A Two-Eyed Seeing approach towards restoring traditional breathing for Indigenous peoples recovering from substance abuse, trauma and cooccurring disorders.

NANAIMO, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, October 3, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- BreatheFirst is a Two-Eyed Seeing approach towards restoring traditional breathing for Indigenous peoples recovering from addiction and substance use, physical or psychological injury (trauma) and concurring illnesses, diseases and disorders.

The BreatheFirst Indigenous Wellness Program combines the latest advances in modern medical science along with land-based and traditional Indigenous teachings to effectively reinstate breath as medicine. The program has seen significant success since the official launch in July of 2023 throughout Community Mental Health Clinics, Healing Houses and Substance Abuse / Addiction Recovery Centers. Originating on Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada the program now spans numerous provinces across the nation and internationally in the United States.

Physicians, Clinicians and Medical Directors have expressed endorsement of the program as an effective non-pharmacological treatment to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, emotional dysregulation and pain management. BreatheFirst Certified Addiction Recovery Centers have experienced a significant decrease in the prescription of opiates, sedatives, anti-depressants, and other mood-altering pain medications.

Indigenous Elders and Cultural Knowledge Keepers have contributed their teachings towards building the curriculum for BreatheFirst from the very beginning. Using the sacred breath as medicine helps reconnect participants deeply to themselves with a higher level of self-awareness. Participants can then use the breath as a bridge to rediscover the importance of their reciprocal relationship with the land and their purpose within family and community.

BreatheFirst's uniquely innovative approach fosters Connection with Air, Land, Mountains and Sea (C.A.L.M.S). Participants are able to get outside in the forest, in the water (indoor/outdoor swimming pools, spirit ponds, oceans, rivers, lakes) and in the elements creating a truly immersive experience and opportunity to receive wisdom from what many consider to be the greatest teacher of all, Mother Nature.

Dysfunctional breathing patterns which are responsible for many physical and mental health conditions are all too prevalent in today’s society. The major factors that influence our breathing include stress and anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, respiratory and cardiac disease, diet, screen time and traumas (intergenerational, post-traumatic, occupational).

The BreatheFirst program supports the restoration of healthy and functional breathing habits, by restoring traditional breathing patterns and practices as they were before colonialism. Before the forced disconnection from the land through geographic displacement. Before the forced disconnection of culture and community by way of residential schools from which the ongoing rippling effects continue to cause disproportionate health detriments for Indigenous peoples and populations.

BreatheFirst Program Director Tyler Huston explains:
“Our breath can lead us to greater self-awareness and a deeper connection within. The same sacred breath, which is believed to have breathed life into the first being on this plane is still what connects us all with each other, to all parts of nature and our place within it. Connection is the opposite of addiction.”

The BreatheFirst program provides health care practitioners, clinicians and community support workers with extensive training to provide on the ground, in-community / in-center support. Program coordinators will also continue to work directly with the clients and patients in Healing Houses, Addiction Recovery Centers, Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities and In-community Health Clinics.

“Once learned, participants possess a potent and effective medicine for their mental, physical and spiritual health that will carry with them wherever they go for the rest of their life, for free and in an unlimited supply without needing to fill a prescription.

This is how we use the sacred breath as medicine, this is how we can begin to restore the before.”
-Tyler Huston, BreatheFirst Program Director

Tyler Huston
BreathControl
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