Learning to breathe correctly for daily living and for exercise is one of the most important things you can ever do to improve your health. I have spoken in great detail about this in numerous articles about breathing before, explaining how poor breathing mechanics can disrupt everything from PH balance, emotions and gut health, to posture, core function, and even how well we metabolise our food. Unfortunately, many people remain completely ignorant to learning good breathing techniques and do not even know what good breathing is, yet alone be able to execute it. What is the best technique? Well, just like everything to do with health and fitness there is no one way, or “only” way to do this. There are many different methods and philosophies of how to do this. Some are harder to learn than others, and many have a specific objective or population in mind for teaching the breathing method a particular way. However, the one thing that they all share in common is that you need to significantly slow your breathing rate down and keep your mouth closed. In this article, I will look at several different breathing methods and allow you to decide which version is best suited to you.

Important Facts You Need To Know About Breathing

Out of all the exercise techniques I teach people in the gym breathing would be one of the hardest for people to understand and master. For something that is so important to our health it is amazing how little emphasis it is given and how difficult it can be to change faulty breathing mechanics. It has a major influence over our entire body and can create some serious health problems if left unchecked.

The last 2 years of the Covid pandemic has seen a big emphasis placed on respiratory health and the importance of looking after our autonomic nervous system. This is the system that is responsible for regulating involuntary body functions, such as heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion Breathing feeds oxygen to every cell in the body. Without sufficient oxygen, people are more prone to health problems, including respiratory illnesses, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and even heart disease. 

Having said that it still blows me away that the information I am about to share with you here is not common knowledge and something taught in all schools from an early age. While I am unable to control that part of society, hopefully this article makes great sense to you and you can tell others about how to implement some of these simple methods we are about to discuss.

The first part of this article I will discuss breathing in context of “normal breathing” or relaxed breathing. This type of breathing is closely linked to mental health for controlling anxiety and stress. However, it is also used extensively for medical conditions like asthma. The last part I will discuss how to use your breathing during exercise and the specific way to breathe for creating core stability during movement to prevent injury.

Some important facts about breathing that you might now know.

• If you stop breathing you will have about 3- 4 minutes before you are dead!
• Breathing maintains your acid-alkaline or pH balance
• Helps in the breakdown of food (metabolism)
• Greatly influences your posture
• Acts as a key component for your stabilizer system to develop strength
• Generates Cerebral Fluid in the spine, necessary for a healthy musculoskeletal system
• Controls emotions

The most important thing to understand is that breathing is the most important of all exercises to learn. It is vital to us being alive, for without it we would die in a matter of minutes. Your body will sacrifice anything in order to get a breath. This is why it can easily disrupt other systems in the body and even the muscular system to find a way to get air. Paul Chek has a great philosophy on this and refers to this as the CHEK Totem Pole. 

Okay, so now you understand a bit more about the value of breathing let’s dive into the different methods you can use to improve your current situation.

1. Buteyko

I am going to start with the Buteyko method first, for in my opinion this is the most effective style of breathing to implement, and one that also covers a wide range of breathing disorders. I first came across the Buteyko method way back in 2011 at a time when I was recovering from a severe flu infection that had significantly impaired my respiratory function. For the first time in my life I found myself breathless all the time which was startling for prior to the virus I was in the best physical shape of my life. I had just set personal best times in various running and cycling races in the 6 months before I got sick. I was struggling to train and knew something was off with my breathing which I had never had problems with before. I had very similar symptoms to an asthmatic and almost everyone in my family was a chronic asthmatic, except for me.

I knew I did not have asthma but I wanted to find out what was going on. My research led me to discover the Buteyko method via a book called “Close Your Mouth” by Patrick McKewon which I found out specialized in working with asthmatics. After implementing their program within weeks I was on top of my breathing problems and after one month I was almost entirely back to normal. What had happened was the flu had impaired my breathing and I had developed a bad habit of breathing through my mouth, and basically over-breathing. I had to break the habit with a series of repetitive exercises to learn to keep my mouth closed and breathe through my nose. At first it was awkward but over time become very easy to do and much more relaxing and comfortable.

