Henry & Henry

08/07/2025

"Take a deep breath..."

What does that mean to you?

Very often, when you ask someone to take a deep breath, the response will be to inhale air forcibly into the mouth and into the upper chest while simultaneously raising the shoulders to make more space. 

People often misconstrue 'deep' for 'big'. It's also a shallow breath.

A true deep breath is a low breath, whereby the inhaled air is able to reach the lower lobes of the lungs. If you like, think of it as you would a deep ocean dive, a dive that results in the diver venturing far below the surface.

A deep breath doesn't have to be big either. It can be small, subtle.

A true deep breath has the power to 

😴 activate our body's relaxation response, promoting calm and reducing stress

🫀 lower our heart rate and blood pressure

🫁 improve oxygenation of our body

👁 enhance our ability to focus

🎢 At a time when so many of us feel that life is a constant rollercoaster, it's worth pausing and taking a deep breath or two. Our mind and our body will thank us for it. 

20/06/2025

According to a new report from the Royal College of Physicians, air pollution in the UK is killing more than 500 people a week, causing harm to almost every organ of the body 😲

Whilst there appears to be a lack of political will to tackle this problem, in our role of breathing coaches, we like to focus on what we and others can do to mitigate the effects of poor air quality.

👃Firstly, ensure breathing is in and out through the nose. This allows the air to be filtered. Whilst it won't completely prevent the inhalation of fine particles, it will act as a partial barrier.

☀️Another benefit of breathing through the nose is that the air is warmed and moistened 💦. This prevents irritation of the airways, often a trigger for an asthma attack in those who suffer this condition🗣.

Lastly, breathing through the nose harnesses nasal nitric oxide, an important gas that is produced locally in the paranasal sinuses. When we breathe this in to our lungs🫁, it opens up the airways and blood vessels, improving oxygenation of our cells and organs.

Give nose breathing a go if you tend to breathe mostly through your mouth 😃. It's how we should be breathing at all times of day and night and it has numerous benefits!

19/06/2025

Correct breathing can be a powerful tool for lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety and enhancing physical, mental and cognitive performance! Yet around 90% of us are not breathing optimally.

My 'Breathing For Performance' coaching program is designed to retrain everyday breathing in order to lower anxiety levels, increase focus and elevate physical performance.

Warning ⚠️ You may experience the following side effects:

- improved digestion
- better sleep
- less breathlessness

More information about my Oxygen Advantage Breathing for Performance program can be found on our website at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace. You will also find new start dates for the 4 x 45 minute session one-to-one program in the Booking Calendar at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/book-online

13/06/2025

Möchten Sie erfahren warum so viele Menschen heutzutage nicht optimal atmen?
Was sind die Merkmale einer gestörten Atmung?
Wie und warum beeinträchtigt eine suboptimale Atmung unseren Schlaf?
Wie hängen Atmung und Stressbewältigung zusammen?
Wie unterscheidet sich die Atmung von Frauen und warum ist das wichtig?

Lernen Sie mit uns in der VHS Spandau.
Juli 20ste und 27ste (Siehe unten)
Wir beantworten all diese und weitere Fragen und zeigen Ihnen vor allem, was Sie dagegen tun können!

~Annette & Graham Henry

https://www.vhsit.berlin.de/VHSKURSE/BusinessPages/CourseDetail.aspx?id=749174

11/06/2025

It seems more and more people are going cold water swimming, or taking ice baths these days 🏊‍♂️🛀

It's an activity that's become popularised by Wim Hof, the benefits of which are purported to be a boosted immune system, improved vagal tone, and increased resilience to stress.

But is it for everyone? 🤔

Our view is that while it may have benefits for some, it doesn't suit everyone. Body immersion is a stressor and thIs puts us into sympathetic drive (fight/freeze/or flight mode). It therefore has the potential not only to worsen feelings of anxiety and panic in those who are already susceptible, but also to cause fatal cardiac arrhythmia in those with heart problems, and especially if the whole body is immersed.

Think carefully before taking the plunge 🥶.

Did you know that we can also increase resilience, reduce stress and anxiety and support our immune system and circulatory health through regularly practising a range of functional breathing techniques? 🧠🫀🫁

Visit our Breathing Space💨 to find out more at: https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace

05/06/2025

Why is it that so many of us are not breathing as well as we could? And it's possible that we're not even aware of it.

Breathing a little too fast, a little too hard and regularly breathing in more air than we require can affect how we feel, how we perform and how we sleep.

With regular practice, we can reset our everyday and night time breathing and our mind and body will thank us for it. We can show you how.

Visit our 'Breathing Space' to find out more! (Link is in the comments)

29/05/2025

As the debate around mouth taping gets louder, it's important to us to state our position on it. We're happy to hear what you think.
By the way, do you recognise this man? BBC viewers just might! 🐉

Any avid viewer of the BBC programme Dragon's Den¹, will almost certainly recognise the ‘dragon’, Peter Jones, in the photo, despite the blue rim to his mouth. A super keen viewer may wonder how they managed to miss this episode. In fact, it never made it to our screens.²Peter Jones is wearing...

26/05/2025

Too lovely not share: 💚


"Kneel beside a nettle patch. Not to harvest, though you might, later. Not to study or identify. To spend time. To be a good neighbour.

This is how presence begins — not with purpose, but with proximity.

The nettle doesn't need your analysis or your Latin names.

It requires your attention, the kind that arrives empty-handed and stays put.

Come most mornings for months.

Long enough to notice how the patch responds to rainfall and changing light. Long enough to see which insects visit when.

To witness the whole community of beings that call this small patch of ground home.

What emerges from this practice isn't knowledge about nettles — it's conversation with them.

You begin to recognise how their leaves catch morning dew, how they lean toward gaps in the canopy, and the soft percussion of rain on their serrated edges.

You notice the red admiral butterflies that depend on this patch for their children and the aphids that cluster on tender stems. The ground beetles hunt in the soil below.

This is ecological literacy written in flesh and chlorophyll rather than textbooks.

The nettle becomes a portal into the intricate relationships that sustain all life — including yours.

Through months of quiet attendance, you discover that the plant is never separate from its community, never isolated from the weather patterns and seasonal rhythms that shape its growth.

The world teaches everything you need to know, but only to those willing to sit still long enough to listen.

This isn't passive observation — it's active participation in the conversation that surrounds us always.

The nettle patch becomes a teacher not because it holds secrets but because it reveals the obvious truth we've forgotten: we are part of this community, too.

To know a place this intimately changes how you move through all areas.

You begin to see every verge, every crack in the pavement, every overlooked corner as home to someone.

The practice spreads."

~ Robin Harford (British forager)

25/05/2025

Nitric oxide is a relatively recent discovery in the context of human health. Do you eat leafy greens and breathe through your nose?

20/05/2025

Do you get hay-fever around this time of year? If you do, more of these might help 😋 🍊🍋🍎🍓🫐🥝🍅🥦🥬🧄🧅
And if you're still consuming 🥛🍦🧈🧀, it's definitely worth trying to live without it. If it worsens hay-fever or even makes the difference between getting it or not, then how else might it be challenging your body? I strongly suspect that giving up dairy was one the biggest factors for me in overcoming endometriosis. Do consider it, there is life beyond cheese 😄

~Annette Henry

18/05/2025

Following a conversation at yesterday's IamExpat Fair, the issue of breathing in respect of MS was raised. I referenced our podcast interview for Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis in which we talked about plant-based nutrition and breathing. I hope this is useful 🙏
~Annette Henry

Listen to S5E10: Eating and Breathing for Optimum Health with Graham and Annette Henry