Mastering Breathwork

Why Your Breath Matters More Than You Think

If you’re looking for a quick “just breathe better” guide, you might want to skim this one—or find a simpler read. This blog isn’t just about giving you a single breathwork hack. We’re science nerds at OHM, and we’re about to cover a hell of a lot—from the mechanics of breath to CO₂ tolerance, nervous system regulation, metabolic optimization, and traditional breath practices.

We dive into the details because breath is not just a wellness trend—it’s an entire physiological system that influences every aspect of health, performance, and mental clarity. If you understand it at a deeper level, you don’t just breathe better—you live better.

So, if you’re here to geek out with us on the science of breathing, you’re in the right place. If you’re just looking for a single breath trick to try before bed—stick around, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.

The Science of Every Breath

Breathing is more than an automatic function. It’s a key player in almost every major bodily system. Your breath influences your body's ability to handle stress, regulate energy, and even affect longevity. The diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle beneath your lungs, acts like a natural pump, controlling the flow of oxygen (O₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂).

When you take slow, deep breaths, your vagus nerve (the body's built-in stress regulator) sends signals to slow your heart rate and reduce stress hormones. If your breathing is shallow or erratic, your body interprets it as danger time - spiking cortisol levels, increasing inflammation, and impairing brain function. Poor breathing habits, like chronic mouth breathing or hyperventilation, are linked to anxiety, poor sleep, and even metabolic issues.

For peak performers, controlling their breathing is the difference between thriving and burning out. Studies show that breathwork can boost oxygen efficiency (VO₂ max), improve heart rate variability (HRV), and speed up recovery. But breathwork isn’t just for elite athletes. It also benefits anyone who wants better focus, more energy, and improved resilience to stress.

Breath and Culture: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science

Science is now catching up with what ancient cultures have known for centuries: how you breathe affects how you live.

• Māori Hau & The Hongi: In Māori tradition, the hongi (a greeting where noses press together) symbolises the sharing of "hau," or life breath. The breath is a shared, energetic connection with others and the world.
• Pranayama & Yogic Breathwork: Yogic traditions teach that "prana" (life energy) is harnessed through controlled breathing. Techniques like Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) and Ujjayi (ocean breath) are now scientifically validated for their effects on the nervous system and mental clarity.
• Qi & Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): In TCM, breath (Qi) circulates energy throughout the body. Slow, intentional breathing enhances longevity, emotional balance, and resilience.

From indigenous traditions to modern neuroscience, the message is the same: your breath dictates how you think, feel, and function. A far cry from the neglected "autonomic function" that Western science traditionally relegated breathing to.

The Hidden Epidemic: Dysfunctional Breathing

Despite its importance, many people unknowingly breathe in ways that limit their potential. Here’s why:

• Chronic stress: Many people spend their days in "fight or flight" mode, unconsciously holding their breath (a phenomenon called "email apnea") or hyperventilating.
• Poor posture & too much sitting: A slouched posture compresses the lungs, reducing oxygen intake.
• Mouth breathing & sleep issues: Unlike nasal breathing, mouth breathing strips air of moisture and filtration, increasing CO₂ loss and contributing to sleep apnea. Inside the nose is a nifty set of structures called the turbinates. These warm, humidify, and filter air.
• Over-breathing: Breathing too much lowers CO₂ levels, reducing oxygen delivery to tissues - an effect known as the Bohr effect.

And this isn't just theory. Research shows that even small adjustments to how you breathe can transform your energy, focus, and stress resilience.

From Theory to Mastery

So how do we take back control of this simple yet powerful function?

By combining cutting-edge science with time-tested wisdom, we can reprogram our breathing for more energy, better health, and sharper focus. This guide will show you how to:

• Understand the mechanics of breath: How your respiratory system, CO₂ balance, and nervous system work together.
• Use the breath to optimise your brain: How different breathing techniques shift brainwave states, from deep focus to relaxation.
• Breathe for performance: Techniques like the popular Wim Hof method and oxygen efficiency training boost endurance, strength, and recovery.
• Breathe for better sleep: How nasal breathing and CO₂ control improve sleep quality and recovery.
• Learn from different cultures: Indigenous breathwork traditions and how they foster physical and spiritual resilience.

The bottom line? Breath isn’t just about staying alive - it’s about living better.