The Buteyko breathing exercises are designed to help normalise the breathing pattern and restore comfortable, natural nasal breathing. The main focus of this method is it teaches you to breathe more gently and less rapidly. Just like the 4-7-8 method we just discussed you learn to breathe slower and deeper, which balances your breathing rhythms. You need to learn how to hold your breath and refrain from breathing without straining which is easier said than done at first. Like anything, if you practice it you will become better.

Why You Should Breathe Through Your Nose

When you open your mouth to get more air it prevents you from creating Nitric Oxide.

Nitric oxide is found in your nose, so when you breathe through your nose, you carry a small portion of the gas into your lungs. Nitric oxide plays a significant role in homeostasis or the maintaining of balance within your body. Your nostrils have a smaller entry than your mouth which creates resistance resulting in smaller breathing volume along with calm and quieter breathing whereas mouth breathing creates a dry mouth and bacteria. 

Carbon dioxide is not merely a waste gas. Although you breathe to get rid of excess CO2, it's important to maintain a certain amount of CO2 in your lungs, and for that, you need to maintain a normal breathing volume. When too much CO2 is lost through heavy breathing, it causes the smooth muscles embedded in your airways to constrict. When this happens, there is a feeling of not getting enough air and the natural reaction is to breathe more intensely. But all this does is create an even greater loss of CO2, which constricts your airway even further.

A vicious cycle is now beginning to take place. What you need to do is break this cycle before it becomes a habit by breathing through your nose and breathing less. Deep breathing, by the way, will often make you feel a bit light-headed, and this is due to eliminating too much CO2 from your lungs, which causes your blood vessels to constrict. So, the heavier you breathe, the less oxygen is actually delivered throughout your body. Over breathing and mouth breathing also tend to go hand-in-hand with snoring and/or sleep apnea; conditions that decimate your sleep quality. The same remedy for asthma works tremendously well for sleep apnea.

What Does The Research Say?

If you were doubting there is any research to support the claims the Buteyko method has you will be very surprised. There has been a lot of work completed by the Buteyko Institute to educate the medical community and society at large about the importance of nasal breathing and learning to breathe correctly.

Here is one of the studies I found about the impact Buteyko has on asthma.

Source: Simon D Bowler, Amanda Green and Charles A Mitchell Medical Journal of Australia 1998; 169:575-578

Objective: To evaluate the effect of Buteyko breathing techniques in the management of asthma.

Design: Prospective, blinded, randomised study comparing the effect of Buteyko breathing techniques with control classes in 39 people with asthma. The study was conducted from January 1995 to April 1995.

Participants: Subjects recruited from the community, aged 12 to 70 years, with asthma and substantial medication usage.

• Results after applying Buteyko techniques for twelve weeks:
• Reliever usage – median reduction of 96% (from daily median of 943ug to 39ug)
• Preventer usage – median reduction of 49% (from daily median 1500ug to 765ug)
• Minute Volume – median reduction of 4.6L/min (from 14 L/min to 9.6 L/min)

The relative reduction in reliever medication use in the Buteyko group was related to the proportionate reduction in minute volume. (r=0.51; P=0.04)

• Results after applying placebo breathing techniques – Control group:
• Reliever usage – median reduction of 5% (from daily median of 843ug to 801ug)
• Preventer usage – no median reduction
• Minute Volume – median reduction of 0.9L/min (from 14.2 L/min to 13.3 L/min)

Conclusion: Those practising Buteyko breathing techniques reduced hyperventilation and their use of reliever medications (beta2 agonists) and preventers (inhaled steroids).
Participants in the Buteyko group showed improved scores for Quality of Life whilst the Control group saw no significant improvements in either hyperventilation, medication usage or Quality of Life.

Exercises to Try

Preparation

1. Sit on the floor or on a chair.
2. Elongate your spine to maintain an upright posture.
3. Relax your respiration muscles.
4. Breathe normally for a few minutes.

