all posts post new thread

Other/Mixed Best resource to learn how to nasal breathe by default?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Yes but it's like posture - no amount of conscious effort will result in automatic, unconscious good posture, though it does help to practice.
That's an interesting subject. My personal observation on the subject: when I've been sitting for a long time, standing or walking in good posture does _not_ feel natural or come about on its own. I have to spend the first little while moving my neck around, straightening out my back, and the like. I expect to do this, and by perhaps 10 minutes into a walk, it starts to feel "natural" again. I don't think there's a way around this. And I also don't think maintaining good upper body posture is even desirable when sitting at a computer or, for that matter, at a piano keyboard. There's a posture that works for those activities and it's different than standing or walking.

-S-
 
Last edited:
Somebody mentioned taping lips - another thing that I do at the same time before bed is a little plastic insert in nostrils or a plastic sticky strip taped to bridge of nose (breatheright) - this allows a lot more air to come through, I was quite surprised, makes it easier to get heaps of air in. Worth a try if you instinctively feel nose isnt allowing enough air through.
 
Something to try at night other than mouth taping. Raise the head of your bed 6-8 inches. Supposed to increase glymphatic drainage and a host of other health benefits, including help with sleep apnea, snoring, migraines, etc. I keep some mouth tape by the bed and will use if I notice a few consecutive mornings waking with a dry mouth. I'm 11 nights into my experiment. Started with 3 days with a 3" rise followed by 7 days at 6" and now trying 4" for a bit and then 8. Good sleep and nose breathing without tape on all nights. Worth a try.
 
I learnt how to breathe properly when I stumbled upon the microcosmic orbit meditation technique, as described by Mantak Chia.
The reasons for this are beyond the scope of the purpose of this forum (there is a siniliar quote by Pavel in hardstyle abs, and it is relation to a mans "swordsmanship")
 
I haven't ascribed to a particular system other than just practicing nasal breathing. Just as strength is a skill so is nasal breathing. Regular intentional practice makes regular unintentional practice that much easier. So a few things to try are:
  • When practicing nasal breathing, keep the tongue on the roof of the mouth.
  • Lie on your back and taking 10 slow deep nasal belly breaths. Do this at least once daily if not 2-3x/daily.
  • When you're doing strength work, intentionally focus on nasal breathing.
  • When doing cardio work, if you begin to work so hard that your mouth pops open, stop and recover before continuing (with nasal breathing).
Just a personal testimony here. I thought that I was in good shape until I started practicing nasal breathing. My resting heart rate was as low as it had ever been. After beginning to practice nasal breathing for the last year+, my resting heart rate has gone down an additional 4-5 bpm. Game-changer in my opinion.
I wish I was a natural nasal breather. I too have been trying to make it my default method…but it’s hard especially because I have more narrow nasal passages lol. I wear those breathe right strips sometimes at night or during training. I’ve been able to implement it much more than I used to but unless I consciously do it, I still default to mouth breathing.
 
Something to try at night other than mouth taping. Raise the head of your bed 6-8 inches. Supposed to increase glymphatic drainage and a host of other health benefits, including help with sleep apnea, snoring, migraines, etc. I keep some mouth tape by the bed and will use if I notice a few consecutive mornings waking with a dry mouth. I'm 11 nights into my experiment. Started with 3 days with a 3" rise followed by 7 days at 6" and now trying 4" for a bit and then 8. Good sleep and nose breathing without tape on all nights. Worth a try.
Thanks @Don Fairbanks for the advice above. I've tried wedge pillows in the past and they were horrible. After reading your post I tried this, raised the mattress 6" by putting the wedge pillow underneath it - enjoyed a very good nights sleep - this worked so well that I then raised the bedhead 6" so that there wasnt a "kink" in the mattress (and my torso).

Am now sleeping on a flat plane inclined at 5 degrees to the horizontal - quality of sleep significantly improved.

I will do some googling, but, if anyone knows of any definitive books / web pages etc that explain this further could you post them please, I'm interested in finding out more about why this is working.

EDIT : This seems like a good quick summary Inclined Bed Therapy: Sleep on an Incline for A Better Night’s Sleep there is also a REDDIT discussion group called InclinedBedTherapy that has links to published medical articles in the introductory article.



Bill
 
Last edited:
Thanks @Don Fairbanks for the advice above. I've tried wedge pillows in the past and they were horrible. After reading your post I tried this, raised the mattress 6" by putting the wedge pillow underneath it - enjoyed a very good nights sleep - this worked so well that I then raised the bedhead 6" so that there wasnt a "kink" in the mattress (and my torso).

