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Back to Breathing

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Back to Breathing

"Welcome to Back to Breathing! Through breathwork, mindset practices, gentle movement, and nutrition. I knew I needed change.

A page dedicated to sharing holistic tools and techniques that improved my lung health, managing COPD, boosting lung capacity and overall well-being. 🌱 A Journey of Healing & Discovery

My path hasn’t always been easy. In my early 40s, I faced serious health challenges with COPD, sciatica and cervicalgia, that pushed me to the edge and made me question the fast-paced life I was living. So I made a

courageous choice: I stepped away from my demanding schedule as a chef and began exploring a more holistic, nourishing way of living. Through study, self-care, and personal exploration, I discovered the healing power of breathwork, nutrition, and mindful living. These practices transformed my health and gave me back my life. Now, I share what I’ve learned in the hope that it can inspire and support others on their own journey back to breathing, back to health, and back to life. 💚

27/05/2026

Beyond the Diagnosis

I think one of the biggest problems with the way COPD is often spoken about is that many people are left feeling hopeless, frightened and simply waiting to decline.

But while COPD may be classified as progressive and incurable medically, meaning the medical field currently has no pill or direct cure for it, that does not automatically mean there is no room for improvement, awareness, support or a better quality of life ❤️

People can still:
improve quality of life,
breathe better,
reduce flare ups,
become more self-aware,
support the body more broadly,
sometimes stabilise significantly,
and not necessarily feel condemned to immediate hopeless decline.

So, my question for you all today is this 😊

What do you personally do to help improve or support your breathing that is not medication related?

Breathing exercises?
Nutrition?
Movement?
Meditation?
Reducing stress?
Better sleep?
Fresh air?
Mullein or herbal teas?
Self-awareness and lifestyle changes?

I think it would be lovely and encouraging for people to share ideas, experiences and the things they personally feel have genuinely helped them on their breathing journey ❤️

Let’s get Back to Breathing

26/05/2026

Consistency 🌿

After reading through all your answers on my last post, one word kept appearing over and over again: consistency.

And honestly, I think this is something many people struggle with, not only with COPD, but in life in general. Most people already know what they “should” be doing such as breathing exercises, better nutrition, movement, stress reduction, improving sleep or taking better care of themselves overall. The difficult part is not usually knowing what to do, but how to do it consistently.

Life gets in the way. Stress, fatigue, habits, overwhelm, emotions, fear, lack of motivation and discouragement can all slowly pull people back into old patterns and routines. Sometimes people also try to change everything at once, which quickly becomes exhausting and unsustainable.

This is why I personally believe self-awareness is such an important starting point. The more aware we become of our habits, triggers, behaviours and daily choices, the more chance we have of slowly changing them.

On my retreats, consistency becomes part of daily life because people are removed from many of the distractions, habits and pressures of normal everyday living. They begin learning to slow down, become more self-aware and understand that they themselves have to become a priority too.

Every day they practice breathing exercises, meditation, gentle movement, stress reduction and rest. They eat the nutritious foods provided, learn more about inflammation and begin understanding how the body responds when it is consistently supported rather than constantly overwhelmed.

And this is often where people begin noticing that the body responds very differently when it is supported consistently rather than just occasionally.

I also think consistency becomes easier when we stop seeing these things as punishment and start seeing them as acts of self-care, self-awareness and self-respect ❤️

Let´s get Back to Breathing

21/05/2026

A question for you all today 😊

When you really stop and think about your own health and breathing journey, what do you personally feel may be missing most from the bigger picture?

More rest?
Less stress?
Better nutrition?
Movement?
Self-awareness?
Consistency?
Learning to slow down?
Understanding your body better?
Or perhaps finally putting all the pieces together instead of focusing on one symptom alone?

I truly believe the body works as one connected system and sometimes the biggest changes begin when we start looking more broadly at how we are living, breathing and supporting ourselves from day to day ❤️

19/05/2026

Missing The Bigger Picture

One thing I have noticed over and over again is that many people are still searching for “the one thing” that will improve their breathing. One food, one supplement, one medication, one breathing exercise or one treatment, while often continuing chronic stress, poor sleep, smoking, processed foods, inflammation, emotional overload, lack of movement, poor breathing habits, negative mindset and very little self-awareness around what the body may already be struggling with every single day.

