Breathing Recipes
Health Recipe List
1) Breathe Through Your Nose
2) Breathe Like a Samurai
3) Go For a Walk in the Mountains
4) Breathe Stress Away in Three Breaths With the Physiological Sigh
5) Breath Before, During, and After Exercise
6) Tape Your Mouth at Night - Sounds Crazy, But It Works
7) Relax with Box Breathing or Four, Seven, Eight Breathing
8) See Your Stomach Move When You Breathe
9) Fire Up Your Stress System… The Good Stress: Wim Hof or Tummo Breathing
1) Breathe Through Your Nose
Timing: No extra time needed
Level of Difficulty: Easy–hard
Serving Size: A little every day will make a big difference
Spice Level: Depends on how long it’s been since your nose was in action!
INGREDIENTS
Just you and your nose
REASONING AND BENEFITS
The old adage use it or lose it applies to many things, including your nose. If you have have stopped using your nose to breath, then the airway will shrink, the muscles will atrophy, and it will be sitting on your face just twiddling its thumbs. Thankfully, your body is incredible, once you start using it again, your body will pick it up quickly and reawaken all of the sleeping muscles that haven’t been used while mouth breathing. Your mouth is a backup airway system. When your nose is obstructed, or you are working really hard, don’t worry – your mouth is still there to help your nose out! Breathing through your nose has so many benefits for your body. Let’s talk about some of the heavy hitters.
Your nose will sterilize the air by removing germs, allergens, and bacteria (McKeown, 2015, p. 56).
Your airway will grow and stay wider because the tissues and muscles at the back of your throat will get stronger (Nestor, 2020, p. 27).
Your nose will limit the volume of air coming into the lungs, which will allow your body to take in more of that much needed oxygen. (McKeown, 2015, p. 190).
Your nose will humidify the incoming air, stopping dry mouth and keeping more water in the body (Kahn & Ehrlich, 2018, p. 101).
Nitric oxide will be brought in, opening your airways and blood vessels (McKeown, 2015, p. 82).
INSTRUCTIONS
Try this out when you are working at your desk or watching TV at night. The more you breathe through your nose, the faster your body will get used to it and awaken the proper pathways for your body to use the incoming oxygen and outgoing carbon dioxide.
Close your mouth to take away the common reflex to breathe through your mouth.
Breathe through your nose
Notice the air entering your body and going down into your stomach.
Once comfortable, incorporate nose breathing into a walk. Try a morning walk to catch some early morning sun paired with some morning movement to set you up for the day.
PRO TIP: Not only will breathing through your nose be great for your body, but you will also become more aware of your breathing throughout the day. Being more aware of your breath may be the most important aspect of developing healthier breathing habits.
* Take moments throughout the day to focus on nasal breathing until you get used to the feeling.
** Don’t get discouraged; your airways will eventually open up with practice, and it will get easier!
*** Try to breathe right into your lower stomach when focusing on your nasal breathing.
2) Breathe Like a Samurai
Timing: No extra time needed
Level of Difficulty: Easy to do, hard to make a habit
Serving Size: Start with a little every day
Spice Level: Nice and mild
INGREDIENTS
You and your breath
REASONING AND BENEFITS
In Japan, legend has it that samurai would test a soldier’s readiness by placing a feather beneath their nose while they inhaled and exhaled. If the feather moved, the soldier would be dismissed (Nestor, 2020, p. 86). If you want to be more like a samurai, focus on breathing less air in each breath and taking fewer breaths in general. When we breathe too much, we can get two to three times more air than we need without knowing it. This overbreathing limits the body’s ability to properly get oxygen to the muscles, organs, and tissues. This can also reduce blood flow to the heart and other organs and muscles by as much as 50% (McKeown, 2015, p. 27). Breathing in less air will allow us to produce more energy more efficiently. Crazy, right!? We thought so too when we first learned that! With less air coming in, the carbon dioxide in our bodies is able to better perform its duty of opening up the blood vessels to get oxygen-rich blood to working muscles, organs, and tissues. This becomes one of the keys to proper breathing: fewer inhales and exhales with smaller volumes.
