Alternative Breathing Techniques

[jamestl2]

I'll start off by saying I'm a "mouth breather". If I had to estimate, I'd say I get at least 80% of my Oxygen through my mouth. I want to become a "nose breather", but I don't know how. Whenever I try to breath solely through my nose, I feel like my oxygen is beginning to cut off and I'm slowly suffocating.

So I was curious if there are any simple techniques to use to change my breathing habits? Or if there is any special "nose fresheners" that I could use to open my nasal passages more? Because I'm pretty sure they are not open as much as they could be.

[Erki]

Nothing more to say that I'm in the same boat. I have breathed through my mouth my whole life and can comfortably breathe through my nose only sometimes. One weird thing I have lately found is that all the time, one of my nostrils is blocked and only one is open. They kinda "take turns" so that sometimes I breathe through one and sometimes through the other nostril...
Also I get the feeling that I can't reach the real capacity of my lungs... I feel like I'd want to breathe more but I can't... weird.

[Shamou]

I'm not being facetious when I tell you that you should try chewing gum... you can't chew gum and breathe through the mouth at the same time...

That will be $25.00 for consultation fees...

.

[Erki]

Originally Posted by Shamou

I'm not being facetious when I tell you that you should try chewing gum... you can't chew gum and breathe through the mouth at the same time...

That will be $25.00 for consultation fees...

.

Believe it or not, I actually can. I can eat anything and breathe at the same time. Sure I gotta be a bit careful sometimes if I eat something that has a lot of flaky stuff on it that I can easily inhale but I've never hard any problems with that.

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by Shamou

I'm not being facetious when I tell you that you should try chewing gum... you can't chew gum and breathe through the mouth at the same time...

I’ve tried that before (although I’m also not a big fan of gum), but it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.

Originally Posted by Erki

Also I get the feeling that I can't reach the real capacity of my lungs... I feel like I'd want to breathe more but I can't... weird.

I know what you mean, I feel the same way.

It almost feels as if it is a biological issue for me.

[Shamou]

jamestl2 & Erki... sorry people... somehow you are made differently from the rest of us... maybe a veterinarian could help you... they have studied multiple species...

.

.

[SmellyOrc]

Haha. Its also said that you can't breath in and out through both your nose and mouth at the same time. However, I can.
How?

[kpreston]

Originally Posted by SmellyOrc

Haha. Its also said that you can't breath in and out through both your nose and mouth at the same time. However, I can.
How?

You most definetely can. Unless you mean simultaniously breathing out... while breathing in...

[Uplift]

Originally Posted by jamestl2

I'll start off by saying I'm a "mouth breather". If I had to estimate, I'd say I get at least 80% of my Oxygen through my mouth. I want to become a "nose breather", but I don't know how. Whenever I try to breath solely through my nose, I feel like my oxygen is beginning to cut off and I'm slowly suffocating.

So I was curious if there are any simple techniques to use to change my breathing habits? Or if there is any special "nose fresheners" that I could use to open my nasal passages more? Because I'm pretty sure they are not open as much as they could be.

Why? When you want to work as hard as you can and need as much oxygen as you can, and need to dispel as much waste as you can, your natural and most efficient way of pumping air in and out, is through your mouth. Watch animals. They act like living 'bellows'. I played top level sports, and was reknowned for being able to 'grind opponents down'. Breathing hard becomes like an exercise. You become very proficient. I am also a personal trainer, and I vividly remember one client, a Buddhist who wanted to become 'athletically' fit, who clung stubbornly to breathing through her nose, and who wanted to convince and convert me to the merits of it. When really pushed to training, and working hard, she would virtually collapse, and have to relent, realising and accepting how much more efficient breathing through the mouth is. If you are reasonably fit, try this. Find a steep, long sandhill. After warming up, sprint, explode 50m up, jog 50m down, repeat 10 times. See what your instinct tells you about breathing.

[JimOfferman]

You could try a few lessons with a vocal coach. Since singing is mostly about breathing, vocal coaches tend to be good at demonstrating various breathing techniques and providing you with exercises to improve/change your breathing habits.

Though, you should know, that most singers I know (myself included) breath through the mouth. While they are singing at least...

[Uplift]

Here's another one to try. Extreme though. Only if you are really fit. Go to the beach or a pool, jump in, go under, the deeper the better, hold your breath. When you think you are gonna drown, get someone to hold you under a little bit longer. Trust me, I've surfed for around forty years, it takes a lot to drown. When you are kicking for your life, come up. You won't need a nose. You'll realise why snorkels go in your mouth.

PS spit out the gum early, or you'll die.

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by Uplift

Why? When you want to work as hard as you can and need as much oxygen as you can, and need to dispel as much waste as you can, your natural and most efficient way of pumping air in and out, is through your mouth.

Actually, my reasoning for posing this question is because I will have to wear a mouth positioner for a few months (to help move my teeth into their final position), and it takes up the whole mouth, so I feel that I will barely able to breath much through just my nose.

So I didn't have much choice here in how to breathe.