How Breathing Works: The Science of Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide & Your Nervous System

Breathing seems simple - just inhale and exhale. But if it were that straightforward, why do so many people develop poor breathing habits? Why do elite athletes train their breath so intensely? And why have monks dedicated centuries to mastering breath control?

The reality is that breathing is a fundamental process that influences energy, focus, and stress levels. Every breath is an opportunity to fuel your body efficiently, sharpen your mind, and regulate your emotions. To harness its full potential, we need to understand how oxygen sustains life, how carbon dioxide maintains balance, and how the nervous system fine-tunes the entire process.

The Mechanics of Breathing: Your Body’s Natural Airflow System

Your lungs don’t work alone. They rely on a sophisticated system of muscles, nerves, and pressure changes to move air in and out. The way you breathe is directly influenced by how you sit, stand, and move.

Inhalation: Bringing Oxygen In

Breathing in is about creating space for air to flow into your lungs. This happens due to changes in pressure within your chest cavity.

The Diaphragm: Your Breath Engine

• The diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle at the base of the ribcage, plays a central role.
• When you inhale, it contracts and moves downward, expanding the chest cavity and lowering pressure inside the lungs.
• This vacuum effect pulls air in, allowing oxygen to reach the bloodstream.

Ribcage Expansion: Creating More Space

• The intercostal muscles lift the ribs outward and upward, increasing lung volume.
• A well-functioning ribcage makes breathing easier and more efficient.

Airflow into the Lungs: Fueling Every Cell

• Air enters through the nose or mouth, travels down the trachea, and reaches the bronchi before dispersing into tiny air sacs (alveoli).
• Oxygen passes into the bloodstream, while carbon dioxide moves out for exhalation.

Exhalation: Releasing What You No Longer Need

While inhaling requires active movement, exhaling is mostly passive in a relaxed state.

The Diaphragm Relaxes

• It moves back up, reducing chest space and increasing lung pressure.

Ribcage Moves Inward

• The intercostal muscles relax, and the ribs settle back into place.

Air is Released

• The increased pressure inside the lungs forces air out until equilibrium is reached.

During physical exertion, stress, or speech, exhalation becomes more active.

Forced Exhalation Uses More Muscles

• Internal intercostal muscles contract to pull the ribs downward.
• The abdominal muscles push the diaphragm upward, forcing air out more efficiently.
• A strong core directly supports better breath control, improving endurance and oxygen efficiency.

Gas Exchange: The Currency of Life

Oxygen is vital, but it is useless if it never reaches your cells. At the same time, carbon dioxide isn’t just a waste product; it’s essential for maintaining balance.

Where Gas Exchange Happens

The magic occurs in the alveoli - tiny air sacs in the lungs surrounded by capillaries that facilitate gas exchange.

Oxygen Moves In

• Oxygen crosses from the alveoli into red blood cells, where it binds to hemoglobin and is transported throughout the body.

Carbon Dioxide Moves Out

• CO₂ leaves the bloodstream and enters the alveoli, ready to be exhaled.

A Delicate Balance

• This exchange happens through diffusion, where gases move from areas of high concentration to low concentration.

Why Oxygen is Essential

Oxygen is the final electron acceptor in your mitochondria - the power generators of your cells. Without it, your body can’t efficiently produce ATP (energy), leading to fatigue, mental fog, and sluggish recovery. Already we've stumbled on a massive reason why the breath should not be forgotten.

The Overlooked Role of Carbon Dioxide

Most people think CO₂ is just a waste product, but it plays a critical role in:

• Regulating blood pH: Too much CO₂ can make blood acidic, while too little can cause alkalosis, disrupting cell function.
• Controlling oxygen delivery: Low CO₂ levels cause blood vessels to constrict, limiting oxygen to the brain and muscles (a phenomenon known as the Bohr effect).

This is why proper breathing techniques, such as slower, nasal breathing, can improve energy levels, cognitive function, and endurance.

The Brain-Breath Connection: How Your Nervous System Regulates Breathing

Breathing is unique. It happens automatically but can also be controlled consciously. The brain constantly adjusts your breath rate and depth based on oxygen needs, stress levels, and movement.

The Brainstem: Your Body’s Breathing Control Center

The medulla oblongata and pons regulate involuntary breathing, ensuring your body maintains balance without requiring conscious effort.