INSTRUCTIONS
This can be done at any time during rest, activity, work, or play. It will improve the ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen in your body to get your body operating more efficiently.
Focus on your breath and limit the air you breathe in so you are breathing in less air than usual. Picture yourself sipping air.
Extend your exhales longer than usual in a slow controlled manner.
While doing this, focus on breathing in through your nose. This alone will help limit the air coming in. You can breathe out through your nose or mouth.
PRO TIP: Trainers, doctors, yoga instructors and others have been telling us to take big deep breaths for a long time; let's shift what deep means to us. Instead of deep meaning a large volume of air, think of deep breathing as bringing air deep down into your stomach.
*Practicing this a little each day will retrain your body to breathe this way all the time.
** Breathing like a samurai reduces breathlessness and allows for more effective delivery of oxygen to working muscles (McKeown, 2015, p. 33).
*** Fewer free radicals will be produced, reducing risk of inflammation, tissue damage, and injury (McKeown, 2015, p. 33).
3) Go for a Walk in the Mountains
Timing: 3–10 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Medium–hard
Serving Size: Give it a shot on a normal walk or run
Spice Level: This will be spicy!
INGREDIENTS
Just you and your breath
REASONING AND BENEFITS
Sadly, not all of us have the luxury of having a mountaintop at our disposal. The benefits of high-altitude training have been used for centuries to improve cardiovascular health and the body's oxygen delivery. Fortunately, there is an easier way that can be used at any altitude to simulate high-altitude training. The essence of this type of training is to slightly restrict your body of the normal levels of oxygen it wants during exercise. It is best to start slow with this one and build your way up to longer levels of breath holding. Some of the benefits include improved lung capacity, strengthened breathing muscles, improved carbon dioxide tolerance, stress reduction, enhanced breath control and breath awareness.
INSTRUCTIONS
While walking or running, breathe normally through your nose.
When you feel ready to start the high-altitude exercise, pinch your nose while maintaining the same pace.
When you feel moderate air hunger, release your nose.
Breathe gently, about half of what it seems your body wants, for 10 to 15 seconds.
Resume normal breathing again (through your nose) for 30 seconds.
Repeat the process five to ten times.
PRO TIP: These breath holds are going to be hard work, no sugar coating here, but the benefits can be huge. Start getting used to the air hunger, and enjoy the benefits!
*This is also a great workout for your diaphragm.
**Start with light walking and don’t push yourself too hard until you get a sense of what your body can handle.
***Breath holding can be one of the only ways to simulate low oxygen environments and tap into the body's ability to adapt. If you don’t stress your body in this way, it will have no need to learn to enhance its oxygen utilization, which has a long list of benefits.
4) Breathe Stress Away in Three Breaths With the Physiological Sigh
Timing: 0.5–2 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy (no learning required)
Serving Size: A few breath cycles when feeling stressed
Spice Level: Mild and calming
INGREDIENTS
You and your breath
REASONING AND BENEFITS
When we think about reducing stress, we often think of going for a massage, meditating, taking a break, or going on a vacation. What about reducing stress the moment it’s happening? The neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman teaches us that the physiological sigh is a quick, in-the-moment stress reduction strategy. This technique allows you to use your physiology to calm yourself down. The sigh is something humans and animals automatically do before falling asleep. What better way to calm down than to do what your body already does before you fall asleep? It is very hard for us to calm down using our minds. Telling ourselves to calm down can make us more stressed, especially if it isn’t working. Instead of using your mind, use what your body is already trained to use to calm down: your breath. All you have to do is a double inhale, followed by a long exhale, and repeat that a few times. When we get stressed, carbon dioxide builds up in our blood, and the alveoli sacs in our lungs collapse like deflated balls. The double inhale acts as a pump and reinflates the alveoli sacs so that they can get rid of built-up carbon dioxide. After you reinflate the alveoli sacs, a long exhale will be much more effective at getting rid of the built-up carbon dioxide, relaxing your mind and body. (Huberman, episode. 112) There is no better or faster way out there to reduce your stress in the moment, definitely give this one a shot.
INSTRUCTIONS
Take a full breath in through your nose then immediately inhale again (called a double inhale).
