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Get the most from your body by understanding the highs and lows of your hormone cycle. On the first day of your period, start recording your thoughts, feelings, behaviours and bodily changes. Track your cycle to understand yourself better, know when to rest and where you are more likely to feel ready to reach for some goals.

  • Do you feel unable to complete certain tasks at different times of your cycle?
  • Are you taken over by feelings and are not sure how best to cope with them?
  • Do you become irritable, lack focus and have difficulty sleeping?
  • Read on to find out why and what you can do about it.

There is a pattern to hormone fluctuation in each cycle, however every individual will release and metabolise different amounts, meaning variation between individual’s sensitivity to the effects of each hormone. Factors such as sleep, diet and lifestyle will also affect the release and effect of hormones in individuals. Understanding and learning better breathing techniques can improve many systems of the body and help to combat some of the symptoms associated with ‘hormone hangovers’, PMS and even peri-meno-pause and menopause symptoms.

Oestrogen is responsible for thickening the lining of the uterus in preparation for ovulation. Vaginal discharge can be watery and stretchy. Oestrogen supports brain, heart and lung health by maintaining good blood flow, keeping serotonin, endorphin and cholesterol levels regular. It assists the hypothalamus in regulating body temperature and supports the body in muscle mass and recovery. It also helps to balance bacteria in the gut.

Oestrogen may make you feel more confident and capable, encouraging your ‘inner cheerleader’ to come out and take some risks or reach for some goals.

When oestrogen levels are low this could be associated with feelings of clumsiness, lack of motivation, as well as dysregulated mood and body temperature.

Progesterone is responsible for preparing the lining of the uterus to hold and grow a fertilised egg. Vaginal discharge can be more white and sticky. When an egg is not fertilised, progesterone decreases, and the lining breaks away and sheds (bleed). Progesterone supports thyroid function and increases metabolic rate which can increase heart and breathing rate, appetite and body temperature. It can also increase oil production in skin

Progesterone may make you feel calm and relaxed as it lowers blood pressure. It also has a sleep promoting effect.

When progesterone levels are low you may feel a little more anxious, low mood and decreased tolerance to pain and perception of breathlessness.

Period phase – from day 1 of the bleed when both hormones are low, may lead to feelings of fatigue, pain, low motivation and mood. It is important during this phase to keep some gentle movement throughout the body to assist with pain and low mood.

Follicular phase – during this part of the cycle we may feel more emotionally resilient and capable of more high intensity exercise.

Luteal phase – higher levels of both hormones may be responsible for higher stress responses and higher breathing and heart rates.

Pre-menstrual phase – as hormone levels start to decline, ‘hormone hangover’ symptoms may creep in such as bloating, anxiety, lack of concentration, tiredness.

The best way to understand how hormones affect you and your body, is to track your cycle. This will help understand your needs throughout the peri and menopause years too.

How can breathing help with symptoms of hormone changes?

Nasal breathe. Breathing through the nose means you are filtering the air before it enters your body, utilising the body’s natural line of defence against toxins and allergens. Nasal breathing engages the diaphragm more fully, utilising the full range of breathing mechanics. Breathing through the nose creates some resistance and reminds us to breathe less.

Breathe light – breathing less increases carbon dioxide in the body. CO2 is essential in releasing oxygen from the blood to be transported to other cells in need, optimising oxygen delivery around the body.

Breathe slow – reducing the number of breaths per minute improves heart rate variability (HRV) and our body’s stress responses. Breathing slowly improves gas exchange in the lungs. Breathe in for 4 seconds and exhale for 6 seconds.

Breathe deep – breathing low into your lungs is what is meant by taking a deep breath, not necessarily a big, oversized breath. Breathing low into the body, filling the lungs from the bottom up. You should feel the bottom ribs move out to the side.

20 minutes of light, slow and deep breathing per day can bring you;

a calmer mind more resilient stress levels
deeper sleep better focus
higher CO2 tolerance better oxygen delivery to cells, muscles and organs
Improved circulation improved digestion
Decreased pain perception better vagal tone
Reduced breathlessness less back and neck pain/tension

Get in touch to understand more about how your breathing can affect your overall health. Get 121
in-person or online guidance on how to improve your familiar but possibly dysfunctional breathing patterns. Learn how to ‘Breathe A-Gain with Dot’…

Sources of information:
Oxygen Advantage.com
Jennis | Changing the world of women’s hormonal health.com
The Female Body Bible, 2023
https://www.redschool.net/

Breathe A-Gain with Dot

To find out more about Dot, take a look at her profile in Practitioners Corner

Where did you complete your training (or where are you still in training)?

