It's no secret I love being outside and moving. Moving helps me manage my moods or that inner critic (I call her Susie). You know how a mood can creep up on you and devour you in a matter of moments. On the mat I focus on connecting my breath to my movements but suck at it off the mat. This realization didn't just happen it was actually bought to my attention by my personal trainer. He noticed that when I was put under pressure I breathed heavily in and out of my mouth, with no connection to my movements. I decided to delve into this notion further. This is what I learnt.

1. the nose has magic healing powers

2. it is the silent warrior: the gatekeeper of our bodies and the parmacist to our minds, an avenue to our emotions

3. respiration leads to restoration

4. it can trigger our hormones

5. it can lower blood pressure

6. it can ease digestion

7. it regulates our heart rate

8. it stores our memories

The nose (which I wasn't using) pulses to it own rhythm, opening and closing like a flower and some say possibly to the sun and moon.

This was more than enough to convince me I needed to take action. And so I did and my journey continues.

I further read that breathing through the mouth sapped the body of energy, deformed the face and caused stress and disease. The opposite happened when you inhaled through the nose.

After further research I took recommendations and acted apon them. This is what I have done...

I tape my mouth closed every night and have done so for the last 4 weeks now. How has this helped? Well, obviously it was weird the first few nights. As I lay there I struggled to catch my breath, it was loud, laboured and verged on the edge of suffocation (or so it felt). It has become easier as the nights go by. But I think the biggest impact has been the awarness of my breathing during the day. It is not forced. It is as if my brain is gently reminding me or nudging me to inhale through my nose. My stamina has increased. I am more aware of my breath connection in my yoga practise. This has helped me to move so much more mindfully on and off the mat. I often take big belly breaths through my nose and long slow exhales without force or thought. I feel more present, less anxious and slightly renewed.

An ancient Tantric text, the Shiva Swarodaya, described how one nostril will open to let the breath in as the other will softly close throughout the day. Some days the right nostril yawns awake to greet the sun: other days, the left nostril awakens to the fullness of the moon

~ James Nestor