There are different methods of Conscious/connected breath (CCB) but only two pathways our breath can take, through the nose or mouth. To my knowledge the most commonly used CCB is unfortunately utilising a mouth inhale. The method used at Berkana, the Sacred Breath Method (SBM), utilises a nose inhale, and doesn't encourage hyperventilation. I explore why a nose inhale is a more safe and beneficial option further down on this page.

Moreover, the method and journeys at Berkana are trauma-informed, read more about that here. Furthermore, what sets SBM apart from many other breath work methods is that there's an emphasis on integration, grounding, and spaciousness within the journey alongside the welcoming of un-inhibited free expression of all emotions. All of which are essential in this type of work. You can read more about the method and possible outcomes here.

Why the Nose?

“The nose is the silent warrior, the gatekeeper of our bodies, the pharmacist of our minds and the weather vein to our emotions”/ James Nestor. Put simply we are designed to breath through our noses, not our mouths, trust the design, trust your body. The nose is our front line shield wall, it filters and clears the air, adjusts the air temperature and humidifies it to make it easier to absorb (Nestor).
Our amazing noses literally stops pollutants and other impurities to enter our bodies whilst warding off pathogens (Nestor). We can also increase our oxygen intake by as much as twenty percent per breath if we breathe through our nose compared to our mouth. But the answer to why we should breathe through our noses goes deeper still.

Consciously controlling how we breathe is the only way we can choose which part of the autonomic nervous-system that is switched on, a switch that is otherwise beyond our control. Nose inhales switch on the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of the autonomic nervous-system responsible for our body's rest, restore and relax function, for maintaining homeostasis and a sense of safety. On the contrary, a mouth inhale will switch on the sympathetic nervous-system our bodies' fight or flight, and sometimes freeze, response.

The sympathetic nervous-system is the part of our nervous-system designed to get us away from danger, threat or injury, and it's useful in it's own right (Levine). Although, we're not meant to stay in this mode as it releases “stress hormones, and can even cause long-term oxidative stress in the body” (Leigh). Consistent mouth breathing keeps us stuck in a sympathetic nervous system response, in stress, and ultimately in a trauma response. Frequent mouth breathing for extended periods of time results in an avalanche of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual issues (Nestor).

The way we breathe in a breath journey creates the preset for how we breathe when we're not conscious of our breaths when we sleep and go about our day-to-day lives. In his extensive study on breath, James Nestor discovered that the vast majority of people breathe incorrectly in a way that doesn't support our bodies, minds, and emotions. We have reached a point in evolution where we have to re-train ourselves how to breathe properly, we have to reclaim our breaths to reclaim our lives. This doesn't mean we can embark on a breath journey, using one method and then expect this method to be hardwired into us as our default way of breathing for all eternity. Bummer, right? It takes time, dedication and repetition.

In a breath journey, our brain frequency shifts into a Theta state (Leigh). Theta brainwaves have been shown to be active during moments of insight and creativity and are very useful in learning (Leaf). “It's often referred to as the healing wave” (Leaf). Thus we have a great opportunity during a breath journey to learn new things and encode that which serves our higher good into our neuro-network, which makes how we breathe in a journey even more important. We can train ourselves to make deep nose-inhales our new normal. Doing so will regulate our nervous-system and bring us into a calm, trusting and open state where we're able to stay connected to ourselves, our bodies and our lives. It'll return us to the way we were born breathing, the way we were designed to breathe.

About Sophia

Sophia is a breath-work facilitator by the Sacred Breath Academy , Death-Walker, Writer, and Poet. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Cross University, where she majored in Writing and Cultural studies but also comprehensively studied trauma. Moreover she's a trained grief and loss support volunteer worker by what used to be the Bellingen branch of NALAG (National Association of Loss And Grief), Australia. Sophia brings skilful facilitation, compassion, deep listening skills, intuition and knowledge to each breath-work session.

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The Journey

After meditating and using different breath techniques for over two decades Sophia was called to step into the role of breath work facilitator. Thus, going to sleep one night she asked that a message was sent to her in her dreams confirming this was the right path for her. She dreamt she pulled an unconscious woman out of a lake, gave her mouth to mouth and revived her with her breath. She was breathing life into the unconscious and woke with a full body YES to becoming a breath-work facilitator.

For Sophia creating a safe, non-judgemental space where the breather can drop deep into their body and an expanded state of consciousness is of utmost importance. She is passionate about exploring the totality of human experience and collective and individual consciousness including our inherent shadowlands, a passion she’s been nurturing in different ways for over two decades.

Through the sincere exploration of her own inner landscapes, emotions, trauma, and grief she has found ways to work with these elements in a loving, kind, wholistic way, a way she believes to be healthy. When we get close and cosy with our suffering and grief we also become intimate with our joy, pleasure, and shared humanity. From this place we can live with a clearer intent and with a sense of belonging not only to ourselves but to all the world.

Sophia is a trained Death -walker by Zenith Virago. To be a Death-Walker is to “encourage and empower others to be as open and courageous as they can as you accompany them through their death or bereavement journey.” (Virago). A Death-walker is also someone who “walks their own journey towards their death as openly, courageously and as best they can” (Virago).

“Before we can learn to be with one an other we have to learn how to grieve with one an other”, Ram Das. But, before we can learn to grieve with others we have to learn to grieve with our selves. Through facing our fear of, and resistance to death, we fall deeper in love with life and can live with more presence and joy.