I am a trainee Breathwork Facilitator, expecting to graduate my 10 month training in December 2024, Shakti Tracy is my teacher. I’ve got quite a busy practice at the moment. Things are really building up and i’m so excited after having spent 4 years rebuilding my life after having to leave my teaching career.

What do you enjoy about breathwork and how has it helped you?

Oooooo where to begin. It is something we all do – the only system in our body that is both automatic and we can control. It impacts so much on every aspect of our physical and mental well being. The science of the breath astounds me and the woo-woo aspect delights me. I’ve moved mountains – ancestral, generational and childhood trauma. It has enabled me to find me after a very traumatic and life changing injury 4 years ago when i was a teacher. It has give me a new lease of life.

Are you trained in any other modalities?

Im a Master level qualified teacher with 25 years experience working in trauma informed edication settings. Im a qualified Forest Bathing guide. A Reiki Master A qualfied counsellor and art therapist. Im wanting tolearn more about IFS and Spinal Energetics

How do they integrate with breathwork?

All of life integrates with Breathwork! Using my skills and vast experience in teaching and leading, i can not only guide and support using Breathwork to enable and enhance others but i can teach them how to do this for themselves. Through my person centred approach, im happy to coach women along their journey with the breath and help them integrate this into their everyday lives. Im a huge advocate for the poer of nature in our lives and encourage participation in our stunning natural landscapes to drop into themselves and find what they need in the expansive magic we lives amongst. Reiki is a huge part of everything i do in life as everything, including us, is energy and supporting people to vibrate on a frequency that is right for them is such a huge honour.

What is your personal journey?

From a wild youth – raving, partying, being dysregulated and forever searching from some inner peace but constantly self sabotaging, i learnt how to soothe my soul about 12 years ago when I admitted to myself i have some deeply ungrained trauma issue that I hadn’t faced into, even though I had always thought i had. My constant addictions – be in booze, weed, recreational drugs, Horlicks or shopping made me see how much my inner child was searching for something. I became a mum at 18 – was barely an adult myself and i always felt like i was playing ‘catch up’ with life. so at 38 (and 1 divorce and 2 more kids later) I stepped away from the party scene (that my present hubby and i were part of) and took the bold move to work on myself. I was a teacher – teaching in SEND schools and colleges and i felt like i was in a rat race but the money was needed so i combine my own self healing journey with a very busy wife, mum, career woman lifestyle. In 2020, just after the pandemic, when schools returned, i got badly injured in my classroom by a student which led to 2 spinal surgeries and a should surgery. This ended my teaching career abruptly causing great pain and loss. Whilst i was worn out trying to do it all, id worked very hard in my single parent years to get my life on track and was very proud of my Masters level education and my career. I loved all of the students i had worked with and the loss of all of this was hard. In the 4 years since that happened, I’ve had to learn to live with lifelong disability, a lot of pain and a huge amount of upheaval. My tagline, however, about all of this is….’My spine will never be aligned but as a result of that day – my life is now aligned’ Having the time and space to truly…like really ‘do the work’ and start to fully heal has been priceless. Along that journey of rediscovering who i was always meant to be, i came across Conscious Connected Breathwork and it blew me away. Last year, after my 2nd spinal surgery, i signed up to the 10 month coaching training with Breathing Space and my personal and professional transformation has been incredible. I really feel like I’ve found my thing and i want to gift the world the knowledge of what the breath can do for everyone.

What do you stand for, and what do you stand against?

I stand for women – all women everywhere. My aim in life is to be the woman i needed in my younger years. I want to support, guide, stand alongside women working through their own journeys and be there to watch them find the tools to rise. I stand against injustice, hatred, mean behaviour and those that make it their mission to belittle others.

What is your greatest wish for your clients

My wish for them is that they find their ‘thing’. The thing that makes their hearts sing and souls glow.

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What do you enjoy about breathwork and how has it helped you?

What I enjoy most about breathwork is its simplicity and power. Breathwork is always accessible; it’s something I carry with me wherever I go, an anchor that grounds me in any moment. It’s a tool that helps me connect with myself deeply and in ways that no other practice has. The act of breathing, especially conscious connected breathwork, brings a sense of presence that’s calming and empowering. It’s a reminder that I don’t need to control everything—each breath comes and goes, and with it, I can let go of old patterns, fears, and the need for control.

