Summer is not over just yet...

I woke up in the middle of the night last night and I was chilly. After a week of hot hot weather (and with no AC on the second floor of this house right now — thanks renovations!), it was wonderful to feel a little bit cold in the night instead of uncomfortably hot. But it was also a reminder that autumn is just around the corner, that summer will end, and we'll all get back to work, back to school, back to our routines. I've always loved September and back to school, getting new binders and pens, and getting ready to learn new things.

I actually went back to school this year in July, complete with a new binder (it's red — in photo above). I've been taking Dr. Rosalba Courtney's Integrative Breathing Therapy Training Course. It's been thrilling, challenging, scary, exciting, overwhelming — all the things that learning brings. I've been reading research papers (I like to print things and mark them up with notes and questions, highlighting sections), and have entirely taken over the breakfast room with my work, my family ever supportive and long-suffering. Dr. Courtney likes to take our assumptions about breathing and turn them upside-down, which has left me wondering at times what I'm going to teach this fall. I've been going through the course materials for my Breath Retraining Course, rewording things, adding and taking away, bringing the ideas and materials new life, which is fun to do with a course that I've been over many times.

One of the new terms (to me) that I came across last week is MUPS — Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms. I'm familiar with the idea that people experience things that doctors have no explanation for, but I didn't realise that research was being done into MUPS. Did you know that up to 45% of symptoms a doctor is brought can be MUPS? And did you know that many of these symptoms (about 67% of people with MUPS) can be helped with breath retraining? 

Registration is open for Breath Retraining Courses. There are two running this fall: Tuesdays at 10am ET, and Thursdays at 1pm ET. If you've been thinking about joining me, don't wait to sign up — space is limited. I've moved materials onto a new training platform this summer to make delivery of the materials easier and more accessible for you (and simpler for me — win/win). Some of the material is pre-recorded so you can watch on your own time, and pause, rewind, and rewatch as you need. We meet weekly as a group to learn the breathing exercises and so I can answer questions from everyone. I also meet with each person privately twice in the course to be sure that there are no unanswered questions or misunderstandings, that everyone is doing well in the program. As well, I'm available by email during the course and for the following 4 months to make sure that you are supported on this journey. The new platform has a community group, like a Facebook page, but without all the algorithms and data mining, so we can communicate as a group as well. I think this will be a nice addition to the learning process.

UPDATE (for those who care): The house renovations have stalled, which has been frustrating at times. Declan is busy landscaping, hauling wheelbarrows of soil from one part of the yard to another, and we're heading to out to Corn Hill Nursery to buy some new trees later this week, but nothing is happening inside the house. It's looking like things will ramp up again this fall, though! I'll be sure to send out pictures when the roof comes off (yup, the whole thing!), and as the loft renovations progress. I'm really excited about having a bigger space to move, teach, and create in. A room 6'x10' and full of furniture has had its challenges this past year. More space also gives me more flexibility in what I'm able to teach, and I've been starting to feel the itch to teach some yoga, so stay tuned for that in the coming year.

I hope that you are well, able to have some time and space to rest and renew.
Enjoy the last weeks of your summer!

Warmly,
Jennifer