[jbischke]

Two important steps

1. Eliminate or drastically reduce mucous-forming foods from your diet. This means diary, soy, meat, etc.

2. Try using a neti-pot. Within a few weeks you might be amazed at how much clearer your nose will be.

Until you get your nose clear all attempts to breath through your nose are going to be somewhat in vain I think. I have the same problems (and have been a lot worse in the past) so I can relate. Try #1 and #2 for a month and report back to us.

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by jbischke

2. Try using a neti-pot. Within a few weeks you might be amazed at how much clearer your nose will be.

What is a neti-pot?

[jamestl2]

I still cant do number 2 if I don't know what a neti-pot is.

Also, are there any "cleaning solutions" that may help get rid of nose mucus? I've tried a couple once, but they didn't do the trick (More specifically, it was a product that you use where you sniff a water solution, and I believe it was called something like "neilbed rinse", which didn't work.)

[jamestl2]

Okay,
I've used the neti-pot for a little longer than a month, now and still no luck.

Can I have more specific examples of foods I should give up (and for how long)? Or does it just have something to do with my biological anatomy, and my "mouth-breathing".

Or is there anything else that might work. I feel like I'm being deprived of an opportunity for plentyful oxygen.

[SamBeaven]

Try meditation or breathing through your nose when resting and your oxygen needs are a little lower. As for other ways of clearing mucus, there's a good (if drastic) method practiced in Yoga - snort some water and spit it out through your mouth. That'll definitely clear it out!

Might be easier if you blow your nose after doing it a couple of times, as this dilutes the mucus a bit. You can also get some specialized sinus-clearing stuff in some drugstores or online, though the name escapes me at present.

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by SamBeaven

Try meditation or breathing through your nose when resting and your oxygen needs are a little lower. As for other ways of clearing mucus, there's a good (if drastic) method practiced in Yoga - snort some water and spit it out through your mouth. That'll definitely clear it out!

I’ve tried resting and just trying to concentrate on my breathing, but when I stop, it just goes back to normal (which only lasts ten seconds anyway). Also, the water technique is basically what the neti-pot does.

Originally Posted by SamBeaven

Might be easier if you blow your nose after doing it a couple of times, as this dilutes the mucus a bit. You can also get some specialized sinus-clearing stuff in some drugstores or online, though the name escapes me at present.

I did blow it to, I couldn’t *not* blow it after that sort of procedure. Any examples of “specialized sinus clearing”? I didn’t want to get something just like Tylenol sinus or Vicks breathing cream. What type of medicine was it?

[JimOfferman]

It may just be that it is next to impossible to really re-program your autonomous breathing. When your mind is focussed on something other than breathing, your body just does what it needs to do to get some air.

It may also be that your body will switch to nose breathing "automatically" when you're wearing the mouth positioner. Just like a nose breather doesn't die of asphyxiation when his nose is blocked with mucus - the human body is fairly smart about staying alive.

Jim.

[Saeros]

Originally Posted by Erki

One weird thing I have lately found is that all the time, one of my nostrils is blocked and only one is open. They kinda "take turns" so that sometimes I breathe through one and sometimes through the other nostril...

Isn't that considered normal? I have this problem too and went to see a doctor. He said that this happen to almost everyone. It is just plain normal. I'm not sure, I've never asked anyone else anyway.

[Erki]

I'm not sure. Even if it's normal, I have very tight nostrils and it's hard to breathe through them. Sometimes I have great difficulty breathing through my nose. (And this sometimes is nearly every day).

[Saeros]

Have you seen a doctor? I have allergic rhinitis(hay fever) and I can hardly breathe sometime. I always breathe through one nostril every time, never two of them. But sometimes, I've found myself breathing through my mouth when I was sleeping.

But that problem is not as serious as that now, because I try to be as healthy as I can. Maybe because I practice breathing technique, such as meditation and singing. But still, when I use diaphragm, I never feel like I can fill my lung capacity.

[Lynni]

Originally Posted by jamestl2

I'll start off by saying I'm a "mouth breather". If I had to estimate, I'd say I get at least 80% of my Oxygen through my mouth. I want to become a "nose breather", but I don't know how. Whenever I try to breath solely through my nose, I feel like my oxygen is beginning to cut off and I'm slowly suffocating.

So I was curious if there are any simple techniques to use to change my breathing habits?

Have you tried soaking a washcloth in very warm water and applying it to your forehead? This is very simple and it really unclogs the sinuses. Using a neti pot is also a great idea.

I also read an article on the Yoga Journal website that addressed relearning how to become a "nosebreather" . This is the address, but I don't know how to access it now that I've let my subscription lapse.
http://www.yogajournal.com/health/12...m?ctsrc=nlv273

Third, I'm reading a fascinating book - Meditation As Medicine by Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. His medical meditations cover every conceivable ailment, especially those that mainstream medicine isn't much good at treating. It's very important for your health to be able to breathe properly. Good Luck! Lynni

[AtriumGuy]

Yes, breathing through one nostril IS actually normal (albeit weird). TRY yogic pranarama breathing...or take a Yoga class....this certainly clears the passages and helps you form the habit of breathing through the nostrils. BIKRAM yoga is even better (hot yoga)...good luck!