Breathwork has helped me in profound ways. It’s allowed me to accept myself as I am, to live with less anxiety and more ease. Through breathwork, I’ve learned to be present, even in challenging times. It’s helped me release tension, manage stress, and find peace in moments where I’d once feel overwhelmed. Most importantly, it’s helped me build resilience and acceptance within myself, and that, in turn, has made me a more grounded mum and teacher. Breathwork is my sanctuary, a place I can come back to again and again, knowing it will support and steady me.

Where did you complete your training (or where are you still in training)?

Graduate Facilitator, Mentor and Teacher at Breathing Space

Are you trained in any other modalities?

I am trained in Flower and Vibrational essence therapy, NLP, havening, EFT and mindfulness

How do they integrate with breathwork?

Flower essences, NLP, havening, EFT and mindfulness all integrate seamlessly with breathwork, each adding depth to the practice. Together, they support emotional release, shift limiting beliefs, and foster a sense of inner peace and resilience. Breathwork brings clients into a receptive state, allowing these therapies to work more profoundly. Whether enhancing emotional balance, cultivating joy, or releasing old patterns, these practices together provide a powerful, holistic approach for deep-rooted healing and transformation

What is your personal journey?

I started teaching at 21, full of energy and hope. Life in rural Donegal was busy, raising three children—two now in college and one still at home—and balancing family, work, and community. Losing my mum at 25 was a turning point, leaving a deep ache that I carried silently. Over time, stress and overwhelm took their toll, and I felt like I’d lost a sense of myself—not just as a teacher or mother but as a person.

Then I found breathwork and other holistic practices. It began as a few moments of peace but quickly became my path to healing. Gradually, I started releasing years of tension and self-judgment. I learned to let go, be present, and reconnect with myself. Breath by breath, I found strength, resilience, and a renewed sense of calm that has changed my life. Now, I approach teaching, motherhood, and life itself with more compassion, feeling grateful and grounded in each moment.

What do you stand for, and what do you stand against?

I stand for empowerment and nurturing—especially for women, mums, and teachers. My work is rooted in helping others reconnect with their innate power, embracing feminine energy, and living more mindfully and authentically. I value holistic well-being, promoting a life of balance, calm, and self-discovery through gentle yet transformative practices.

I stand for supporting foundational growth through intentional practices, such as breathing and mindset work, to foster inner calm and emotional resilience. I advocate for the importance of role modelling—encouraging mothers and teachers to embody the calm and balance they wish to pass on to teens and children, as I believe calm homes and classrooms begin with calm adults.

I stand for the celebration of womanhood and the healing power of feminine energy, challenging the societal tendency to overvalue masculine traits. My work centres on integration and choice, helping others understand that they can shape their emotions and experiences with awareness and intention.

I stand against rigid, overstressed environments that leave little room for calm and connection. I oppose the idea that women, mums, or teachers need to constantly give without replenishing themselves. I stand against the cultural conditioning that ignores the value of feminine energy and the holistic approach to well-being, as well as the outdated belief that emotions should be repressed rather than processed and honoured.

Additionally, I reject superficial quick fixes and toxic positivity and instead emphasise practices that create deep, sustainable change, calling out the “nonsense” of approaches that disregard the power of mindfulness and intentionality.

What is your greatest wish for your clients

My greatest wish for my clients is that they reconnect with their true selves and discover the power and peace that lies within them. I want them to realise that they have a choice in every moment—to shape their emotions, their responses, and their lives in ways that feel nourishing and authentic. I wish for them to find a sense of calm and resilience, so they can approach life’s challenges with grace and strength.

I hope they learn to embrace their feminine energy, valuing it as a powerful force for balance and healing in a world that often prizes the opposite. I want them to realise it’s ok not to be mindful, happy, in control all the time and that there is support for then in those times. I wish for them to create homes and environments that reflect tall this,, not only for themselves but for their children, students, and everyone they touch. Above all, I want them to feel empowered to live fully, joyfully, and with a deep-rooted sense of purpose and connection.

My Bio

Marie Doherty is a holistic wellbeing practitioner in Ireland. She is passionate about empowering women to embrace their innate strength and helping teachers lead a gentler, more mindful life. Having taught for over 30 years she understands the pressures of the classroom and the stresses of balancing school and home life. Using her skills and experience she equips teachers with the skills to create calm and balanced lives, initially using the breath. Her mission is to celebrate womanhood and bring more feminine energy to the world. Remember, calm homes begin with calm mums and calm schools begin with calm teachers.

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