Breathe First have changed my life in the space of 3 months. At 34 I learned through the course of other therapies that my breathing was shallow and my tongue posture wasn’t resting correctly at the roof of my mouth or making contact here when I swallowed. I reached out because I’m a singer and was worried about the impact this was having on my voice. My initial contact was with Louise who was swift and above-and-beyond helpful in arranging an initial assessment, as she has in organising sessions since. The assessment was carried in-person by Emily during which I learned I had numerous structural oral issues, that they were affecting my voice in many more ways than I considered, and that my voice was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of problems my oral issues were contributing to, including (not limited to) chronic pain, headaches, sinus symptoms, stress, anxiety, exhaustion, and postural and facial appearance trashing my confidence. I am neurodivergent and struggle with explaining and organising things and I found this process informative and accessible, with Emily taking time to get to know me, to genuinely listen and interpret my challenges and my goals, and by the end providing a detailed report outlining with my myofunctional issues, a therapy plan and a number of recommendations all tailored to my needs evident in how useful they continue to be....
Having struggled with TMJD pain for over 10 years I decided to try Myofucntional therapy after hearing about it online. What a good decision that was! I have just finished the intensive phase and the difference in pain levels has been marked. For years I had been under the Dental Hospital and using various dental splints and having a bilateral joint aspiration with very little respite from the pain and yet within 2 months of starting Myofunctional therapy I have whole days where I am pain free. I have learnt a lot during my sessions, not just about my jaw pain but about dysfunctional breathing patterns, muscle imbalances and incorrect chewing and swallowing. It hadn't occurred to me that my jaw pain may not just be from the trauma to my jaw but could also stem from these other things and have started in childhood. I feel as though my whole wellbeing is starting to improve. The team have been very accommodating of my other health conditions and additional needs, tailoring the programme to suit me. I look forward to continuing my treatment and seeing what else I can gain from it and I highly recommend Myofucntional therapy and the Breathe First practice to anyone who wishes to improve their wellbeing or tackle jaw pain. I wish it had been recommended to me sooner.
Breathe First are fantastic and Emily is a kind, understanding and creative therapist. 6 months ago, it never even occurred to me that it would be possible to breathe through my nose due to my cleft lip and palate.
Thanks to Emily's help, my brain has learnt to nose breathe even through the night and I wake up more refreshed. My tongue and jaw muscles are also stronger and my speech is beginning to improve.
I can't recommend Breathe First highly enough.
Emily has been providing my son with Myofunctional Therapy, SLT and Breathing Therapy. She has been amazing in every way and every step. My son is one of most complex case, so seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is incredible. When we met Emily, no one understood what my son said, now they do.
Emily has also a vast knowledge of learning disability, autism, so her explanations, demos and expectations were clear and achievable.
Excellent service. Thorough and detailed assessment. Top quality coaching to learn the myofunctional exercises I required. I have personally noticed reduced TMJ pain as well as improved digestion.
Emily has been and continues to be a monumental help to my child who has complex needs and suffers with a jaw that has locked. We were told he needed surgery to fix it and with Emily's help he's managing to open it once again and begin to learn how to use it again , with hopefully no need for surgery. He immediately took to Emily and trusted her which has meant he's had the most out of all her sessions. She's also helped hugely with his communication.
My 6 year old son has been struggling with proper nasal breathing since birth due to posterior tongue tie. Emily has been very helpful to identify the root causes of the problem and set out a clear plan of action for myofunctional therapy. She has been very engaging with my son, showing patience, understanding and appreciation when appropriate. Since the therapy there has been a marked improvement in my son's tongue posture and ability to move his tongue correctly. I have also noticed a positive change of behaviour due to him getting a more rested sleep. I'm really pleased with the results so far and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Emily!
I took my 2.5 year old to see Emily and I left feeling so relieved to finally have some answers and solutions to what has been causing a multitude of issues for my son. Emily made her session fun, engaging and child friendly and was very thorough with her assessment! We have age appropriate games to play with my son to help work on what he needs to and I feel like we're finally on the right tracks to helping him after finding Emily online - thank you!
Emily has been amazing with helping my daughter with her speech, tongue function and nasal breathing. We have seen great progress by following Emily's fun but effective exercises. She goes above and beyond and I couldn't recommend her more.
I'm a professional singer and vocal coach and have been working with Emily for a couple of months due to having a tongue tie. I'm part way through my treatment and am already sleeping more deeply than I ever have in my life, and falling asleep much more quickly than I used to. I'm experiencing less pain in my neck/jaw, my singing voice is fatiguing less, and my tongue literally looks different now because it is so much stronger! After years of struggling, it feels amazing to be working with someone who understands and to see these improvements after such a short time. My confidence has improved so much that I have said yes to 2 new singing projects that I previously wouldn't have felt capable of doing. Highly recommended!
Working with Emily has been one of the best investments I've ever made in myself.
I originally approached Emily to help with some TMJ pain I'd had for a number of years. From the very first meeting we had, it was clear she was an expert in all things myo, and explained that a tongue tie was likely contributing to my issues.
Initially we had weekly sessions to work through various exercises tailored to me, and Emily has always been really clear about why we're doing particular things, and will adapt to my needs too.
The differences I've noticed from myo with Emily have been huge - along with my TMJ disappearing, I'm breathing better, sleeping better, looking better and even my posture has improved!
Emily was also able to recommend other experts to help on my journey, and joined me a couple of weeks ago for my tongue tie release procedure.
This has been a transformational experience for me, and I'd encourage anyone thinking about myo to work with Emily - the range of benefits of myo are huge, and Emily is one of the kindest, most well-informed and all-round lovely people I've worked with.
We rate Emily highly! Emily is organised and thorough when it comes to her assessment’s and report’s. Therapy sessions with Emily are always very informative. Emily is professional but also kind and patient. Myofunctional therapy has made a big difference to my son in a short space of time.
Emily was friendly and gave me excellent advice and guidance on my swallowing problem including holistic remedies I could adopt. I highly recommend Emily.
Emily is an extremely skilled therapist. Her service has been excellent, she has gone above and beyond to help me to reduce tension and increase function in my tongue, lips and jaw for singing and better sleep, and provide vital support before and after a frenectomy procedure. She has also helped with my son who has oromyofunctional difficulties and has a lovely manner with children too. I would recommend her to anyone wanting to feel in good hands and to breathe, sleep, speak, live better.
