The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You

by Patrick McKeown

Recognizing the importance of the role of nitric oxide in oxygenation of the body, Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends inhaling from the diaphragm as it “brings nitric oxide from the back of your nose and your sinuses into your lungs. This short-lived gas dilates the air passages in your lungs and does the same to the blood vessels.”

Nitric oxide plays an important role in vasoregulation (the opening and closing of blood vessels), homeostasis (the way in which the body maintains a state of stable physiological balance in order to stay alive), neurotransmission (the messaging system within the brain), immune defense, and respiration. It helps to prevent high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, keep the arteries young and flexible, and prevent the clogging of arteries with plaque and clots.

The potency of nitric oxide in opening blood vessels becomes clear when you realize that this simple gas plays a significant role in erection of the penis.

There are many causes of habitual mouth breathing, including swelling of the tissue in the nose to form nasal polyps. In a study of a group of thirty-three men with nasal polyps, the authors found that erectile dysfunction was significantly higher in this group.

And women can benefit from nitric oxide in this way too, as the gas plays a similar role in the female genitalia, helping to increase libido. Could it be that nose breathers have more desire and better sex lives than mouth breathers? In addition to improving your sex life, this unique gas also acts as a defense mechanism against microorganisms through its antiviral and antimicrobial activity, potentially reducing the risk of illness and improving overall health.

The production of nitric oxide in the nasal sinuses can be increased by simply humming.

described how humming increased nitric oxide up to fifteenfold in comparison with quiet exhalation. They concluded that humming causes a dramatic increase in sinus ventilation and nasal nitric oxide release. With this knowledge, it comes as no surprise that humming is also practiced during certain meditation techniques. The breathwork technique called Brahmari involves slow, deep breaths through the nose, humming on each exhalation to generate a sound similar to a bee buzzing, and while the exact science may have been a mystery to the creators of this meditation method, the associated feeling of calmness of the mind is a clear indication of its benefit.

Nasal obstruction is one of the main symptoms of rhinitis and affects many people throughout the Western world on a daily basis. The most common treatments include the avoidance of triggers (such as pollen) and the use of decongestants, nasal steroid sprays, antihistimines, or allergy shots, but while these offer symptomatic benefits, they are effective only as long as treatment continues.

a study was commissioned to further investigate the effects of reduced breathing.

The results were an amazing 70 percent reduction of symptoms such as nasal stuffiness, poor sense of smell, snoring, trouble breathing through the nose, trouble sleeping, and having to breathe through the mouth.

Like all breathing exercises, the Nose Unblocking Exercise should not be practiced right after eating.

Nose Unblocking Exercise • Take a small, silent breath in through your nose and a small, silent breath out through your nose. • Pinch your nose with your fingers to hold your breath. • Walk as many paces as possible with your breath held. Try to build up a medium to strong air shortage, without overdoing it. • When you resume breathing, do so only through your nose. Try to calm your breathing immediately. • After resuming your breathing, your first breath will probably

be bigger than normal. Make sure that you calm your breathing as soon as possible by suppressing your second and third breaths. • You should be able to recover normal breathing within 2 or 3 breaths. If your breathing is erratic or heavier than usual, you have held your breath for too long. • Wait 1 or 2 minutes before repeating the breath hold. • In order to prepare yourself for the longer breath holds, go easy for the first few repetitions, increasing your paces each time. • Repeat for a total of 6 breath holds, creating a fairly strong need for air.

Generally, this exercise will unblock the nose, even if you have a head cold. However, as soon as the effects of the breath hold wear off, the nose will likely feel blocked again. By gradually increasing the number of steps you can take with your breath held, you will find the results continue to improve. When you are able to walk a total of 80 paces with the breath held, your nose will remain decongested. Eighty paces is actually a very achievable goal, and you can expect to progress by an additional ten paces per week.

By holding your breath, you sharply increase the concentration of nitric oxide in your nasal cavity, resulting in dilation of the nasal passages and smooth, easy nasal breathing once more.

Because we are unaware of how we breathe at night, the only sure way to ensure nasal

breathing is to wear light paper tape across the lips to prevent the mouth from falling open.

The tape that I have found most suitable, as it is simple to use, hypoallergenic, and light, is 3M Micropore tape, which can be bought from most drugstores. To help make the tape easier to remove in the morning, gently press the tape against the back of your hand a couple of times to remove some of the glue before applying the tape to your face. All you need to do is tear off about 4 inches/10 cm of tape, fold a tab over at both ends to make removal easier in the morning, dry your lips, close your mouth, and gently place the tape horizontally over the lips.

Continue to wear the tape until you have managed to change to breathing through your nose at night. How long this takes will vary from person to person, but in general wearing the tape for a period of around three months is sufficient to restore nasal breathing during sleep. Breathing through your nose will result in a naturally moist mouth when you wake up.

In the same way, wearing tape across the lips during sleep or when alone in your house during the day gradually trains the body to adapt to nasal breathing both day and night.

Master Lee practices a breathing exercise that is very similar to the reduced breathing exercise we will explore further on. It is no coincidence that Master Lee’s breathing was textbook perfect. It was abdominal, effortless, and almost invisible to the eye. I have watched many people breathe—thousands, in fact—and without doubt, Master Lee displayed the most perfect breathing I have ever seen. Well-known qigong and tai chi Master Chris Pei explains how breathing is at the very core of the Chinese concept of chi (qi): “Generally speaking, there are three levels of breathing. The first one is to breathe softly, so that a person standing next to you does not hear you

breathing. The second level is to breathe softly so that you do not hear yourself breathing. And the third level is to breathe softly so that you do not feel yourself breathing.” This philosophy of effortless breathing is echoed by authentic teachers of Indian yoga and traditional Chinese medicine.

