Maybe you’re chronic mouth breather and/or suffer from high anxiety levels.. Maybe you feel fatigued & in need of new habits to improve your general wellbeing or simply interested in seeking out everything there is to know about Breathwork? If any of these hang true this blog post is for you.
So let’s start off simple…
Deep belly breaths as soon as you wake up for the day, before social media, hydrating or even getting out of bed. This is energising so you won’t feel so inclined to grab that morning coffee, it teaches your body to breathe more deeply throughout your day & gives you time to process your mood. However I find it generally boosts my happiness, making me start with a positive mindset rather than rushing around getting ready for my day. It also allows time to process dreams, coming back to your neutral baseline quicker which is especially important after a bad dream.
5 minutes of 5 second inhales & 5 second exhales. Known as the Heart Coherence Breath. A breath between 4.5 – 6 seconds is scientifically proven to be the optimum way for our bodies to thrive. Benefits include higher Heart Rate variables, lower blood pressure, calmer moods and more feelings of love as it makes you reach Heart Resonance (the way you feel looking at someone you love). Doing this for 5 minutes lasts up to 4 hours, so doing it multiple times a day is hugely beneficial, sort of like a top-up.
Next why not set alarms throughout the day to notice how you’re breathing at that time, then take a long in & out breath. In fact do as many calming breaths as you can, especially if you’re feeling the pressure of a busy day. Once you get used to the alarms it becomes a routine & you will find yourself naturally checking in with your body. Or Maybe alarms aren’t for you, then think about times of your day you could use as a little nudge to do this. For example when I work at the cafe, every so often I need to go downstairs to get more stock so this is when I used to take some deep breaths & it ended up being the perfect reset.
Something to try is when you’re walking, running or any type of exercising. Breathe through your Nose. I know for a fact you don’t do this as I didn’t do this during any strenuous exercise either. Mouth breathing just feels easier! You’ll notice that air hunger increases as you start running faster but nasal breathing leads to more energy overall (though it’s bloody tough to begin with). It lets oxygen move more efficiently to the muscles that need it plus recovery is much better afterwards. It also improves tolerence to Co2 which Dr. Buteyko researched about for many years, long story short this leads to better health (surprise, surprise). Though don’t start expecting to be able to run as fast or as long as you do currently with this technique. It’s like a muscle that needs training so after about 4-6 weeks you’ll start to notice improvement in tolerence*. Another idea is when you reach your limit of nasal breathing is to slow down to allow your body to regulate before rinsing & repeating.
Now this one is a little bit more wacky & probably not something many want to try.. it’s to tape over your mouth at night to promote your body to naturally breathe through the nose. If horizontally applying tape all across your mouth sounds anxiety inducing (as it definitely did to me) take a little bit of tape vertically over the middle, as this means if worse comes to worse.. you will be able to breathe while still working amazingly well. This technique is beneficial as it stops smelly bad breath, can drastically reduce snoring levels, stop sleep apnea and increase nitrogen oxide which is super important for brain function & general health. Though if you have any serious breathing issues seek out more research or your health professional to see whether it’s safe for you to do.
So here you are, 5 Breathing hacks that are pretty simple to add to your life. They will improve your general wellbeing especially mentally & physically. We aren’t designed to be mouth breathers & it’s effecting our lives. Our evolution as a species is changing but for the worst. A lot of what is in this post can be found in a book I recently read called ‘Breath: The new science of a lost art’ By James Nestor & I 100% recommend reading it to anyone who is thirsty for more knowledge.
Just as we are thirsty for more air.
References
* https://oxygenadvantage.com/nasal-breathing-running/
Earthly Luna Wellbeing 