The Control Pause

1. After a relaxed exhale, hold your breath.
2. Use your index finger and thumb to plug your nose.
3. Retain your breath until you feel the urge to breathe, which may include an involuntary movement of your diaphragm, and then inhale.
4. Breathe normally for at least 10 seconds.
5. Repeat several times.

The Maximum Pause

1. After a relaxed exhale, hold your breath.
2. Use your index finger and thumb to plug your nose.
3. Retain your breath for as long as possible, which is usually twice the length of time of the Control Pause.
4. Once you’ve reached the point of moderate discomfort, inhale.
5. Breathe normally for at least 10 seconds.
6. Repeat several times.

For more detail on Nose Breathing I suggest to get the book "Close Your Mouth" by Patrick McKewon which is a simple book that explains how the Buteyko Breathing works.

4-7-8 Breathing

Unlike the Buteyko method, this style of breathing is much easier to understand and even easier to implement making it perfect for the beginner who just wants something to get started with straight away.

I am not quite sure who invented it or exactly where it came from, but it has developed a strong following around the world for its simplicity and effectiveness. Some people say Dr Andrew Weil invented it whereas others say it is a part of the Yoga Pranayamic method. Whatever the history of this is, my main priority is to find something that I can easily teach to a beginner who can implement it immediately by themselves. There is no doubting that the 4-7-8 method ticks this box.

The 4-7-8 breathing technique, also known as “relaxing breath,” involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This breathing technique requires a person to focus on taking a long, deep breath in and out and for this reason is often a core part of many meditation and Yoga practices as it promotes relaxation.

Many people are aware of the incredible benefits of meditation to their health and helping your body to cope with stress and anxiety. However, it can be difficult for a beginner to control their thoughts when first starting meditation. This is where the power of the breath plays a massive role in mastering meditation and allows them to take control of their thoughts and their body’s physical response.

What Does The Research Say?

Research has shown that 6 weeks of practicing slow breathing, or breathing that focuses on controlling breath movement, may have a positive effect on a person’s heart rate variability, which correlates with stress, and also improve cognition and anxiety.

Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24968492/

How to do it

Before starting the breathing pattern, adopt a comfortable sitting position and place the tip of the tongue on the tissue right behind the top front teeth.

To use the 4-7-8 technique, focus on the following breathing pattern:

• empty the lungs of air
• breathe in quietly through the nose for 4 seconds
• hold the breath for a count of 7 seconds
• exhale forcefully through the mouth, pursing the lips and making a “whoosh” sound, for 8 seconds
• repeat the cycle up to 4 times

Wim Hoff Method

This next method is something much different to the last two and I must admit it is something I have not yet tried myself so I cannot give you any specific feedback. However, I have several friends in the health industry in the US who swear by the philosophies of Wim Hoff. There are also stacks of testimonials on his website that are very compelling.

This is more than just a style of breathing as it is a powerful way to teach you how you can consciously influence your own body. The Wim Hoff method is built on three pillars, which are breathing, commitment/mind-set, and lastly exposure to cold.

It is the exposure to cold part that I think has put me off from trying it as I really hate the cold. I remember having my hot water service break down last year and I had to have cold showers for an entire week. At the end of the week I was kind of getting used to it in the end, but at the time it was a miserable experience that I could not wait to finish.

As a result of his method, Wim Hof is capable of extraordinary things, such as standing in a container filled with ice cubes and running a half marathon in the snow on his bare feet. A big part of his ability to control his body in extreme conditions is using a specific breathing technique that he developed and teaches as part of his program.

What Does Science Say?

Interestingly there is a ton of research that has been conducted on the Wim Hoff method and I encourage you to check out his website as he has made a big effort to have science support his claims of great health.

In recent years, several scientists have performed controlled experiments to proof the powers of the Wim Hof Method and to unravel the mechanisms behind it.