Unlike many modern Western teachers of yoga, who instruct students to breathe hard in order to remove toxins from the body, authentic teachers know that when it comes to breathing, less is more. The traditional Chinese philosophy of Taoism succinctly describes ideal breathing as “so smooth that the fine hairs within the nostrils remain motionless.” True health and inner peace occurs when breathing is quiet, effortless, soft, through the nose, abdominal, rhythmic, and gently paused on the exhale. This is how human beings naturally breathed until modern life changed everything.

The commonly used practice of taking big breaths is based on the misconception that taking in more air will increase the oxygen levels of the blood. However, since arterial blood is already almost fully saturated with oxygen (between 95 percent and 99 percent) during normal, healthy breathing, “big” breathing is rendered totally unnecessary. Authentic teachers are not adding anything new. Instead, they are helping to counteract the negative effects imposed on breathing by processed foods, stress, excessive talking, stuffy air, and the false belief of the benefits of taking big breaths.

If we use the definition of “extending far from the top” in the context of deep breathing, the “top” will refer to the top of the lungs or the upper chest. A deep breath, therefore, means to breathe down into the full depth of the lungs. It also means using the main breathing muscle, the diaphragm, which separates the chest from the abdomen.

To bring air down into the depths of the lungs, it is not actually necessary to take a big breath, as even the quietest of breaths will activate the diaphragm. When you are practicing abdominal nasal breathing, you should not be able to see or hear your breath during rest.

To determine where your diaphragm is located, place your hands just at the base of your rib cage and follow your ribs from the front of your body to the sides. A good rule of thumb is that the diaphragm is located about four buttons down on your shirt.

Abdominal breathing is more efficient simply because of the shape of the lungs. Since they are narrow at the top and wider at the bottom, the amount of blood flow in the lower lobes of the lungs is greater than in the upper lobes.

upper-chest breathing activates the fight-or-flight response, which raises stress levels and produces even heavier breathing.

Many people habitually breathe in this manner every minute of every hour of every day, holding them in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight with adrenaline levels high. The work of even the best stress counselors, psychologists, or psychotherapists will be limited unless they first help their patients to address their dysfunctional breathing.

On the other hand, healthy individuals who are relaxed and relatively free from stress will exhibit breathing that is abdominal: slow, gentle, calm, regular, relatively unnoticeable, silent, and through the nose. To achieve this type of breathing and reduce the negative effects of stressed overbreathing, it is important to activate the body’s parasympathetic nervous system to elicit the relaxation response. To do this, you will need to adjust your breathing habits in order to properly use your diaphragm. Avoid sighing, panting, and breathing through the mouth, and become accustomed to slow, gentle, relaxed, calm, and quiet breathing through the nose. This is how we should breathe during rest every minute of every hour of every day. Within a very short time you will find that you feel calmer and more energetic and are able to sleep better. The positive effects of abdominal breathing will continue to transform every aspect of your health, including your sports performance. Another advantage of abdominal breathing is that it assists with lymphatic drainage.

Breathe Light to Breathe Right

Breathing Recovery Exercise Following physical exercise, cool down by walking for 3 to 5 minutes, performing the following small breath holds: • Exhale as normal through the nose. • Pinch your nose with your fingers to hold the breath for 2 to 5 seconds. • Breathe normally through the nose for 10 seconds. • Repeat the first 3 steps throughout your cooldown. • Resume regular breathing.

Similar to any intense physical exercise, it is important to practice at least two hours after eating. Just as it is not advisable to go for a jog directly after eating, it is also best to practice breathing exercises on an empty stomach. Not only would it be uncomfortable to perform breath holds too soon after a meal, but the benefit of the exercise would be much reduced as the process of digestion increases breathing.

A still mind can be attained through having a high BOLT score, using meditation, and developing awareness of the mind—nothing else.

Because the mouth provides a larger space to breathe through than the nose, breathing volume will be higher, causing too much carbon dioxide to be expelled from the lungs.

I switched from mouth to nose breathing during the late 1990s, when I was in my early twenties, but it was only after I met with myofunctional therapists Joy Moeller, Barbara Greene, and Karen Samuel in 2006 that I learned the correct position of the tongue.

Dr. Harvold’s studies paved the way for the treatment and prevention of the improper development of the jaws and face and is accredited almost single-handedly for introducing a branch of orthodontics known as functional appliance therapy to North America.

Please note that just like any form of physical exercise, it is easier and more beneficial if you practice reduced breathing exercises at least an hour or more after eating a meal.

Stage 1: Relaxing and Activating the Diaphragm

Program for BOLT Score of 10 to 20 Seconds • Measure your BOLT score each morning after waking. • Breathe through the nose at all times. Wear paper tape across your lips during sleep to ensure nasal breathing at night. • Regularly observe your breathing throughout the day to ensure it stays calm and soft. • Swallow or hold the breath any time you feel a sigh coming. If you miss a sigh, then gently exhale through your nose and hold your breath for 5 to 10 seconds to compensate. • Practice the Breathe Light to Breathe Right or Breathing Recovery exercise for 10 minutes, 3 times a day: once in the morning, once during the afternoon, and once before bed. • Practice Breathe Light to Breathe Right—Walking for between 30 and 60 minutes per day; you can slow jog if your BOLT score is greater than 15 seconds. • Fill in the following chart to mark your progress.