How Your Brain Controls Your Breathing Muscles

Breathing is managed through a network of nerves:

Phrenic nerve: Directly controls diaphragm movement.
Intercostal nerves: Activate ribcage muscles for expansion and contraction.
Accessory nerves: Kick in during exertion, stress, or speaking, helping to deepen breaths.

The Balance Between Automatic and Voluntary Control

Breathing is one of the few functions in the body that is both automatic and under conscious control:

• The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) controls involuntary breathing.
  
• The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) increases breath rate under stress or exertion.
  
• The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) slows breathing for relaxation and recovery.

Hacking Your Nervous System with Breath

Since breathing is both automatic and voluntary, you can use conscious breathing to shift your state:

🫁 Slow breathing activates the vagus nerve, reducing stress and promoting relaxation.
🫁 Rapid breathing stimulates the SNS, increasing alertness and focus.
🫁 Extended exhales signal the body to relax, slowing the heart rate.

This is why breath control techniques - such as box breathing, cadence breathing, and nasal breathing - are powerful tools for managing stress, increasing focus, and boosting performance.

Breathing as a Skill

Now it should be quite apparent that breathing is a skill that can be trained and optimised for better energy, resilience, and focus.

Master the mechanics: Understand how your diaphragm, ribcage, and breathing muscles work together.
Optimise gas exchange: Maintain CO₂ balance for better oxygen efficiency.
Leverage your nervous system: Use the breath as a tool to shift between stress and relaxation.

Whether you’re an athlete, a high-performer, or looking to improve your health, mastering your breath is one of the simplest yet most powerful things you can do.

Next, we’ll dive deeper into training methods that help you harness the full potential of your breath for peak performance, energy, and longevity.

Breathing & The Body: How Your Breath Shapes Sleep, Metabolism & Stress

Now that we’ve explored the mechanics, chemistry, and neurology of breath, let’s take a broader look at how it all connects.

To master your breath is to master your internal environment. To do that, we need to understand:

• Why carbon dioxide is more than just a waste product.
• How breathing patterns reflect (and dictate) mental and physical health.
• How traditional cultures have long harnessed breath for resilience, vitality, and balance.

The Role of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂): The Unsung Hero of Breath

Oxygen tends to get all the credit, but carbon dioxide plays a vital role in how we breathe. CO₂ is the real driver of breath rate and is essential for maintaining energy efficiency, circulation, and nervous system balance.

If you’ve ever felt lightheaded, anxious, or fatigued for no apparent reason, your CO₂ balance may be off.

How CO₂ Regulates Breath Rate and Physiology

Your body doesn’t breathe because it needs oxygen - it breathes to expel excess CO₂. When CO₂ levels rise too high, your brain signals you to inhale deeply or exhale faster to restore balance.

Blood pH Regulation: The CO₂ Buffer System

• The body maintains a blood pH between 7.35 and 7.45 for optimal function.
• CO₂ dissolves in the blood, forming carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). Too much CO₂ lowers pH (acidosis), while too little raises pH (alkalosis).
• Your lungs regulate pH by adjusting how much CO₂ you exhale.

CO₂ Sensors in the Brainstem: Your Internal Thermostat

• Specialised chemoreceptors detect CO₂ levels and adjust breathing accordingly.
• Higher CO₂ levels (e.g., during exercise or breath-holding) trigger deeper, faster breathing.
• Lower CO₂ levels (e.g., from hyperventilation) cause slower breathing to retain CO₂.

CO₂ Imbalances: When You Breathe Too Much or Too Little

Over-breathing (Hyperventilation): Expelling Too Much CO₂

• Excessive exhalation makes the blood too alkaline, causing vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels).
• Reduced blood flow to the brain, muscles, and organs leads to:
  • Dizziness and brain fog.
  • Anxiety and shortness of breath.
  • Cold hands and feet due to poor circulation.

Under-breathing (Hypoventilation): When CO₂ Builds Up Too Much

• CO₂ accumulation leads to blood acidity (respiratory acidosis).
• Symptoms include:
  • Fatigue and confusion.
  • Headaches and respiratory distress.

Nasal Breathing: CO₂ Tolerance and Oxygen Efficiency

Nasal breathing is the body’s natural way to regulate CO₂ levels and maximise oxygen efficiency.

