Liberating the Natural Breath:
THE Air Hunger Help Community

This course is not a substitute for medical evaluation and treatment. We do not interpret or comment on any individuals’ medical diagnoses. What we can say is the following:

1. First, if you have or suspect that you have a medical issue, we strongly encourage you to seek medical attention. If you have a medical condition and also experience symptoms of Chronic Breathing Tension and Air Hunger, it’s quite possible that working toward freeing your natural breathing could be very helpful and provide relief—even if you still have other aspects of the medical condition to deal with. I.e., it’s not unusual for people who have a medical condition that impacts their breathing to also have significant breathing tension and interference on top of it which worsens their breathing experience. So as long as your doctor is okay with your being in a process of freeing up tension and welcoming natural breathing, then LNB could be quite beneficial. We encourage you to consult your doctor if this is the case as this course is not a substitute for medical treatment.

2. Many people who decide to join LNB have already gone through countless tests and consultations with doctors without any resulting medical diagnoses or medical issues being revealed. We encourage people to get whatever medical tests or advice they need to feel comfortable and confident and to follow the advice of their physicians. If you have non-medical breathing dysfunction, we encourage you to join LNB.

3. Anyone who has gone through the process of seeking help for Chronic Breathing Tension and Air Hunger knows that it is not a well-understood or well-recognized condition. It can result in a variety of diagnoses, including Chronic Hyperventilation Syndrome. You’ll have to use your own discernment, subject to medical advice and consultation with your physician and health care providers, to determine for yourself whether your breathing difficulties are due to a medical condition or a result of non-medical Chronic Breathing Tension, which is the result of imbalance and habitual misuse of your body.

4. Some people considering the course wonder if their air hunger is caused by silent reflux or GERD. We don’t comment on individual medical situations beyond what we’ve already said in points 2 and 3 above, but of course if your doctor diagnoses you with GERD and prescribes a treatment, we recommend you follow it. It’s also worth considering the possibility (and discussing it with your doctor) that your breathing dysfunction—including abdominal tension and diaphragmatic issues—could be causing digestive issues and contributing to reflux in significant ways. We have seen cases where addressing breathing dysfunction has greatly improved reflux symptoms. Our general recommendation is to discuss any reflux or GERD with your doctor but to also consider joining Liberating the Natural Breath to address chronic breathing tension and work toward restoring your natural breathing.

We sometimes receive emails from people describing their symptoms and asking for advice or if we think they would be good candidates for LNB. We really understand that Air Hunger can often feel alarming and distressing and that some people may want to speak with us about their symptoms before joining the program. However, we are unable to have individual email conversations with people before they join LNB. Instead, we try to provide all relevant information for people considering joining LNB on these pages. The other option is to book an individual session with Simon (the instructions are here), during which you can ask any questions you like about your symptoms, the LNB process, etc., and he will give his honest assessment and suggestions based on the information you provide.

You can book a session by following the instructions on this page whenever you like—either before you join LNB (if you’d like to speak with one of us about your situation in detail first) or while you’re a member of LNB (if you really want a focused, individualized session rather than attending the group coaching sessions). Please note that booking an individual session with one of us involves an additional fee.

The rhythm of this process is different for everyone. Some people experience rapid relief, while for others it is a more gradual process. Many people experience some relief in the first month as their understanding shifts and they begin to put the tools into practice. There are some who experience significant relief in the first month. Since an individual’s progress depends in part upon the way they implement course guidance and their particular physical and mental state, we cannot guarantee results, and occasionally individuals do not experience improvement. People decide for themselves how long to continue with the process based on their present level of breathing discomfort versus ease, since discomfort is usually the main motivator for people seeking to restore their breathing (it’s typical for people to continue with the LNB process until they’ve reached a satisfactory level of ease in their breathing). However, regardless of which of the above categories you fall into—whether you find relief more gradually or more rapidly—if you want to cultivate truly resilient natural breathing, the change process will usually need to continue for a number of months. In this way, the years of accumulated tension and interference that are often at the root of Chronic Breathing Tension can gradually unwind while the natural movement of the breath is reawakened, providing a growing sense of ease along the way. We provide all the tools and guidance we can in the course; your progress is then largely dependent on your continuation of the process and your understanding and application of the course resources. We will also be available during Weekly Live Sessions and other avenues to help you navigate the process, so we suggest you make use of these options as needed.

