Liberating the Natural Breath:
THE Air Hunger Help Community

Air Hunger is a label for the distressing feeling of not being able to get a full breath. The non-medical Air Hunger that we help people resolve is caused by the accumulated disruption of your normal, natural breathing; we also refer to this condition as Chronic Breathing Tension, which we think provides a more accurate picture of what’s really happening.

Here are some common things that people suffering from non-medical Air Hunger often say: 

• I feel like I can’t breathe / I can’t breathe

• I can’t get a full breath anymore

• I’m yawning all the time / I have to yawn all the time just to occasionally get the feeling of a full breath

• I feel I’m always struggling to take a big breath or a big sigh—always chasing after that elusive feeling of getting a full breath

• Breathing feels difficult; I didn’t used to have to think about breathing, but now I’m thinking about it all the time. It won’t leave me alone.

• I’m in constant physical discomfort

• I’m in a constant state of distress or anxiety, because I feel like I’m suffocating, and I don’t know why

• I feel like I’m having a panic attack

• I have to work harder and harder just to get a breath

• My throat/chest/back/abdomen feels tight and uncomfortable

• I’m always chest-breathing. I’ve tried belly-breathing and counted breathing and breathing exercises, but none of them have helped me.

• I feel like I have a lump or a blockage in my throat, but the doctors say there’s nothing wrong with me

• I feel like I can’t get enough air into my lungs, but the doctors say my lungs and lung capacity and oxygen levels are all fine

• I feel like there must be something terribly wrong with me, and I can’t find anyone else who suffers from this same issue, but the doctors say there’s nothing wrong with me. They tell me it’s anxiety.

Here are some terms that are sometimes (though not always and not necessarily) used to point to what we term non-medical Air Hunger or Chronic Breathing Tension (please note that this website is not designed for diagnostic purposes, but rather only to help people who may be experiencing non-medical Air Hunger find the solution they’ve been looking for—only your doctor can confirm or disconfirm a medical diagnosis):

• Chronic Breathing Tension

• Hyperventilation, Chronic Hyperventilation, or Hyperventilation Syndrome 

• Chronic Yawning or Chronic Sighing

• Dyspnea, Breathlessness, Shortness of Breath, Gasping for Air, Reaching for Air, Chronic Muscle Tension

Liberating the Natural Breath is the comprehensive solution and community for those struggling with Air Hunger and Chronic Breathing Tension. We show you the way to free, easy, natural breathing—and toward greater awareness and connection with your whole self. Based on long-established bodies of work and developed by two health professionals with decades of experience working with breathing issues, our 10-week course—hosted within our larger community, with weekly live group coaching sessions and continually growing resources—leads you through the process of freeing yourself from Air Hunger and restoring your easy, healthy, natural breathing. Here at LNB, we honor the breath as a teacher that is leading us toward more fully inhabiting our body, our nervous system, and our whole self. We invite you to embrace the invitation of your breathing struggles and dive into the process of discovering ease, alignment, and greater connection to yourself through Liberating the Natural Breath.

LNB is an online breathing journey and community created specifically to help people experiencing non-medical breathing dysfunction—such as Air Hunger, Chronic Breathing Tension, and Chronic Hyperventilation—find their way toward easeful, natural breathing. Created by a psychotherapist who found his way through Air Hunger earlier in his life and a breathing-specialized Alexander Technique teacher (see the two bios on this page), Liberating the Natural Breath is an innovative, thorough, and holistic approach that is founded upon long-established bodies of work. We are committed to providing a path forward for people with non-medical Air Hunger and breathing dysfunction—people who feel they can’t get a full breath—by helping them rediscover that their body does know how to breathe and can reestablish its inherent, easeful breathing if given the right support.

While there’s a lot we could say about LNB’s approach compared to other approaches, to give you a sense of the orientation of the course, we’ll mention four important characteristics of LNB that are not typical of other approaches:

• LNB is designed specifically for people with Air Hunger. This is not the case with most techniques or programs, which is significant, because Air Hunger is a very specific and stubborn pattern that is often not responsive to many breathing techniques or typical methods.

