Want to feel better? Close Your Mouth!

As most of you know I have been talking a lot about breathing, and emphasizing the importance of breathing through the nose. Some of you might have seen me walking around with my mouth taped, (some of you wish you had), some of you might have experienced taping in first hand….:)

–  How can breathing better through the nose could provide me with better breath?
– I have a deviated septum, I cannot breathe through my nose.
– I have allergies, asthma, I’m stuffy, I have a cold, cannot breathe through my nose.
– I cannot even take a deep, fulfilling breath through my mouth, how could I breathe better through a smaller opening?
– I’ve been always told to take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

These are all questions and statements that I hear, and I used to ask myself, before I dove into studying the breath in depth…..No pun intended….:)

There are over 500 breathing techniques out there. We all should be familiar with a few techniques, but we should also understand basics physiology of breathing.
Why?  Because we take about 20,000-23,000 breaths a day.  Some of us even more. That is a lot of repetition, we better get it right.  Think of doing a movement (like a biceps curl) wrong 20,000 times.  Would there be any ramifications from that?  Absolutely.  The same goes for the breath.
Effortless, gentle, silent breathing is the way to go. Spending some time to correct our breathing habits and master our breath, is a small investment to help to create significant difference in our long term health.  And the great news is that you don’t need any equipment, you have your nose, and air is free.  For now…:)

BREATHING 101

NOSE VS MOUTH BREATHING

Let’s look at just a few physiological facts on what happens when we mouth breathe.
Every time we take a breath through the mouth, we activate the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system. If that happens for a prolonged period of time, that will create a change in the blood PH (making the blood more acidic), and that will start effecting brain chemistry.  Constantly bathing the body and brain (all tissues and cells) in an acidic environment will make muscle tissues tighter, will increase pain sensitivity, will change hormonal functions, and will increase inflammation throughout the whole body. And we all know that constant inflammation is not healthy.
When inflammatory markers are higher than normal, we can stretch all the time, the muscles will never relax.  They will always feel tight, and those short and tight muscles are more likely to create injury, or prevent us from recovering from one.
When the blood is more acidic, pain intolerance will decrease, so the smallest tissue irritation might feel as excruciating pain.
With the blood being acidic, the glands and hormones will go “wild”.  Metabolism slows down, and digestion slows down or stops completely.  Managing weight, and loosing weight will become impossible despite of exercising and eating well. Constipation will be huge issue as well.
Hormonal imbalances will also cause difficulties in reproduction, males and females.
The adrenal glands will run on “high” all the time and they will burn out, causing constant fatigue. and tiredness, brain fog and inability to focus, to learn and to retain information.
Mood swings, irritability, inability to sleep and anxiety will follow.
I could keep going on and on, but I think you got the message.

When we breathe through the nose, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), which will allow our body and mind to find balance and homeostasis, normalize blood PH, and let all hormonal glands work properly. Outcome?  Energized, fresh, healthy, focused mind pairing with optimal, healthy body and a kind persona.  Wouldn’t you like to be “relentlessly upbeat”?

Are any of the above symptoms look, feel familiar?  If your answer is yes, it’s time to act!  How?

  LEARN TO BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE!

First, we need some kind of assessment.

Why?  Every time we trying to progress in any area in our lives, we need to have a baseline, so we can  measure progress.   If we cannot asses, we sure cannot figure out are we doing the right thing or not.
The base line test to measure the breath, the breathing volume is called the Control Pause.
I’m including a video on how to do this, click here to check it out.

https://youtu.be/gpMs-9YqeS8

Remember, it’s a comfortable breath hold measurement.  We want an accurate baseline, so we can progress accordingly. What’s you CP?
Now that you have your CP number, wouldn’t you like to know what is means?

Your answer will be a part of a longer video tutorial that I’m putting on my YouTube Chanel In this tutorial, I will explain how our western lifestyle causes over breathing, and where that leads us.  I will explain in details the difference between nose and mouth breathing, the importance of O2, CO2 and Nitric Oxide in the blood stream and the lungs. I will teach you how to “fix” the stuffy nose, so you don’t have to breathe through the mouth. Will talk about taping the mouth at night to facilitate rest and recovery at the cellular level.
And I will address the most common questions about this subject.  To make sure you get your questions answered, please email your questions now, already working on the video.  You can always book private session by calling 617-678-0724
In the meantime remember:

Remember to subscribe to my YouTube Chanel and tap the bell, so you get a note when I have new videos, and you can also catch me live.

Best in Health!
Ildi