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“If we could master breath, everything after that is going to be handled a bit better.” That's a quote from James Newbury, an athlete who completed the entire 5-hour bike ride and 4-hour run of an Ironman race, breathing only through his nose. “We’re going to live at a higher level.” Living at a higher level sounds good. Here is my nose:  Maybe you’ve been here:
Huffing and puffing through the first few poses in one of your first hot yoga classes, your face turning bright beet-red. The more you try to breathe, sucking air in through your mouth- the harder it seems to get. From somewhere in the distance, you hear the instructor’s calm, encouraging voice: “Close your mouth, breathe through your nose.” You try it. It works! Nose breathing is the way Many people have been taught or just naturally start breathing through their mouths while exercising, especially when it gets intense. But emerging research suggests nasal breathing (like we do for about 80 out of the 90 minutes in a Bikram Yoga class) is actually where it’s at. That’s no big surprise for yoga practitioners, who have been harnessing the power of breath for centuries! (But we always love when science backs up what we do!) Breathing by the nose helps athletes perform better For example, this recent study looked at runners who used nasal breathing and found their maximum rate of oxygen consumption was unchanged compared to mouth breathing. At the same time, their respiratory rates (breaths per minute) and ratios of oxygen intake to carbon dioxide output decreased, which means they didn’t have to work as hard to get the same amount of oxygen! Researchers believe the lower breath rate caused by breathing through your nose (a much smaller opening for air than your gaping maw) allows more time for oxygen to get to the bloodstream. That means you get more oxygen to your cells from each breath, which allows you to breathe less. Wait a sec? Is breathing LESS a good thing? Don’t worry: no one is telling you not to breathe. It’s about being efficient. By breathing through your nose "you actually can perform your big physical tasks – running, cycling, things like that, you can perform them using less oxygen because you're not having to breathe as much to perform them,” says researcher George Dallam. “Which turns this not just into a health thing, but also into a performance thing too.” Nose breathing helps with daily wellbeing too I recently read a fascinating book called Breath, by James Nestor. In it Nestor “explores the million-year-long history of how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly and why we’re suffering from a laundry list of maladies—snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease, allergies—because of it.” One thing Nestor did as part of this book was an experiment where he plugged his nose completely for 10 days, forcing himself to breathe only through his mouth. Spoiler alert: the results were disastrous! Other spoiler alert: everything got better when he began breathing through his nose again. Among other things, it turns out people who breathe primarily through their noses have:
Nasal breathing calms ya down Breathing slowly through the nose is associated with the parasympathetic aspect of your nervous system, known as the “rest, digest and reproduce” state. (You probably know that one from yoga class!) Breathing fast, through the mouth, or too much (hyperventilation) activates the sympathetic nervous system, putting you into a state of “fight, flight or freeze.” (You know that one from if you’ve ever been stressed out.) That’s because nasal breathing activates the lower part of the lungs, which is associated with the parasympathetic nerves. Oh hey, we made a video about that! “You’re dealing with what is called a vagal response,” Dallam says. “You’re actually activating your vagal nerve to do the action of the lung itself when you breathe that way. That’s why a relaxation breath is a deeper breath. If you breathe deeply and activate the diaphragm well, and activate the lower portion of the lung, then you create some immediate relaxation.” It ain't always easy, but it's worth it As James Nestor and James Newbury found, breathing by the nose during physical exertion isn't necessarily easy. The key, whether in a Bikram Yoga class or training for a triathlon, is to only challenge yourself as much as you can while maintaining nasal breathing. This means you may need to back off on intensity at first and be patient with the process. (Helloooo, psychological benefits!) When you breathe calmly through your nose, you take charge of your own nervous system The more you practice, the better you'll get at nasal breathing and the more your health will improve as a result. Don't take my word for it though! Try it in class today ;)
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This week I was interviewed!
Liz asked me about the birth story of Home Hot Yoga, why I love St. Johns, what it's like to be a shut-down business during a global pandemic- and how the heck I expect people to do hot yoga in their bathrooms!
Check it out: That sale I mentioned?
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AuthorHHY Founder, Yoga Business Coach, yoga-doer and life-lover, Kay Afif! 
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