• LNB is created and facilitated by someone who actually experienced serious air hunger for years, managed to get through it, and has spent years studying the process of how to restore natural breathing. Most breathing methods out there were not created by people who have experienced this form of Air Hunger. As you may have found, it’s difficult for people who haven’t experienced it to really understand what it’s like to deal with day after day, month after month.

• LNB is based on a well-established body of work—the Alexander Technique—that has generated professional organizations, countless books, and publications; has attracted prominent scientists and researchers and philosophers; and is taught at universities. The AT has been developed and refined for over a century and has earned great respect for its comprehensive understanding of the body and its insights into how change happens. LNB is grounded in this reliable and long-established body of work.

• LNB supports you in rediscovering and cultivating your inherently easeful, natural breathing by learning to gradually release the interference and tension that are at the core of the dysfunction while simultaneously learning to increasingly welcome and allow the natural movement that is seeking to happen. The breath ultimately becomes our teacher as we learn to listen to it. Most breathing methods, in contrast, seek to overlay set breathing models and exercises on top of breathing that’s already dysfunctional, which may exacerbate existing interference and tension or introduce new forms of it. These are two very different approaches.

From 2000 to 2004, I (Simon) struggled with constant Air Hunger and the distress that comes with it. Though I searched far and wide, no one seemed to be able to help me, and I couldn’t find a solution. Eventually, I did find my way through the worst of it based on the advice of a breathing specialist and physical therapist, though my breathing remained problematic. When I finally discovered the Alexander Technique and started working with a gifted, breathing-specialized Alexander teacher, everything finally made sense, and I was able to restore my natural breathing. In 2011, I wrote an essay about this journey. Since publishing it, countless people with the same problem I once had have contacted me asking for help. Over the years, Amira (a breathing-specialized Alexander Technique teacher) and I have worked with Air Hunger-sufferers and developed resources to help them find their way through Air Hunger. We’re thrilled to be able to share the most developed, refined, and comprehensive version of our work—easily accessible in this in-depth, online format—in the latest version of Liberating the Natural Breath!

The Alexander Technique (AT) is a powerful method of restoring the natural ease, efficiency, and effectiveness of the body’s state and movement that was developed by F. M. Alexander (1869–1955). Rather than being a “therapy” in which a practitioner tries on some level to treat or fix the client, the AT instead empowers the student to see and sense the ways they interfere in their body’s naturally easeful and efficient state. By recognizing the ways they are unnecessarily creating tension and interference, the student can then shift their habits and support their system’s return to natural alignment. In many ways, it’s a unique method that gets to the root of the cause, which is why it has drawn the acclaim of some notable philosophers and scientists over the decades. The Alexander Technique has long been recognized especially for its sophisticated understanding of breathing (Alexander himself was dubbed “the breathing man” in his day), and a specific body of natural breathing work has been developed that draws largely on the Alexander Technique—Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing. Amira began her journey with the Alexander Technique in 1995 and has been teaching professionally since 2005; she is also certified in Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing. Simon has studied and practiced the Alexander Technique as a student for over 15 years.

LNB is not an Alexander Technique course; rather, it is a natural breathing course specifically for those with Chronic Breathing Tension. However, LNB is founded upon many of the principles, insights, and practices that have been developed within the AT over the past century. This is how LNB is able to support you on your path of restoring your natural breathing. 

LNB is for anyone seeking freedom from non-medical breathing dysfunction, such as Air Hunger, who is prepared to be in a process with their breathing. For most people, getting through Air Hunger involves a process of progressively releasing accumulated tension and interference and reawakening the natural movement of the breath. LNB provides what you need to be in this process. Occasionally, it may be possible to find relief simply through understanding and a shift in perspective, which is one reason we provide free resources on this site. However, most people find a more involved process is required in order to find their way to the other side of Air Hunger. That’s why we created LNB. The resources included in this program provide the support needed for this process of restoring your natural breathing.

