I can’t stay focused.

Why did I do that? What did that person just say? Where are my keys? What was on the page I just read? These jumping thoughts are signs of ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, that I was diagnosed with as a child.  I had an innate inability to slow down. My mind would race; therefore, I’d breathe more rapidly, causing my mind to race more, a vicious cycle.  The style and pattern of breath changes your biochemistry.  Hyperventilation causes an increase in the stress hormone cortisol.  How you breathe affects the way you feel, and how you feel affects the way you breathe.  

As a martial artist in my twenties, I began to read up on breathwork, never thinking the venture could do more than propel me athletically.  I came across Dr. Belisa Vranich, a psychologist who has dedicated her life to understanding and improving how modern human beings breathe.

“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This quote sums up Dr. Belisa’s driving force in life.  I began doing exercises from Dr. Belisa’s program and continued reading her books/articles.  I slowly but surely began breathing in correct form, taking full diaphragmatic breaths.  My life improved drastically; I felt happier, healthier, and calmer.  I could barely contain my excitement; I wanted to tell everyone how easy it is to improve your life.  I continued reading hours and hours of literature and studies about the breath; these hours flew by.  I thought, “My ADHD has made it nearly impossible for me to read volumes of any literature. I guess all it took was to read something that interests me.”

Nine out of ten people fail to use their diaphragm when they breathe; this causes a shallow breath that does not reach the lower part of the lungs, where O2 can enter the bloodstream.  These shallow breaths are responsible for causing many problems such as increased heart rate, cortisol levels, impulsiveness, and lack of focus, many of the same symptoms as ADHD. This left me with the question; can I read all this literature for hours and hours despite my learning disability because of my intrigue?  Perhaps the very literature that has piqued my interest has given me the tools and knowledge through proper breathing to overcome my inability to slow down, breathe, and smell the roses.