Learn how to breathe again.

Meditation is how Breathe Oceanside got started, the origin story, if you will. Circa 2015, I was hopelessly stressed out, over-worked, overweight and constantly having physical ailments derail my life. I was desperate to try anything to find relief. A wise mentor of mine looked at me at work one day, miserable, sick (again) and completely burnt out and she said "you need to meditate." I looked at her and ignorantly said 

"what, like the monks do or something?" 

She gave me the side-eye for that comment and promptly put me in my place by saying "don't knock it till you try it". She then patiently referred me to a non-religious website on mindfulness meditations so I could educate myself. As mentioned, I was desperate to try anything that would help, so I shut my mouth and started doing my own research to learn more. I was definitely not interested in finding a new religion or joining some weird chanting cult, so I admit I was skeptical, (my limited life experience up to that point had resulted in me having some inaccurate perceptions about what all this was), but the website said it was just about focusing on your breathing and I thought, you know...what's the worst that can happen if I am just breathing? So, I gave it a whirl one morning before getting ready for work. I sat on my bed, took some deep breaths and tried the body scan thing the website recommended. It was kinda hard on my own, I didn't really know what I was doing. But sitting for a few minutes paying attention to the way I was breathing and how the breath felt in my body was good. I felt calm, grounded somehow. That was very interesting to me, I hadn't felt like that in years. I was curious so I did some more internet research that night and found Tara Brach, PhD on Amazon. I bought some of her books and her audio CD with guided meditations (yes, this was back in the pre-historic times of audio CDs). I popped her CD in my CD player and put on some headphones. Her voice was soothing and listening to her guide me through the breathing exercises made a HUGE difference. It wasn't weird or religious or cult-y. It was just me, breathing in and out. I was able to easily block out the world and turn inward with the headphones on. I really connected to my breath. Several minutes into the meditation, it was like a lightning bolt from the crown of my head shooting out the bottom of my feet. When I opened my eyes after the meditation was finished, I felt like a completely new person. 

I WAS HOOKED.

I started finding any and every excuse to sneak in a few minutes of meditating, any chance I got. After a while, it was getting easier and easier to block out the world and drop into my inner peaceful space, even without the headphones on or listening to a guide. It became like second nature to me. I could close my eyes, take a few breaths and drop in anywhere I was, regardless of what was going on around me. I stopped over-eating and over-drinking as a way to relieve stress and started breathing instead. I lost 55 pounds, not doing any exercise, just meditating. My family and friends were all commenting on how great I looked and how calm I was. My life had changed. It was honestly a true testament to how excessively I had previously abused food and alcohol as my stress copping mechanisms. Finding a healthier way to manage stress literally saved my life.

Health Benefits of Meditation:

A quick google search brings up a ton of scientific studies on health benefits of meditation like lowering your resting heart rate, decreasing resting blood pressure and improving sleep quality. Meditation also improves your brain's ability to focus and process information by increasing cortical thickness, reduces stress by lowering cortisol levels and increasing dopamine and serotonin levels. Meditation has also been shown to improve cognitive function by increasing gray matter in the brain. It actually increases your whole brain power by synchronizing the right & left sides of the brain. It's been used for years by mental health professionals to help treat anxiety, depression, PTSD and CPTSD. The link between the mind, body and breath is grossly overlooked by many of us.

Millions of people practice meditation as part of their religion, and others use it as an effective stress management tool or as part of a mental or physical health therapy program (meditation is particularly effective in treating PTSD or CPTSD). The best thing about it is that Meditation is not exclusive to any race, religion, culture or creed.

It can just be about breathing. 

Come breathe with us.

Yoga and meditation go together like peanut butter and jelly. Yoga is like the peanut butter, the strength of the body, nourishing your muscles and giving you that strong body foundation. Meditation is like the jelly, the sweetness of a calm, peaceful mind and regulated nervous system that makes the peanut butter that much more powerful. Putting the two practices of physical movement and breathwork/meditation together is the most effective approach to an overall healthy well-being. 

Yoga doesn't have to be intimidating

After meditating for about a year and successfully getting my mind under control, I knew it was time to get my body stronger. I had lost weight by eating better and drinking less, but my body was starting to crave exercise. I wanted to move. I tried doing some cross-fit and Pilates type workout videos at home. That was nice, but I was inconsistent with it at best. It's really easy for me to get distracted doing a home work out or quit half way through because there is no one there to stop me from quitting (and of course the kids, dog and partner that always need my attention too). So I decided I needed to sign up for a gym or exercise class. The thought of a regular gym made me want to gag, so I went online and started searching for other forms of exercise or fitness classes near me. I really liked breathing and stretching (which I admit was all I thought yoga was at that time) and it didn't sound too intense, it sounded like a nice way to start dipping my toe in the group workout class pool. I found a local yoga studio online that looked cool and I signed up for a Beginner's Yoga Class on a random Thursday night. The studio was clean and welcoming, a friendly smile was waiting for me at the door and I felt instantly more comfortable (and a little silly for feeling so anxious on the drive over). The teacher was a wonderful human being who approached the class in a very down to earth and simple, yet beautiful way. She expertly guided us as we all collectively moved, breathed and easily flowed from each pose, even thought almost none of us in the room that night knew what we were doing. We just trusted her and she took us where we all individually needed to go. It was magical. After the class, I was super surprised at what a good workout I just had. It was "easy" yet my body felt like I had just completed a CrossFit workout. My mind was calm and my body felt so good. 

