A back story
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Behind the scenes after moving to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast QLD in 2016 co-founder Andy Fermo found it difficult to re-establish his self-care plan which included connecting with a GP and mental-health specialists for the treatment and management of his PTSD.
Focusing on work and neglecting his self-care routines he spiralled down the rabbit hole into a dark place where Andy's symptoms worsened. Concerned for Andy's mental health and wellbeing, Claire contacted close family friends Shane and Angie Saunders (founders of Breathe Me) to see if "Active Breathing" a holistic modality they'd started practicing could be beneficial for the veteran.
Shane (a navy veteran) took Andy to Mount Warning on the Gold Coast hinterland for a weekend of respite including an introduction to breathing techniques, mindset conversations and mindfulness activities. The weekend ended with a commitment of 10min/day for 30 days.
5 years later "Active breathing" is a core staple in his self-care plan, more than beneficial it's been a life saver for the veteran.
About breathing
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Of all the biohacking and latest trends in performance, we have found that breathing is the most impactful, both immediate and long term.
Breathing is the first thing we do when we’re born, and for good reason. Breathing is our life force. You stop breathing, you stop living.
Breathing is the only mechanism in the body that is both conscious and unconscious. Left unchecked, you’ll just breathe for survival and possibly heading to expiration faster than we think.
Alternatively, you can intervene and take control of your breathing, which, funnily enough, you can’t do with any other systems in your body.
Breathing is the master-reprogramming tool and a key element necessary for behaviour change and personal evolution.
Breathing...are you doing it right?
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When you are not breathing correctly it can easily drift into dysfunctional breathing behaviors that are either learned unconsciously through people in our environment (e.g. parents) or created through life’s traumas (e.g.falls or accidents).
Dysfunctional breathing causes what is called Behavioral Hypocapnia, also known as respiratory alkalosis. This means that when you aren’t paying attention to how you breathe, you may be breathing off too much CO2, causing an imbalance of pH levels.
There are profound immediate and long-term effects that may either trigger or perpetuate a wide variety of symptoms that may seriously impact health and performance, such as:
Emotional: Anxiety or anger
Cognitive: Poor memory or foggy thinking
Behavioral: Fear of speaking or reactivity
Physical: Chronic pain or asthma
Psychological: Changes in personality or drop in self-confidence
Stress: All symptoms immediate and long term
Each of these symptoms steal the energy needed to feel and perform your very best. If left alone, breathing will be just for survival leaving so much untapped potential energy on the table.
Tactical Breathing Pilot
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During the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, co-founder Andy Fermo hosted an online 3 session veteran/first responder breathing pilot introducing basic active breathing techniques.
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
