Breathlessness is far broader than a physical symptom. It affects people’s mood, self-esteem and social links and often involves feelings of guilt and shame. Breathlessness can also be a symptom of a range of mental disorders, such as panic and anxiety disorders. There … Read more…
Music & Mindful Yoga Therapist Kate Binnie joined Life of Breath as a researcher in January 2018. She writes: I am delighted and honoured to be officially part of the LoB team at Bristol! How I found LoB I stumbled … Read more…
This post was originally published by CDJ Plus. Pradeep Narayanan is Director of Research and Capacity Building at Praxis Institute for Participatory Practices, New Delhi and is collaborating with Life of Breath team member Andrew Russell for research on tobacco farming … Read more…
This post was originally published by The Conversation. Anthropologist and Life of Breath team member Andrew Russell writes: New figures show that more than half of all teenage smokers in the north-east of England have bought illegal tobacco. The figures, from the 2017 … Read more…
People living with breathlessness and those interested in how the arts-in-health approach may help make breathlessness less invisible, were invited to join researcher Dr Alice Malpass from the Life of Breath Project and arts-in-health specialist Elspeth Penny to explore how … Read more…
Header image: “Baby at Play” by Thomas Eakins, 1876. Puppeteer Chris Pirie was recently invited by LoB collaborator Elspeth Penny and LoB researcher Dr Alice Malpass to to speak at their event Gasp! Exploring Breath through Creative Arts as part of the Being Human … Read more…
Life of Breath post-doctoral researcher Rebecca Oxley writes: There’s something in the air in London: a growing awareness and concern with the things that permeate the air we breathe, namely the high levels of fine particulate matter linked to environmental … Read more…
Dr William Wootten, who spoke at our last Life of Breath poetry reading event, writes: The rhythm of breathing, like the rhythm of the heart or the movements of the body in action, is one of those basic rhythms of … Read more…
Music therapist and writer Kate Binnie writes: Friday 29th September saw Oxford’s City Centre transformed by the Curiosity Carnival. This University-organised event sought to bring together researchers across fields of study to share knowledge, answer questions, and interact in creative ways with … Read more…
This guest post, to mark Mesothelioma Awareness Day (26 September), is from the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Most people probably don’t know what it looks like or what it is used for, but the word ‘asbestos’ can strike fear into the … Read more…
New Life of Breath post-doctoral researcher Coreen McGuire introduces her research: Last seen fleeing the scene of the crime, the suspect was a white male in his mid-40s and was approximately 5’9, of a somewhat stocky build… This is the way … Read more…
Life of Breath post-doctoral researcher Rebecca Oxley writes: ‘Breath Lab’ is designed as a living experiment to promote discussion around a central theme relating to breath, breathing and breathlessness. The aim is not to discuss key research findings, but rather … Read more…
This post was originally published by The Conversation. Anthropologist and Life of Breath team member Andrew Russell writes: It’s hard to think back to what English pubs and clubs were like before the law about smoke-free public places came into force … Read more…
The header shows Capacity by Annie Cattrell, part of the Royal West of England Academy exhibition ‘Air: Visualising the Invisible in British Art 1768-2017’. This post and ‘The uses and abuses of air (1)’ also appear in the publication accompanying the … Read more…
The header image shows a viola, also called heartsease. Music therapist and writer Kate Binnie writes: I am in the hospital. Cardiology ward. My mother sits on the edge of the hospital bed, her swollen and shiny legs look as if … Read more…
Life of Breath PhD student Tina Williams writes: The 2017 Research Without Borders Festival showcase exhibition ran at Bristol’s Colston Hall on May 12th. I, along with ninety-nine other research students, took part in this engaging research exhibition, with the aim … Read more…
The header shows Ascent of Lunardi’s Balloon from St George’s Fields, London, 1788-90 by J. C. Ibbetson, which will be part of the Royal West of England Academy exhibition ‘Air: Visualising the Invisible in British Art 1768-2017’, as does this … Read more…
Please note that audio files of all the talks given at this conference will be available shortly. Life of Breath PhD student Tina Williams writes: On the 16th and 17th March, The University of Bristol hosted a conference on phenomenology, anxiety … Read more…
Dr Megan Wainwright is an international collaborator on the Life of Breath project. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cape Town (Division of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health and Family Medicine), and an … Read more…
The header image shows ‘In the same breath’, a 2008 artwork by artist and glass-blower Kate Williams (borosilicate glass / 40 x 125 x 40 cm / courtesy of the artist / Photo © Yiannis Katsaris. See Kate Williams’s website … Read more…
Singing teacher Deborah Hudson writes: There I was, lying on a couch with a whole lot of acupuncture pins in my head when the idea dawned on me. I should write a book which would encourage even the shyest person … Read more…
Durham post-doc Arthur Rose writes; According to Diogenes Laertius, the Ancient Greek cynic Diogenes of Sinope ‘died voluntarily by holding his breath’ (VI, 76). Now, of course, we know that people do not die when they hold their breaths. Legions … Read more…
Composer and academic Toby Young writes: ‘Our business in living is to become fluent with the life we are living and art helps’ (John Cage) Music and breath are inseparable. From a singer inhaling audibly before launching into an epic chorus, to … Read more…
Following on from part 1, Life of Breath PI Havi Carel writes: What is breathlessness? This is a seemingly simple question. Why, it’s the well-known experience of panting, perhaps getting hot and sweaty, maybe a heaving of the chest, or … Read more…