Why is the nasal breath and humming so important?

The nose has an important function of filtering the air that passes through catching microscopic allergens, bacteria and viruses. When we breathe through the nose, the air we breathe in is moisturized and warmed, which helps to reduce dehydration in the nose and entire body.

During nasal breathing, not mouth breathing, your nose releases NITRIC OXIDE (NO), an important molecule in the body that is a vasodilator (helps to widen blood vessels). This helps improve oxygen circulation in your body. This molecule decreases blood pressure and increased breathing efficiency by making it easier for red blood cells to deliver oxygen through the body.

What helps this? Humming increases NO exchange from your para-sinuses to your nasal cavity by inducing oscillation, sound vibration. In yoga, this is called Bhramari Pranayama, or the humming breath. Various international studies have shown that there is a very high concentration of NO after humming.

Why avoid mouth breathing? ‘One Deep Breath’ describes that a study shows that 61% of adults identify as ‘mouth breathers’. Mouth breathing dehydrates the body and the air that travels to the lung is cold and unfiltered and is much less efficient than nose breathing. We are built to be nose breathers.

Mouth breathing promotes upper chest breathing that stimulates the fight and flight response, snoring and sleep apneas. It should only be used in emergency situations. It only makes 1/6 the amount of nitric oxide compared to nose breathing.

Studies (Dr. Bernie Witzberg) have shown that nose breathing increases your nitric oxide production by 6 times and humming boosts it 15 times. Humming also creates vibrations that stimulate the Vagus Nerve, the longest nerve in the body that leads to more relaxation and calmness.

So, why am I sharing this with you? With age and stresses of life many of us have switched from belly breathing to upper chest breathing and likely some mouth breathing. I have observed some children breathing more through their mouths and not through their nose. So, over time the body will be lacking in NO for good oxygenation of the cells.

Take a moment and sit with your children and see how they are breathing and how you are breathing. You can correct this by learning NASAL BREATHING and with HUMMING.

This breath is taught in the YOGA NIDRA 2-week program for families in early March. And you can refer to articles on previous blogs. Help your children create vibrant good health for life!