A couple of months ago, I had Dr Ela Manga on my Kaya FM show, #LifeWithKojoBaffoeto chat about herself, her career, and the establishment of Breathwork Africa. Initially trained as a medical doctor, life experiences and the challenges of her patients led her to the world of integrative medicine, energy management and breathwork.
The reality is that, with the increasing demands on our time, our attention, our bodies and our minds, many of us are struggling to keep things together. And are not operating optimally, whether physically, spiritually or mentally. We are living in an ‘always on’ world where we struggle to shut down, even momentarily, until we are forced to shut down.
As Ela states on her site, under the Energy Management section, “With burnout becoming a global epidemic, the skill of energy management is becoming even more important to the health of our individual and collective systems. Rather than maladapting to the demands of our time, new strategies are required to adapt and thrive.”
A week prior to the interview, I had a short, summarised consultation with Ela to get a sense of how Breathwork, um, works. Five minutes into following her breathing technique instructions, I was lying there just wanting to smile. She explained to me how there are many techniques for breathing to relax, raise energy levels, etc.
On the Breathwork Africa site, they explain that “Breathwork is the conscious application of breath awareness and breathing techniques as a tool for dealing with the challenges of everyday life, supporting health and energy, managing conflict and enhancing creative thinking.”
And the benefits of breathwork are:
I am finishing Ela’s book Breathe – Strategising Energy In The Age of Burnout in which she explores healthy eating, hydration, sleep and rest, the power of nature, technology, mindfulness, belief systems, etc and how these have an impact on our energy. She shares advice, thoughts, techniques and the like through the stories of her patients and includes herself in these.
You can listen to the full interview below: