Now that you’re slowly escaping from the perils of January (if you see it that way and many do…and there’s only 10 or so days to go), what plans are you making for your health and wellness this Spring and hopefully a glorious summer ahead?

Like a dog isn’t just for Christmas, in my opinion, neither are all those resolutions for January! Given that many of the promises we made for January can involve being a bit harsh on ourselves, I never make any…apart from one…and it certainly didn’t involve Dry January.

Hear me out…

I’m not really much of a drinker and I like the philosophy, ‘Everything in Moderation.’ As a wellness advocate too, you’d think I would have gone out of my way to encourage you to invest much more in your self including abstinence from the devil that can be alcohol…and not just January.

Well, my only resolution every year is the same one and again in 2018, it’s “How can I maximise my potential?”

Admittedly, I’ve led you astray here…

That Dry January thing…whenever I meet new clients on a one-to-one, host workshops for companies and organisations…i always bring up the same subject in exploring and explaining the power of the breath in our wellbeing.

That same subject is mouth breathing.

If you do it on a plane or whilst walking around the supermarket, you’re taking in all the germs around you and we’ve had record levels of those recorded in January! And it’s the very behaviour that makes you dry and thirsty, whether you realise that or not!

It’s the same difference of course if you mouth breathe by a computer or whilst you’re texting or surfing your favourite social channel.

It’s a bit more obvious that you’re dry and thirsty when exercising but that’s not just because of perspiration.

Most people i’ve discussed their exercise habits with mouth breathe all the way through…almost like the nose is an ornament. Keeping your mouth closed keeps your mouth moist…especially when exercising.

Think about this…

When you’re asleep and you wake up with a parched, dry mouth, either you’ve put several cloves of garlic in your dinner (garlic can often dehydrate) or more likely, you’ve been mouth breathing.

Now you see why I led you astray…

It was my (dry) cunning way of word association with mouth breathing. Seriously, mouth breathing can lead to so many health complications.

For starters, it can block your nose. Your nose becomes blocked because you are ‘over breathing’ when you mouth breathe…over breathing doesn’t enable your blood vessels to dilate. When this happens, you reduce the flow of C02 and oxygen to the smooth muscle linings, creating the blockage. Asthmatics are classic over breathers. In many cases, it is their over breathing that causes asthma in the first place! Thinking of Spring and Summer, it’s the same with hay fever sufferers too.

Maybe make yourself a promise…

Try and maximise your potential in 2018, even if it only extends to stop being a mouth breather. If you’re not, great! But I bet you have family and friends who are that never reconciled with the fact that mouth breathing can cause so many health issues that very often go unidentified. Mouth breathing can affect every organ in your body…and one of the first signs is feeling dry. Feel free to show them via me, why it’s not worth doing dry…throughout the whole of 2018.