This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Xavier De Le Rue about managing fear and risk in extreme situations, the psychology involved, and how breathwork can facilitate decision-making in high-intensity events.

Xavier is a leading figure in snowboarding, 4-times Boardercross World Champion, and 3-times Freeride World Tour Champion, having made significant contributions to his sport through his pioneering expeditions and movies, known for their vertiginous sequences and the use of innovative filming techniques such as drones and paramotors.

In this conversation, he shares about his relationship with fear, how a terrible avalanche accident in 2008 transformed his approach to risk management, and the way he’s been preparing for his missions in the big mountains ever since.

We also talk about how Xavier discovered breathwork, and the types of breathing practices he’s been using when competing in boardercross or before dropping a helicopter to go down a risky line.

A fascinating dive into the world of snowboarding and the mind of an emblematic figure of his generation, in love with nature and the limits it imposes!

Timeline:

(00:00:10) - What drew Xavier to extreme sports and snowboarding

(00:03:29) - Coping with fear and accepting it

(00:10:17) - Good fear vs. bad fear and how it influences decision-making

(00:18:28) - The importance of preparation in managing risks

(00:24:51) - Xavier’s journey toward breathwork and how he leverages it

(00:35:26) - Transmitting to younger generations and navigating climate change

To learn more about Xavier’s work, check out his website where you can find more information about The Sustainability Dialogues podcast, the How To XV tutorial series, his sponsors, and past movies.

You can follow Xavier’s latest adventures on Instagram and Facebook.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Jesse Coomer about the connection between breathwork, psychology, and longevity, and how certain breathing practices can extend our health span.

As a Human Performance Specialist, Author, and Founder of the Breathwork//Tactics program, Jesse has trained athletes, CEOs, first responders, military, and everyday people seeking to optimize their performance, reduce their anxiety levels, and live a healthier life.

In this conversation, Jesse shares his journey towards living a longer and healthier life, after decades spent dealing with social anxiety through unhealthy coping mechanisms, including drugs and alcohol use. He explains how breathwork has helped him reconnect with his emotions, control his subconscious, and lead him to healthier daily decisions.

We talk about breathing practices like the physiological sigh or the 4-7-8 technique that can lead to healthier daily decisions, with a long-term and net positive impact on our longevity.

By the end of this episode, you will know simple breathing techniques that you can use to make healthier lifestyle decisions daily.

Timeline:

(00:01:48) - Jesse’s personal journey with breathwork

(00:07:43) - A new perspective on longevity

(00:10:16) - Science behind breathwork and longevity

(00:25:52) - Benefits of breathwork on longevity

(00:35:47) - Breathwork techniques for daily life

To learn more about Jesse’s work, head over to his website and join his community on Instagram and YouTube.

We also recommend the books The Language of Breath and A Practical Guide to Breathwork, both written by Jesse.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing! 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Dean Stott about panic attacks and the role that breathwork can play in managing them.

As a mental health activist and author having dealt with and recovered from anxiety disorder himself, Dean has founded the online community of support DLC Anxiety, which gathers millions of people across the globe and offers a space where individuals can share and learn from each other’s journey through anxiety.

In this conversation, Dean shares his personal experience with panic attacks and how he overcame them. He emphasizes the importance of psychoeducation and breathwork, explaining how panic attacks relate to the fight-or-flight response, and the role of breathwork in addressing panic attacks at their onset or as a preventive measure.

We talk about diaphragmatic breathing and the importance of incorporating breathwork into daily routines, as a tool to address panic attacks.

By the end of this episode, you will know simple breathing techniques that you can use in your daily life to manage and prevent panic attacks.

Timeline:

(00:02:25) - Dean’s personal experience with panic attacks

(00:06:28) - Understanding panic attacks

(00:15:51) - Breathwork tools for managing panic attacks

(00:21:03) - A simple belly breathing practice

(00:24:04) - Raising awareness around mental health

To learn more about Dean’s work, head over to the official DLC Anxiety website and join his community on Instagram and TikTok.

We also recommend the books Untangle Your Anxiety (co-authored with Joshua Fletcher) and Greater Than Panic, written by Dean.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Ben Bidwell, a Human Potential Coach who has helped thousands of his clients create life-changing transformations, leveraging breathwork to propose a reflective experience to reconnect with purpose, fulfillment, and joy.

