How To Breathe For Optimal Health

My breathing epiphany

Did you know that something as simple as the quality of your breathing can impact the quality of your physical and mental health? Scroll down for how it all works, but first I’ll share a story.

I started running when I was in my mid-twenties.  I began by doing laps at the local high school track and increasing my distance every other day. It felt great to have a daily exercise routine that challenged me. As I got used to it, I began to experience the runner’s high people talk about.

As much as I loved how I felt while I ran, I found it challenging to connect my breathing with my pace without feeling winded. When I asked another runner friend about how she dealt with this, she asked me if I was breathing through my nose or out of my mouth.  I didn’t see how it mattered.  Breath is breath, after all.

Of course there was more to the story. She went on to tell me that breathing through my nose was not only a helpful technique to avoid getting winded, but it was also healthier for my lungs. If I focused on the rhythm of my breath as I ran, it would regulate my pace and act like an engine that fuelled my strides.  

So I tried it.  

After years of breathing through my mouth during exercise, I found it really difficult.  Old habits die hard, as they say.  I found that my nose would get really cold, tingly, and uncomfortable. After persisting with it for a while though, it became a habit. My speed increased and I developed a beautiful rhythm to my strides.

After running 5km, 3-5 times a week for years, including one 5km race, I felt I needed a change. As much as I loved it, I decided to protect my joints by doing high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts instead.  They’re shorter, more intense bursts of energy that increase muscle tone and cardiovascular strength.  I was able to replace my runner’s high with the adrenalin achieved through HIIT workouts and my breathing fuelled it well.

Then came yoga

I always knew I would eventually end up doing more yoga.  I had done classes here and there and it always made me feel really good.  I even purchased a DVD to practice at home.  This lasted only a short time and I moved once again onto more strenuous exercise. In the back of my mind though, I planned to make yoga a regular part of my lifestyle.

The bonfire pact

Canada Day was spent at my good friend’s cottage, sitting with my family around a blazing bonfire.  As we reminisced and discussed our plans for the coming fall, the discussion turned to aging and the aches and pains that often accompany it.  I wonder if we’ll ever truly feel our age, since it seemed to elude all of us how our bodies don’t bounce back as quickly from sports injuries like we used to.

As we joked and laughed, I blurted out to my friend that we just need to ‘get our yoga on!’  As soon as I said the words, I wondered why I had waited this long to get serious about it.  She readily agreed and within a few weeks, we were registered at our local yoga studio for a 60-day trial.

Now that’s hot…

We did our first hot yoga practice the last week of August and loved it. The class was filled to capacity with women and men, young and old, of all fitness levels.  As I lay on my mat, acclimating to the heat and focusing on my breath, it struck me how I have been unconscious of my breath for most of my life.  

Taking deep breaths in and out through my nose felt comforting and invigorating in this environment.  It was a challenging class and the heat took some getting used to. But as I moved through the poses for an hour, I had a deep sense of calm and strength that I didn’t know existed.

Connecting to your breath

After a month of practicing yoga 3-4 times a week, I found a new connection to my body and to my breath.  I began breathing through my nose during my HIIT routine and noticed an added strength and focus during my workouts.  I found a new sense of calm in my day as I was more aware of my breathing in various situations.

Checking in with it throughout the day has brought a depth to my spiritual life as I feel gratitude to God for the air that sustains me even when I’m not aware of it.

The Research

Patrick Mckeown, author of Oxygen Advantage, cites years of studies on breathing and various markers of health. I invite you to read his book to learn just how important the way we breath affects our body’s many operating systems.

One night, as I lay in my final resting pose, called Savasana, my instructor talked about how this is one of the most difficult poses to do because it requires lying completely still, but awake. In this pose our minds tend to race to all the things we need to do next.  It’s in our breath where we find the peace to let it all go.  And it was during this posture that she spoke of the importance of breathing through the nose as opposed to the mouth.  

Fight or flight

I was intrigued to hear about the connection with mouth breathing and the adrenaline rush, so I looked it up.  You can read more of the science behind it here and here.  The general idea is that our bodies were designed to handle stress periodically in our day, but the way most of us are living is maxing out what we can handle.  This causes a high amount of cortisol to enter our nervous system, which can lead to a slew of stress-related health problems.

The body has a naturally build-in stress regulator that is directly connected to our breathing.  Since the nose is in direct contact with the hypothalamus, it’s involved with emotions and motivation.  We have a choice in how we breath to find calm or stress. I’ve since started to re-train my breathing to breathe in and out through my nose as often as possible.

Can it really be that simple?

Evidently, it can.  The challenging part for us is to remind ourselves to breathe and in doing so, put things in perspective.  I’ve found that it’s often the small, positive changes added up over time that make the greatest impact to our health in the long run. 

So when you go about your day, check in with yourself and see how your breathing is.  Is it shallow and noisy?  Fast and raspy? Or is it slow and relaxed?

Try focusing on your breathing while you brush your teeth.  (You have no choice but to breath through your nose). Just two minutes of this practice will give you more awareness and a mini stress break.  It could be the start of a more relaxed and healthier you.

Tell Me:

Tune into your breath. Is it shallow and raspy, or deep and calming? Do you breath mostly out of your nose or mouth? So many of our body’s actions are automatic, but you can change this one. I’d love to hear if you’ll give nose breathing or other breathing exercises a go. Comment below to let me know!

Blessings,
Sheila 

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