H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S
Take a Breath
We take thousands of breaths each day, but are we breathing correctly? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. BY RICHIE BOSTOCK CECILIA CRISTOLOVEAN-CSIKY “The Breath Guy” is a leading figure and evangelist for breathwork, the next revolution in health and wellness in Dubai, UAE. THEBREATHGUY
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ichie Bostock hasn’t always been a globetrotting teacher of breathwork. After his father was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease with no widely accepted cure, he was constantly on the lookout for lifestyle changes and alternative treatments that could be useful for his dad. Bostock eventually came across Wim Hof, a Dutch man commonly known as The Iceman, during a podcast. Hof spoke about a method he developed and it caught Bostock’s attention. “The method seemed to be really effective in helping people with autoimmune diseases, including MS,” says Bostock. He did some more research and discovered there were two main elements to Hof’s method: cold exposure and breathing techniques. Bostock decided to learn Hof’s method during a week-long training session and shared it with his dad whose MS has not progressed since incorporating the breathing techniques and cold showers espoused by Hof into his daily routine. Bostock became “obsessed” with finding out what else people were doing using breath. He has since travelled across the world to learn from modern breathing masters. IMPACT caught up with Bostock to learn more about the breathwork he teaches around the world.
38 I Inspiration Issue I IMPACT MAGAZINE
Why is how we breathe important?
Richie Bostock is known as 'The Breath
The way you breathe affects just about every system in your body, such as your cardiovascular system, endocrine system, digestive system, nervous system and immune system. Because we have conscious control over our breath, by simply learning how to use your breath as a tool (the way nature intended you to), you can quickly affect the systems and functions in your body, improving your physical and mental health and performance and emotional wellbeing. Think of your breath as your body’s built-in Swiss Army knife that, when you know how to use it purposefully, can, within minutes, help you to reduce stress and anxiety, increase energy levels, re-balance hormones, heighten focus and concentration, improve sleep and digestion, heal emotional trauma, alleviate chronic pain and improve cardiovascular health and even improve athletic performance. For our sport readers, how does breath affect physical/athletic performance?
Oxygen is the primary fuel that our cells need to create energy for our bodies to function and to move. Therefore, placing your breathing at the very front of your mind during athletic endeavours is crucial to ensure that you are maximizing your body’s ability for athletic output. There are
Guy' and teaches breathwork around the world.
many different techniques and frameworks for breathing before, during and after your athletic performance to make sure that you prepare, perform and recover at your best. How often should one practise a breathing routine and how long should each session be?
I define breathwork as anytime you intentionally become aware of your breath and use it to improve your physical and mental health and performance and emotional well-being. It can be as simple as learning how to breathe more optimally day-to-day, learning quick and easy techniques that can quickly change your state or mood to deeper practices that can be used as an incredible form of emotional therapy. So it really depends on what you want to try to achieve as a breathing "session" can last anywhere between one minute to three hours. What I would say for someone just beginning is that the best place to start is to begin to notice how you breathe day-today. Most people average 19,000 to 27,000