In a study carried out by the Radboud University, followers of the Wim Hof Method and non-followers were both exposed to a pathogen, while being closely monitored. The participants that practiced the Wim Hof Method showed an increased immune response and fewer symptoms of diseases. In another experiment, Wim himself was closely monitored in a cold environment and in a neutral environment.

The results of this particular study showed that Wim’s levels of brown adipose are very high for a man of his age, but only when measured in a cold environment. Many more studies are currently conducted to expose the effects of the Wim Hof Method in areas such as stress, metabolism, and inflammation.

Here is a simple step by step way to incorporate Wim Hoff’s breathing method.

Step 1: Get Comfortable

Assume a meditation posture: sitting, lying down — whichever is most comfortable for you. Make sure you can expand your lungs freely without feeling any constriction.

Step 2: 30-40 Deep Breaths

Close your eyes and try to clear your mind. Be conscious of your breath, and try to fully connect with it. Inhale deeply through the nose or mouth, and exhale unforced through the mouth. Fully inhale through the belly, then chest and then let go unforced. Repeat this 30 to 40 times in short, powerful bursts. You may experience light-headedness, and tingling sensations in your fingers and feet. These side effects are completely harmless.

Step 3: The Hold

After the last exhalation, inhale one final time, as deeply as you can. Then let the air out and stop breathing. Hold until you feel the urge to breathe again.

Step 4: Recovery Breath

When you feel the urge to breathe again, draw one big breath to fill your lungs. Feel your belly and chest expanding. When you are at full capacity, hold the breath for around 15 seconds, then let go. That completes round number one. This cycle can be repeated 3-4 times without interval. After having completed the breathing exercise, take your time to bask in the bliss. This calm state is highly conducive to meditation — don't hesitate to combine the two.

Tai Chi

Unlike the other breathing methods discussed so far that are relatively new Tai Chi is a breathing method from China that dates back more than two thousand years! Correct breathing is necessary to gain the maximum benefit from Tai Chi and forms a big part of the energy flow that it is built around.

If you are like me and struggle to sit still when practicing meditation you will find Tai Chi a great way to achieve the same goal. I spent several years learning Tai Chi and even completed several courses with Oz Tai Chi to obtain a certification as an instructor. I found it a great way to calm my mind and my body with slow and flowing movement.

I was told that the word “QI”, pronounced “CHI” means energy and that these forms were designed to increase the flow of energy in the body. As opposed to regular exercise like running, cycling, or lifting weights that take and deplete energy, Tai Chi is designed to replace or give you energy. One of the easiest ways to measure your energy flow is by how moist your mouth is with saliva. The more saliva in your mouth the more energy you have. Once again we see the instruction to keep your mouth closed and breathe only through the nose! This time it is not science telling us to do so but an ancient method that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Think about how your mouth dries up when you run, or lift weights, or even when you are stressed out thinking about something. This is where the flight or fight system is in charge and your stress hormones are taking over the body.

Tai Chi overcomes this by using the philosophy of Yin and Yang where everything in nature has an opposing force. If there is hot then there is cold. If there is darkness there is light. If there is stress then there is calm. One cannot exist without the other, and optimal flow and harmony is achieved when there is a perfect balance between the two forces. Many people say famous filmmaker George Lucas got the idea of “the force” seen in his legendary Star Wars films from the philosophies of Tai Chi.

Stress and breathing too heavily is referred to as Yang energy whereas Tai Chi, meditation, and the feeling of being relaxed is referred to as Yin energy. To counter the stress of daily living (Yang) we must spend time with its opposing force (Yin) to remain perfectly balanced and centred.

How does the breathing come into this?

Well as opposed to the more science based approach we have discussed so far the breathing is very slow and controlled and the breathing rate and volume will match the slow movement of the body during different poses. Even watching someone perform Tai Chi is very relaxing and powerful at the same time as the slow flowing movements make time stand still.

You can watch a video of a simple form I learnt years ago in the video below.

Yoga

This method really needs no explanation as it would be by far the most popular and common forms of breathing exercises used by most people today. Just like Tai Chi, Yoga is a 3,000 year old tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation and has become increasingly popular in today's busy society, where many people find it a great retreat from their chaotic and busy lives.