I WAS HOOKED. 

I started finding any and every excuse to sneak in a few minutes of yoga, any chance I got. Notice a parallel here? What meditation did to my mind, yoga did for my body. I lost more weight yes, but I gained lean muscle. I was STRONG. I could do things I never thought I could. It was incredible. The combination of meditative breathing and moving the body at the same time makes for an unstoppable combination. I honestly have to credit each one of the teachers at Black Sheep Yoga Studio in Oceanside. They all taught me so much, not just about the physical poses, but about life itself. The lessons we learn on the mat truly do translate to our day to day lives. I am truly grateful for finding some incredibly special people that helped me really blossom into who I am today during my (at times) very difficult journey. 

Health Benefits of 

Yoga: 

By now, most people know that yoga is good for us. Over the past 20 years, yoga has exploded across the western world and United States. The variety of health benefits we receive by regularly moving, stretching and working our muscles is widely understood. But what is still missing from the general public's eye is how yoga truly empowers you. Each person's yoga practice is unique and specific to them and their physical body. By getting out of your head and into your body on a consistent basis, you really connect on the deepest level to your truest self. Daily yoga empowers you to let your true self out more often and the benefit of THAT, is what yoga is all about. Rory Freedman said 

"all kidding aside, if everyone did yoga, we would have world peace"

Letting our true selves out to play is what gives us peace, and you can't spread peace if you don't have it inside you already. You can cultivate that peace within, to spread worldwide, by taking care of your mind AND body with yoga + meditation.

Playing is productive.

Come play with us.

 The first time I heard the yoga teacher say we were going to have a "soundbath" after class, I immediately thought:

"what weird hippie thing is this that I unwittingly signed up for?!?"  

I started scanning the room to see how I could swiftly make my exit and avoid drowning in some weird hippie bath. But I was locked in, yoga mats on all sides of me and a teacher staring at me expectantly. So I obliged and laid down on my mat next to the other unsuspecting victims with the studio provided pillow and blanket. 

What followed changed my life, yet again.

The teacher sat down and took a small stick looking thing in her hand and started gently tapping on a variety of large and small crystal bowls. The sound was soft and soothing and I immediately relaxed. Over the next few minutes the sound waves from the crystal bowls lifted me up and carried me on a blissful journey of deep relaxation. It was incredible. I had never heard or seen of this type of thing but it was very interesting to me. How could it possibly be that sound vibrations from some bowls felt like they were relaxing my bones? I had to know more. I did what I always do when my curiosity is peaked, I consulted Google. There was a lot of weird stuff to wade through and my research took me to far corners of the internet, but what I learned was quite fascinating. Science did actually back up the teacher's claim that sound frequencies and vibrations are a deep healing tool. It really does make sense, our bodies are made up of 55-60% water as full grown adults. Ever seen a stone skip across water and notice the ripples? Sound waves and frequencies are similar to that when they hit water. I wanted to determine if it was just certain sounds, so I signed up for a Soundbath at a local yoga studio that advertised a wide variety of sound healing instruments being used from crystal bowls to drums and gongs and even a digeridoo! My curiosity was definitely peaked at the mention of the traditional Australian instrument and I went in with high expectations. The event did not disappoint. Each instrument was used in an intentional way and it all went together beautifully. I never felt anything so amazing, at one point I literally felt my soul leave my physical body. It felt like I was flying around the universe. No drugs, no alcohol, no pills. Stone cold sober and I was flying through the universe.

I WAS HOOKED. 

It felt like the icing on the fitness cake. I finally felt like my wellness routine was complete. I could successfully keep my mind calm, my body strong and my soul's vibration high no matter what life threw at me. And shortly after, life tested that theory by throwing A LOT at me. While I had started taking better care of myself and managing my stress better, my job was still very stressful and like everyone else, the 2020 pandemic threw me and my family for a serious loop. There were points during that first year of the pandemic that I really wasn't sure if my family was going to make it. I stayed dedicated to my meditation practice and did yoga as much as I could without a studio to escape to. I kept listening to sound healing frequencies in my meditations and worked with a therapist. It was remarkable how quickly I was able to pull myself back to a healthy state of mind and body after all the trauma of the past couple of years and I credit it 100% to my practices.

Health Benefits of 

Sound:

Our brains synchronize to sound frequencies and certain sound frequencies cause positive physiological reactions such as the release of nitric oxide, a chemical in your brain that decreases inflammation in the body (caused by stress) by expanding blood vessels and increasing blood flow. This helps you relax, regulate your mood, improve your blood pressure and even relieve some forms of chronic pain that are caused by inflammation. Sound healing frequencies are frequently used to treat chronic mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD and CPTSD. Autism and Epilepsy are often treated with sound healing frequencies and even some types of cancer. 

"If you want to find the secrets to the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." Nikola Tesla

If you are seeking a total health and well being routine, I urge you to add in the simple practices of meditative breathing, physical exercise and sound vibrations.

A better world starts with a better YOU. 

Come heal with us.