Perform a long exhale out your mouth. Longer exhales slow down your heart rate.
Repeat even just one to three times to notice a benefit.
Repeat as much as you’d like to feel the calmness you’ve been searching for.
Bonus: If you can find 5 minutes in your busy schedule to do this most days per week, you will be getting very similar benefits as a regular meditation practice.
PRO TIP: We have both used this during stressful moments at work when we need to be calm and make quick decisions. We highly recommend the physiological sigh as a strategy to let your body recognize how to limit the stress response in the moment.
* The physiological sigh is thoroughly grounded in physiology and neuroscience as the most effective way to calm down.
**The diaphragm is a bad$&@ organ because it is one that we can control through our breath.
***The physiological sigh is the fastest hard-wired way for us to eliminate the stress response in our body in real time.
Learn more about the physiological sigh and proper breathing:
Huberman, A. 2023. “The Huberman Lab Podcast,” ep. 112, 1h34min timestamp.
5) Breath Before, During, and After Exercise
Timing: 5 minutes before exercise, 5 minutes after
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Serving Size: Ease your nose into it
Spice Level: Can get pretty caliente during a workout
INGREDIENTS
Just you and your breath
REASONING AND BENEFITS
Working on your breath during exercise will lead to big improvements in your day-to-day breathing. Pre-workout breath holds will increase your carbon dioxide levels, allowing your body to access the incoming oxygen during your workout. Focusing on proper breathing during your workout will stop you from overbreathing and flooding your system with oxygen during your workout (which will displace that carbon dioxide you worked so hard to build up during your breath holds). Your nose and your breath will act as your personal trainer and heart rate monitor during your workout. If you find yourself struggling to maintain nasal breathing during your workout, slow it down a little, catch your breath through your nose, and then carry on with your workout. Or, if you want to stay at high intensity, let your mouth take over, and meet back up with your nose in the cool down! Taking a couple minutes at the end of your workout to slow down and catch your breath is a great way to continue on with your day.
INSTRUCTIONS
Pre Workout: Perform between 2 and 10 minutes of breath holds before you start your workout to get your body primed and ready for the workout and to avoid breathlessness.
Exhale as you would normally.
Without breathing in, pinch your nose closed and maintain the same walking speed while counting how many steps you take.
When you start feeling a strong urge to breathe, release your nose.
Breathe in lightly through your nose (about half the air that feels normal) for 10 to 15 seconds.
Breathe normally for around 30 seconds and then repeat
During: Try to breathe through the nose, breathe low into your stomach, and breathe nice and light. Your nose is a great guide for workout intensity.
If you are doing a high intensity workout such as HIIT, let your mouth take over, and meet back up with your nose during the cool down.
Post Workout: Here is the fun one. Sit down, lay down, whatever you want and focus on slow controlled breathing for 2-5 minutes. Slow inhales through your nose, and long controlled exhales through pursed lips. This will get rid of all of that adrenaline coursing through your body, and allow you to carry on with your day, and improve recovery.
PRO TIP: If you are like us, your workouts will start to become easier and more enjoyable as you practice this technique. Easier because your body is starting to be used more efficiently, and more enjoyable because this recipe allows you to focus on another element instead of just the workout itself.
*It is always hard doing something before a workout because you are already often short on time, but give those breath holds a chance, and see how much better your workouts become.
**Nasal breathing during a workout can be tough at first. It is tempting to just revert back to mouth breathing because it is too hard. Stick with it, let your nose be your pacer, and you will be able to rock nasal breathing for the whole workout in no time.
*** If you can’t fit in the 2-5 minutes of slow breathing while lying down, then at least focus on slow breathing while you are in the shower or on the drive or walk home. Bring the calmness back to your body for the rest of your day.
Sources:
Learn more about proper breathing:
McKeown, P. (2015). The Oxygen Advantage: The simple, scientifically
proven breathing technique that will revolutionise your health and fitness. Hachette UK.
Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The new science of a lost art. Penguin.