The word “Yoga” comes from a Sanskrit root “yuj” which means union, or yoke, to join, and to direct and concentrate one's attention.

There are many different types of Yoga you can use and each will have a slightly different purpose or objective in mind. Hatha is one of the most popular styles, which is really a combination of many styles and is a more physical type of yoga rather than a still, meditative form. Hatha yoga focuses on pranayamas (breath-controlled exercises). These are followed by a series of asanas (yoga postures), which end with savasana (a resting period).

The goal during yoga practice is to challenge yourself physically, but not to feel overwhelmed. At this "edge," the focus is on your breath while your mind is accepting and calm.

While there are numerous benefits to this and many people will swear by it, in terms of using this as a way to improve breathing it is not my first choice. I find some people get carried away with treating Yoga more as a workout or a way to improve their flexibility as opposed to focusing more intently on how they are breathing. This is where I might apply the simpler exercises from Buteyko first and later on introduce the various poses seen with Yoga.

One breathing style that you could use is the alternating nostril method.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Alternate nostril breathing is a yogic breath control practice. In Sanskrit, it’s known as nadi shodhana pranayama. This translates as “subtle energy clearing breathing technique.”

This type of breathing can be easily implemented into your Yoga or meditation practice. Like the 4-7-8 method, alternate nostril breathing can also be done as its own practice to help you quiet and still your mind. A very simple and effective way to control your thoughts and breathing volume without hyperventilating.

One of the other benefits I have heard relating to this is the neurological enhancement due to the isolation of one nostril. By restricting air flow to one side it will enhance the neural activation of the opposing brain to get air through the other nostril. This is something we often do with exercises for people with neurological disease or dysfunction to force more muscle activation into limbs that are not functioning correctly. While there is a lack of science relating to this benefit it could be argued that it may be a way of preserving brain and cognitive function for preventing dementia or Alzheimer disease.

There are many incredible health benefits to Incorporating Yoga into your lifestyle and if you use it wisely there is no doubting you will also improve your breathing efficiency.

So far we have discussed breathing and its relationship to improving oxygenation or controlling stress and anxiety. What about how we use our breathing to create core stability for movement?

Using Your Breathing to Brace the Core

I won’t go into too much detail here as I have already discussed this recently in great depth in the article – How to brace your core.

However, just to make sure you understand that the way we breathe serves many other purposes, and also why you need to know how to change your breathing when your body is challenged with movement or load.

Most people know the diaphragm acts as a way to get air, but it also serves as a key part of the stabilizer system. The diaphragm is primarily a respiratory muscle and secondarily a stabilizer muscle. Notice what happens when you do a movement like a heavy deadlift or squat. You will find that you stop breathing just as you begin to lift the load because as the nervous system senses the threat to the spinal cord, the diaphragm switches to a stabilizer role. The diaphragm creates what is known as intra-abdominal pressure.

As much as your other stabilizer muscles like the TVA are involved, they are very dependent on the diaphragm for creating pressure. This muscle also connects to most of your ribs and helps to stabilize the body.

When a muscle contracts, it creates both force and stiffness. Force creates joint torque to support postures and create movement – but sometimes the force will enhance joint stability and sometimes it will compromise stability. It depends on how much force is applied and the relative forces applied by other muscles acting at the joint. In contrast, muscle stiffness is always stabilizing.

A stiff muscle prevents unwanted movements from all directions. Stiffness at one joint provides the development of explosive power at another which is easily seen in the use of plyometric exercises in sports.

When all muscles at a joint stiffen together a “super stiffness” phenomenon generally occurs. The total stiffness at a joint suddenly becomes more than the sum of individual muscle stiffness. For those activities that demand high core or torso stability, all muscles must be activated not just one muscle. In sports you regularly see the use of the brace during high impact and explosive movements where the core is required to fire rapidly and at crucial times to ensure stability and posture is maintained.

Watch the videos below to see this in action.