The Liberating the Natural Breath 10-week course was carefully designed by Simon Spire, a psychotherapist, and Amira Glaser, an AmSAT-certified Alexander Technique teacher who is also certified in Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing, an acupuncturist, and Simon’s life partner. The program is designed especially for those experiencing moderate to severe non-medical air hunger or breathing dysfunction. Many of the understandings and practices explored are also highly applicable to less pronounced cases and to natural breathing in general. The course and community are hosted on the powerful and community-friendly Mighty Networks platform. There are no hidden costs.

Here’s a brief sample of topics covered in the 10-week, 15-module course:

• Understanding the process of change

• Understanding the causes and onset of Air Hunger

• Understanding Natural Breathing

• The three stages and three breakthroughs of restoring your natural breathing

• The four domains of change that enable us to shift from dysfunctional breathing to natural breathing

• A 10-minute video animation from Jessica Wolf that demonstrates the various layers of normal, natural breathing, including the various layers and groups of muscles; spine, ribs, and other skeletal structures; the diaphragm; and connective and supportive tissues

• Breathing exercises and sequences for when your breathing is feeling disrupted or you’re experiencing air hunger

• Breathing exercises and sequences for transitioning from stage 1 to stage 2

• Breathing exercises and sequences for reorienting your breathing toward its natural dynamics

• Breathing exercises and sequences to put into practice for 10-15 minutes per day

• Reminders to help you shift from the anxiety associated with air hunger to wisdom and balance so that you can progress more easily

• Guidance, links, and important considerations for working with an in-person practitioner, such as an Alexander Technique teacher or other Somatic Practitioner in your local area (not at all a requirement for the course, but an option that is available if desired)

• Working with the psychological dimensions of air hunger and areas of unconscious inner material that may be contributing to breathing disruption

• Explorations into the transformative nature of the journey of moving from dysfunctional breathing to natural breathing, along with guidance on how to embrace the inner and psychological growth opportunities presented

• Working with nervous system regulation to support your transition to natural breathing

• Responses to frequently asked questions that we have received over the years

• Stories from others who have restored their natural breathing

Here’s a brief overview of the kinds of topics covered in weekly live group coaching sessions, during which the LNB facilitators are in live conversation with LNB members who are in the process of restoring their natural breathing:

• Insights and experiences of newfound breathing ease and freedom from LNB members

• Clarifying questions from LNB members about applying the instructions, tools, and principles from the course to their breathing practices and everyday activities

• Sticking points or challenges being experienced by LNB members as they unwind the problematic breathing habits they’ve come to depend on and open up into more of their natural breathing coordination

• Demonstrations, stories, examples, and suggestions from the LNB facilitators

• We also regularly hold special events (about once a month) during which we lead a guided process or demonstration with a specific purpose; invite in a special guest to lead a process or share tools about a specific somatic or psychological topic; or hold an LNB Easy Breathers roundtable during which we hear insights and reflections from LNB members who have settled into their easy, normal breathing 

We use Mighty Networks to run the LNB program and community, because we think Mighty Networks is the best platform! When you click on the JOIN LNB NOW! buttons, you’re taken to the Mighty Networks checkout page for the LNB Community. Mighty Networks runs on a subscription model, and we’ve chosen a 6-month subscription as the optimal period of time for membership.

We don’t have much control over the Mighty Networks checkout page; “bianually subscription” is, strangely enough, the language Mighty Networks has chosen for a 6-month subscription.

When you join LNB, you pay $249 (USD) and receive a 6-month membership. At anytime during those 6 months, you can cancel your subscription (but the $249 is non-refundable after the first few days—you can check the refund policy in the “Terms of Service” for details). If you don’t cancel, the Mighty Networks setup is such that your membership will automatically renew after 6 months. Mighty Networks will automatically send you notifications before it renews your membership, and if you don’t want to renew your membership, you’ll have to click “cancel” instead. This is the way Mighty Networks is set up, and we don’t have much control over this aspect of it.

Some people will choose to end their membership because they’re happy with their breathing and don’t want to pay for further membership. Some people will choose to renew their membership because their life got too busy after they joined LNB and they didn’t get a chance to do the program. And others, we’ve found, like to stay a part of the LNB community because they align with the philosophy and the ongoing growth and cultivation of well-being—and they love connecting with and supporting other community members.