The Vegan Breathing Coaches

04/12/2025

If you've ever suffered a panic attack, then you'll know just how destabilising and scary it can feel.

When we are feeling anxious, our breathing quickens and becomes more forceful. This is a natural response to danger, our body gearing up either to fight and face the threat head-on, or to run away.

But when the perceived danger is constant, a result of the stress many of us experience daily in our modern world, our body stores this up and doesn't let go. This can lead to chronic overbreathing, or hyperventilation.

If you begin to feel breathless and your lips and hands and feet begin to tingle, you begin to feel dizzy or light-headed, and you feel a sense of otherworldliness, these can be just some of the warning signs of an impending panic attack. It's a result of breathing off too much carbon dioxide, a state known as respiratory alkalosis.

Being told to take a deep breath is well-meant, but most of us understand this as a 'big' breath, and this will only make things worse, as it will result in breathing off more CO2.
Instead, slow and soften your breathing to the point it's so subtle you can barely perceive it and you even feel the urge to breathe more, but you can just about tolerate it. This is the equivalent to breathing in and out of a paper bag, it allows the carbon dioxide in your blood to increase again, bringing things back into balance. It may require practice but it's worth doing it.

This is an example of the breathing retraining we offer in our programs. For more information, go to our Breathing Space at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace

30/11/2025

That massive muscle at the base of your rib cage .. how well do you use it? Many of us underuse it to our detriment.

Among the many positives linked to using the diaphragm: good oxygenation of the body, airway stabilisation, postural support, massaging of the heart, and supporting digestion did you know it's also involved in lymphatic drainage? The lymphatic system has no pump (unlike the blood, which is pumped through blood vessels by the heart), so it needs movement from muscles to work effectively, and your diaphragm is one big muscle! The lymphatic system drains away waste and excess fluid, so your moment by moment breathing can help with the body's detoxification .... or not if your diaphragm is barely activated.

A true deep breath engages the diaphragm, front, sides and back by going down deep into the lower lobes of the lungs, rather than expanding the upper chest which has none of the benefits listed above and is associated with over-breathing.

Give your diaphragm some love ❤️ and attention and enjoy its slow, gentle expansions and contractions.

18/11/2025

In the context of breathing, the figure in the image below is significant.

This is the average amount of breaths we take every day. Just think about that for a moment.

That equates to more than 7 million breaths a year and over 5 billion breaths in an average lifetime.

Isn't it a little odd, then, that most of us rarely focus on our breathing unless we are feeling out of breath?

That's because breathing is controlled by our autonomic nervous system and we do it without needing to consciously enable it.

But what if our default breathing is a little too fast or if we are breathing in more than our body requires? Overbreathing is becoming ever more common because of the way we are living today, and it's making us feel more anxious and agitated, it's affecting our sleep, and preventing us from performing at our best.

So next time you're feeling stressed and as if life is getting on top of you, tune in to your breathing and take softer and slower breaths. It could make a world of difference.

17/11/2025

Do you often struggle to sleep, spend most of the night tossing and turning, ruminating and feeling anxious about the day to come and how you may not be able to perform at your best?

If this is you, then you're certainly not alone. Numerous studies point to the fact that a hefty proportion of the population struggle to get enough sleep. But it's not all about sleep quantity, we also need to consider the quality of our sleep. Are we getting enough deep sleep?

There are countless recommendations as to how to improve sleep and sleep hygiene is regularly discussed whenever poor sleep is mentioned.

One issue that is rarely considered, though, is how we are breathing at night. Yet sleep-disordered breathing is a common cause of insomnia. Breathing through the mouth at night rather than through the nose can cause us to breathe harder and faster, which not only puts the body into stress mode but can also cause collapse of the airway, rousing us from sleep.

Modifying our daytime and night time breathing habits can be life-changing. We can help you get there.

10/11/2025

In an interview situation, a meeting, or delivering a presentation, what does your breathing convey? If it has a tendency to be a little bit fast and shallow, those listening to you are likely to subconsciously interpret what they see as nervousness. 😳

But that's not all! The faster breathing has a direct impact on you by communicating to your brain that you're facing something threatening. 😱

By training yourself to breathe gently, slowly and deeply through your nose in low intensity situations, you'll be better able to do the same when the pressure is higher, thus conveying confidence and calm to those around you, and of course, to your own brain! 🙂

03/11/2025

Seek recovery rather than the sticking plaster approach to wellness

27/10/2025

Could Your Breathing Be Holding You Back?