The step by step approach works like this.

1. Begin by standing in a relaxed upright standing posture making sure that your back muscles are not tensed up.
2. Then using your breathing to contract the entire abdominal wall making sure you also feel the back musculature contract.
3. You should be able to continue to breathe when you engage your core.
4. Your belly should remain tight and full after the initial breath but not at 100% capacity. After that point, you should be able to see your ribs move in and out when you breathe. 

This is the brace – all muscles around the torso stiffening to ensure stability.

Three Dimensional Breathing

Sometimes when people practice the brace method for the core they are too rigid in their hips or thoracic region and are unable to effectively stabilize their lumbar spine. This is where the value of three dimensional breathing is used.

What does 3D breathing mean?

This is where you are able to expand and relax the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic regions during breathing. As you take a breath in, your abdomen and your chest and back expand top to bottom, front to back and to the sides. I first came across this technique in the book “The Psoas Solution” by Evan Osar as he explained how he often needed to teach this technique to people with serious hip dysfunction and pain. He devotes an entire chapter on three dimensional breathing which demonstrates how highly he rates this style of breathing for rehabilitating hip injuries.

The easiest way to learn this is to lie on your back with the feet flat on the floor and the knees bent.

1. Support your head with a small pillow or folded towel and place one hand on your belly at about navel height and the other one on your chest. Gently take a normal breath in and pay attention to what hand moves and to which extent. Do this a few times to see if you can feel what is working.
2. Next, place your fingers just inside your hip bones to help you feel an upwards and downwards expansion of your abdomen as you take a gentle breath in. Take your time so you can feel what is truly happening.
3. Now you move your hands around the bottom of your rib cage. Gently breathe in and feel how your ribs expand out to the sides. Once again take your time to allow yourself to feel the movement.
4. Lastly, put one hand in the middle of your chest on your sternum. Gently breathe in and feel how your chest moves up into your hand as well as down into the mat you are lying on.

Once you have the ability to complete all of these different breathing methods you can try to combine all three at the same time. The emphasis is on synchronized three dimensional breathing and not on how deep you breathe, or how long you can hold your breath.

The easiest way to learn this is lying down but once you have it mastered you really want to incorporate this into movements like squats, deadlifts, push-ups, and all other types of functional movement as you would with the brace method discussed previously.

Do You Need More Help?

For a stack of ideas on how we use breathing for strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and weight loss make sure you get a copy of our Little Black Book Of Training Secrets that provides with you 101 different workouts for all various goals and needs. The ultimate training manual that will guide you on putting all the information described in this article into action. Click here to learn more and get your copy today. 

There is also a great PDF report about how to improve your heart health, reduce stress, and improve your overall health and vitality in the heart health book featured below. 

Summary

That brings us to the end of our detailed look at various breathing techniques and ways to improve your overall health using efficient breathing. My preferred breathing technique is they Buteyko method for improving nasal breathing, Tai Chi for relaxation and the brace developed by Dr Stuart McGill for creating core stability. However, this is just my opinion and philosophy of what I find works best for me and is not the only way to achieve the same goal. The other techniques discussed in this article are no doubt equally as effective and will work perfectly for many people. You must find what works best for your body and continue to develop it so your body becomes efficient at it.

The last thing I will leave you with is that even though these methods differ in some of their finer points they do all share three key elements. All of these methods emphasize keeping the mouth closed, slowing down the breath rate and volume, and having great concentration in connecting the entire body as a whole during the breathing process. Mastery of each of these techniques takes considerable dedication and time, but the payoff is well worth it if you are prepared to spend the time.

Enjoy.

For more ideas and information on specific topics I may not have covered in detail be sure to check out our INDEX PAGE on the website that has over 300 of our best articles. These are all sorted into categories for quick reference so you can find what you are after more easily. You can also subscribe to our FREE fortnightly newsletter by clicking here.

If you live in Melbourne and feel you need specific help with your exercise program please feel free to reach out to me for help and we can set you up with your individualised program.