Ever have someone tell you to slow and and BREATHE? If you can’t say yes to that, I would wonder if you weren’t listening or maybe you aren’t of this earth. Breathing is autonomic– meaning that your body does it automatically. However automatic doesn’t mean do it haphazardly. Breathing is best done with thought to teach the body to slow down the process and “live in the now”. The body wants you to “check-in” and see what’s going on. By breathing you are paying attention and slowing down the body responses
Let’s put it another way. My guest on this podcast and in this interview is a well-respected author, a clinical psychologist who treks back and forth across the US teaching people how to breathe and solve many of their personal, working and health issues by improving the way they breathe. Her latest book is about BREATHING!
Dr. Belisa Vranich is a clinical psychologist in New York City. A frequent guest on CNN and Fox television, she has presented throughout the US on topics related to health and wellness. Dr. Belisa is an advisor for Shape Magazine, and she is the Wellness Coach and Breathing instructor at Willspace boutique gym in Manhattan, NY.
ABOUT BREATHING & BASIC CLASS
The Breathing Class is active meditation.
In addition to being a spiritual practice, it has physical and psychological benefits.
The Breathing Class with alleviate stress, anxiety, help with concentration and sleep.
Breathing exercises are good for your lungs, oxygen intake and lowering blood pressure.
The Breathing Class combines psychotherapy and relaxation techniques.
DOES ONE – OR SEVERAL—OF THESE SOUND FAMILIAR?
I just want to take a really deep breath.
I feel can’t get enough air – there is a tightness in my chest.
I want to learn to be in the now.
There are moments I have to hold back tears.
I feel constantly overwhelmed.
I feel stuck.
I can’t slow down; it’s so hard to sit still though I’m tired.
I want to learn to be “in my body.”
Here is the phone interview I did with Dr. Belisa! Please pull up a chair and listen to this. While it’s a bit on the longer side at just over 30 minutes, Dr. Belisa shares a lot of tips and tricks about how deep breathing, guided breathing will help improve your sleep, health, relationships, work and more!
THE BREATHING CLASS IS ACTIVE MEDITATION.
Active meditation is dynamic. It requires forceful breathing and determination. Though you are sitting or lying down, requires that you push yourself just like you do at the gym. The rule in active meditation is that you get out of it as much as you put in.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT THAN “REGULAR” MEDITATION?
In more standard meditation you try to clear your mind of any thoughts and be as still as possible. In active meditation you focus actively, just like you would in a sport, pushing yourself to breathe in a very dynamic way.
Sample flyer for a BREATHING Class!
THE BREATHING CLASS HAS PHYSICAL BENEFITS.
The breathing class is a lung workout. It exercises your diaphragm, intercostals muscles and if practiced regularly can positively affect your lung capacity and velocity (the two factors considered when looking at “lung age”). Increased blood flow to the brain and body have significant physical impact on your wellbeing. Moving more oxygen through your brain and body has a host of health benefits.
THE BREATHING CLASS PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS.
Active meditation has psychological benefits that are a great addition to therapy. Because of the increased oxygen flow and intense relaxation that automatically happens to your body afterwards, active meditation helps you “let go” of feelings of anger and sadness – feel “unstuck” mentally. If you challenge yourself to let go (just like you might with a chiropractor or sports massage therapist who is trying to do go “deeper) and ask yourself hard personal questions during the practice, prioritizing, clarity and strength are things you will get in exchange.
Active meditation has many of the benefits of hypnosis or a sweat lodge. The beauty of it is that the instructions and steps are simple and straightforward. You have no preparation to do, no homework afterward.
After class, you can expect to feel “lighter,” and have clarity of thought. You will feel more relaxed and free of stress.
ACTIVE MEDITATION AND BREATHING IS AN EXCELLENT ADDITION TO TALK THERAPY, YOGA OR PRAYER.
The breathing done in active meditation is a spiritual lifestyle practice that is not religious. While sessions might include vocabulary such as “energy,” “body-mind” connection or “light,” it does not require understanding or belief in anything other than the possibility to heal and relieve stress through meditation.
THIS CLASS IF FOR YOU IF:
1. You sense that you are not breathing well and would like to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.
2. You feel fatigued and are looking for a natural way to energize yourself.
3. You lack focus, have problems with memory or concentration.
4. You are experiencing pain of any type (from fibromyalgia to back pain) and would like to take less pain medication and feel relief.
