Breathe Colorado is an integrative airway-focused wellness practice. Offering educational services in breathing re-education, orofacial myofunctional exercises, HeartMath techniques, integrative nutrition health coaching, and yoga. These holistic health principals and mind-body wellness concepts provide the foundation for your learning sessions. We will collaborate together to create a plan that is tailored to your personal wellness goals.
Many individuals are managing low energy and stress. They may feel they are just trying to make it through the day. Breathe Colorado was created to help bridge the gap for people who truly want to make healthier choices, but don't know where to start. Laura will meet you exactly where you are and help you make the next step towards your wellness goals. We will work together and collaborate with a team of providers to support you along the way. Whether you are referred by an airway-focused provider seeking exercises to prepare you for a tongue release, or you are simply curious to learn more about your breathing, Laura can help you create an action plan.
Some clients may find it helpful to learn tools to manage their stress or learn healthier dietary and lifestyle practices before they begin their orofacial myofunctional exercise program. Laura offers many tools that can help you learn ways to build resiliency, sleep better, increase energy, and reduce discomfort.
What does "airway-focused" mean?
Airway-focused practitioners are a part of an emerging specialty in healthcare. You may find us in the fields of orofacial myology, dentistry, ENT, sleep medicine, speech language pathology, lactation and more. We operate from the main principal that the body’s first survival need is to breathe. If breathing is obstructed, the body learns to compensate in any way it can to facilitate the next breath. One of my goals is to help you identify and those compensations. In collaboration with your health care team, we aim to identify the underlying cause and help you learn new strategies that serve total wellness.
What does a "compensation" look like?
The body is very good at finding ways to survive. It will bend, twist and move to find a position that best serves its needs. Breathing is dynamic. Your body's needs change every second and you need to have flexibility in your breathing and nervous system in order to meet those demands. If the body cannot breathe, many things may be affected. You may see changes in your sleep, nervous system, mental health, body posture, oral health and dietary choices. Imagine if you had a pebble in your shoe. To avoid pain, you would likely shift your weight when you walk. After a while, you may start to notice your ankle, knee or back began hurting from this compensation. Tom Meyers, author of "Anatomy Trains," says, "Everything is in relationship to everything else." ​
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Obstructions to your breathing and airway can be just like that pebble. Here are some ways "the pebble" can show up in your airway, setting the stage for a cascade of compensations throughout your whole body.
"Tongue Tie" may be associated with:
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Low Tongue Posture
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Snoring
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Sleep Disordered Breathing
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Bloating and GI Issues
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Difficulty Breastfeeding
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Difficulty with Food Management and Swallowing
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"Picky Eaters"
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Soft Food Preference
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Poor Oral Hygiene
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Speech Issues
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Forward Head Posture
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Head and Neck Pain
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When the tongue is low and cannot remain suctioned on the palate during growth and development, it cannot provide the right support for the upper jaw to grow wide and forward, leading to a jaw that becomes narrow and high.
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Smile at yourself in the mirror, do your teeth fully fill your smile? Or do your teeth seem to tip inward toward the tongue space?
"Obstructed Airway" may be associated with:
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Low Tongue Posture
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Snoring (first sign of sleep disordered breathing)
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Oral Breathing
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Restless Sleep
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Difficulty falling and staying asleep
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Nasal Congestion
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Mood Imbalances
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Teeth Erosion and Breakdown
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Teeth Clenching and Grinding
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Forward Head Posture - Leading to Head, Neck and Back Pain.
"Oral Breathing" may be associated with:
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Snoring
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Chronic ENT Inflammation
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Chronic nasal congestion
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Food Sensitivities
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Removal of Tonsils and Adenoids
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Xerostomia (dry mouth)
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Periodontal Disease & Bleeding Gums
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Dental Cavities
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Sleep Disordered Breathing
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Reduced Athletic performance
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Attention Deficits and Hyperactivity
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Poor Memory
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Influences Facial Growth & Development (leading to the lower third of the face becoming longer)
"Low Tongue Posture" may be associated with:
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Open Mouth Posture
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Mouth Breathing
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Nasal Congestion
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Snoring
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Sleep Disordered Breathing
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Development of Narrow Jaws
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Small Nasal Cavities
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TMJ Pain and Discomfort
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Forward Head Posture (leading to Head, Neck and Back Pain)
"Sleep Disordered Breathing" or "Sleep Apnea" may be associated with:
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Snoring
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Stopping Breathing During Sleep
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Awakening to Gasp and Breathe
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Restless Sleep
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Bed Wetting
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Night Terrors
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Slow Child Growth and Development
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Xerostomia (Dry Mouth)
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Excessive Fatigue
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Learning Difficulties
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Performance Difficulties
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Attention and Memory Issues
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Mood Imbalances
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Irritability
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Weight Gain
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Excessive Appetite
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Excessive Caffeine Consumption
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Excessive Sugar Intake
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Sleep Aid Substance Abuse
"Narrow Jaws" may be associated with:
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Smaller Nasal Cavities
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Nasal Congestion
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Oral Breathing
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Allergies
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Food Sensitivities
The upper jaw serves as the floor of the nasal cavity. A narrow jaw may lead to a smaller nasal passage. Nasal breathing can become restricted because the physical size of the airway is more narrow. With a narrower airway we are less tolerant to inflammation. Diets that include processed foods, sugar, and dairy, will often cause small amounts of inflammation which now aggravate breathing.
