Since 1991, thousands of people have experienced the joy and health benefits of Full Wave Breathing. Here is one person's story of how Full Wave Breathing changed their life.

CASE IN POINT:
Gregory's Sleep

Gregory, an eight-year-old son of two medical professionals, had reason enough to be an anxious child. Expectations for his performance were high, and his mother reported that she was over protective because Gregory's younger brother had died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Gregory's anxiety manifested at night after he had been asleep several hours. He would awaken with cold sweats, be fearful, and describe a variety of nightmares to his mother. These events started when Gregory was seven and happened about once a week. Over the course of a year, the panic episodes increased in frequency to several times a week. At the time Gregory's mother called about Full Wave Breathing, she and Gregory were usually awake most of the early morning hours.

After three sessions, Gregory had learned to build breath capacity and all three steps of Full Wave Breathing. He also learned to watch and compare his breath and body symptoms while in as well as out of anxiety states. He learned to dialogue with his body when he felt anxiety symptoms coming on. He changed his panic state to one of calm with consciously directed breathing. He learned ways to stretch and move his body to release tension and fear. Gregory learned to breathe while moving slowly around a room and stretching.

When he awakened in fear at night, he followed the plan he had devised: He would turn on his light, look around his room while still in bed to reassure himself that there was nothing out there to be afraid of. Then he would check his breathing patterns. Typically these would be shallow and rapid.

Then he would lie down, put his hand on his belly, and breathe into the abdomen, causing the hand to rise. He observed his breath and waited for his body to calm down. If he could not go back to sleep, he read. And if the panic was overwhelming or he felt unsafe or out of control, he would wake his parents.

Gregory changed from a fretful, nervous child to one who laughed more, loosened up and took a major step in learning to manage his life.