The Vegan Breathing Coaches

20/06/2026

When it's hot and humid, how do you breathe?

High humidity prevents our body from being able to cool as well and so we usually end up feeling even hotter, uncomfortable and stressed.

It's likely that our breathing becomes a little harder, which can lead to overbreathing. This can then make us feel even more stressed and tired.

When this happens, it's worth remembering to breathe in and out through the nose, and to slow down and soften your breathing. It also and pays not to overtax yourself.

A tip! Aim to walk if possible under tree cover, as trees cool the air and reduce pollutants that can worsen breathing. We're very lucky, Berlin has lots of trees!

11/06/2026

Do you usually swerve the stairs and take the lift instead, even if it's just a few flights?

It certainly applied to me. It simply felt too much of an effort, and I hated the feeling of getting out of breath, it reminded me of those cross country runs that I was forced to do when still at school, my lungs gasping for air.

If it's the same for you, what would it feel like if you could turn things on their head? If you could climb 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 6 flights of stairs and feel like you could do the same twice over?

This was me after I'd retrained my breathing. I'm now 63 and the sixty steps that I regularly climb 4 or 5 times a day to my Berlin apartment are now routine. I love the fact I can do this without feeling the need to catch my breath and defer that conversation with my wife for the next few minutes.

It made the coaching I underwent from a world-renowned breathing instructor worth every penny. I now train others to improve their breathing and reap the benefits not only of less breathlessness, but more calm, more focus and improved sleep.

If you'd like to know how you could enhance your performance by improving your breathing, send me a message or check out our Breathing Space at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace

~ Graham Henry

04/06/2026

“For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth.”
(Sanskrit Proverb)

It's estimated that up to 30-50% of modern adults breathe through the mouth, especially during the early morning hours. But this is not what nature intended, and somewhere along the line, many of us have got out of the habit of nose breathing.

The reasons for this are multifaceted. Anatomical or structural issues may be to blame (eg. a severely deviated septum, enlarged adenoids, nasal polyps). But Western civilisation and the way we live today is also a factor. Allergies that lead to the nose being permanently congested nose can push us into the habit of mouth breathing. Airtight modern homes may also exacerbate the problem.
But it's likely that the thing that has really made the most difference in recent times is our 'always on the go' information-obsessed culture which has increased our stress levels and led to accelerated breathing rates and breathing through the mouth to accommodate this.

The health benefits of nose breathing vs mouth breathing are well documented.

As long ago as 1903, Hoppe wrote the following in an issue of The Naturopath and Herald of Health:
"As guardian of health the nose … performs invaluable services in preventing diseases of the lungs, as it frees the inhaled air from impurities. … All breathing should, therefore, be through the nose, and none whatever should be done through the mouth.”

Even earlier, back in 1870, in his observations of Native American people, George Catlin wrote that they breathed with their noses and kept their mouths closed, except for eating and talking. This habit of keeping the lips closed began with the infant in the cradle. Catlin notes: “I have seen an Indian woman in the wilderness, lowering her infant from the breast, and pressing its lips together as it falls asleep, and fixing its cradle in the open air.”

To echo the words of James Nestor in his superb book 'Breath', it's clear that breathing is a lost art and there is no better time to reclaim it than right now. This is what we are dedicated to doing as breathing coaches, and we are here to support anyone who wishes to reap the benefits of better breathing!

04/06/2026

Schlafstörungen haben verschiedene Ursachen unter anderem unnatürliche Atem Muster. Wenn die Atmung nicht optimal ist dann sind Schlafprobleme wahrscheinlicher mit oder ohne andere Ursachen.

Wir helfen Ihnen Ihre alltägliche (und auch nächtliche) Atmung zu optimieren und wir bieten Ihnen Übungen an, die wirklich helfen in den Nachtstunden in denen Wachsamkeit unvermeidlich ist.

Immer mehr Menschen in Deutschland kommen Nachts nicht zur Ruhe. Laut einer Studie des Robert Koch-Instituts hat mehr als jeder Dritte mit Schlafproblemen zu kämpfen. Eine Ursache sehen die Experten im Smartphone-Gebrauch.