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 3-month (quarterly) subscription as the optimal period of time for membership.

We don’t have much control over the Mighty Networks checkout page; “billed quarterly” is the language Mighty Networks has chosen for a 3-month subscription. So let's clarify what that means for you!

When you join LNB, you pay $249 (USD) and receive a 3-month membership. At any time during those 3 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).

But your 3-month subscription does NOT actually renew. We’ve set it up so that when your 3-month subscription ends, you’re automatically moved to a discounted monthly subscription at a rate of $39/month — unless you decide to cancel your subscription. You can stay on this monthly subscription for as long as you like; and you can cancel it whenever you like.

If you don’t cancel your membership, the Mighty Networks setup is such that it will automatically renew each month at the rate of $39/month. Mighty Networks will 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.

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 keep their membership active because their life got too busy after they joined LNB and they didn’t get a chance to participate or complete all aspects of the program and they are still looking for additional support for their breathing. 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.

And even if you choose not to renew your membership, you’ll still have free, lifetime access to the 15 LNB course modules. To access this, just choose the appropriate free subscription plan after your 3-month subscription. (Don’t delete your Mighty Networks account, or else you’ll no longer be able to access these lifetime free resources!)

You’re welcome to stay for as long as you like. And since it’s such a great community, and the LNB approach and philosophy can be so rewarding and applicable to multiple dimensions of one’s life, we know that some people like to stick around! As you approach the end of your 3-month membership, you’ll automatically move to a discounted monthly plan, unless you choose to end your membership and retain access to only the 15 LNB course modules. The choice is entirely yours.

If you do end your membership, you’re always welcome to rejoin in the future. This way you can remain a part of the community and connected to the growing resources for as long as you like. Some people find they need more time to progress to their desired level, so LNB will always be here if you’re still in process with your breathing or if you’d like to remain a part of this supportive community and keep the LNB philosophy in your life as you continue moving toward increased natural comfort, coordination, breathing, and well-being.

No problem! First, all of the LNB resources—videos and everything else—are available to you on demand, whenever you want them. Second, the main live component is our weekly live Zoom calls and special events. If you can’t typically attend these sessions live, that’s no problem; you can still submit written questions in the community feed for weekly live sessions, and we’ll answer them during the call. You’ll be able to watch and listen to our answers when we post the recording later that day.

We do not recommend getting Alexander Technique lessons for Air Hunger without taking this course first. Years ago, we used to think that directing people to work with an Alexander teacher was all that was needed. But we found that people had highly variable results because so much depended on the understanding that both the teacher and the individual brought to their work together. The reality is that AirHunger is not a well-understood condition, even in holistic health settings. This is a big part of why we decided to create Liberating the Natural Breath.

Although they can be of benefit, Alexander lessons are not necessary for you to progress in our program. It’s very possible to make significant progress in your breathing without this additional support. We have found that seeing a practitioner doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll progress any faster. However, in some circumstances, seeing an in-person practitioner at key points in your journey may offer significant support. If so, LNB will significantly enhance and accelerate the impact of any lessons you do take. It does this by providing you with an array of tools, knowledge, and guidance that would potentially require multiple in-person lessons to begin to understand. We also provide information in the course about how to find and work with a suitable Alexander Technique teacher, or other somatic practitioner, if that’s something you decide to pursue.

We do not recommend this approach. There’s a brief section early in my (Simon’s) 2011 essay under the heading “Disrupting the Habit” where I discuss this initial progress that I made around 2003. However, approaching it in this way was extremely difficult, and the progress I made was limited. Most people who attempt this in an unsupported way struggle and do not have the success they’re looking for. There’s a much easier and more fruitful way to move through this stage of air hunger (what we call “Breakthrough 1” in the course), and this is the approach we guide you through in Liberating the Natural Breath. You’ll have much better results and a much easier time taking this more layered and supported approach than trying to follow the crude trial-and-error approach I was forced to work with early in my journey.