Nasal Breathing Preserves CO₂ Balance

• Slows respiration, allowing CO₂ levels to stay within an optimal range.
• Improves oxygen delivery by facilitating the Bohr effect (where CO₂ helps release oxygen from haemoglobin).

Mouth Breathing: The CO₂ Disruptor

• This leads to excessive CO₂ loss, making oxygen delivery less efficient.
• Is linked to poor sleep, anxiety, and airway dysfunction.
• Disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production, which is essential for oxygen absorption and blood vessel dilation.

The Buteyko Method: CO₂ Optimisation Training
Developed by Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, this technique retrains dysfunctional breathing patterns by slowing respiration and increasing CO₂ tolerance. Studies show it helps with asthma, anxiety, and sleep disorders.

How You Breathe Is How You Feel

Your breathing patterns shape your health in ways you might not realise. Get it right, and you’ll feel calmer, more focused, and energised. Get it wrong, and you may experience chronic stress, fatigue, and even metabolic imbalances.

What Is Optimal Breathing?

Healthy Breathing Rate

• 10–14 breaths per minute is ideal.
• Longer exhalations (1:1.5–2 inhale-to-exhale ratio) promote relaxation.

Why Slower Breathing Is Better

• Increases oxygen efficiency and CO₂ retention.
• Activates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest mode).
• Enhances Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a key marker of cardiovascular health.

Dysfunctional Breathing Patterns: The Hidden Epidemic

Hyperventilation Syndrome (HVS)

• Chronic over-breathing causes CO₂ loss, impairing oxygen delivery.
• Symptoms: fatigue, dizziness, anxiety, panic attacks.

Mouth Breathing

• Bypasses nasal filtration, leading to poor sleep, airway dysfunction, and even facial structural changes.

Upper-Chest Breathing (Apical Breathing)

• Over-activates fight-or-flight mode, causing chronic tension and fatigue.
• Engages accessory muscles instead of the diaphragm, making breathing inefficient.

How Conscious Breathing Fixes This

• Slow, diaphragmatic breathing activates the vagus nerve, calming the nervous system.
• Retraining dysfunctional patterns restores optimal oxygenation and resilience.

Breathwork & Traditional Practices: The Wisdom of the Ancients

Ancient cultures intuitively understood the power of breath. Now, modern science is proving them right.

Pranayama (Yogic Breath Control)

• Prana = Life force energy. Pranayama = Breath mastery.
• Supports oxygenation, CO₂ regulation, and nervous system balance.

Popular Techniques

• Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing): Balances left and right brain hemispheres.
• Ujjayi Breathing (Victorious Breath): Enhances lung expansion and focus.
• Kumbhaka (Breath Retention): Trains CO₂ tolerance and deepens concentration.

The Buteyko Method: Modern Science Meets Ancient Wisdom

• Slows nasal breathing to increase CO₂ tolerance.
• Proven to help with asthma, anxiety, and sleep apnea.

Māori Perspectives on Breath (Hā): The Breath of Life

• In Māori culture, Hā (breath) is linked to vitality, identity, and ancestry.
• The hongi (forehead-to-nose greeting) symbolises the exchange of breath (hau), fostering spiritual and social connection.
• Breath plays a key role in haka (war dance), oratory, and healing practices.

Your Breath, Your Power

Remember: CO₂ is not a waste product—it’s essential for oxygen efficiency.

Your breathing patterns directly reflect your nervous system state.

Breathwork is an ancient science that modern research continues to validate.

Now that we understand how breathing shapes our body and mind, the next step is applying breathing techniques to optimise energy, focus, and recovery. Let’s explore the protocols that will transform your health and performance.

The Breathing Chain Reaction: How Your Breath Affects Sleep, Focus & Metabolism

When the breath is shallow, erratic, or dysfunctional, the body doesn’t just lose oxygen efficiency - it adapts in ways that can lead to fatigue, poor sleep, chronic stress, metabolic issues, and cognitive decline.

The good news? Small, intentional changes to how you breathe can create powerful ripple effects across your entire body, influencing everything from weight loss and athletic performance to stress resilience and mental clarity. Understanding these connections helps you take control of your breath and, in turn, your health.

