only breathing through the nose

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only breathing through the nose

Postby goose » Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:23 pm

im just wondering what your thoughts are on this. i started doing this over a year ago. i breath in through the nose in to my abdomen and breath out through my nose too. is there any reason you can think of as to why this would be a negative thing? when im working real hard or exercising ill start to use my mouth. any feed back would be great.
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby wpgtaiji » Sat Feb 18, 2012 4:32 am

Who on earth told you it was negative?

In the martial arts, you should breathe through the nose most of the time (in and out). The tongue should be touching the upper palate (if you dont know, there are many sources for this to figure out). When you do an explosive movement, then you breathe out the mouth! Other than that, nose is it!

Why? many reasons. makes it harder for opponent to time the breath for one.

I was taught that if you are Cleansing, then you breathe in the nose and out the mouth. Breathing through the mouth has the possibility of biting your tongue (mouth needs to be open) in an encounter. There are other reasons, it is just way too late for me to recall them.
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby pete5770 » Sat Feb 18, 2012 12:20 pm

wpgtaiji wrote:The tongue should be touching the upper palate (if you dont know, there are many sources for this to figure out).


To clarify, the tip of your tongue should be LIGHTLY touching both the upper palate and your teeth, at the gum line. Lightly being the operative word here. It helps keep your tongue out of the way so you don't bite it off and causes you to salivate, which prevents your mouth from drying out in times of stress. It also connects the Chi paths in your body. If you believe in Chi.
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby goose » Sat Feb 18, 2012 8:00 pm

thanks for the responses . no one told me it was negative i was just wondering if it was at all. ive been doing it for some time now and like it. just wanted more feedback. thanks
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby pete5770 » Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:39 pm

FWIW at this stage of the game, for you, I would suggest you forget about your breathing and concentrate on proper footwork, lowering your stance(for strong legs), and possibly starting to learn how to control and move your arms with your waist. IMHO breathing will come along on its own. The legs, waist, and their proper use, are 90% of Tai Chi. Without the two of them you'll never really realize good Tai Chi no matter how, when, or why you breathe. Get it together from the waist down first and foremost. It's a tall order AND takes long hard work but it is what you might call "the way to go".
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby wpgtaiji » Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:14 pm

goose, to clarify what was just put up: when you learn qigong, it is important to know when you have to breath in and out. But that is thought. once you have the idea and the movement, forget it and be. Thought blocks qi flow and that could harm you.

I apologize for some of our peers. They continue to think we are talking taiji, and give taiji advice, when it may or may NOT be the case. Ignore the insanity.
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby pete5770 » Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:29 pm

wpgtaiji wrote:goose, to clarify what was just put up: when you learn qigong, it is important to know when you have to breath in and out. But that is thought. once you have the idea and the movement, forget it and be. Thought blocks qi flow and that could harm you.

I apologize for some of our peers. They continue to think we are talking taiji, and give taiji advice, when it may or may NOT be the case. Ignore the insanity.

Oops. Thought he was talking Tai Chi. Sorry. :oops: :oops:
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby Brian » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:17 am

The importance of breathing through the nose rather than the mouth was recognised in the 19th century. It is considered superior to mouth breathing for several reasons. Air travels to and from the external environment and the lungs through the sinuses, as opposed to the mouth. The sinuses do a better job of filtering the air as it enters the lungs. In addition, the smaller diameter of the sinuses create pressure in the lungs during exhalation, allowing the lungs to have more time to extract oxygen from them. When there is proper oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange, the blood will maintain a balanced pH. If carbon dioxide is lost too quickly, as in mouth breathing, oxygen absorption decreases. Nasal breathing is especially important in certain situations such as dehydration, cold weather, laryngitis, and when the throat is sore or dry because it does not dry the throat as much.

With regard to 'placing the tongue'...once your mouth is closed, the tongue is automatically in the correct position...just avoid 'trying to do it'.
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby goose » Tue Feb 21, 2012 7:29 pm

thank you all for your extra information. i will use it the best i can. :D
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby yeniseri » Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:26 pm

My teachers, in a round about way, always told me to test what they said or alluded to stuff, where you practice, research and make up your own mind through reality (my own words).

My response to "Only breathing through the nose" is, if I ask 50 people who lived to be 100 years old, and I ask them, if they breathe through their nose, what would they say? An astute and observant student will know the answer before a word is even uttered! Don't ya think so!
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby Dvivid » Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:59 am

One other point, from a different perspective.

If we get breathing heavy during practice, and are mouth breathing, it can stimulate the vagas nerve and trigger the sympathetic nervous system, which essentially shuts off your body's healing and lowers your immune response.

So, you need to be mindful of that habit.
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Re: only breathing through the nose

Postby joeblast » Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:11 pm

a very good note on the vague nerve, d :)

to add, it is a Cranial Nerve. all CNs are ostensibly "the senses" that sit on top of the more basic functions of the brain and interpolate and feed back the responses with the "higher centers" of the brain. iotw, the 12 CNs are the "12 thieves" :lol:

the feedback mechanisms also extend to the sinuses where the olfactory bulb meter air and will trigger faster heartbeat if air is flowing too quickly across them. another feedback meters blood o2 content and will trigger the pulmonary response (increased heartbeat, desire to breathe) when o2 levels drop very low.

that's why mastering the transitions between inhale and exhale and making them so smooth so as not to be noticed is a robust way to have those super long extended moments and not get hypoxia on the way there :lol:
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