Treatment for Breath-Pattern Disorders for Better Sleeping and Dreaming

In fifteen years of working with human structure and gravity, I have become increasingly intrigued with the breathing pattern issues of my clients. EVERY session seems to have drawn into being an enhanced breath capacity. Session one of the SOMA series is called the "breath session" because it actively opens the torso's often-too-tight superficial wrapping of connective tissue that narrows the pattern of breath.

Surprisingly though, releasing bound-up feet and calves (session two in the SOMA series) also imbues a better breath pattern. Why is this? It's because stable, articulate feet allow the body to... "catch its breath." It's odd but true. Think about it—good-working feet afford the structures farther up the gravitational line the EASE and FREEDOM needed to work better. The Breath is supported from underneath... and from above as well.

So now you know—the entire human form is integrated to create breathing—it's not just the diaphragm and a few other muscles that raise and lower the chest. The idea that every muscle's action assists in breathing is quite accurate and startling to many people. Perhaps the main, untold, under-observed benefit of Structural Integration is better breathing.

But what about those with specific conditions and symptoms related to poor habits of breathing?

I have developed specific sessions to address sleep apnea, snoring and insomnia, and I am excited to offer this work to people needing help breathing at night.

Many people suffer with these issues and other breath-pattern issues like shallow breathing and "upper chest" breathing during the day and a lot can be done to restore the body's natural capacity to breathe well.

Over the past decade, I have developed a Sleep Apnea Protocol—exercises and specific fascial work to release and balance the structures whose compensation patterns promote symptoms common to those suffering with apnea, snoring, shallow breathing and insomnia.

I use SOMA techniques, tragger-type work, pendiculation, active stretching, passive range-of-motion, and many exercises to re-educate, tone and integrate the neuromuscular system. This work is focused on the connective tissue structures of the whole body, but specifically the nose, jaw, face, head, neck and throat, shoulders and torso. These sessions run 70 minutes to 1.5 hours.

Good places to start are my two articles here, and to call me with your questions.