How Breathing Affects Sleep, Metabolism, and Cognitive Function

Sleep is the body’s ultimate reset button. It regulates hormones, consolidates memories, supports the immune system, and promotes recovery. However, dysfunctional breathing during sleep disrupts these processes, leading to low energy, poor mood, and long-term health risks.

Sleep Apnea: The Hidden Energy Drain

• Oxygen deprivation: Repeated nighttime awakenings from low oxygen levels (hypoxia).
• CO₂ dysregulation: Poor CO₂ regulation triggers stress responses, activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).
• Chronic stress overload: Disrupted sleep raises cortisol levels, impairing energy, metabolism, and overall well-being.

The Consequences?

• Waking up exhausted (even after a full night’s sleep).
• Increased risk of heart disease, cognitive decline, and metabolic disorders.
• A constant uphill battle with stress, inflammation, and weight gain.

Mouth Breathing: A Sleep Disruptor

• Reduces airway stability, increasing snoring and sleep disturbances.
• Lowers oxygen uptake, affecting brain and body recovery.
• Leads to chronic dehydration and elevated inflammation overnight.

The Fix?

• Train nasal breathing: Mouth taping at night improves oxygenation and deep sleep.
• Slow, diaphragmatic breathing before bed: Reduces nighttime awakenings and promotes relaxation.
• CO₂ tolerance training: Techniques like the Buteyko Method improve oxygen efficiency and reduce sleep apnea severity.

Breathing & Metabolism: The Link Between Oxygen and Energy

If sleep is your body’s reset button, metabolism is your engine, and breathing is the fuel delivery system. The way you breathe directly impacts how efficiently your body converts food into usable energy.

Oxygen Uptake & Mitochondrial Function

• Mitochondria (your cells’ energy factories) rely on oxygen to produce ATP (cellular energy).
• Poor breathing reduces energy output, leading to fatigue and sugar cravings.
• Inefficient oxygen use slows metabolism, making it harder to burn fat effectively.

Nasal Breathing & Fat Metabolism

• HOW you breathe determines whether you burn fat or sugar as fuel.

Mouth Breathing Causes:

• Lower oxygen efficiency, forcing the body to rely on sugar (glycolysis) instead of fat.
• Shallow, fast breathing, mimicking stress and impairing insulin sensitivity.

Nasal Breathing Enhances:

• Fat oxidation (aerobic metabolism).
• Oxygen delivery for better endurance and energy stability.
• CO₂ levels, improving oxygen release into tissues (Bohr effect).

Metabolic Optimisation Strategies:

• Train nasal breathing during workouts to boost endurance.
• Use breath-hold techniques (CO₂ training) to improve metabolic flexibility.
• Practice slow, deep breathing before meals to aid digestion and balance insulin levels.

Breathing & Mental Clarity: Oxygen & Brain Function

Your brain is an oxygen powerhouse, consuming 20% of total oxygen intake despite being only 2% of your body’s mass. Poor breathing habits limit this supply, affecting focus, memory, and emotional regulation.

Common Issues:

• Hyperventilation & CO₂ loss → Reduces blood flow to the brain.
• Shallow, upper-chest breathing → Limits oxygenation.
• Mouth breathing → Impairs oxygen efficiency and brain function.

How to Optimize Oxygen for Mental Sharpness

CO₂ is a vasodilator, meaning it improves blood flow to the brain. CO₂ training (breath-holds, slow breathing, nasal breathing) enhances cognitive performance & stress resilience. Elite performers—from Navy SEALs to executives, train CO₂ tolerance to:

• Stay focused under pressure.
• Make faster decisions.
• Regulate emotions in high-stress situations.

The Second-Order Effects of Breathing Dysfunction

Breathing dysfunction creates a chain reaction of imbalances that ripple across the body.

🔥 Chronic Hyperventilation → Poor Sleep → Fatigue → Sugar Cravings → Metabolic Dysfunction → Weight Gain.
🔥 Mouth Breathing → Airway Dysfunction → Snoring & Sleep Apnea → Elevated Cortisol → Chronic Stress & Inflammation.
🔥 Upper-Chest Breathing → SNS Overdrive → Anxiety & Panic Attacks → Impaired Cognitive Performance.

The Solution? Master the Breath.

• Slow it down.
• Breathe through the nose.
• Optimise CO₂ balance.

