In addition to being another beautiful soul in this world trying to make it one day at a time, I have been blessed to be called by a name that melts my heart – Mom. Most mothers nurture, love, support, and advocate for their children. I am no different. Part 2 of this story welcomes introduces the intersection of breathwork and motherhood. The ability to pass healing down to my children feels so good.
Our children span multiple decades with one being an adult, one pre-teen, and one elementary aged son. Yes, I am a boy mom. I shared how I used breathwork to support my healing journey, but to be able to share it with my children is another story.
The Mystery Ailment
One of my sons is on the autism spectrum, which means that I proudly tout the Ausome Mom title. This journey has not been easy, but well worth it. After years of advocating for appropriate supports and treatment in public school, overwhelm was setting in for me; however, it seems years of accumulated stress and discomfort began to manifest in a mystery ailment.
Our once lively, borderline chunky, son who rarely met a meal he did not like began vomiting after each meal. After observing the behavior and the details, I noticed that food was coming up during meals, and that when it did come out – it was not entirely digested.
After iterations of eliminating acidic foods and gluten from his diet, we noticed visible weight differences that became very scary. We sought medical advice, endured procedures, and were prescribed a variety of concoctions and over-the counter medicines.Tthe progress was not moving fast enough for me. I was also bothered by the lack of root cause information. When I posed the question, the doctor said one thing that put me into “go” mode – “It could be due to stress.”
Ausome Mom Activated
As a woman who recently identified a way to combat chronic stress, I immediately began to research holistic solutions to reflux and GERD. I read medical journals, popular medical blogs, and dug into my personal collection of holistic texts for answers. My heart overflowed with joy when the words diaphragmatic breathing filled my eyes. It was as if I was divinely prepared for this.
Acknowledging the power of breathwork from firsthand experience, I began to dive into the anatomic rationale behind the technique. It just made sense. After practicing the technique myself, I then began to teach our son. I advised him to practice the technique during meals when he felt that food was about to come up or was “stuck”. Teaching this technique was not difficult because I had previously shared a different breathwork technique for self-regulation during homework and other moments of high stress. My guy already had his own breathwork practice.
The Release
There was no lingering ailment or devastating medical diagnosis. I personally believe that the stress our son experienced in public school manifested in his body and ultimately resulted in severe bouts of reflux, which then brought on significant weight loss.
We are grateful for the medical care, the doctor’s willingness to continue searching and entertain my questions, and of course breathworth.
Peace and Love.
