The ASHA Journal

Words from the land in Tuscany.

Welcome to the ASHA journal. This is where we slow down and write about the things our retreats and trainings are really about: the breath, the body, intuition, purpose, and the quiet work of living more consciously. Some pieces are practical, some are reflective, all of them come from the land in Tuscany where this work happens. Wander in, and take what speaks to you.

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Breath
Breath & Soma
Body & Soma
Conscious Living
Community & Belonging

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A person breathing through a softly open mouth during a breathwork session

Mouth or Nose? How We Breathe in a Session, and Why

If you've tried breathwork, you may have noticed something odd: you breathe through your mouth, not your nose. For a practice all about health, that can seem backwards. There are three honest reasons for it, and they have little to do with oxygen alone. Here's why a session uses mouth breathing, when the nose is the better choice, and what the open mouth does to your awareness and your feelings.

Matt Teague

Jun 93 min read

A person breathing slowly with eyes closed, easing a stressed body

Breathwork for Stress: What Actually Happens in the Body

Stress is not just a feeling. It is a cascade of real changes in the body: faster breath, raised heart rate, stress hormones, digestion on pause. Breathwork interrupts that cascade at the one point you can reach on purpose. Here's what stress actually does inside you, why the breath is the most direct lever you have, and a simple practice to bring a stressed system back down.

Matt Teague

Jun 24 min read

A calm pair of hands resting open, illustrating a breathing reset for panic

The 90-Second Reset: Using Breath in a Moment of Panic

When panic hits, there is no time for theory. What helps is something you can reach for in seconds, with no preparation and no equipment. The 90-second reset is exactly that: ten breaths, a simple count, and a steadiness that tells the body it is safe. Here's how it works, what to say to yourself while you do it, and why it settles an overwhelmed system so quickly.

Matt Teague

Apr 24 min read

People breathing together at ASHA Tuscany

Why One Breath Can Change a Room

ou have felt it without naming it: one calm person walks into a tense room and something settles. It is not charisma or luck. It is co-regulation, a real and measurable thing, and breath is the most direct way to do it on purpose. Here's how one regulated breath can change the feeling of a whole room, and why the steadiest person present is so often the one who shapes it.

Matt Teague

Mar 144 min read

What Is Conscious Connected Breath?

Most of the time, your breath looks after itself. Conscious connected breath is what happens when you stop leaving it to the background and start breathing on purpose. A simple, continuous, circular breath with no gaps, it brings clarity, release and calm, and asks for nothing but your attention and a willingness to feel. Here's how it works, what tends to come up in a session, and where to begin.

Matt Teague

Mar 15 min read

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The ASHA Journal

Words from the land in Tuscany.

All Posts

Mouth or Nose? How We Breathe in a Session, and Why

Breathwork for Stress: What Actually Happens in the Body

The 90-Second Reset: Using Breath in a Moment of Panic

Why One Breath Can Change a Room

What Is Conscious Connected Breath?

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