“I love this too much to let a couple of jack wads put me off”: Joy, Struggle, and Reimagining a Healthy Wildfire Fighting Culture
BreathStrong presents breathing as the first skill to master for resilience, health, and performance, especially for Firefighters and First Responders. While the importance of Firefighter air management and cardiovascular fitness is acknowledged, there are gaps in research regarding firefighter breathing functionalities for all Firefighters, and more broadly, especially for women and their unique needs.
Women face distinct respiratory challenges due to anatomical/physiological differences, hormonal cycles, and life stages, which influence disease risk, breathing function, and symptom severity. Functional breathing education, awareness, and exercises - while not cures - can greatly improve quality of life and manage women-specific issues and symptoms, as well as enhance physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellbeing.
This presentation will provide education and information regarding optimal breathing function, its relevance and importance for women, and how to achieve it, using practical exercises that can be readily used and applied regardless of location, task, situation, or circumstance.