6) Tape Your Mouth at Night - Sounds Crazy, But It Works
Timing: 5 seconds to put tape on
Level of Difficulty: Hard at first, easier each time you do it
Serving Size: Try it every night for a few weeks
Spice Level: Fiery for your nose at first, gets milder
INGREDIENTS
You and your breath
A postage-stamp-sized piece of medical tape
REASONING AND BENEFITS
First off, we have had a lot of people say to us, “They didn’t tape their mouths while they
slept 300 years ago; how come we should try this now?” Short answer is, they didn’t have to. People historically breathed through their noses, and we currently do not. You won’t have to tape your mouth for the rest of your life. Breathe through your nose during the day, tape your mouth at night for a few months , and your body will relearn how to breathe through your nose all the time and you won’t have to tape your mouth anymore. You can improve your
overall health by sticking a little piece of tape on your mouth for a few months out of your entire life. Hopefully that sounds doable now! Mouth taping at night will unlock the benefits of nasal breathing for the 7 to 9 hours you’re asleep. That’s a huge percentage of your day!
INSTRUCTIONS
Buy some plastic medical tape and put it in your bathroom or bedside table.
Take a few gentle easy breaths through your nose when you get into bed.
Tear off a postage-stamp-sized piece of medical tape and place it over the middle of your top and bottom lip. Don’t worry: you will still be able to breathe out the side of your mouth if you have to.
Continue taking slow easy breaths through your nose while you fall asleep, ideally on your side to let your airways open up fully. Sleeping on your back blocks your airway the most.
When you wake up in the morning, take the tape off.
Repeat each night until you are naturally breathing through your nose. Aim for a few months.
PRO TIP: We know, this sounds crazy! When you try this recipe and tell people that you are taping your mouth at night, they will also think it sounds crazy. But you know what? Just own it and unlock those 7 to 9 hours of optimal nasal breathing! This will set you up well for the rest of your life.
* If you don’t like how sticky the tape makes your lips, throw a little lip chap or vaseline on first.
** Try taping your mouth during the day, if the moment allows for it, to further reinforce nasal breathing. And the art of listening!
*** If your nose is stuffed up before bed, try the Say Goodbye to Nasal Congestion recipe on the next page.
Sources:
Learn more about how to optimize your sleep:
Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The new science of a lost art. Penguin.
7) Relax with Box Breathing or Four, Seven, Eight Breathing
Timing: 1–10 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Serving Size: Save this for when you need to relax
Spice Level: The sweetest pepper out there
INGREDIENTS
You and your breath
REASONING AND BENEFITS
This one goes by many different names, but all versions involve slowing down your breathing and refocusing your awareness. By focusing on slowing down each component of your breath, you distract your body out of a stress response and into a calmer state. This technique can also optimize oxygen delivery by increasing efficiency of the heart and lungs. Like many others we have discussed, this is a calming breathing technique. We have intentionally included numerous calming recipes in this book. Try them all out, find the ones that you enjoy the most, and add those to your regular routine. We are here to give you options, not tell you exactly what to do.
INSTRUCTIONS
Choose either option A (box breathing) or B (four, seven, eight breathing).
A: Inhale for 4 seconds. B: Inhale for 4 seconds.
A: Hold your breath for 4 seconds. B: Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
A: Exhale for 4 seconds. B: Exhale for 8 seconds.
A: Hold your breath for 4 seconds. B: Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
A: Repeat. B: Repeat.
PRO TIP: This is another great one to have at the ready if those stress levels are creeping up. Take a couple minutes, do some box or four, seven, eight breathing and see where it takes you. Hopefully to relaxation land!
*Longer exhalations will lead to higher levels of calmness. Push the exhale to 6 or 8 seconds in the box breathing once you are comfortable with 4 seconds.
