So here it is...unless you are in jeopardy of being eaten by a tiger, nasal breathe on your inhale AND your exhale. Our mouths are designed for eating and our noses for breathing.
So wait, do I inhale through my nose and exhale with my mouth? What’s wrong with mouth breathing in my workouts? I’m so confused!
Mouth and nasal breathing differ dramatically in how they physiologically support the body. How you breathe determines many factors, including how well you’re oxygenating your cells, whether you’re burning fat or sugar, the release of hormones, heart rates, lactic acid build-up, cardiovascular and digestive function and so much more.
So here it is...unless you are in jeopardy of being eaten by a tiger, nasal breathe on your inhale AND your exhale. Our mouths are designed for eating and our noses for breathing. Our mouth triggers the stress response, our nose triggers the relaxation response. It’s that simple.
Our bodies need a balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide to function properly. Only nasal breathing can do this correctly and only nasal breathing can produce nitric oxide, which is a bronchodilator and vasodilator that helps to lower your blood pressure and significantly improves oxygen being absorbed by the lungs.
How often do you workout and feel like the end of your workout was easier than the beginning? Nasal breathing provides body over mind flow states that feel like meditation-in-motion. The key is warming the body up with breathing techniques that activate digestive fire first, then incorporating various nasal breathing techniques to tease and relax the autonomic nervous system.
The restorative qualities of these nasal breathing patterns leave your body feeling refreshed and renewed with virtually no lactic acid build-up. For performance athletes, this is the difference between winning or losing on race day after all the rigors of training.