Fact: Nature seeks homeostasis. We know homeostasis as the panoramic state where our biosystems work in beautifully balanced harmony.
Also fact: nature is more messy than this utopic state.
Nature’s journey is to be continuously, endlessly balancing. Never fully balanced, but always in the state of self-correcting. Never reaching that elusive end state of being perfectly balanced, but always striving to be in the process of balancing. Whereas perfect balance is lack of movement (think of a perfectly balanced pendulum, it has stopped moving), always balancing is movement (pendulum swinging from side to side in continuous pursuit of its balance). Sages often correlate perfectly balanced to the state of physiological death, and always balancing to the physiological state of living.
Nose breathing has profound physiological, mental, and emotional benefits all resulting from nudging our physiology towards healing itself (homeostasis). As I continue to uncover science supporting the re-learning of the art of breathing, I become more convinced of the one, solitary change that will have profound effects on our health: Breathing through our noses.
Don’t get me wrong, re-learning how to breathe properly is a dynamic process that considers both ongoing challenges (such as asthma) and fleeting symptoms (such as temporary dehydration). Pulmonaut guides utilize their expertise to address both types of symptoms through combined protocols to address both acute and chronic symptoms, often reading the practitioner’s response and adjusting the practice dynamically for maximal benefits.
However, similar to a dietitian recommending the elimination of sugar in diet as the one single thing people can do to positively alter their health, I too am convinced that the one thing we can do to trigger a cascade of positive health benefits is nose breathing ~ breathe through your nose:
While sleeping use a small piece of medical tape to cover the middle of your mouth, which in turn signals your body to breathe through your nose. You’re not covering your entire mouth like a gag. Just a small piece either vertically or sideways (my preferred way) to bring the lips together. Medical tape is easily popped open so if for any reason your CO2 levels rise beyond your body’s need, triggering the signal to breathe through your mouth (such as when you’re having a bad dream), the tape is popped off with minimal effort. This also helps with snoring!
Breathe through your nose during the day, especially during physical activity. One of my favorites is to breathe through my nose on bike rides. The first few minutes are often awkward since like most people I am used to breathing through my mouth during exercise, but after the initial awkward phase I find it meditative, much more relaxing, easier to get into a flow state, and just feel more exhilarated rather than exhausted.
I won’t cover the science too deeply here, but will say that our understanding is counterintuitive of how our physiology utilizes oxygen ~ higher levels of CO2 (such as restricted breathing through the nose) signals the release of more oxygen carrying red blood cells, EPO, and other influential chemicals that influence the efficient transport and absorption of O2 molecules. Net effect, you’re breathing less but absorbing more oxygen, which is more systematic efficiency. Plus, breathing through your nose engages your diaphragm more easily, signaling your parasympathetic (relaxation) state that further influences systematic efficiency.
The Nose, Heart, and Gratitude Mix
We practiced the following mix on January 17, 2021 at Gracie Barra Encinitas with a mix of martial art athletes and non-athletes from the community who wanted breath practice. This protocol mix focuses predominantly on utilizing our nose, gradually driving up CO2 levels so that oxygen can be more efficiently absorbed, stimulating the sympathetic (fight or flight) system by oxygenating it, then bringing the central nervous system back down.
Lie down for this practice so there is no chance of accident if you pass out.
Breath awareness (~3min): right hand on belly, left hand on chest, breathe in and out through the nose. Gain awareness of where breath starts and how far into the body it travels. After a minute or so, refocus attention to birth place of breath to start about 1/2 inch below the belly button - great way to engage the diaphragm. Gain awareness of 4-dimensional breath of diaphragm. With each breath feel stomach (i.e., diaphragm) go up and also back (feel slight pressure against the back against the floor), as well as both sides of the ribs.
Bi-Nostril Breath ~ Connect with the heart (~5min): Inhale through the nose, hold at the top of the inhale. Connect with your heart rate. Feel it pounding in your chest and/or in other body parts such as stomach, neck, arms, legs. Search for it if you can’t find it. The heart beat serves as your internal clock so repeat this process and search for it until you find it. Hold the inhale for 10 heart beats, then easy smooth prolonged exhale through the nose, hold the exhale for 5 heart beats, then inhale through the nose again to the very top, filling up more than the last time and hold for 10 heart beats, exhale through the nose super smooth, super easy and prolonged and when all the air is gone hold this state for 5 heart beats. Repeat this process for about 5min.