Then people wonder why nothing truly changes.

And this is exactly why I always say the body has to be looked at more broadly and not just through one symptom alone because the body works as a whole system, not in separate parts. Breathing is connected to stress, stress affects inflammation, inflammation affects the body, the body affects energy, energy affects movement and movement affects breathing. Everything connects.

This is also why the 6 elements should work together and not separately: Mindset & Self-Awareness, Breathing, Nutrition, Stress Reduction, Movement and Rest.

Sometimes the biggest shift does not come from constantly adding more things to the body, but from becoming more aware of what may already be working against it day in day out.

So maybe the real question is not only “What can I add to help myself?” but also “What part of the bigger picture might I still be overlooking?” 😊

17/05/2026

Why?

When I first started my journey of self-healing 6 years ago, I was 56 years old with 22% lung capacity, sick and hopeless.

I kept asking myself…

Why do I have high blood pressure?
Why do I have sciatica?
Why can’t I breathe properly?
Why do I have GERD?
Why am I constantly bloated?
Why do I have sleep apnoea?
Why do I have piles?
Why do I keep fainting and falling?
Why do I have itchy skin rash?

So many “why’s”.

But for every “why”, there was a reason.

For one whole year I dedicated myself to learning the “why’s” and finding the “solutions” to those “why’s”.

I studied, took courses and travelled across the world for training. Every course and every training I took related in some way to the health issues I was living with, trying to understand the root causes behind them all.

What I slowly began to realise was that none of these issues were truly separate from one another. They were all connected to the lifestyle I had been living for many years, and every single one of them was reflecting back onto my lungs and my breathing.

I learnt that the body has its own powerful ability to begin healing and repairing when we start supporting it more holistically through the right environment, awareness, nourishment, movement, rest and lifestyle changes.

And today, 6 years later, I still live with COPD, but today my lung capacity has improved from 22% to 61%, my breathing is far better than it was 6 years ago and I no longer live with any of those “why’s”.

That was the beginning of my Back to Breathing journey.

And that is why I will always believe the body is capable of far more than most people realise when we begin supporting it properly and addressing the root causes instead of only managing symptoms.

In life we always have a choice.

I chose to breathe 🌿

Let´s get Back to Breathing

16/05/2026

Understanding CO2 Retention In COPD

A lot of people with COPD hear the words “CO2 retention” but don’t fully understand what it actually means, why it happens, or why it can make them feel so unwell.

So, let’s break it down a bit.

We breathe in oxygen, but we also need to breathe OUT carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a waste gas produced naturally by the body. Normally the lungs remove this CO2 through breathing.

However, with COPD and other lung conditions, the lungs may struggle to fully empty the air properly. Breathing can become shallow, restricted, fast or trapped in the lungs, causing stale air and excess CO2 to build up over time. This is what is known as CO2 retention.

Some people may experience symptoms such as increased breathlessness, fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, dizziness, anxiety, chest tightness, brain fog, confusion or feeling sleepy during the day.

There can be many things contributing to CO2 retention and breathing difficulties.

Breathing patterns play a huge part. Many people unknowingly begin breathing faster, shallower and more through the upper chest over time, especially during stress and anxiety. Mouth breathing, poor posture, lack of movement, weakened breathing muscles and air trapping can all contribute as well.

Food can also play a much bigger part than many people realise. High refined carbohydrates, processed foods, foods that increase inflammation or bloating, and eating in ways that place more pressure on the digestive system can all affect the breathing and the amount of pressure already being placed on the body.

Stress and anxiety are another big factor because when the body constantly stays in a tense, reactive or panic state, the breathing patterns often become even more inefficient and exhausting.

Certain medications can also affect CO2 levels in some people. Some drugs may affect the respiratory control centre in the brain and slow the breathing down, while others can affect the body’s acid-base balance and contribute to CO2 retention indirectly. Sedatives, opioids and medications that suppress breathing are well known for potentially causing respiratory depression and CO2 build-up. Certain medications such as corticosteroids and diuretics may also influence the body’s balance in ways that can contribute to increased CO2 retention in some people.
This is why I always say the body has to be looked at more broadly and not just through one symptom alone.

Most people naturally focus only on the lungs because the breathing is what they feel the most but often do not realise how much the rest of the body and lifestyle can also affect the breathing over time.

