The more you investigate and pick apart the systems in place in the West, and here I focus on the U.S. where I reside, the more you can see that virtually every institution is created to teach people the exact opposite of what we need to do to actually thrive.
The public education system, even though it last 12 years, teaches people virtually nothing about anything useful and in fact creates dumbed down automatons lacking any critical thinking skills
The financial system (and school) doesn't teach us how to create lasting and residual wealth but instead keeps us in a state of abject debt servitude
The "healthcare system" is the worst of them all because instead of "caring" for our health it instead is reactionary and is only utilized once our health is compromised...it is a sick care system
I have a saying:
You can go without food for several weeks if need be. You can go for a week without water. But you can't go 10 minutes without breathing.
As a nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach I primarily focus on what people eat and how they move. These are very important. However, the more I learn the more it is apparent that breathing is the most powerful tool that we have because 1) it is 100% free and 2) no matter our situation we can control and manipulate it.
Mouth Breathing
Most people are "mouth breathers". Usually this statement is derogatory, as in, "you stupid mouth breather" sitting there with your jaw dropped and just inhaling and exhaling loudly with a dumbfounded expression.
But mouth breathing is a lot worse for people than they think. It creates multitudes of problems and also blocks useful internal tools that can create vibrant health.
The children's teeth
In the U.S. it is completely normalized for every child to get braces around the age of 13. Seriously. Every single kid I knew including myself had painful and annoying braces and rubber bands for years.
Now, 25 years later I lament this ridiculous behavior. Why on earth should everyone's teeth naturally be crooked and messed up.
Well, it turns out that like most things the braces for everyone story is a giant scam and there is a reason for our messed up teeth and that is mouth breathing.
See, we're not taught how to breathe correctly in school. Even though it is one of the most important skills you can have, and is vital, I never heard a single peep out of a teacher or supposed counselor in school. In fact they were all mouth breathers themselves which is how the Matrix operates. One brainwashed generation "teaching" the next...photocopying bad habits into the youth.
According to orthodontists themselves mouth breathing vs nose breathing changes the structure of the jaw and causes weak facial and jaw muscles including those used for chewing and this in turn pushes the teeth into poor positions and causes what we call overbites since the tongue is not resting on the roof of the mouth.
Unfortunately in America we're in a freakshow and when you're born here you get front row seats, so nobody tells us this.
Mouth breathing also causes different ailments including dry mouth, frequent colds and sleep apnea among other things.
Nose Breathing: A Key To Unlock Health
Since we're in the middle of a full blown scamdemic I might as well throw out there that "viruses" are neutralized more effectively when inhaled through the nose.
But more importantly than that is the fact that when you breathe rhythmically through the nose and out through the mouth you create a cycle which is far more efficient than breathing in and out through one cavity which is normal for mouth breathing. Even just breathing in and out through the nose itself is better than mouth breathing.
There are several reasons to breathe through your nose and you can do this all day and especially all night.
Nitric Oxide Production
Nitric Oxide is a supermolecule that acts as a super-antioxidant as well as a vasodilator meaning that it causes the blood vessels to become more elastic and so it increases blood flow. It also causes dilation of the breathing pathways so it can help relieve any tightness in larynx and bronchioles.
Since one of the "silent killers" and biggest problems in the West is hyptertension a.k.a. high blood pressure it would behoove those that suffer from this to nose breathe and increases their natural NO production. (NO = Nitric Oxide).
This is going to do a number of things. Its going to increase blood flow to your organs and your skin, to help remove toxins from the bloodstream and to help get nutrients to your cells. It also is going to take pressure off your heart because of the increased diameter of the blood vessels (think of a garden hose and how much easier it is to pump water when it is fully dilated).
Its going to make your endurance skyrocket, since you get more oxygenated blood you will be able to physically exert yourself harder and longer. The oxygenation will also alkalize your body which creates better health in general and reduces the risk of cancer.
Deep Breathing
Lastly we are not taught about deep and proper breathing. Proper breathing occurs when you inhale deeply all the way down into the lowest parts of your stomach. Think of driving the air into your pelvis.
Once you get the air down deep, then think of filling your entire lungs all the way up to your neck. Since most people are not accustomed to deep breathing they will usually feel tightness of muscles and ligaments somewhere; you can feel the years of improper breathing through the tightness of these tisuses.
Most people are slunched over and have a rolled forward shoulder posture. This type of deep breathing, if done properly and often, will also help to cause proper posture which is when you stand as tall as possible.
Deep breathing also calms the mind naturally and causes your body to exhale all of the air out of it. If you think of how most people breathe, which is partially, they are literally slightly suffocating themselves constantly. This causes anxiety. Anxious people always, always breathe this way.
In conclusion, if you can cultivate this type of breathing as much as possible throughout the day you will see mental and physical benefits as your body helps to detoxify and alkalize and heal from within: breath deeply through the nose, down into the pelvis, then fill up the entire chest cavity as high as possible. Then exhale completely through the mouth and reverse the process. That's it.