the anxiety clinic at U of M (none of which helped). I think those options didn’t really help me because they just focused on my anxiety, not me and my well being as a whole. By the time I found out about The Buteyko Breathing Center I was just coping. I had grown used to my anxiety. I knew that I couldn’t do certain things without being uncomfortable. I tried not to let my anxiety stop me from things but looking back I really did avoid so much. Just walking my dog around the block was difficult because I never felt like I could get a deep enough breath. I was diagnosed with asthma and given an inhaler. When I first heard about The Buteyko Breathing Center I didn’t really have high hopes. I had tried so many different things over the years and nothing changed the way I felt. That all changed in the first meeting I had with Lisa, my Buteyko instructor. I felt so calm afterwards, almost sleepy. It took some work to integrate the Buteyko techniques into my everyday life but it’s been totally worth it. Buteyko Breathing Normalization training course walked me through step by step on how to breathe properly. It also helped me understand my body better and what it was trying to tell me. I was hyperventilating! When I felt like I couldn’t get a deep enough breath I actually was breathing too much. I think that has been the most helpful because with anxiety I stopped being able to trust my own body. I never knew if there was something really wrong or if it was just anxiety. Lisa has helped me more than she could realize. I’m working on my worrying and anxiety still but it’s not ruling my life. I’m actually forgetting how panic and anxiety feels. Starting working with The Breathing Center has been one of the greatest and most life-changing choices in my life.