5. You are looking to stay young, rejuvenate, stay healthy, and stave off the oxidative stress of every day life.
6. You want to feel more centered, more balanced
7. You suffer from symptoms of anxiety or depression.
8. You are an athlete and want shorter recovery times between workouts or competitions.
9. You lead a stressful life and are concerned about the affect of constant stress on your brain and body.
10. You have trouble sleeping—you can’t turn your brain of or experience “chatter” that won’t stop.
11. You’d like to be able to meditate, but have failed miserably in the past.
12. You feel as if you can’t get enough air, can’t take a deep breath, as if your breath gets “stuck” in your chest.
13. You find you occasionally hold your breath (e.g., email apnea).
14. You have GI problems, like irritable bowel, constipation or acid reflux.
15. You worry constantly, experience anxiety and feel overwhelmed by your stress.
16. You have problems with short-term memory, usually with things you know that you know.
17. You have plateaued with dieting, especially when it comes to belly fat.
18. You suffered a trauma in your past that is causing you emotional pain, and you’d like to achieve closure.
WHAT TO EXPECT
A short lecture on anatomy, psychology and spirituality, followed by the active meditation breathing practice, and time to ask questions afterwards. No need to bring anything with you, yoga mats, blankets and towels provided. Wear comfortable clothes. Try not to eat a large meal beforehand. Please do not wear heavy perfume or cologne.
Please remove your shoes when you arrive and use a quiet voice since there are other practitioners working in nearby offices.
Your registration is transferable to someone else on the same day, but not to another day. You may request discounts for groups or several class packs. Scholarships for those under financial duress available.
It is essential that you arrive on time. If you have an emergency please text 646-250-6390 before class starts.
Dr. Belisa is always available through phone and email for any concerns that might arise between sessions related to the meditation, stress, mental health or any psychological/emotional wellbeing.
Who Is Dr. Belisa?
Belisa Vranich, PsyD, is a renowned clinical psychologist, author, and public speaker. She is a regular guest on national television including CNN, Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Inside Edition and VH1.
Author of five books, the most recent being Breathe: 14 days to oxygenating, recharging, and fueling your body & brain, she is currently an advisor for Shape magazine, the relationship expert for Men’s Health, a blogger at Huffington Post, and the Wellness Coach and Breathing Instructor at boutique gym Willspace in the West Village in Manhattan, NYC. Previously the health and sex editor at Men’s Fitness magazine, and former advice columnist for the New York Daily News, Foxnews.com, and Spin magazine, Dr. Vranich has served as an advisor for the Fitness Institute for Gold’s Gym.
ace, Alisyn Camerota. Dr. Oz has recognized her as one of the top doctors in her field, in the US.
Dr. Belisa is a founder of The Breathing Class and teaches and lectures nationwide on topics related to dysfunctional breathing patterns and stress. Unique in its straightforward approach, The Breathing Class addresses both physical and psychological problems related to better oxygenation by teaching people to breath in an anatomically congruous way that maximizes balanced inhales and exhales. Dr. Belisa has taught workshops on breathwork, catering her lectures to a wide audience, from Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck NY, to staff and clinicians at the San Diego Marine Base. She regularly works with corporations and hospitals throughout the US. The Breathing Class has been reviewed by several magazines including Details Magazine, W Magazine, The New York Observer, and Du Jour Magazine.
Dr. Vranich received her doctorate degree in Psychology from New York University and completed an internship at Bellevue Hospital with specialization in neuropsychology, psychiatric consultation and liaison, and bilingual treatment.
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The content on this page!
Most of the content on this page is from Dr. Belisa’s Breathing Class website. It’s important you know where it came from. I could have block-quoted it but it would have been most of the page. Why use it? Why not when her verbiage is more accurate and concise.
What’s really interesting is that when I was talking to Dr. Belisa, it seemed that the interview was less interview and more discussion between Dr. Belisa and I! I was so engrossed in the content but also the breathing exercises made me relax so fast that I was “in the zone” while talking to her. I was “in the moment” with her and just listening to her made me relax even more– despite (or because of) my ongoing conversation with her. Deep breathing is what I know how to do, I just don’t apply it to everyday life– or didn’t until she reminded me that I was missing something. That “something” was that I could release the stress, tension, worry and frazzled part of me (along with the negative effects it was having on my mind, body and spirit) with just the act of simple breathing.
It is truly a potent force and one that I am going to work with — and have been working with every night since I talked to her on the phone. Definitely something I want– and need- to do every day.
How about you? Would you like to have a less stress-ful existence? Be able more at ease, relaxed and able to let go of tension and stress? Why not take a class? As Dr. Belisa states, one class might be just the fix that you need! Buy her book and find out some of the tricks first and see how that resonates with you.
Find Dr. Belisa on these social media platforms (each link will open up to HER page)
Buy BREATHE the book – Amazon.com
Download Audio file on iTunes.com
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
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Breath is as magical as it sounds. It is the cure for many ills. This is a great class for anyone to take.
I will be taking it. I need that boost to get my meditation skills up to par. 🙂
Oh let us know how the class goes, Stevie! Meditation is something I’m hoping to try this summer, and I’m sure this would help out a lot!