Small Shifts, Massive Impact

Your breath is the invisible thread connecting sleep, metabolism, brain function, stress resilience, and recovery. It's connection with the rest of the body's systems can be strengthened by doing the following:

• Train nasal breathing at night for better sleep quality.
• Optimise CO₂ balance to enhance oxygen efficiency and fat metabolism.
• Use breathwork to sharpen cognitive focus and emotional control.

Breath is a multiplier. Small adjustments create massive, long-term benefits. Now that you understand the impact of breathing on the body, the next step is training your breath for peak performance, resilience, and longevity.

The Ultimate Breathwork Guide

For thousands of years, cultures around the world have harnessed breath for resilience, clarity, and vitality - from yogic pranayama to Māori Hā practices. Yet, most people go through life breathing inefficiently, unaware of how powerful intentional breathwork can be.

This chapter provides practical, science-backed breathing techniques that you can incorporate into daily life - whether to improve focus, manage stress, sleep better, or build resilience.

Basic Breathwork Techniques

Breathwork has always been a tool for strength, endurance, and recovery. These simple breathwork techniques are designed to:

• Restore natural, efficient breathing patterns.
• Improve CO₂ tolerance for better oxygen efficiency.
• Regulate the autonomic nervous system for calm, focus, and resilience.

These techniques benefit elite athletes, high performers, and anyone managing daily stress.

Diaphragmatic Breathing (Belly Breathing): Your Foundation

Most people breathe too shallowly, relying on their chest rather than engaging the diaphragm. This creates unnecessary tension and keeps the body in a low-grade stress state.

Why it Works:

• Activates the diaphragm, improving oxygen efficiency.
• Stimulates the vagus nerve, shifting the body into a state of relaxation.
• Enhances posture and core stability, supporting ribcage expansion and lung function.

How to Practice:

1. Sit or lie down comfortably.
2. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
3. Inhale deeply through your nose for 3–4 seconds, expanding your belly.
4. Exhale slowly through your nose for 4–6 seconds, feeling your belly contract.
5. Keep your chest still—let the diaphragm do the work.

Use it for:

• Reducing stress and anxiety.
• Enhancing oxygen efficiency and CO₂ balance.
• Improving sleep and recovery.

Box Breathing (4-4-4-4): The Navy SEAL Reset

This structured breathing technique stabilizes the nervous system and is widely used by military operators, athletes, and high-stress professionals.

Why it Works:

• Strengthens CO₂ tolerance, preventing over-breathing.
• Creates a state of calm focus, useful in high-pressure situations.
• Enhances respiratory efficiency, improving endurance.

How to Practice:

1. Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds.
2. Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
3. Exhale slowly through your nose for 4 seconds.
4. Hold the exhale for 4 seconds.
5. Repeat for 3–5 minutes.

Use it for:

• Managing pre-performance anxiety.
• Resetting the nervous system after stress exposure.
• Enhancing focus and mental clarity.

Cadence Breathing (1:2 Ratio): Activating Recovery Mode

Extending the exhale longer than the inhale is one of the most effective ways to shift the nervous system into a deep recovery state.

Why it Works:

• Lowers heart rate and blood pressure.
• Enhances Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a key marker of stress resilience.
• Supports digestion and deep sleep by activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

How to Practice:

1. Inhale through your nose for 3–4 seconds.
2. Exhale through your nose for 6–8 seconds.
3. Maintain a smooth, controlled rhythm.
4. Continue for 5–10 minutes, focusing on relaxation.

Use it for:

• Falling asleep faster.
• Calming the nervous system after stress.
• Accelerating post-exercise recovery.

How to Optimize Breathing in Daily Life

Nasal Breathing Always → Better O₂ & CO₂ Balance

• Mouth breathing reduces oxygen efficiency and nitric oxide production.
• Keeping your mouth closed improves lung function and gas exchange.

Slow, Steady Breathing → Regulates HRV & Stress

• A breath rate of 5–6 breaths per minute optimizes nervous system function.
• Practicing slow nasal breathing lowers stress hormones and improves emotional resilience.

Posture & Rib Expansion → Improve Lung Capacity

• Restricted thoracic mobility reduces breathing efficiency.
• Rib expansion exercises and spinal alignment techniques support full diaphragm function.