In this conversation, Ben touches on his journey towards emotional intelligence, and how breathwork helped him reconnect with his emotions and open up to them. He shares how the breath can quiet the mind, allowing for a deeper connection to our emotions without being judgemental about them.

We talk about ways to foster conscious breathing, combining meditation with simple breathing patterns, and how these can help us clear our minds and take us out of our heads.

By the end of this episode, you will know which breathing techniques you can use to bring your mind to peace and reconnect with your emotions!

Timeline:

(00:01:45) Ben’s journey towards emotional intelligence

(00:04:17) How breathwork can help us better understand our emotions

(00:12:18) Emotional intelligence and our relationships

(00:18:44) A simple method for conscious breathing

(00:22:03) Ben’s continuous development and training with breathwork

To learn more about Ben’s work and book his services, take a look at his website and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Martin McPhilimey about motivation building and how breathing can help sustain high motivation levels.

Martin is a renowned authority in the breath science community, bringing together an impressive blend of expertise as a Respiratory and Sleep Scientist, Exercise Physiologist, and Behavioural Science Practitioner.

In this conversation, Martin touches on the physiological underpinnings of motivation and the role of neurotransmitters like dopamine and noradrenaline in driving the motivation response. He explains how breathing patterns can influence focus and arousal levels, how to modulate them, and the importance of striking the right balance between the two to reach peak performance.

We talk about fast-paced nasal breathing techniques and the Wim Hof method to boost motivation levels, as well as visualization techniques coupled with slow breathing regimes to enhance focus.

By the end of this episode, you will know which breathing techniques you can implement daily to balance arousal and focus states, and reach your goals sustainably!

Timeline:

(00:01:52) The physiology of motivation and the U-shape theory of goal-setting

(00:04:40) Breathing patterns and motivation

(00:11:47) Implementing long-term motivation strategies

(00:14:15) High-intensity breathing techniques to increase arousal levels

(00:15:07) Visualization and breathwork methods to enhance focus

(00:21:51) Shifting from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation

To learn more about Martin’s work with Performance Through Health, take a look at his website and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

If you are curious and want to explore further the Wim Hof method that Martin mentions in the episode, we recommend checking out Wim’s official website.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Ryan Carroll about anxiety, how it can impact our breathing patterns, and what breathing practices can help get anxiety under control.

Ryan is a certified breathwork instructor, nutrition coach, and personal trainer who has worked with hundreds of people over the past 20 years, developing programs to control anxiety, regulate the nervous system, and breathe more efficiently.

In this conversation, Ryan explains the importance and ways of assessing and retraining breathing mechanics and capacity, as a first step for breathwork to address anxiety. He also tackles misconceptions about intense breathwork methods and shares why he advocates for a holistic approach that includes mindset and lifestyle changes to obtain the best results.

We talk about breath hold techniques, integrating formal and informal breathwork practices, and ways to address negative self-talk with upgraded affirmations.

By the end of this episode, you will know how breathwork can fit into a holistic approach to managing anxiety and finding inner peace!

Timeline:

(00:01:38) The roots of anxiety and what the modern world changed

(00:07:37) The impact of anxiety on breathing

(00:11:05) Assessing breathing mechanics, tolerance to CO2, and breathing capacity

(00:15:45) Managing anxiety with breathwork

(00:21:17) Addressing negative self-talk with upgraded affirmations

To learn more about Ryan’s work and book his services, take a look at his website and follow him on Instagram.

You can download the STAmina app that Bryan refers to in the episode here.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Sarah Silverman about insomnia, what distinguishes it from sleep deprivation, and what breathing practices can help control insomnia and get better sleep.

Sarah is a Stanford-trained holistic sleep specialist, insomnia expert, and wellness consultant passionate about sleep health and wellness. She uses a personalized, mindfulness-based approach to help improve sleep issues, leveraging notably cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, a first-line, drug-free approach for adults with chronic insomnia.

In this conversation, Sarah explains how diaphragmatic breathing can be used to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, promote relaxation, and improve sleep quality.