Stress, anxiety, poor sleep, inflammation, food choices, lack of movement, posture, breathing habits, smoking, medications, emotional pressure and daily lifestyle patterns can all place additional pressure on the body and lungs without people fully realising it.

The lungs are not working separately from the rest of the body. Everything connects, which is why becoming more self-aware and looking at the body more holistically becomes so important 😊

So how can we start helping support the body to help reduce CO2 retention?

When I first started my own Back to Breathing journey 6 years ago, I began realising that it wasn’t just my lungs affecting my breathing. Stress, inflammation, food, lifestyle habits, anxiety, poor breathing patterns and the overall pressure being placed on my body were all contributing as well.

The more self-aware I became, the more I started reconnecting the dots between the body, the mind and the breathing.

By becoming more self-aware of how we breathe during the day, slowing the breathing down gently, improving posture, reducing mouth breathing where possible, reducing stress and anxiety, supporting the body through better nutrition, gentle movement, better rest and learning how to calm the body instead of constantly staying in stress mode.
The goal is not to force the breathing, but to help support the body in ways that may allow the breathing to become calmer, more efficient and less exhausting over time.

Although all 6 elements should be worked on together, it is crucial to first begin understanding mindset and self-awareness, because once you start becoming more aware of your body, habits, emotions, breathing and daily patterns, the other 5 elements often become much easier to work on 😊

Let´s get Back to Breathing

14/05/2026

What Is Self-Awareness… And Why Does It Matter?

After reading through all of your comments from yesterday’s post, one thing became very clear to me and that is a lot of you are not just struggling physically, you are feeling lost.

Many people spoke about feeling stuck, overwhelmed and unmotivated, not knowing where to start anymore, lacking support, procrastinating, feeling fearful and stressed, and feeling trapped in the same cycle day after day.

And honestly, I think this is where self-awareness becomes so important.

But then some people may ask…
“What actually is self-awareness?”
“How do I do that?”
“What should it look like?”

Self-awareness is simply learning to become more aware of yourself, your body, your habits, your emotions, your breathing and your daily patterns instead of living constantly on autopilot.

It’s learning to stop and notice.

What foods make you feel worse?
When does your breathing become more difficult?
What situations trigger stress or anxiety?
How are you breathing during the day?
How do you feel after eating?
After walking?
After poor sleep?
After rushing around?
After certain foods, environments, medications or situations?

And one thing I highly recommend is writing things down.

When you notice something, write it down....
How did you feel?
What were you doing beforehand?
What did you eat?
How was your breathing?
How stressed were you?

Over time, patterns often start appearing that people never noticed before.

Even tomorrow morning when you wake up, before getting out of bed, just lay there quietly for a moment with your eyes closed and breathe gently.

Notice your breathing.
Notice how your body feels.
Notice your thoughts.
Notice if your body already feels tense or anxious before the day even begins.

When stress or anxiety starts building during the day, stop for a moment.
Close your eyes.
Breathe gently.
And ask yourself:
Why am I stressed right now?
What is my body reacting to?

If you feel bloated after eating, uncomfortable, tired, or your breathing feels worse afterwards, stop and think about what may have triggered it.

The same applies to movement, exercise, sleep, rest and even those nights when you cannot switch your mind off.

Most people never stop long enough to observe themselves this way. They simply react to symptoms day after day without understanding what may be feeding the cycle underneath.

That’s why awareness is often the first real step towards change.

Because once you begin reconnecting the dots between the body, the mind, the breathing and your daily habits, things often start making much more sense.

That is why combining the 6 elements I created is so important, because health and breathing are not just about one thing alone, everything works together.

Mindset & Self-awareness.
Breathing.
Nutrition.
Stress & Anxiety.
Movement.
Rest.

Although all 6 elements should be worked on together, it is crucial to first begin understanding mindset and self-awareness, because once you start becoming more aware of your body, habits, emotions, breathing and daily patterns, everything else starts making a lot more sense and the other 5 elements often become much easier to work on and so will your breathing😊

Let´s get Back to Breathing

13/05/2026

A genuine question for the group today 😊

What do you feel is the biggest thing stopping you from making changes that may help your breathing or overall health?

And I don’t mean this in a judgemental way at all, because change is not always easy, especially when habits, fear, stress, exhaustion and health issues have been part of life for many years.

