Nose Breathing And Deep Abdominal Breathing

by Sandy Bothmer
(Brookline, NH)

Why does one typically inhale and exhale through the nose when doing deep abdominal breathing?


Answer
As per yoga philosophy, breathing has to be done through nose unless specified otherwise. Naturally mouth is designed for eating and drinking while nose is an organ meant for breathing and smelling. While doing yoga, you have to go with the flow and not against the flow.

Breathing through the mouth is not a natural process, it takes more effort and does not have any benefits as compared to nose breathing.


Some of the advantages of nose breathing vs mouth breathing are as follows:-

• The air which passes through nose is brought closer towards your body temperature and your lungs are not exposed to either too cold or hot air.


• Air passing thought the nose is filtered of any dust, pathogens or foreign bodies like insects or any other small object.


• Nose also smells the incoming air for any poisonous gases or foul smell. For example, the smell of early morning air is itself very refreshing and you can feel the prana (vital energy) entering your body when you breathe.
  The most important function of nose breathing as per yoga philosophy is to get more oxygen to your blood and also to activate the relaxation response by rhythmic breathing.


• Breathing though the mouth can cause snoring, hyperventilation, stress the heart and increases the anxiety levels.