When I first heard about the importance of correct breathing I had no idea that a few simple changes could make such a big impact on my health. That was 14 years ago and I am still discovering and trying new techniques and health gadgets. Not only does this help with stress but it can also have a profound effect on your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.

Back in the early days of Wellbeing Magazine, Michael Lingard introduced me to Buteyko breathing. Developed by Professor Konstantin Buteyko who identified one of the major factors contributing to so many diseases, namely chronic hidden hyperventilation or in simple terms‚ over-breathing. Anyone who has completed a course sees improvement in their general health and are given the skills to help them take better control of their health for life. Learning to breathe normally can take time for some but can be life transforming especially for those that suffer from Asthma.

Visit The Breath Connection http://totalhealthmatters.co.uk/breath-connection/ to learn more about how your breathing is connected to a multitude of health problems, and check out the many ways you can learn to improve your own breathing.

Biofeedback technology for better health

My next introduction to breathing was with the use of biofeedback technology back in 2015. I discovered that breathing can influence my variable heart rate. We used computer games called Relaxing Rhythms and Alive which used finger sensors. It showed the power of breathing and gave a visual display on the way it can impact your mood!

We loved playing these games so I was excited to discover that the technology has been used to create a hand held device designed to be your personal breathing coach.

Moonbird is an intuitive handheld creating pacer. It expands and contracts, like a balloon that swells and deflates in your hand. Use it anywhere, anytime by simply placing it in your hand, placing your thumb on the sensor and then match your breathing with the rhythms of the Moonbird to trigger the natural relaxation response of your body.

Moonbird guides you through slow-paced breathing exercises which you can track via the app. During an exercise, you can follow the changes in your HR (Heart Rate), and try to maximise your HRV (Heart Rate Variable) and your coherence level. Finding inner peace was never that easy.

Biofeedback

Breathing is the remote control of your nervous system. Breathing slowly, you push the brake pedal of your nervous system, triggering the natural relaxation response of your body. Science proves that slow breathing (around 6 breaths per min) is associated with
fluctuations in heart rate and heart rate variability.

What is my heart rate (HR)?
The number of times your heart beats per minute.

What is my heart rate variability (HRV) ?
The rhythm of a healthy heart is irregular, with the intervals between consecutive heart beats constantly varying. This variation between heart beats is called
heart rate variability (HRV).

HRV is an important indicator of an individual’s capacity to adapt effectively to stress and environmental demands.

What is cardiac coherence?
Coherence is the degree of synchronization between your heart rate and your breathing
rate.

Scientific publications show that slow-paced breathing induces higher values of HRV, which is linked to states of relaxation.

Our verdict:

We absolutely love this gadget, it is so simple to use and in just 5 minutes you feel physically calmer no matter what your state of mind before using it. We like to keep it on our desk and instead of grabbing a coffee or venting our work frustrations to our colleagues we just grab our Moonbird, sit and breathe and calm is restored once again.

We also got our 11 year old to try it out on those hormonal, tearful days. She also thought it was a great little gadget.

Another great way to use it is for sleep, it can help quiet the mind and slow the breathing on those night’s where it is hard to get to sleep.

It is so simple to use and very effective, it helps to train the brain into correct breathing patterns and long after the exercise had finished I was still finding myself being mindful of my breathing.

We’ve been trying it for a few weeks now and it has officially become the best office gadget!

Available to order https://www.moonbird.life/