Jesse Coomer - A Practical Guide to Breathwork: A Remedy for the Modern Human Condition

E very. Single. Breath ...

Determines the level of metabolism in your mitochondria.

Influences the pH level of your blood and tissues.

Communicates through the brainstem to every thought and emotion you feel.

Is electrically wired through the heart to influence every beat.

Exchanges vital information between your environment and your immune system.

Informs your nervous system on which organ functions to activate or suppress.

Determines the quality of your thoughts, attention and actions.

Massages each organ in your abdominal cavity through movement of the diaphragm.

Literally pulses your brain and spinal fluid up and down.

Influences your blood pressure and level of vascular dilation / constriction.

Regulates the levels of inflammation in the body.

Is an opportunity to come back to your center.

Is a tool to express yourself authentically.

Sets the pace for how much calm or anxiety you experience.

But mostly: Every single breath - and with it, all of the above - could be under your conscious control. And we live in an exciting time to do so.

For thousands of years many scholars, yogis and spiritual teachers have known about these amazing ways that each breath influences our human experience. However, this information was not always readily available to the public. Even in modern times breathwork was often vailed in vague terms, clouded by rituals or simply kept away from students until they were advanced enough.

When I personally was caught by the power of the breath about 6 years ago, it improved my life in every possible way, and I felt it was time to spread the word. The first thing I realised was that breath was like a missing link in the health, fitness and performance world. I thought to myself how is almost everybody missing this?!.

Even some of my clients who were at the pinnacle of human performance, like special operations and Olympic athletes, were overlooking the power of breath. They optimised their training, nutrition, sleep, supplementation and mindset. But when it came to breathing - literally the most important thing you do - they were so underdeveloped that I could easily help them hack their performance in a few sessions. Not because Im such a genius coach, but because it was the lowest hanging fruit for them.

Since my first encounters with breathwork there has been a massive upsurge in the interest for and openness to this field of work. It is no longer considered vague, woo or new-agey to work on your breathing. The ever-growing scientific interest into respiration has created a modern, tangible and clear understanding that supports and explains many of the benefits that the ancients knew of, in a language that us westerners can get behind.

At the same time, a paradigm shift is slowly happening. In the self-development and human optimisation world, there was always a massive focus on the mind: positive thinking, goal setting, visualisation, affirmations, self-talk, mindfulness etc. have been the main topics of focus. And - though they are undeniably powerful tools - they often disregard physiology.

Through practicing and studying the breath, you will soon learn that the mind is a function of the brain, and the brain is part of the nervous system. And your nervous system determines the state of your physiology, and your physiology largely determines how well your mind functions. Through the unique human function of consciously changing the way you breathe, you gain access to the deeper laying functions of the automatic pilot that is your physiology. So, Im not saying that theres anything wrong with these mind techniques, Im saying that they become far more powerful when you start to use then from the breath.

But then which technique is the ultimate technique? Which method should you focus on? How do you find your path in the seemingly endless forest of different protocols?

Thanks to the growing scientific understanding of breathing, and the diligent work of excellent researchers and teachers, it is becoming clear that these may not be the right questions. Slowly but surely the world of breath is evolving to an amazing new place. A place where the boundaries between techniques, brands, opinions and methodologies are fading away. Fading away to make place for a greater understanding, a larger picture: a paradigm of principles.

You see, every single breathing protocol is built on the same foundation of very clear and simple core principles. Once you understand these principles and pair them up with practice, you will develop a keen understanding of which techniques are right for you, and when you should use them.

So nowadays you are no longer dependent on finding the right teacher who holds the big secret truth, you dont have to humbly serve the guru to get the real techniques and you certainly need not sit in a cave for 30 years to figure it out for yourself. The remote control to your nervous system, the operating system of your mind, the regulating dial of your human experience is right there within you, within every single breath.

All you need is a curious mind, a willingness to practice and a book just like this one to get started.

In this book Jesse Coomer has skillfully brought together those core principles, and some of the most powerful techniques that you can dive straight into. As you read these pages and the valuable information within them, remember that every single breath brings with it the potential to change your life. Every. Single. Breath.

Kasper van der Meulen

The Breathwork Biohacker

www.KaspervanderMeulen.com

What a piece of work is man, How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, In form and moving how express and admirable, In action how like an Angel, In apprehension how like a god, The beauty of the world, The paragon of animals. - Prince Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Congratulations on Your Inheritance!

Welcome, my fellow human. Much has changed since our ancestors first stood upright and walked the Earth. You are the descendant of the countless humans who came before you, all of them with their stories, their aspirations, their dreams, and their troubles. And your Neolithic Grandparents have left you a gift, an inheritance passed down through the ages through the language of DNA.

The fact that you are alive today is one part of your inheritance. In short, we hail from a long line of people who were at least somewhat proficient at not dying. Just think about that for a minute. There is an unbroken chain of mothers and fathers that stretch from the very first human being to you. This unbroken chain came with a great deal of struggle and difficulty, and here you are, the beneficiary.

You have also inherited a body and mind that have been tested in every environment that this world has to offer, equipped with onboard mechanisms that were evolved to suite the world humans first found themselves in. Your fellow humans have lived in desserts, rainforests, remote archipelagos, frigid tundra, and moderate four-seasoned climates that change dramatically throughout the year. Equipped with complex internal systems and a sturdy physical frame, your ancestors not only survived life on this planet, they thrived amid a world of uncertainty, filled with fierce predators and food scarcity.