31/05/2026

Wenn du gestresst oder überfordert bist, wird dein Atem flach und schnell – und signalisiert deinem Gehirn „Gefahr"🙉👀

Aber wenn du ihn verlangsamst und die Ausatmung verlängerst, aktivierst du den Vagusnerv und sagst deinem Körper: „Es ist sicher, sich zu beruhigen."🙏

Probier es jetzt aus:
→ Langsam durch die Nase einatmen👃
→ Noch langsamer ausatmen (50% länger als die Einatmung)💨
→ 🕐 1–2 Minuten wiederholen🕑

Diese einfache Veränderung kann dich von Kampf-oder-Flucht in Ruhe-und-Verdauung versetzen – schnell 😃

14/05/2026

This ad made us smile. Not because of the product being promoted, but because of the tagline 'Atme durcher', which is a made up phrase, literally meaning 'Breathe through more', ie. more deeply.

It nicely sums up what we're about as Breathing Coaches. We encourage better oxygenation of the body through better breathing. However, this doesn't mean taking big breaths, which can have the opposite effect. It means breathing in and out through the nose and inhaling deeply, engaging the diaphragm.

And of course we don't require mint confections to do that 😀

02/05/2026

If you wake up in the morning after a night's sleep and still feel tired, sluggish and find it hard to think clearly, it may well be down to how you breathe at night.

When one's habitual breathing is a little too fast and a little too hard (and many of us breathe this way owing to the high level of stress in our modern day lives), it can cause the airway to collapse and this in turn leads to the brain triggering an arousal, or wake-up, allowing the airway to open again.

Another sign of poor breathing at night is waking up with a dry mouth, as this indicates the person has been breathing through the mouth instead of the nose. Other obvious signs are snoring, and of course sleep apnoea - a serious condition requiring attention, as this is when airflow becomes blocked for an extended period, thus depriving the body of oxygen.

Before losing any more sleep, it's worth knowing that we can retrain our breathing so that we transform the hard, fast breathing to softer and lighter breathing. The result will be more restful sleep, more calm and more zest for life.

Our breathing retraining programs bring together the theory and practice of correct functional breathing. By incorporating a range of simple but effective exercises in daily life, your changed breathing will change you!

Find out more in our Breathing Space at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace

22/04/2026

Meet Annette Henry. One half of Berlin's Vegan Breathing Coaches, Annette is a qualified Buteyko Breathing Instructor.

The Buteyko breathing method was developed in the 1950's by Soviet physician Konstantin Buteyko and has been shown to be effective in improving asthma symptoms, reducing panic attacks, lowering stress, and improving sleep quality in those with underlying dysfunctional breathing patterns.

If you experience any of these conditions, you can find out more about how to recognise the signs of dysfunctional breathing in our Breathing Space at https://www.henryandhenryeu.com/breathingspace

16/04/2026

We appreciated this Guardian article which highlights the prevalence of dysfunctional breathing in the population - a vital topic often overlooked.

Dysfunctional breathing patterns can have significant knock-on effects on our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

We were disappointed that the article, useful though it is as a summary, omits proven retraining methods like Buteyko breathing, which focuses on the biochemistry of breathing - using nasal, reduced-volume breathing to correct hyperventilation and improve CO2 tolerance and reduce breathlessness. This approach has helped thousands of patients worldwide with asthma and anxiety, and yet it's not mentioned here.

What is also omitted is the fact that an estimated 70% of those suffering anxiety exhibit breathing pattern disorders, which means it's a much more widespread problem than the article implies. It's vitally important that we consider the psycho-physiological dimension of breathing, since poor breathing patterns can not only be caused by anxiety but can also BE the cause, part of a vicious feedback loop.

Causes may also be related to biomechanical and musculoskeletal factors (ie. poor recruitment of the diaphragm and other breathing muscles, insufficient flexion of the ribcage). Poor posture is a common cause of poor breathing and never before in the evolution of our species has our posture been so compromised as a result of our daily habits, where 90% of our time is spent sitting.

Integrating all of these considerations and providing actionable tools and techniques that can be implemented in our daily life is what we do as functional breathing coaches and it has the potential to transform lives!

You might think of breathing as automatic, but dysfunctional breathing can arise even if you’re healthy

16/04/2026

If this sounds familiar, and especially if it's been your reality for a while, there's probably nothing new to learn from this article.

As is often the case, breathing is referenced in the context of using a relevant breathing exercise to induce calm. Yes, great. BUT if breathing is generally sub-optimal then sleep disturbances are likely to persist. Retraining breathing is the key to facilitating better sleep. For some people, retraining their underlying breathing is all that's needed because that was the extent of the problem. For others it's part of the answer and importantly, getting breathing right supports, rather than fights against, other sleep-supporting measures.

It's 3 am.