Treatment for Breath-Pattern Disorders

Over eleven year of working with 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 calfs (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 it's breath." It's odd but true. Think about it—good-working feet afford the structures further 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 breath well.

Over the past decade I have developed a Sleep Apnea protocol—exercises and specific facial 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.