But sometimes becoming more aware of what is holding us back is the first step towards changing it.

Is it:
Fear?
Motivation?
Feeling overwhelmed?
Not knowing where to start?
Habit?
Stress?
Lack of support?
Feeling stuck?
Or feeling like nothing will help anyway?

I think this is an important conversation, because many people want improvement, but at the same time struggle to make the changes needed to support the body differently.

Sometimes self-awareness starts with honesty.

No judgement, just open conversation 😊

Let´s get Back to Breathing

09/05/2026

Back to Breathing Retreat

Spain Oct-25 to 31st, 7 days

This isn’t your typical retreat.

When people think of retreats, they often think yoga mats and vegetarian menus. This is not that.

What I’ve created is something much simpler and more real, based on my own experience and working with people who struggle with their breathing, inflammation, fatigue, and the knock-on effect it has on everyday life.

There are no yoga mats required here. Or sitting on the floor.

Instead, we focus on things that actually make a difference in daily life..... becoming more self-aware, understanding mindset, learning to manage anxiety, working gently with the breath to support and strengthen the lungs, and looking at nutrition in a practical way, including simple anti-inflammatory cooking.

There’s also space to rest, slow down, and learn how to properly switch off, which so many people struggle with.

It’s a small, live-in retreat (maximum 7 people), held on the Costa Blanca, Spain in October 2026, designed to be calm, supportive, and at a pace that feels manageable.

• Non-profit retreat • Instalment payments options available

I’ve shared a short overview in the flyer below.

For a full brochure and more info please send DM me, or email getbacktobreathing@gmail.com

09/05/2026

Why Bloating Can Make Breathing Feel Worse

One thing I see a lot in people with COPD and breathing issues is bloating, tightness in the stomach, or feeling uncomfortable after eating, yet very few realise how much this can affect the breathing as well.

The body works as one whole system, not separate parts, so when the digestive system is under pressure, the breathing often feels it too and when the stomach becomes bloated, it pushes upwards against the diaphragm, which is one of the main muscles involved in breathing. So, if there is constant pressure in the abdomen, the lungs don’t feel like they have the same space to expand properly, and breathing can start to feel tighter, heavier, and/or more uncomfortable.

This is why so many people notice that their breathing feels worse after meals, in the evenings, or when they feel full and uncomfortable and again, there is usually more than one thing feeding into it.

Inflammation in the body, stress, poor eating habits, processed foods, eating too quickly, carbonated drinks, mouth breathing, shallow breathing, swallowing air while breathless… over time it all adds up.

Most people just see it as “bloating” or a stomach issue, but very often it’s connected to the breathing as well.

That’s why I always come back to looking at how everything in the body is connected.
How are you eating?
What are you eating?
How fast are you eating?
Are you mouth breathing while eating or when feeling breathless?
How does your body actually feel afterwards?

By analysing all this is where self-awareness starts to come in. Because once you begin noticing your patterns, you start to understand what may be putting the body under more pressure than it needs.

Let´s get Back to Breathing

06/05/2026

Following up from the "Coughing" post from yesterday

I read through the comments from yesterday’s post, and it was really interesting to see how many different things people use to help with coughing. And I do understand that, because when you’re in that moment, you just want something that brings relief. Whether it’s medication, teas, nebulisers, or anything that helps clear the mucus, and it makes sense that people reach for what works for them.

I’ve tried a lot of those things myself over the years. Some of them helped in the moment, but the mucus would come back day after day.

And that’s really the part I was trying to point to.

Most of these things are helping in the moment. They ease the symptoms, help shift the mucus, or make the coughing more manageable. The problem is, if it keeps coming back, if you’re needing to rely on those things on a regular basis, then there is usually something underneath that’s still driving it.

And more often than not, that comes back to inflammation in the body.

If that inflammation is being fed day to day, through what we eat, how we’re living, stress, habits, environment, irritants or even medication side effects, the lungs will continue to react. The mucus builds, the coughing starts, and the cycle carries on.

It was only when I started to look at that, and began to change what was feeding the inflammation, that things began to change and the mucus and phlegm stopped being something I was constantly dealing with.

So, it’s not just about what helps in the moment or what remedies to take when it happens, it’s about starting to look at why it keeps happening in the first place and beginning to address that.

Let´s get Back to Breathing

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