She shares how breathing practices like boxed breathing can help reach this relaxation state, the ideal timing throughout the day, and the time it takes before one can see major improvements in sleep quality.

By the end of this episode, you will know simple yet powerful breathing methods you can apply in your daily life to improve your sleep! 

Timeline:

(00:01:40) Insomnia signs, origins, and consequences

(00:11:00) Treating insomnia with cognitive behavioral therapy and diaphragmatic breathing

(00:17:10) Breathing practices to address insomnia and improve sleep quality

(00:22:10) Progressive muscle relaxation and breathwork for better sleep

To learn more about Sarah’s work, take a look at her website where you can also register for the online courses she developed for sleep optimization.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing! 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief. Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Brian Mackenzie about peak physical performance, the role breathing plays in it, what elite athletes get wrong about it, and what we can learn from it to optimize our physical performance.

Brian is an expert in human performance research on stress adaptation, and a pioneer in the development and application of custom protocols to optimize human health. His work lies at the interface of respiratory, movement, strength, conditioning, and endurance-based training. His protocols have been used to raise both mental and physical performance in world-class athletes, top executives, elite military operators, but also to improve the health of people suffering from pathological issues. 

He takes us through a recurring problem he observed with top athletes he has worked with, whereby high-intensity breathing regimes during training are wrongly preferred to low-intensity regimes.

Brian explains his concept of breathing gears and how they relate to heart rate zones during training. He shares how to build a balanced training protocol that encompasses all breathing gears to increase overall respiratory capacity, safely.

By the end of this episode, you will know how to approach breathing during exercising and the practices to adopt in your daily life to optimize your physical health!

Timeline:

(00:02:02) Athletes' misconceptions about breathing and their impact on performance

(00:10:49) Importance of downregulation for optimal physical health

(00:17:44) How to accommodate breathing gears and heart rate zones during training

(00:23:01) Everyday practice for low regime breathing to optimize respiratory capacity

To learn more about Brian’s work and book his services, take a look at The Health & Human Performance Foundation that he co-founded alongside Tanya Bentley, the SH//FT program he has developed, as well as his website showcasing the rest of his engagement around health performance optimization.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and your interest in the science of breathing! 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Oxa, the first breathing wearable with live biofeedback, and your coach for enhanced sleep and stress relief.

Oxa measures in real-time your vitals like your heart and respiratory rates, and creates personalized breathing exercises for you to control stress and get better sleep. Head over to oxalife.com for more details on how Oxa can help you live a healthier life!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we talk with Dave Wood about stress and how breathing can be leveraged to get stress levels under control.

Dave is a renowned specialist in stress mitigation, recovery, and mental preparedness, having built his expertise on his experience as an intensive care paramedic and professional ocean lifeguard in New Zealand.

He takes us through the body's natural stress response, the role of the amygdala and autonomic nervous system, and how these influence our breathing patterns in stressful situations.

In the hectic world we live in, Dave explains the criticality of getting stress under control by reinstating balance between the stimulation of our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

By the end of this episode, you will know which breathing practices to adopt in your daily life to get stress under control, and be ready to reap the long-term benefits of it!

Timeline:

(00:00:42) The physiology of stress

(00:05:40) Stress in the modern world and its dangers

(00:13:23) Balancing the nervous system as a means of stress relief

(00:20:18) Breathing practices and mechanics to get stress under control

To learn more about Dave’s work and book his services, take a look at WMW Integrated Training.

If you enjoy this episode of the Oxa Podcast, subscribe on YouTube or your preferred listening platform, and give us feedback via email (using podcast@oxalife.com) or in the comments section. Feel free also to share topic suggestions for the next episodes, as well as guest recommendations.

If you know someone who would benefit from today’s conversation, don’t hesitate to share the episode with this person.

As an additional way to support the show, you can leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it helps us a lot in bringing the podcast forward!

Thank you for your time and for your interest in the science of breathing! 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Oxa Podcast features leading breathwork experts, doctors, scientists, therapists, and coaches, who spent years understanding the impact that breathing has on our brain and physiology, developing innovative protocols to unleash its true power.

In each episode, we explore how breathing can address specific pain points related to stress, sleep, cognition, physical performance, and beyond. You will learn new science-based tools to help you realize the power of your breath, and optimize your well-being.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.