Though many of us are often unaware of it, the likelihood that our breathing may be suboptimal at some time in our lives is high. In fact, it’s estimated that suboptimal breathing affects as much as 60-80% of adults and its impact on physical and cognitive well-being and performance can be significant.

Poor breathing patterns are associated with issues ranging from anxiety and stress, sleep problems, and poor digestion to an inability to concentrate and perform fully.

Improve how you breathe and you will reap the benefits. We can help you get there!

Discover more in our Breathing Space at

Your breath is your superpower. But is the way you're breathing holding you back? When we are not breathing optimally, it can affect our health, our sleep quality and our ability to perform at our best. We guide you how to improve your daytime and night time breathing. The result? More energy, bette...

25/10/2025

Apparently, it's a Tik Tok sensation (we wouldn't know 😆), and it's not without merit because getting the mouth closed at night is immensely important. But mouth taping is also facing criticism, and there's some justification there, too.

Our position on this? Yes, prioritise getting the mouth closed during sleep, but taping it shut is ill advised for some people (and children!) Another way is to use something like MyoTape (we recommend it, but don't sell it): we think of it as nasal breathing support rather than mouth tape, which it isn't. It fits around the mouth, not across it.

A mouth taping option that IS safe is simply to use one little strip of skin-friendly tape vertically across the mouth, leaving the sides of the mouth free for emergencies.

Get in touch if you have any questions or take a look at our blog post "To Tape or not to Tape, that is the Question" for a bit more on the subject.

18/10/2025

I always find it intriguing that Menopause seemingly has more of an impact in the so-called 'developed' nations than in the parts of the world that have retained a more natural way of life. Some of these countries don't even have a word for it!

Among the many contributing factors is our breathing. Wherever life is more stressful, breathing is often challenged. It's one of the reasons relating to the 200% increase in sleep apnea in women at the time of Menopause! But natural breathing patterns can be restored.

What if this stage in life could be a trigger to realign ourselves with that which supports us, rather than thwarts us? Our food, movement, social connections, sunshine, and our breathing. All of these work on our multiple body systems (including the mind). Let Menopause be a turning point to embrace a way of living that eases us away from the 24/4 madness that doesn't suit any human physiology. 🙏

~ Annette Henry

09/10/2025

What if carbon dioxide isn't *just* a waste gas? Spoiler alert ⚠️ It isn't! We need more than many of us are typically able to tolerate thanks to sub-optimal breathing patterns. Thankfully, breathing can be retrained.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

22/09/2025

Why not let your breathing become your superpower!

Breathing is so automatic that you possibly rarely pay attention to it, other than when you're out of breath.

But, just like 60-80% of the population, it could be that you're breathing just a little too hard or too fast for your body's needs.

When this is constant, day and night, it can make a huge difference to how you feel and perform.

Common symptoms of chronic over-breathing are dizziness or light headedness, waking up still feeling tired, an anxious or agitated mind, an inability to concentrate, and not being able to take a satisfying breath

The really good news is that it's possible to you retrain your breathing. By becoming more aware of your habitual breathing and regularly practicing a range of conscious breathing techniques, you have the potential to change everything you thought you knew about your body, your performance, and your health!

If you think this may apply to you, message us or email us at henryandhenryeurope@gmail.com to arrange a free Discovery Call so that we can discuss whether our Breathing Re-Education program is suitable for you.

You can also find out more about our Breathing For Health and Breathing For Performance Programs in our Breathing Space at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace

12/09/2025

An important fact about breathing which affects each and every one of us.

The image captures a young child reading, a picture of innocence and total concentration.

Did you know that some time between the age of 5 and 6, children begin to breathe differently from how they were breathing during their infancy?

Where once they would breathe naturally, using their diaphragm, children eventually adopt dysfunctional breathing habits, bracing their abdominal muscles, sucking in their tummy, imitating their superheros, parents. It's their growing awareness of the world, leading them to conform to what they perceive as the norm.

We take these new-found habits into our adulthood, they become our new default, so that we are continually holding tension in our breathing muscles, compromising our movement, flexibility, and preventing proper oxygenation of our body.

Once we are aware of this, we can do something about it. We can retrain and strengthen our breathing muscles by retraining our breathing and improving our posture. Our body and mind will thank us for it.

🔸️Less anxiety
🔹️More focus
🔸️Better sleep
🔹️Lower blood pressure
🔸️More energy and stamina
🔹️Less breathlessness

Find out more about our breathing re-education in our Breathing Space at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace