Core Faculty Member
Dr. Samara Mohassan El Bey

Licensed School Counselor
Licensed Science of Mind Practitioner
Licensed Behavioral Practitioner M.A. No. 0149

I am a Licensed School Administrator, Licensed School Counselor, and Licensed Behavioral Practitioner - 27 years in public and private education domestic and international environments. I am a Specialist in Pre-K-12, innovative program planning and quality management in diverse educational organizational structures rural and urban systems. Experience in educational research, design and conduct affective education development training. Promote breathing techniques that should be practiced everyday. Breathing is a natural preventive measure for stress. It will take some time before you observe any profound changes within your body and mind taking place, but practice diligently and patiently. You will eventually realize that you have more energy and are much more relaxed.  I collect data & oversee installation and operation of affective skills in behavior management and better breathing and counseling which include adolescent and teenage behavioral games and instructional software. Currently I am working on a manuscript for a breathing manual for public schools and meditation and yoga cards.

OB School is on the cutting edge of what successful living is all about and that is proper breathing for those that choose to live the "good life." In life, we all have been given the gift of choice so I see the OB School not only reaching local counties, cities, states, and nations, but the whole global community. There is a song inside of me that I must express and that is "Proper Breathing is My Gift to You." Why? Breathing is God expressing his love to me, therefore, I must accept his gift of breathe with love and learn how to breathe as an embryo all over again. So, "Proper Breathing is My Gift to the World", through the training and teaching of the OB School.

What I know is that there are two types of breathing, the correct way and the incorrect way. The correct way is abdominal breathing and the incorrect way is chest breathing. It is the diaphragm, which enables the lungs to expand and to contract. The lungs by themselves do not have the capacity to expand in order to draw in air, or to contract in order to expel used-up air. With abdominal breathing, the abdomen is slightly pushed out during inhalation, causing the diaphragm to be pulled down, which enables the lungs to draw in more air. During exhalation, the abdomen is slightly pulled in, causing the diaphragm to be pushed up, which enables the lungs to exhale more used-up air. Also, more energy is drawn in during inhalation and more used-up energy is expelled during exhalation.

With chest breathing, the abdomen is pulled in during inhalation, causing the diaphragm to be pushed up resulting in less air being drawn in. During exhalation, the abdomen is pushed out, causing the diaphragm to be pulled down in less air being expelled. Prolonged chest breathing also tends to congest the front heart chakra, resulting in chest pain and difficulty in breathing.

I use “scientific” breathing along with cognitive, affective counseling in my approach to counseling youngster and adults. The “scientific” breathing serves as a relaxation response model to support many self-esteem, stress reduction and decision-making curricula in public schools.

During stressful situations we rarely stop to think about what is happening within our bodies. Indeed, the pressures of the moment keep our minds occupied on almost everything but our physiological functions. Consequently those functions often become irregular, leaving us in an unhealthy state of being. When we are in this state we have fewer chances to succeed in whatever we try to accomplish.

Among the many physiological functions adversely affected by stress is our breathing. Even when stress is minimal few people retain a habit of natural, full breathing which is required for maintaining a good mental and physical state. Proper breathing is essential for sustaining life and cleansing inner body systems. By learning proper breathing techniques stressful situations may be handled better and overall mental and physical health will be improved.

Oxygen plays a vital role in the circulatory and respiratory systems. As we breathe, oxygen that is inhaled purifies our blood by removing poisonous waste products circulating throughout our blood systems. Irregular breathing will hamper this purification process and cause waste products to remain in circulation. Digestion will then become irregular, leaving tissues and organs undernourished. Improper oxygen consumption will thus ultimately lead to fatigue and heightened anxiety states. The irregular breathing elicited during stressful situations not only make them hard to cope with but also contribute to a general deterioration of health. By the careful control of our breathing pattern, we may not only rejuvenate our systems but counter the unhealthy effects of stress.

Breathing methods are useful to settle the body and mind and induce a heightened sense of awareness. Breathing exercises have been practiced for thousands of years in the East. The West began studying the effectiveness and importance of them several years ago. By this time, sufficient research has taken place in the West to verify the usefulness of these techniques. I support cross-cultural studies and promote workshops abroad.

International Projects

I have used following breathing methods that can be helpful for reducing anger, anxiety, depression, fatigue, irritability, muscular tension and stress. Teenage Health Teaching Modules, developed and funded in part by the Centers of Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services, builds its entire Activity Five section of "Handling Stress" relaxation-meditation (Teenage Health Teaching Modules, "Handling Stress," 1983, p. 36). Another example of the use of progressive relaxation techniques used in therapy for problem behavior is described by elementary guidance counselor Dick Oldfield. He writes in the April 1986 issue of the Elementary School Guidance and Counseling journal, that  Relaxation Response was used in a study to determine if it should be a methodology for remediating to prevent acting-out behavior and promoting a self-concept. Oldfield described "acting-out" to mean "disruptive, inappropriate" (Dick Oldfield, "The Effects of the relaxation response on self-concept and acting out behaviors," Elementary School Guidance and Counseling, April 1986, p. 255). In Oldfield's research experiment, he exposed fourth, fifth, and six grades to breathing Relaxation Response, self-described as a simplification of a form of "mantra meditation" (Ibid., p. 256).  Oldfield states that the instruction included "breathing, internal counting, and monitored meditation practices" (Ibid., p. 257).

Education

Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota – Ph.D. Education Administration
University of District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. – Masters in Guidance Counseling
University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma – B.A. Political Science

samarar1@breathing.com