Findyourbackbone

Findyourbackbone James Power is an Alexander Technique teacher based in Knutsford. Reduce back and neck pain. Improve posture. Find freedom.

07/09/2026

BREATHWORK MASTERCLASS
St John’s Church, Knutsford
7pm to 8pm

Join me for an evening of breathwork in one of Knutsford’s most beautiful settings. The high ceilings and soft light of St John’s Church create a space that is calming the moment you walk in.

This Breathwork is trauma informed, drawn from the same techniques I have taught to NHS staff and emergency services teams, professionals who carry an enormous amount of pressure and often have very little space to process it. What works for people in the most demanding, high stakes roles can work just as powerfully for anyone carrying stress, overwhelm, or tension they have not yet found a way to release.

We will work through breathwork techniques designed to help you:
Calm an overactive nervous system
Release stress and tension held in the body and spine
Feel more grounded, clear, and present
Build genuine confidence from the inside out
This is gentle, accessible, and suitable for complete beginners. No previous experience with breathwork is needed.

Just come as you are.
Date: Thursday 24th September 2026
Time: 7pm to 8pm
Venue: St John’s Church, Knutsford, WA16 6DH

Spaces are limited, so please book early to secure your place. NHS discount available.

27/08/2026

Comment “BREATHE” if you’ve ever had a night where heartbreak or stress made it difficult to sleep.

A few months ago, a friend called me crying.

It was the third night in a row she couldn’t sleep. Her chest felt tight, her mind wouldn’t stop replaying a breakup, and stress had essentially moved into her body.

I didn’t have any profound wisdom to offer, but I asked her to try something simple: the 3-4-5 breathwork technique.

Here is how it works:

Get comfortable and allow yourself to relax.

Bring to mind something that makes you smile—a loved one, a fond memory, or even a bad joke.

Inhale through your nose for 3 seconds.

Pause for 4 seconds. (Not a tense hold—just a soft, unclenched pause.)

Exhale through your mouth for 5 seconds.

She tried it, and something inside her instantly loosened.

That pause is the part people usually get wrong. They tense up and hold their breath tight—but holding keeps you stuck in the very feeling you’re trying to release. A soft pause lets you rest for a moment before letting go.

The long exhale through the mouth does the real heavy lifting. It’s the moment your body finally gets permission to drop what it’s been carrying.

Since then, I’ve shared this with clients navigating heartbreak, grief, and anxiety. Almost every time, that soft mouth-exhale is when their shoulders drop and their facial expressions soften.

You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through pain. You just have to let it move through you.

Try it right now:
Breathe in for 3. Pause for 4. Let it go for 5.

If you found this helpful, let me know in the comments. I read every single one!

Comment “BREATHE” below and I’ll send you my free e-booklet on breathwork so you can practice this technique whenever you need it.

(My friend asked me to share this story in case it helps someone else today.)

21/08/2026

“What can you do if you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep?”

Here is a simple way to help your body settle when you wake in the middle of the night:

Try 3–7–8 breathing:

* Gently breathe in through the nose for 3 beats

* Pause for 7 seconds

* Exhale slowly for 8 seconds through the mouth

You don’t hold the breath. This is a gentle exercise in non-doing.

Repeat for a few rounds, keeping the breath soft and comfortable. Don’t force the counts. If pausing feels uncomfortable, shorten the pause or simply focus on a slower, longer exhale.

Instead of checking the clock or reaching for your phone, give your body a moment to settle and your mind a chance to quieten.

Save this for the next restless night.

SleepRoutine Wellbeing

What do you do if you wake up in the night and can’t sleep?What if, instead of trying harder to fall asleep, you pause?T...
20/08/2026

What do you do if you wake up in the night and can’t sleep?

What if, instead of trying harder to fall asleep, you pause?

Think of something that makes you smile. Let that thought arrive without effort. Notice where your attention is and what your intention is.

This is the principle of non doing in the Alexander Technique. We are not trying to make relaxation happen. We pause, notice what is here, and allow what is.

Then gently invite the breath to become slower and longer.

3 7 8 breathing

* Inhale through the nose for 3
* Pause for 7, if that feels comfortable
* Exhale slowly for 8

And if you don’t fully make the count, let go of perfection. The numbers are not the goal.

The key is the longer, slower out breath and the quality of your attention.
Notice where your attention goes. Notice your intention.