Exercise Example:

1. Sit tall, place hands on your lower ribs.
2. Inhale deeply through your nose, expanding your ribs outward.
3. Exhale slowly, feeling your ribs retract.
4. Repeat for 5 minutes, maximising lung expansion.

Breath as a Master Key

Breathing is one of the simplest yet most powerful tools for:

• Optimizing health, performance, and emotional resilience.
• Mastering energy regulation and stress adaptation.
• Enhancing sleep, cognitive function, and endurance.

Now that you understand the science and practical application of breathwork, the next step is consistent practice - turning knowledge into mastery.

Conclusion: The Power of a Well-Trained Breath

With each inhale and exhale, you’re either optimising your body or unknowingly depleting it. Your breath affects sleep quality, metabolism, mental clarity, and emotional stability, yet most people never train it.

Many go through life stuck in inefficient breathing patterns - chronic mouth breathing, shallow chest inhalations, or unconscious over-breathing - without realising how these habits drain their energy and weaken their resilience. The good news? Breathing is one of the few bodily functions you can actively control. And in that control lies immense power.

By training your breath, you can:

• Rewire your nervous system to manage stress effectively.
• Enhance focus, endurance, and emotional resilience.
• Improve sleep, metabolism, and cognitive performance.

Modern research has validated what ancient traditions have long understood: the breath is a direct path to vitality, connection, and strength.

It’s time to bring awareness to your breath because each inhale and exhale is an opportunity to build a healthier, stronger, and more balanced version of yourself.

A Breathwork Renaissance: Merging Science & Tradition

Breathwork isn’t a modern invention - it’s a revival. Ancient cultures understood its power long before modern science quantified it.

The synergy of ancient wisdom and cutting-edge research allows us to refine and apply breath training in a way that integrates seamlessly into daily life. The key is moving from knowledge to action.

Tying it all together:

1. Start with Awareness: Observe how you breathe throughout the day. Nose or mouth? Deep or shallow? Fast or slow?
2. Train Nasal Breathing: Keep your mouth closed as often as possible, especially during sleep and exercise.
3. Practice Daily Breathwork: Integrate diaphragmatic breathing, box breathing, or cadence breathing into your routine.
4. Test & Improve CO₂ Tolerance: Train your ability to hold your breath after an exhale, increasing oxygen efficiency.
5. Use Breath to Shift States: Slow your breath when you need calm, energize your breath when you need focus, and use breath-holds when you need resilience.

Even small adjustments, like nasal breathing instead of mouth breathing, can yield massive long-term benefits.

The OHM Approach: Taking Your Breathwork to the Next Level

At The Ohm, breath training is a practical system for transformation. If you’re ready to take your breathing practice beyond theory, we provide structured breathwork programs, expert coaching, and science-backed techniques to help you integrate breath mastery into your daily life.

How Ohm Helps You Master Your Breath:

• Personalised breathwork training: Guided protocols for sleep, energy, and focus.
• Advanced CO₂ tolerance techniques: Improve endurance, mental clarity, and stress resilience.
• Structured programs: Proven methods to rewire breathing patterns for long-term health gains.
• Community & coaching: Support from experts and a like-minded group dedicated to breath mastery.

Your breath is the foundation for better performance, recovery, and well-being. The Ohm is here to help you unlock its full potential.

You Are Always Breathing. So Breathe Better

Your breath is the one constant in your life, from your first inhale to your last exhale. But for most of your life, you’ve breathed unconsciously.

Now, you have the knowledge to breathe with intention.

• Need more energy? Train your breath efficiency.
• Want better focus? Develop CO₂ tolerance.
• Struggling with sleep? Shift to nasal breathing.
• Feeling stressed? Slow your exhale to activate calm.

The question is: Will you continue to breathe unconsciously or will you take control?

Better breathing means a better life.

It starts now.

It starts with this breath.

Where to Go from Here?

Begin your breathwork journey today. Pick one technique and apply it daily.

Track your breathing patterns: Awareness is the first step to mastery.

Explore deeper: Whether through Māori Hā traditions, yogic pranayama, or CO₂ training, find what works for you.

Join the OHM community: Learn from experts, refine your technique, and unlock your full breathing potential.

This isn’t just knowledge, it’s a practice.

And with every breath, you evolve.

Breathe better. Live better.