Am now sleeping on a flat plane inclined at 5 degrees to the horizontal - quality of sleep significantly improved.

I will do some googling, but, if anyone knows of any definitive books / web pages etc that explain this further could you post them please, I'm interested in finding out more about why this is working.

EDIT : This seems like a good quick summary Inclined Bed Therapy: Sleep on an Incline for A Better Night’s Sleep there is also a REDDIT discussion group called InclinedBedTherapy that has links to published medical articles in the introductory article.



Bill
You're welcome Bill.

Short story long: I'd read Game Changers a good while back, never noticed the incline bed info. Heard Asprey recently on Mark Bell talking about it and also remembered Andrew Huberman referring to bed inclining and glymphatic drainage in a few of his podcasts. Figured I would give it a try. Result, good sleep and no dry mouth. Next I decided to double check the Huberman Lab podcasts on the subject. He mentioned bed inclining ( like I thought ) for brain health etc. But not the head of the bed, the foot of the bed. ?? So I sent him an email asking for clarification. Hope he gets back. Back to long story. Currently trying raising the foot of the bed. Sleep has been good, but I've been mouth breathing. Tonight I will switch back to raising the head of the bed 4-6" for the next week. Conclusion on my mini deep dive on the subject There has not been a study on bed inclining and the glymphatic system, in humans or animals. There have been studies in mice, with a benefit shown in side sleeping, and exercise. I believe gravity helps keep your mouth closed when the head of the bed is raised. I'll keep experimenting. Let me know if you find additional info.
 
I thing I do often walking the dog is alternate nostril breathing. There's a yoga name for it, dunno what it is, at a guess nostrilasana maybe...
Shut off one nostril breathe through the other. Shut off that one and breathe out the other. Nasal breathing, one nostril at a time.
Find it very relaxing. I get hay fever and find it helps when it's sneeze season too.
 
@Don Fairbanks The REDDIT group I mentioned above has some papers listed regarding the inclined bed

Small scale clinical studies show good results
You mentioned side sleeping in your note above. That too has been of enormous benefit to me - snoring and apneas dissappear if I sleep on my side unfortunately sleepybill is more comfortable on his back. Have used a backpack stuffed full of foam to keep me on my side.

This topic is straying into sleep apnea territory - if anyone reads this then be aware there are equally useful and helpful forums devoted to sleep apnea, snoring, SpO2, Cpap etc etc
 
Last edited:
That's an interesting subject. My personal observation on the subject: when I've been sitting for a long time, standing or walking in good posture does _not_ feel natural or come about on its own. I have to spend the first little while moving my neck around, straightening out my back, and the like. I expect to do this, and by perhaps 10 minutes into a walk, it starts to feel "natural" again. I don't think there's a way around this. And I also don't think maintaining good upper body posture is even desirable when sitting at a computer or, for that matter, at a piano keyboard. There's a posture that works for those activities and it's different than standing or walking.

-S-
Go to 7:42. Simple seems to work. And I like the 3 previous movements in the sequence.

 
I’ll throw in another vote for mouth taping at night. Also the introduction of some sort of formal breathing practice (Oxygen Advantage, Second Wind, Buteyko, Wim Hof, etc.) with nasal breathing 1-2x/day (or more if able) can be helpful. You know, the whole “unconsciously incorrect to consciously incorrect to consciously correct to unconsciously correct” continuum….
 
Nasal breathing is kind of like zen, you can read tons of stuff about it, but fundamentally it is a practice. You have to practice it to learn it. You will probably not be great at it in the beginning, but you aren't doing it wrong. That is just how things are when you start.

So just treat it like a mindfulness exercise throughout the day and try to be present in what you are doing.
 
I just started with OS diaphragmatic breathing (nasal) while doing resets and added 10 minutes of crocodile breathing per day. I tried to be mindful of always breathing through the nose with the tongue on the roof of the mouth during the day.

Last year I read Oxygen Advantage. Great read, more to it than just nasal/diaphragmatic breathing. Great book to start with.
Yes correct oral posture will correct mouth breathing. Something I always try to reinforce with my pediatric patients. Correct oral posture in children will also lead to optimal facial development and alignment of the dentition. If anyone reads this and has little ones I’d recommend looking up “GoPex” or good oral posture exercises on Amazon.
 
Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth. That is the most natural way to do it.
This right here.
I used this when doing breath meditation and it became second nature pretty quickly as these things go. It gets to where it feels awkward for the tongue to not have a "place" where normally resides.

Even now on those times my mouth might be open, I'm still breathing through my nose - it feels pretty strange breathing around the tongue like that.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom