Do you ever feel like your body is heavy, like something’s blocking you up inside? Maybe you get short of breath sometimes, like the oxygen you’re breathing isn’t actually doing anything for you - kind of like a fish out of water?
Have you thought that maybe it’s because of how you breathe? I know, I know - you’re probably thinking “seriously, there’s a wrong way to breathe now?”
Well, hang on. Let’s talk about this.
Understanding Your Breathing Patterns
Here’s the thing - wrong breathing patterns can actually hurt your body. If you keep breathing the wrong way for a long time, your body just gets worse and worse. You can see this everywhere: healthy people breathe in a steady, long rhythm, while sick people usually have quick, messy breathing. These two things affect each other.
So if we don’t want our bodies to get worse, we need to fix how we breathe first. This helps blood flow better, and when blood flows better, our whole body feels better. It’s like a domino effect.
Think about it like this - when the sea is calm, boats sail smoothly and safely. But when there’s a storm, boats can flip over anytime. Our breathing is like the wind. When we breathe evenly and slowly, this wind becomes power for the boat. But when our breathing is all over the place, this wind becomes the thing that flips the boat over.
Is There Actually Proof That Bad Breathing Hurts Your Body?
Of course there is! Traditional Chinese medicine has known this for thousands of years. Even Taoist practices that are still around today say the same thing. If you don’t believe me, go ask some Chinese Taoist experts - they’ll tell you that breathing rhythm and body health are totally connected.
What You’ll Need
Before we start, make sure you have:
- A quiet place with no wind (don’t practice somewhere cold - you’ll just get sick!)
- No interruptions from people or things
- Good lighting
- A chair
- About 10 minutes of free time
Important: Don’t practice at night. Some people get really energized after doing this and can’t sleep. If you’re sure you can still sleep normally after practicing at night, that’s fine. But don’t practice after 8 PM.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Getting Ready
- Sit in your chair with both feet flat on the ground
- Put your hands naturally on your thighs
- Close your eyes slightly, relax your body, keep your teeth together
- Keep your tongue touching the roof of your mouth the whole time
- Wait until you feel completely calm, then you can start
The Breathing Pattern
Step 1: Empty Out Keep your teeth together and tongue still. Open your lips just a tiny bit - like a small crack. Now breathe out all the air from your last breath through this small gap in your lips. Do this as slowly as you possibly can. Really push all the air out of your lungs and consciously pull your belly in. (You have to get all the air out, don’t leave any, and use your mouth to breathe out, not your nose).
Step 2: Fill Up Your Belly Close your mouth now. Start breathing in through your nose, super slowly. At the same time, your belly will slowly puff out. You’re consciously breathing air into your belly (yes, you read that right - not your lungs, but your belly. Maybe this sounds unscientific, but honestly, from a higher perspective, even science isn’t that scientific). When you’re just starting, you might not be able to do this, but just imagine the air going into your belly.
Step 3: Fill Up Your Chest Once your belly is completely puffed out, keep breathing in. Now start filling up your chest. The more you can expand your chest, the better it is for you.
Step 4: Release Now you’ve breathed in as much as you can - you literally can’t take in any more air. At this point, engage your pelvic floor muscles (tighten like you’re holding in pee), then open your lips in that tiny crack again and start slowly breathing out through your mouth.
Repeat these steps for about 10 minutes. You’ll feel your whole body go from its usual tightness to feeling more relaxed, like a wrinkled paper smoothing out.
When you’re done, slowly open your eyes, sit for a bit, notice how your body feels now, then you can go back to your regular activities.
Tips for Success
Again, seriously - don’t practice somewhere windy or cold, or your body will just get worse!
Also, don’t worry if you can’t get the belly breathing right away. It takes practice. Just keep imagining the air going into your belly, and eventually your body will figure it out.
What to Expect
The longer you practice and the more often you do it, the more obvious the effects become. At first, you’ll notice your daily breathing feels easier and any chest tightness improves. As you keep practicing, you’ll find your body getting lighter and lighter. You might even feel like parts of your body are “waking up.”
After practicing, you might feel hungry - this is totally normal. This breathing exercise makes your blood circulation stronger than usual and speeds up your metabolism, so you’ll feel hungry.
Common Questions
How long until I see results? The more you practice, the more obvious it gets. First you’ll notice your regular breathing feels easier and chest tightness improves. Keep going and your body will feel lighter and lighter.
How many times a day should I practice? No limit. You can practice anytime before 8 PM, as long as you’re not somewhere windy.
When should I stop practicing? You can make this a good habit for life. There’s no reason to stop.
Why do I get hungry after practicing? This is normal. The breathing exercise boosts your blood circulation and metabolism, making you feel hungry.
We collected this method after lots of searching. Maybe sharing it breaks some rules, but we don’t want to see people suffer, so we’re teaching you the right steps. Practice a few times every day using our method, and after a month, you’ll definitely notice amazing changes in your body!