The Wellbeing Space Macclesfield

10/09/2025

03/09/2025

🌍 International Day of Peace 🌍

On Sunday 21 September 2025, join Dr Richard Brown, Dr Pat Gerbarg, and Breath-Body-Mind teachers across the globe for Breathe for Peace, a free online event bringing people together through the power of the breath.

🕔 Time: 12–1pm ET | 5–6pm UK
🌐 Simultaneous translation in multiple languages
💻 Free and open to all

The Breath-Body-Mind Foundation shares evidence-based, breath-centred practices that help relieve stress and trauma for children and adults worldwide.

👉 Pre-register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/omBq1S2CT_6EaW0aaXiZqg #/registration

27/08/2025

Her Space Events happening at The Wellbeing Space…

We know times are challenging right now, and that’s exactly why HerSpace exists — to make life a little lighter, more joyful, and more connected. Yes, we have costs to cover to keep things running, but at our heart we are a women’s community built to boost wellbeing, spark friendships, and bring fun back into your week.

Word of mouth from our wonderful members has been our biggest referral route (thank you!), and it’s been amazing to see HerSpace recognised across Cheshire as a place where women truly belong.

To make it as easy as possible to give us a try, we’re offering your first month for just £5 (50% off!) For that, you’ll get:
✨ A ready-made social life — we plan the events so you don’t have to.
✨ Unique, fun activities researched and organised for you.
✨ A welcoming, private community where you can meet and connect with like-minded local women.

Whether you’re new to the area, want to try something different, or are rebuilding your confidence after a tough time, HerSpace is here for you.

Take a look at what we offer in your local town (Congleton, Macclesfield, Wilmslow and Northwich) at 👉 www.herspaces.co.uk

12/08/2025

Most backbends raise sympathetic activity because there are sympathetic fibres along the spine that are activated through pressure. Also, when we are engaged in deeper backbends and really open the chest, the shape of the thoracic region applies pressure to the lungs, making it harder to breathe. Both increase heart rate and elevate the nervous system. There is nothing wrong with this, but bridge pose is a special exception, and here’s why:

1. Baroreceptor reflex
At the side of the neck is a small widening of the carotid artery called the carotid sinus. Inside are receptors that pick up changes in pressure called baroreceptors. If pressure rises beyond what is optimal, and the mechanism is working properly (something that does not occur in hypertension), they send signals to the brainstem. In bridge, if we have the flexibility to push the chest into the chin, we put pressure on the carotid sinus, increasing blood pressure, which then triggers this reflex. The brain sends signals to the heart to reduce heart rate and blood pressure.

2. Post-exercise hypotension
Holding bridge works the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. This requires a lot of ATP. When ATP is broken down for energy, byproducts of this process build up, and the brain senses this build-up as a need for a high demand of energy. This causes a further rise in blood pressure and heart rate, needed for the rapid delivery of oxygen to cells to make ATP. When the pose is released, the body reflexively widens the blood vessels in those muscles, and this causes blood pressure to drop, a process called post-exercise hypotension. This triggers a parasympathetic state.

3. Breathing shift
In bridge we often clasp our hands behind our back. Usually, backbends cause chesty breathing, and in turn sympathetic arousal. This action, however, stabilises the muscles supporting chesty breathing so they can't lift the ribcage, and we revert to diaphragmatic breathing, which supports a parasympathetic response.

All of these mechanisms can occur in other poses, but only bridge brings them together, allowing a deep lowering of blood pressure when we come down, making it a unique backbend, one that can even support sleep. This is just a glimpse into the science behind bridge pose. Read the full article at: https://themindedinstitute.com/bridge-pose-the-backbend-that-can-lower-blood-pressure/ for more on how posture shifts breathing and the nervous system.

08/08/2025

05/08/2025

Find your space…..

26/07/2025

A personal message from Andy at Return To Roots

The Story behind the 150th inhale & exhale

Tonight, the Return To Roots community celebrated our 150th free online circle. For anyone reading this who has never been (yet), the Friday circle is a 60 minute online (zoom room) where I facilitate a breathwork journey, to sound, guidance and a little integration.

For those who attend regularly, you might have heard me say the story behind the Friday breathwork sessions. The choice in time and day was an old nod to an old life where that time of the week represented a moment where I would escape my life via the pub! Now we purposely use this moment in time to pull our feelings closer through the breathwork - swapping the hangover for more headspace. Yet this story only holds half the truth to why I continue to host the breathwork every week, so I thought I would use this milestone to share with you the other reason…

In 2022, my mum was diagnosed with stage four cancer. At the time, I was midway through an international breathwork certification program with intergrative breath. One of the course requirements was to facilitate breathwork sessions and document the experience. As part of this, I set up a weekly online breathwork group every Friday from 5–6 pm (UK). The intention was to create a space where individuals, especially those like my mum—restricted by illness or other circumstances—could experience the therapeutic benefits of breathwork. The sessions were free, and over time, a small but vibrant community formed around the practice of breathing together, accompanied by music and my guidance.

Initially, I didn’t fully grasp the potential of what we were building—I was simply following a gut feeling that it was the right thing to do. As my mum’s health deteriorated and her pain became unmanageable, she continued to join the Friday sessions. These moments became her only time of respite—her only escape from pain, when she could feel peace and a sense of inner freedom.

It wasn’t long before I realised she wasn’t alone in seeking liberation from suffering. Week after week, our community came together to breathe—to find that part of ourselves untouched by stress, loss, or hardship. Each of us brought our own struggles to the circle: job loss, divorce, grief, illness, addiction, or other challenges. Through breathwork, we discovered a profound sense of connection, healing, and strength.

In June 2023, my mum took her last breath at The Christie Hospital in Manchester. The pain was unavoidable, but even in grief, I turned to breathwork and found solace in the community we had built. I realised that much of my life had been spent running from death—and, in doing so, often forgetting how to live fully in the present moment - the final lesson my mum taught me.

I host our Friday sessions on a volunteer basis to honour all who have the courage to embrace life despite our struggles and imperfections. To bring humour and a touch of light heartedness to spaces where sadness and loss can also sit alongside us.

My breathwork story is, on one level, about a son’s enduring love for his mum. On a deeper level, it’s a call to action on how we can leverage what we have instead of dwelling on what we lack. Rather than rearranging life to find calm, why not learn to locate it within the chaos?

The good news is you are not alone in this quest. Since 2022, over three hundred souls from all walks of life have joined this growing community. Together, 150 times now. Each week, I show up—not out of obligation, but because I believe in this practice. And I know many of you show up for the same reason: to remind yourselves that everything you need is already within you.

I warmly invite you to join our community and experience the Friday Breathwork circle.

With gratitude,

Andy

12/04/2025