Computer nerd went from 80-year-old to 20-year-old thanks to breathing - Conscious Breathing Institute

Computer nerd went from 80-year-old to 20-year-old thanks to breathing

Excuse me, but DAMN IT how happy I am with this little device! The Relaxator gets 10 out of 10 points! Haha!! ? Growing up I’ve spent thousands of hours in front of the computer, eating fast food, microwave meals and drunk 1 ½ liters (half a gallon) of diet soda a day. Getting up and walk the 10 meters from my computer to the kitchen was a constant reminder of my disastrous condition, which reminded more of an eighty-year-old than a teenager. My breathing was probably as high up in my chest as humanly possible.

My scoliosis has prevented me from breathing low

Since I was a child, I’ve had diabetes, poor self-confidence and been overweight. Sitting in front of the computer in unnatural positions have given me a poor posture, a so-called vulture neck, twists in my body and I have developed scoliosis (slanted back). My back problems are about a seven on a scale from 1 to 10.

Two years ago, I was sick and tired of feeling so old in a young body and decided to start lifting weights. The results came after just a few days in terms of better self-confidence and increased internal peace. In this short period of time I didn’t gain muscles or improved my fitness, and in hindsight I understand that the self-confidence came thanks to better breathing.

Strength training connected me with my diaphragm

Strength training, which included strengthening the deep abdominal muscles, did wonders in all areas of my life and the main reason was that the exercises made me discover the power of low, diaphragmatic breathing. The realization of the power using the diaphragm is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

When I try to exhale the air with the help of the accessory muscles in the back, chest and neck instead of controlling inhaling/exhaling with the diaphragm, I easily get light headed.

I have gone from being on of the most muddled, immature and insecure persons to a calm person with a huge self-confidence! In fact, I have not met many people that have the same ability to keep calm as me. From living completely in my head, I have become a more grounded person as if I have moved back into my body again.

Unfortunately, after six months I was injured and had to stop training. I then lost contact with the diaphragm and my breath. Losing my breath and going back to my previous shallow breathing I became like Quasimodo and so weak that it is incredible. Therefore, I was completely devastated when I had to stop training.

Since then I have mentally known how to breathe right, but I haven’t been able to manage it practically. It is now 1 ½ years ago since I had to stop strength training and everyday since then I have been thinking about and looking for solutions on how to get in touch with my breath again.

From an eighty-year-old to a twenty-year-old

Due to my physical complications like scoliosis, I find it very difficult to find certain muscles, since the spinal cord is twisted and turned in different directions. And when some muscles get more tired than others I lose the ability to breathe low. The Relaxator solves this problem. It has helped me to regain contact with my diaphragm again and my low breaths that I have missed for so long.

It only took a couple of days and gave me exactly the results I expected – better sleep, great spirit, self-confidence, very relaxed mood and I have stopped over-analyzing things. I have also noticed that my physical stamina have increased drastically!

When I’m at home I have the Relaxator hanging around my neck and I use it as soon as I feel that my breathing fails me and become rapid and shallow. In total I probably don’t use it for more than 10 minutes per day, but that’s enough since the effect from only a minute of training can last for hours!

Sometimes I exercise with more focus with the Relaxator, in order to strengthen my diaphragm. I then put all the attention on following the breath and experience what’s happening in the body when the lower part of the rib cage expands as the diaphragm moves downwards when I breathe in. During the six months I was exercising I felt reborn and the Relaxator has helped me to fully come alive again.

My back problems have made me very aware of my body and it is clear how a good breathing technique makes me feel less tense as the correct muscles relaxes. Today, I do not feel like an eighty-year-old anymore but like the twenty-year-old that I actually am!

Lots of energy

My energy levels are nowadays constantly high. It is like a switch in the body – when I switch on low breathing I can do almost anything. I have a road bike and can cycle tremendous distances without getting tired. My bike friends are really surprised and wondering what’s happened as they have trained a lot more than me but tire more easily.

I work as a house cleaner and when I lose my breath I can’t do more than one house before I’m completely exhausted. But when I breathe properly I can clean four houses without any problems, and after I get back home I can still go roller skating for 30-40 kilometers (20-25 miles) without getting tired. It’s unbelievable!

My stomach is so much better

All my health problems during the years have made me very interested in health. I have exchanged soda for water and my dietary habits I would now call optimum, i.e. I eat an optimal diet for my body. It means a lot of greenstuff. I also eat smaller portions than before.

However, at the same time, if the breath is shallow, nothing really works when it comes to the stomach. But when the diaphragm kneads the intestines crazy things happens. My metabolism is up. Gases and bloating have disappeared. The toilet visits are more regular and smoother, as I don’t have to push as hard.

Getting the insight and practical experience of the power of my breath has been the most important thing for me. Here, the book Conscious Breathing has been invaluable as it helped me understand the depths of it all and how it all fits together. I am really passionate about spreading this simple knowledge to others. A low breath makes us get so much more out of our inner potential. When we find our breath everything else falls into place.

Linuz Bengtsson
24, House cleaner, Malmö, Sweden
Back to blog