Breathing in Peak Performance
On the cozy Christmas morning of the crazy 2020, I received an amazing gift from my son. It was a book that would transform my athletic life for the better, inspire powerful breathing practices and within a few months, improve my energy, health and sleeping. The book is called Breath: The New Lost Art of Breathing by James Nestor.
As a neuroscience geek, I am always drawn to a book that combines research and ancient wisdom, so it wasn’t out of total obligation that I began to read Breath on Christmas day. I was authentically curious. This book is playful, inspirational and to my surprise, it underscored many of my daily habits of happiness. I was quickly drawn into the historical and scientific research behind breathing and fascinated by the way Nestor explained the healing and transformative power of ancient breathing practices. I was astonished at the myriad of health and wellness issues that small shifts in the way we breath in and out could answer.
The Unbelievable Power of Nasal Breathing
I found myself deeply aware of my breath and focusing on breathing through my nose. Science-based best practice: breathe “slow and low” 5.5 seconds in, 5.5 seconds out. The nose will treat, filter and heat the air while the nasal breath triggers hormones, lowers blood pressure, monitors your heart rate, reduces anxiety, heals diseases, helps you lose weight and more! I began to see breathing as some kind of a noble force I had overlooked. I came to believe that combined with intentional habits, deep nasal-breathing could become a powerful pillar of health and fitness for anyone.
In no time at all, I was completely committed to establishing resourceful habits of breathing in all areas of my life. I was especially intrigued with how nasal breathing would affect my two favorite sports: cycling and running. Nestor clearly demonstrates in this book that athletes who learned to breathe deeply, and primarily through their nose, jump-started their performance and amplified their endurance. I decided I would begin the journey to become a powerful nasal breathing athlete. I know about setting intentions and creating healthy habits: I knew I needed to start slow, and then gradually work my way up.
Start with Small Goals and Build!
At first it felt impossible. I could only do a few nasal in-breaths before I had to revert to mouth breathing to stay running or cycling. My nose would run, I carried more Kleenex, and tried to just do a minute or two at a time. It felt uncomfortable, and at times I felt starved for air. I promise you I did not enjoy it much. I got discouraged often, but I would envision the free divers who trained themselves into amazing lung capacity and recall the transformative stories of the athletes in Breath. It helped me push through and remained determined. I believed in the research!
Accordingly, I downsized my plan to start with even smaller goals and to scaffold this crazy breathing skill. I decided to focus only on running and I would limit my training to flat surfaces. I would run at a slower pace for a while I built up capacity, and only later add hills and distance. Even with this, I found I had to compromise for a while by breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. It was intermittent practice as I trained myself into running with my mouth completely shut.
It was quite a dance. One thing I learned was that I was surely not very present during my runs. Sometimes a mile or two would go by and I hadn’t even thought about my breath. I learned it was impossible to breathe through your nose when you were chatting with a running mate so I had to train solo for this. I was aware that a habit takes 66 days to create but I wondered how that worked if I only ran a few times a week? Still, I was determined to do this, and kept at it for weeks. And then, one day to my delight, I ran a full three miles without breathing through my mouth! I was elated!
Celebrate Success and Strive ON!
Buoyed by my success, I began to test it with longer distances. I ran with a deep nasal inbreath of 3-4 seconds and extend the nasal outbreath as long as I could. On inclines I would often have only a 5 or 6 second outbreath, but on flat surfaces, I could extend my outbreath to 10 seconds. I feel more powerful on my runs, much more present, and I am excited to keep going! I am now able to run 8 miles without opening my mouth at all! Next up is increasing my capacity on hills and then a half-marathon.
Running has become more enjoyable for me with nasal breathing. I feel healthier, sleep better and I have more energy. I have learned that my breathing is doing a lot of other great natural things that I am completely unaware of. I am in awe of Breath, the research and the powerful results I have gained. I truly recommend that you grab this book, whether you are a runner or not. I urge you to take some time to practice breathing through your nose and enjoy the many, many positive benefits with every breath you take.