Work on breathing every day, like brushing your teeth, to improve physical health, reduce stress, anxiety, and improve mood and relationships.
Recognize that accumulated trauma and a dysregulated nervous system influence movement and feelings; addressing this is crucial for overall well-being.
Use breathing practices to create a pause between stimulus and response, allowing for conscious decision-making and fostering self-awareness rather than automatic, reactive behaviors.
When addressing health or movement issues, look for root causes and treat the human as a whole system, rather than reacting to isolated symptoms.
Trust your movement and body, and express your true self to radically change relationships for the better.
Practice walking backwards (slowly, barefoot if possible, with soft toes/heel down, and contralateral movement) to improve movement patterns, nervous system health, digestion, sleep, and build trust in your body.
Use a flow rope (or even a towel/skipping rope) to learn posterior chain movement, balance the brain, animate the spine, and generate movement from the center out.
Understand that emotional and physical trauma can be stored in the body, affecting movement patterns; opening up movement can help process and release these traumas.
Prioritize mastering your craft and developing a strong sense of self, rather than attaching your identity or value to external results or achievements.
Make the conscious choice to be in charge of your life rather than a victim, seeking opportunities for growth and learning from challenges.
Breathe through your nose to encourage deeper breaths into the bottom of your lungs, which stimulates the relaxation part of your nervous system, unlike mouth breathing which activates the stress response.
Ensure that when you breathe, your diaphragm comes down as your ribs go up, avoiding reciprocal breathing where the diaphragm goes up with your ribs, which is harmful.
Dedicate a few minutes to breathing exercises first thing in the morning to reset your breathing pattern, improving the quality of your daily breaths and setting up positive life changes.
When trying to change behaviors like diet, focus on understanding the root causes and underlying reasons why you engage in those behaviors, rather than just the behavior itself.
Consistently normalizing your breathing and practicing backward walking will lead to profound, positive changes in your life, extending beyond just physical movement.
Consciously opening up a flexed or ‘chest fallen’ posture can lead to revisiting and processing past traumas, as the brain associates the new posture with a time before the trauma.
Adopt an ‘open-hearted’ posture in running and walking, as physical posture mirrors internal demeanor and confidence, reflecting an authentic self.
Foster environments characterized by safety, security, love, and trust, where mistakes are safe, as this promotes healthy, high performance and mitochondrial flourishing.
Learning to regulate your breath in an optimal way can calm your nervous system, making it easier to reduce cravings for stimulants like alcohol, caffeine, and sugar.
Correcting your breathing pattern can significantly improve running efficiency and speed, potentially by 10-12 seconds per kilometer, without additional training.
Prevent peripheral injuries like plantar fasciitis and Achilles issues by avoiding over-breathing, which lowers carbon dioxide and constricts blood vessels, reducing blood flow.
Engage in diaphragm release exercises to potentially alleviate conditions like plantar fasciitis, as it can improve blood flow and overall systemic health.
Seek healthcare professionals who empower you with tools and knowledge to take charge of your own health, fostering independence rather than dependence on external advice or treatments.
To effectively change a habit, perform the new action slowly, as doing it quickly will revert to old, reflexive patterns.
Roll a lacrosse ball under each foot for two minutes to improve hamstring flexibility and overall range of motion.
Improve hamstring flexibility and systemic health by performing eye exercises, such as focusing on your thumb close then far, and moving your gaze around the room and to the horizon.
To challenge the belief that things must be hard to be valuable, ask yourself ‘What would this look like if it was easy?’ to find more effortless solutions.
If you’re struggling with pain or feel stuck, maintain hope, keep doing what you can, even if it’s just walking, and seek out supportive people and resources.
Begin with small, sustainable actions, even just a minute or two, rather than trying too hard, to ensure consistency and long-term progress.
Consider using super shoes as a biofeedback tool to learn proper landing mechanics and utilize the elastic energy in your body, which can improve running efficiency.