“Mommy, my stomach hurts!”
This was a common phrase in my home growing up. I had CONSTANT really painful stomach aches. The kind that sends parents to the pediatrician, begging them to figure out what’s wrong with their child.
The problem was that they didn’t know. They ruled out food allergies, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly why I was suffering so often with belly issues. It wasn’t until I was well into my 20’s that we figured it out: I had been living with high-functioning anxiety for pretty much my entire life! It was around that time that I also started developing a series of nervous tics. I compulsively counted on my fingers. I would grind my teeth so bad I ended up needing a night guard. I was also having catastrophic thoughts. All. The. Time. I was hypervigilant. My energy levels were pretty much rock bottom.
My mind and my body were basically in constant high-stress mode and all of these symptoms were its way of trying to get my attention — I just had no clue that they were manifestations of stress and anxiety. Since I didn’t know what they were symptoms of, I didn’t listen to my body when it was telling me to slow down and go inward.
When I started therapy, that’s when a name was put to all the things I was experiencing. But, even then, I was in the midst of depression and was using my feelings of being a victim as a way to explain things away. So, nothing really got better.
Enter: breathwork. I came across someone who was teaching a breathwork class and even though I had zero clue what it was, how it works, or if it would help, I decided to give it a shot. That turned out to be the best decision I ever made! During the class, we focused on active breathing for 30 minutes. My body responded in ways I didn’t expect. Not only did my hands cramp up — I started crying! It was so strange to me because I’d never had that kind of reaction before. But it was just the kind of release that I needed. In what felt like an instant of clarity, everything looked and felt different to me. The world felt brighter and lighter. I felt more alive than I’d felt in what seemed like forever. Most importantly, I was filled with a sense of empowerment that hasn’t left me since. From that moment on, I knew that breathwork was going to save my life. Which is why I’m so passionate about introducing it to as many people as possible who live with anxiety. I know firsthand how powerful and transformative it is. Last year I created Breathwork for Anxiety to be an accessible way for people to experience the life-changing impact of breathwork and learn how to use it in their everyday life. It’s be
en something that has helped so many people stop feeling like a victim to their anxiety and start reclaiming their calm. Ready to reclaim your peace and calm? Click here to get started on your breathwork journey.
xo, Ana