The importance of your breath

Breathing is natural. It's not something we usually think about. But we should. When we do, it can change the way we feel in our own bodies. It may just be one of the most powerful tools we have for our health.

Every cell in our body depends on oxygen to produce energy. Without enough oxygen delivery to our organs and tissues, the body doesn't function as efficiently as it should. Sometimes we don't need to breathe more. We just need to breathe differently.

Healthy breathing influences nearly every system in the body. It affects oxygen delivery, nervous system regulation, circulation, posture, energy production, and even our ability to recover from stress. Because breathing happens automatically, many of us never think about it, but improving the way we breathe may be one of the simplest ways to support overall health.

Habitual healthy breathing

The nervous system controls our breath, but our breath can also change our nervous system. It works both ways. The way our breath is structured is often a reflection of what state our body is in at that moment. When we are stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed, our breathing changes automatically. But we can also intentionally change our breathing and influence the nervous system in return.

Breathwork exercises are great in the moment, kind of like a spot treatment. Over time, those benefits can compound and become more systemic, helping train the way we breathe throughout the rest of the day. We'll get into that, but working on our baseline, everyday breathing is just as important.

Baseline habitual healthy breathing helps determine how easily our body can upshift and downshift depending on what is happening in our lives. It helps create a more adaptable nervous system. We are not trying to eliminate stress. We are trying to become better at moving through it.

Breath supports an adaptable nervous system. Slower, lower breathing starts to become habitual. We waste less air, become more efficient with each breath, and create a stronger connection to the parasympathetic nervous system through the exhale.

The exhale is closely tied to vagus nerve activity and helps us downshift when the moment calls for it. That does not mean the sympathetic nervous system is bad. We need both. We need to be able to ramp up when action is required and settle back down once the moment has passed. Real regulation is being able to move between those states appropriately.

Breathing also affects us structurally. A healthy breathing pattern supports the spine, which in turn supports the rest of the body.

Getting it right

Most of us naturally fall into patterns of shallow, rapid breathing, often using the chest instead of the abdomen. This kind of breathing only uses a small portion of the lungs, leaving part of their capacity unused. When breaths are short and incomplete, some air remains trapped in the lower parts of the lungs instead of being fully released with the exhale. Over time, this creates a kind of stagnation where older, carbon dioxide-rich air lingers and mixes with incoming oxygen, reducing the efficiency of each breath.

Slower, deeper breathing changes this completely. When we begin to breathe more fully, especially into the lower lungs, we allow for a more complete exchange of gases. Old air is gradually pushed out, making room for fresh oxygen to enter. What's cool is that even when we are breathing fewer times per minute, each breath becomes more effective. The blood absorbs more oxygen and can better deliver it to tissues throughout the body wherever it may be needed.

This is not something that can be prescribed. Breath is relative and unique to each of us. A slow breath for one person may not be a slow breath for another. It should feel comfortable, maybe slightly uncomfortable, but never like we are hyperventilating or starving ourselves of oxygen. Our breathing behaviors are as unique as our fingerprints.

And when I say deeper breathing, I do not mean bigger breathing.

Breath should be deep and low, but not forceful. Slow, conscious breathing. Gentle in and out. We want the ribs to move outward on the inhale and soften inward on the exhale. We can even place our hands just below the ribcage and feel that movement. There is no need to puff the belly out forcefully. We do not need to hear your breath. If you're striving for the rib expansion feel, if your doing that then trust the body will do what it is supposed to do.

Many of us exercise, sit in a sauna, or practice yoga hoping to support the body's natural detoxification processes. But if we're not breathing efficiently, we're also not eliminating carbon dioxide as effectively. Breath plays a huge role in removing carbon dioxide and other metabolic waste products from the body.

Not just a waste

Which brings us to carbon dioxide. Maybe we're looking at carbon dioxide the wrong way.

It is commonly thought of as a waste gas, but carbon dioxide plays a really important role in the body. When breathing slows down, carbon dioxide levels rise slightly in the blood. This is not harmful like it may sound. In fact, it is beneficial. Higher levels of carbon dioxide help dilate blood vessels, improving circulation and allowing oxygen to be released more easily from the blood into the cells that need it most.

Healthy breathing can also improve our tolerance to carbon dioxide. You could experiment with lighter breathing or maintaining a gentle feeling of air hunger. On your exhale, try to stop a little before you feel like you should. The goal is not discomfort for the sake of discomfort. The goal is becoming more efficient.

Many of us unknowingly over-breathe throughout the day. We inhale more air than we need and exhale more air than necessary. It sounds counterintuitive, but more breathing is not always better breathing. In some cases, excessive breathing can actually reduce oxygen delivery to tissues.

When I talk about hyperventilation, I do not just mean the dramatic version we see on television. Hyperventilation can be surprisingly subtle. It simply means we are over-breathing.

A fun fact: when someone is hyperventilating and breathes into a paper bag, it is the carbon dioxide being returned to them that helps them start to feel better.