Can you allow yourself to rest rather than try to make yourself relax?

Allow what is.
Let the breath soften.
Let the body be supported.

Sometimes sleep comes more easily when we stop trying to make it happen.

10/08/2026

Can bees smell fear? It’s a question I hear all the time.
The short answer is no, but they do react to the erratic movements and energy of a panicking person.
That is exactly why I use breathwork every single time I work with my hives. By focusing on a long, slow exhalation, I can lower my heart rate, ground myself, and stay perfectly calm around the bees.

Body language plays a huge role, too. I apply principles from the Alexander Technique, which means staying fully present and allowing my body to align, rather than forcing it into a rigid posture. Even while looking down into the hive, I simply let my neck be free and allow my spine to lengthen naturally. It is about finding ease instead of tense focus.

This natural, open state makes space for those deep breaths and projects a steady, grounded energy. When I am present and at ease, they are calm.

What is your go-to trick for staying grounded in stressful moments? Let me know in the comments.

05/08/2026

You can’t panic near 60,000 bees. They will notice and they can sting you if you lash out and hurt them. But bees are peaceful and they sting only as a last resort.

I went to to help their team learn to lift heavy supers of honey without hurting their backs. Within 30 minutes the lesson took a new direction. Because you can’t muscle your way around bees. Rush, grip, brace — and they feel it before you’ve admitted it to yourself.

Dōgen taught that we don’t need to rush in order to get somewhere. There is a way to be present now through the breath. FM Alexander — was known as “The Breathing Man” and he spent his life teaching a similar idea that when you stop end-gaining. Stop hurling yourself at the end result things change dramatically. The moment you pause before reacting, you find freedom and you can end up making more progress with less effort.

A hive is heavy. Honey is heavy. So is a habit.

Lifting well isn’t effort. It’s the absence of interference. Feet under you, back long, breath uninterrupted, and the weight comes up almost by itself. Non-doing isn’t doing nothing, it’s not doing the extra things you never needed.

Try this 3·4·5 breathwork. My variation on Alexander’s whispered “ah”:

3 — Pause, think of something that makes you smile. Then let the breath in through the nose for three beats. Don’t take it. Let it arrive.
4 — Pause. This is the art of the technique. The gap between stimulus and response. So pause for four beats. Don’t hold your breath.
5 — Whisper “ahhh” out on a long, soft exhale until the lungs empty - about five beats, then start again.

I say beats not seconds. You listen to your breath count the beats. Don’t get fixed on a watch.

Pause before the lift. Before the email. Before the reply you’ll regret.

The bees may hurry and they don’t stop. But we can stop and it turns out, once we get out of our own way this is our superpower.

Save this for the next time you lose your calm. 🐝

Dogen NervousSystemRegulation Beekeeping NonDoing

You can’t fake calm around a horse. They read you instantly — fear, tension, warmth, all of it.Found these beautiful pho...
30/07/2026

You can’t fake calm around a horse. They read you instantly — fear, tension, warmth, all of it.

Found these beautiful photos from work I did with horses and riders last year.

Before I start my day or do anything else, I use breathwork to settle my own nervous system and find my strength. That has changed how I teach. It doesn’t make me perfect, far from it but it does help me to see more and listen more.

That’s the change the horse responds to. Alexander called it thinking in activity and it goes hand in hand with communicating with your whole being.

Have you ever felt that you need some more calm in you life. Direct message me. I have a free Breathwork guide I can send you. Just five minutes a day. Get in touch.

27/07/2026

Finding stillness inside a busy beehive. 🐝
Recently, the brilliant invited me to the apiary. We started by working on safe lifting techniques for heavy honey supers, but we quickly found ourselves focusing on something even more important, the foundation of breath.
When you’re surrounded by the frantic hum of a hive, slowing down is essential. I shared a simple breathwork practice we call the whispered “ah.” By allowing the jaw to soften and letting the exhale leave on a gentle whisper, the next inhale happens effortlessly, we focused on allow a slow out breath and gental inbreath thorugh the nose.
It’s about less bracing, less effort, and less stress. When everything slows down, stillness finally gets a chance to enter the space. I’ve cared for bees for 15 years, always trying to learn from them. It turns out, they already knew the power of this stillness. 💛
📸 Beautiful photos by . BreathPractice SafetyAtWork

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