Breath-Body-Mind™

Breath-Body-Mind™ (BBM) uses an evidence based, proven breathing practice to dramatically improve one’s physical and mental well-being. It rapidly reduces stress and/or anxiety, as well as other symptoms of post-traumatic stress. At the core of BBM is “Coherent Breathing” an optimal breath rate for keeping our stress response system (autonomic nervous system) in balance. When we use this breathing technique our body reaches all levels of our brain including the: autonomic regulatory circuits, emotional regulatory centers, and the frontal lobes. When this happens the body convinces the mind that it is safe to turn down the stress response system and it relaxes. And healing begins.

BBM is safe and easily taught across cultural, religious and language differences. It requires no long term therapeutic relationship or ongoing skills training and can be practiced alone or in groups. One of its enormous benefits is that it can be made readily available in places where existing mental health infrastructure is not easily accessible, or doesn’t exist as a result of war or a natural disaster.

BBM represents over 20 years of medical research carried out by Dr. Richard Brown, associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry from Columbia University in New York, and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry at New York Medical College. Their programs have helped veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan wars, active duty military, survivors of the Asia Tsunami, the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, South Sudan war and trafficking, Rohingyan child refugees, and other groups of refugees. In 2018, Dr. Richard Brown and Heidi Luquer went to Rwanda and introduced BBM to the Ministry of Health and country’s leading psychologists. We hope to bring BBM to many Rwandans in the near future.