Take inventory of how your body feels. Are you tight anywhere such as in your head, chest, other parts? Are you cold or hot? Are you tight? Do you have burning in your nose? Gain a sense of awareness of how your body feels. We’ll take inventory again in the practice.Isolated nose breathing (total of ~6min, 3min each nostril): close your left nostril with your left index finger and repeat the above process, inhaling through the right nose & holding at the top for 10 beats, exhaling nice & slow and holding breath at the bottom of exhale for 5 beats, repeat the process for about 3min. The right nostril stimulates the left side of our brain that is concerned with language, number skills, reasoning, scientific skills, spoken language and right-hand control.
Switch nostrils: use your right index finger to close your right nostril and repeat the above process by breathing in and out of your left nostril. The left nostril stimulates the right side of our brain, responsible for attention, memory, reasoning, visual awareness, imagination, emotions, spatial abilities, face recognition, music awareness, 3D forms, interpreting social cues, and left-hand control.Bi-Nostril Breath #2 (~3min): go back to #2 above and breathe through both nostrils. Take inventory of your body. How does the breath feel now? How is it different than the first time? Does it feel more fluid, more relaxed, deeper or is it shallow and constrained?
Wim Hof Method Fundamental Breath (~15min): I won’t cover the details of this breathing method here. There are numerous instructional resources available online and I highly recommend your visiting the official website at www.wimhofmethod.com for free instructions, guided app, white papers, and online guided workshops. However, I do like modifying the three standard rounds with the below.
There is a meditative opportunity during your breath holds. Focus behind your eyes and keep your focus there. Acknowledge the thoughts that pop into your head, gently move them aside and regain your focus behind what you see behind your eyes.Round one: breathe in through the nose out through the nose. Retention is for 75seconds only.
Round two: breathe in through the nose 5 times exhale through the mouth, then inhale through the mouth 5 times exhale through the mouth, back to inhale through the nose 5 times exhale mouth, back again to inhale through the mouth 5 times exhale through mouth, repeat 3 or 4 rounds for a total of 30-40 breaths, then hold breath at the bottom of last exhale for between 90-120 seconds.
Final round is all through the mouth ~ inhale and exhale through the mouth. Retention is between 120-150 seconds.
DMT Breath (~10min): Straight into it from above protocol, 2 rounds of the following advanced breath that has a high likelihood of emotional release, passing out, lift off, cramping, tingling, anxiety attacks. Be sure you’re in a safe environment, laying down is ideal. If you lift off, let it go and let it happen to you, be grateful for the experience.
I use a gear system fo 1-3, 1 being super easy flow like a recovery breath and 3 being a full out sprint, making it as intense as you desire for your practice. Some days you feel like pushing it, other days you want a more relaxed practice. Gauge what you need for the moment and adjust your practice to match your needs. Give yourself the gift of flow, not competition. This practice is to serve you, to fill you, not push you into one more competitive aspect of your lifeGear 1: 20-30 breaths, finding flow and making the transition between inhale to exhale and back to inhale smooth and effortless.
Gear 2: 20-30 additional breaths, picking up the intensity, favoring depth for speed. Meaning, intensity is the combination of depth + pace of breath. Favor the depth and quality of each inhale instead of just breathing faster. Same is true for your exhales, make them nice and smooth, relaxed, easy, exhales that are NOT full exhales, rather like dropping a ball ~ let your exhales drop like a ball.
Geat 3: Final gear 20-30 additional breaths, go after it as you are comfortable. This is your sprint based on how intense you want your practice to be. Similar to the above gear 2, favor quality of each inhale over cadence of your breath.
Breath hold on top of your final INHALE. Hold and build up a gradual squeeze starting from the bottom of your feet, then your calves, thighs, butt, stomach, keep building up into your chest, then your back, shoulders and arms, against your throat, then into your third eye and head. The squeeze is a gentle tightening and not like weight lifting. Focus behind your eyes and keep your focus there.
Repeat the above 3 steps for at least one more round.
Central Nervous Stabilization (~6min): The central nervous system is now heightened and we’ll normalize it utilizing a few rounds of Bhramari breath, using a 4 count inhale with a smooth 8-10 count exhale during which humming and/or sighing is utilized to increase release of nitric oxide and calm the central nervous system.
Continue to lie down and enjoy the state post breath. Get up only when ready.