When carbon dioxide levels drop too low, blood vessels constrict and oxygen delivery becomes less efficient, even though we may feel like we are taking in more air.

In stressful moments, I am a huge fan of a big deep breath, but don't make this your personality. The goal is not to spend all day taking giant breaths. The goal is to develop a breathing pattern that is calm, efficient, and adaptable.

breathwork

As promised, now we'll discuss breathwork. Breathwork is simply intentional breathing. We can slow it down, speed it up, deepen it, lengthen the exhale, add pauses, or change the rhythm depending on the effect we're looking for. We don't need special equipment or years of experience. Quite literally, we just need our own breath.

Even small changes can have a profound effect on energy, focus, resilience, and how calm or stressed we feel. One of the things I love about breathwork is how customizable it is. Different breathing practices create different effects on the body and mind.

Shamvat, or calming practices, help settle the nervous system and leave us feeling relaxed and peaceful. A great example is pratilom pranayama, also called step breathing, This is one of my personal favorites. It works by interrupting our usual breathing pattern and encouraging the body to slow down.

Another example is box breathing, one of the more well-known techniques. I found out it's even taught to firefighters who need to remain calm under pressure while managing limited oxygen supplies.

Sampad, or balancing practices, are designed to bring harmony to the body's systems, both physically and energetically. Alternate nostril breathing is a perfect example. We might inhale for four counts, hold for four, and exhale for eight while alternating nostrils. This practice is believed to help balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain, influence mood, and harmonize the solar and lunar energies of the body.

Uttejack, or stimulating practices, activate the nervous system and bring energy and vitality to the body. Kapalbhati, often called skull-shining breath, is one of these. It uses a powerful pumping exhale that really wakes up the body while supporting lung capacity, respiratory efficiency, digestion, circulation, metabolism, energy production, mental clarity, and focus.

Traditional yogic teachings also associate it with purification, vitality, and balancing the body's energy systems.

There are many other breathing techniques too. Some are calming, some are balancing, and some are energizing. The beauty is that we can choose the right tool for the situation.

Breathwork can help calm the nervous system, improve oxygen delivery, strengthen the lungs and circulation, boost vitality, and deepen the connection between body and mind.

But again, I think the real magic happens when those benefits start carrying over into our everyday breathing.

Nasal breathing

If we're not breathing through our nose, we should be. Nasal breathing is one of the simplest changes we can make, yet it is often overlooked. The nose warms, filters, and moisturizes the air before it reaches the lungs. It also helps slow the breath naturally, encourages more efficient breathing patterns, and supports nervous system regulation.

An easy way to think about it is the difference between drinking water straight from a creek or drinking water from a Brita pitcher. Let the nose do the work it was designed to do.

Nasal breathing also helps keep air in the lungs longer and supports vagus nerve activity, further encouraging calm and relaxation. This is something I personally have to pay attention to every day.

What changes over time

With practice, these changes begin to take hold in a more lasting way. Lung capacity gradually improves as we learn to use the diaphragm more effectively and access the full depth of the breath. This allows for a more complete exchange of air and increases how much oxygen the body can take in and use with each breath. As a bonus, it also supports healthy lymphatic flow.

At the same time, the body becomes better at actually using that oxygen. Instead of over-breathing and wasting energy, we begin doing more with less. Oxygen delivery becomes more efficient, carbon dioxide balance improves, circulation improves, and overall cellular function benefits.

The nervous system also becomes more adaptable. We become better at recognizing when we are activated and better at consciously downshifting when necessary. We are not eliminating stress. We are changing our relationship to it.

That is why I believe breath is one of the most powerful health tools available to us. It influences energy, recovery, focus, movement, stress, and resilience, yet it is something we carry with us every second of every day.

Change your breath, change your life

Traditional yogic teachings suggest that life is measured not in years, but in breaths. Whether taken literally or symbolically, I think there is something meaningful there. When breathing is fast and erratic, energy is scattered. When breathing is slow and steady, energy is conserved.

By improving the quality of our breath and reducing unnecessary breathing, the body can function more efficiently while using less energy. Over time, that can translate into more vitality, greater stamina, and perhaps even a longer, healthier life.

Breath becomes more than a biological function. It becomes a bridge between body and mind, effort and ease, activation and recovery. Unlike most tools for health, it is always available to us. We just have to learn how to use it in a way that best supports our health.

Maureen Zeiter is a holistic health coach who meets with clients virtually, one-on-one, to talk about their lifestyle, health, and goals and create a realistic plan moving forward.

She incorporates the Metabolic Balance® program into her coaching, using each client’s own lab values to create a personalized nutrition plan based on what their body needs.

Regular one-on-one meetings through Teams, along with email and sometimes text, allow her to stay connected with her clients and provide ongoing support. Whether they have questions, need guidance, or just need a little encouragement along the way, she is there to help.

Her goal is to make improving your health feel realistic and manageable, while helping clients create lasting changes that support their overall health and wellness.