'Breathwork improved my sleep and reduced my anxiety - now I'm teaching others how to benefit as a coach in the Black Country'
Breathing seems like something we do unconsciously - but paying attention to how we breathe can have many benefits.
Chris Titley and Alex Ashcroft, who are based in Sedgley, are both qualified breathwork coaches and run Tender Breathwork.
“Breathwork is conscious, controlled breathing so it’s breathing in specific ways with an awareness,” explains Chris.
“Predominantly, you should breathe through your nose into your belly but there’s lots of different techniques to do that such as different amounts of inhales for a certain duration; exhales for a certain duration; and actually holding your breath as well,” he says.
Conscious breathing is said to help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, increase energy and stamina, aid digestion, improve circulation and strengthen the lungs.
“Breathwork helps to increase the body’s oxygen levels, which can have calming effects,” says Chris.
“Breathwork is quite new in the UK, we’re so far behind other places in the world.
“For example, Australia is 10 years ahead of us in terms of recognising how using conscious, controlled breathing can affect your autonomic nervous system.
“They are using this science and these techniques in the curriculum for school students to help with their learning and to help with their stress and anxiety,” he adds.
Chris has been a coach, mentor and teacher for 20 years and started by working with young adults who had additional needs and difficulties in secondary schools and pupil referral units.
Over the last 10 years, he has increasingly worked with young people in their late-teens and adults suffering with physical and emotional issues, including anxiety and depression, helping people transition into careers, apprenticeships and higher education.
