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Showing posts from August 12, 2013

NOSE BREATHING

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Looking for ways to recover and regulate stress?  Have you ever watched a racehorse trying to catch its breath at the end of a race? Its nostrils flare as it takes in air but its mouth remains closed. It can be exhausted from a race and desperate for oxygen, but it never opens its mouth. A dog will pant with its mouth open while running but a dog also uses its mouth to sweat. The horse, like humans, sweat through the skin. This is a fundamental similarity between humans and the horse. Unfortunately, over time and through a lack of understanding humans have lost the art of nose breathing. For a long time, athletes and recreational runners have been told to push themselves hard during exercise, to the point where they must open their mouths and gasp for oxygen. But is this gasping for oxygen the natural way we should breathe when exercising?  Does pushing ourselves to this extreme level, and eventually experiencing the need to breathe through the mouth really make us fitter