**Breath work does not have to be hard or time consuming; even a couple minutes will go a long way.
***Have this at the ready to get out of stressful situations or before sleep to help you get those Zs.
8) See Your Stomach Move When You Breathe
Timing: No extra time needed
Level of Difficulty: Easy to do, hard to make a habit
Serving Size: Start small at different times throughout the day
Spice Level: Mild like chamomile tea
INGREDIENTS
Just you and your breath
REASONING AND BENEFITS
Breathing low into our stomach has become a lost art. Most of us breathe into the top of our lungs in our chest. It’s time to switch it up and try breathing deep into the bottom of your lungs. Looking at the shape of our lungs, they are narrow at the top and wider at the bottom. The blood flow in the lower lobes of the lungs is greater than the upper, so breathing low can improve the quality of your blood flow, increase oxygen delivery, and reduce symptoms of anxiety (McKeown, 2015, p. 72). We have grown accustomed to using as little as 10% of our diaphragm when breathing. This can elevate blood pressure, and really, you don't want your diaphragm getting bored down there! Extending your breaths to even 50 to 70% of the diaphragm’s capacity will ease the stress on your heart and allow your body to work more efficiently. The diaphragm is sometimes referred to as the second heart because it not only beats to its own rhythm, but also affects the rate and strength of heartbeats (Nestor, 2020, p. 62). Extend your breaths, move your diaphragm more, and practice getting all the air out before your next inhale.
INSTRUCTIONS
This can be done at any time during rest, activity, work, or play.
As you breathe, focus on breathing down into your stomach so you can see your stomach slowly moving in and out.
Now that you are breathing into your stomach, extend your inhales and exhales to give your diaphragm a little workout. See how much you can make your stomach move in and out with your breath.
Feel your stomach move out, filling up as you breathe in.
Feel your stomach come back in as you empty it out before taking in your next breath.
PRO TIP: Every now and then, exhale all your air beyond where it is comfortable. Mimic that feeling of doing one extra rep in the gym or pushing one block further while on a run to work the muscles a little beyond your comfort zone. Being uncomfortable consciously is a wonderful thing.
*Constant upper chest breathing can raise stress levels, adding to chronic stress.
** Deep easy breathing will become unconscious as the diaphragm gets used to working again.
*** The amount of air that enters equals the amount that leaves – peak performance right there!
Sources:
Learn more about how we should all be breathing:
McKeown, P. (2015). The Oxygen Advantage: The simple, scientifically
proven breathing technique that will revolutionise your health and fitness. Hachette UK.
Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The new science of a lost art. Penguin.
9) Fire Up Your Stress System… The Good Stress: Wim Hof or Tummo Breathing
Timing: 6–15 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Serving Size: Two times/week would be great
Spice Level: Unique combo of spicy and mild
INGREDIENTS
Just you and your breath
SAFETY BREAK: Stay safe; do not perform this recipe while driving or near water.
REASONING AND BENEFITS
You can use your breath to calm down and relax, but you can also use it to initiate your
stress response, increasing focus and alertness. That is the tasty treat we have here. You may be asking, why would I want to initiate my stress system? Isn’t stress bad? Unconscious long-term stress can be bad for you, but short-term stressors and consciously entering into a stressed state can be great for you! By breathing this way and rapidly moving your diaphragm, you will send adrenaline throughout your body. This adrenaline will fire up your immune system, help you fight off infections, and help you combat stressors by teaching your body how to deal with them. A workout for your stress system, heck ya! Stress is inevitable; life fires stressors at you all over the place. This stress response workout will help you deal with those stressors and help you avoid chronic stress.
INSTRUCTIONS
Find a comfortable position sitting or lying down.
Slow down your breathing.
Take thirty fast, very deep breaths into your stomach through your nose (breathe through pursed lips if your nose is blocked). Fill your stomach with air on your inhales and exhale each breath quickly.
Exhale your air to its normal end, leaving some air left in your lungs.
Now the fun part: hold your breath for as long as you can!
When you reach your limit, take a big breath in and hold it for 15 seconds.
Exhale and repeat the process three to four times.
PRO TIP: You may not feel anything the first couple times. Give it a chance for a week. This can wake you up, increase focus and alertness, and actually keep you calmer throughout the day.
*Wim Hof has popularized this method. Check out some of his instructional videos online.
**You will be surprised at how long you can hold your breath during the breath holds. Embrace the breath holds, noting the good feelings and maybe even some tingling in your fingers and toes!
***This is a great recipe to incorporate into your normal weekly schedule. Do it a few times a week to get in your stress response workouts. Pair it with a cold shower for extra benefit!
Sources:
Hof, W. (2020). The Wim Hof Method: Activate your full human potential. Sounds True.
