Breathe. Like Your Life Depends On It

In James Nestor’s groundbreaking bestseller, Breath, he reasons that we just plain breath “wrong.”  Nestor outlines four key mistakes we make that are taking a huge toll on our health!

1. We Mouth Breath. Nestor willingly participated in a Stanford study where he was forced to mouth breath for 10 days straight to study mouth breathing effects. (They plugged his nose shut!) In a mere 10 days, his blood pressure increased dramatically, sleep apnea sky-rocketed, snoring increased by 4,000% and he was increasingly bone-tired upon waking. At the end of 10 short days, he reported feeling like every system in his body was in jeopardy. 
2. We Breath Too Much. Most of us take way too many shallow breaths each day. These excess breaths interrupt the precious balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide, ultimately leading to oxygen-starved tissues, anxiety, fatigue and poor endurance. Most of us take about 12-20 breaths per minute. Nestor says if we want to feel tip-top, we should be closer to 6 breaths per minute. Set a timer and rate yourself!
3. Our Breathing Has Impaired Our Facial Structure. What? Yes! Nestor explains that our ancient ancestors had nice broad noses, larger nasal passages and wider jaws. This superior structure allowed for more efficient breathing. We are now graced with narrower faces, smaller mouths and crowded, crooked teeth (our ancestors didn’t need orthodontists). What happened? We stopped eating real food that required us to “work out” our jaws and mouth (ie, raw veggies, nuts, tough meats). In essence, the soft, processed food most of us eat now has basically shrunk our airways, rendering us lousy breathers and has ultimately changed the way we look.

Do not despair! There are some simple life hacks that we can implement to reverse the breathing predicament we modern humans have found ourselves in. Try Nestor’s best breathwork techniques for health.

1. Improve oxygen levels naturally by breathing through your nose. Look up the trend on “mouth taping” to learn how to stop mouth breathing at night. Who would have thought that nose breathing benefits are a real thing? Want to try it with us? Check out our favorite non-toxic mouth tape brand here.
2. True proper breathing techniques are based on extending your exhales. When our exhales are longer than our inhales, our bodies hang out in the relaxing parasympathetic mode more readily. 
3. Slow down your breathing, 6 seconds on the inhale and 7-8 seconds on the exhale. (Remember, we want our exhales a bit longer.) Set your timer each hour to mindfully take 3 of these slower breaths. 
4. Increase CO₂ by practicing breath-holding. This helps train your body to use oxygen more efficiently, improving endurance and reducing stress.
5. When it comes to breathing and facial structure, Nestor urges us to ditch the processed foods and go back to eating more real and raw foods. #mouthworkout!
6. Lastly, participate in a regular, purposeful breathwork practice and say hello to the easy path of breathwork for health. Our friends at TriVibrance™ have developed a powerful breathing exercise called The Vibrant Breath™. Use The Vibrant Breath™ guided audio and handout to help you jumpstart your new practice. It just takes 5 minutes each morning to listen to the audio and watch your health transform. 

Worried about how your breathing affects your energy levels? Do you want to learn more about how proper breathing can change your facial structure? Do you want to learn powerful breathwork exercises for better sleep?  Take advantage of our holistic therapists’ specific expertise and let them empower you to take your breathing to the next level.  Contact the clinic today to schedule an appointment. 713.861.6777 or [email protected]

Join us virtually on Sunday, September 7^th  from 5-7pm CT for a powerful Breathwork Workshop led by our two Holistic Therapists, Heather Goodwin, MA, HHP, MBSR-P and Peyton English, LCSW. Call (713.861.6777) or email ([email protected]) the clinic to secure your spot!