Thank you for visiting ‘breath notes,’ where we explore the healing power of breath.

Breathwork, quite simply, is the conscious awareness of your breath, and it’s an ancient practice that offers the opportunity for transformed spiritual, physical, mental and emotional health.

Does it seem too good to be true? It’s not. Modern science is proving what yogis have known for the last few thousand years.

Read on to learn the science behind breath, identify resources for further exploration, and dive into practices that can improve the quality of your breath — and ultimately your health.

DID YOU KNOW?

• That breathwork is an amazing way to access your body’s natural intelligence to heal itself? 

• That humans typically take about 25,000 breaths per day, mostly involuntarily, and that the majority of us are breathing in ways that are detrimental to our health?

• That if you are a mouth breather, you may not even know it, are likely causing yourself health problems and that mouth breathing is correctable with breath practice?

• That conscious breath can directly affect mood and overall well being?

• That the way we breathe affects our sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous systems?

• That conscious breath practice helps us decondition from habitual ways of being?

• That the way humans breathe has caused malformities of the face, teeth and jaws?

BREATHING FACTS

• 90% of us are breathing INCORRECTLY; we mouthbreathe and over breathe.

• Conscious breathing is a FREE way to positively restore health, affect your immune response and nervous system.

• “Mouthbreathing changes the physical body and transforms airways, all for the worse. Inhaling air through the mouth decreases pressure, which causes the soft tissues in the back of the mouth to become loose and flex inward, creating less overall space and making breathing more difficult. Mouthbreathing begets more mouth breathing,” and …

• “Inhaling from the nose has the opposite effect. It forces air against all those flabby tissues at the back of the throat, making the airways wider and breathing easier. After a while, these tissues and muscles get ‘toned’ to stay in this opened and wide position. Nasal breathing begets more nasal breathing.” Source: Breath, by James Nestor

• The nose performs functions the mouth cannot in breathing; it moistens, clears and heats the air for easier absorption. The nose is also the first line of defense against viruses; the mouth is not.

• The yogic practice of Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) is a great way to affect energy. The left and right nostrils correspond to the Ida and Pingala and cross over the central channel, or Sushumna which runs through the seven chakras; each side (left/right) corresponds to relaxing and uplifting energies. In yogic philosophy, these three channels are called Nadis. Alternate nostril breathing is a simple practice that can be learned by anyone and has excellent health benefits.

• And a another excerpt by Breath, James Nestor: “The nose is a silent warrior: the gatekeeper of our bodies, pharmacist to our minds, and weather vane to our emotions.” (I seriously cannot recommend this book enough!)