Breathe Better and Move Better by Unlocking the Power of Nasal Breathing for Your Health
- Brainz Magazine
- Mar 3
- 6 min read
Ash Berry and Rob Carruthers are highly regarded Pilates Practitioners in Australia. Through their explorations of alternative health practices, they've been able to create an incredible community of curious movers seeking to improve their overall health.
Breathing is automatic, but how you breathe changes everything. If you’re breathing through your mouth, you might be unknowingly impacting your posture, movement quality, and overall well-being. Nasal breathing isn’t just about oxygen intake; it’s a fundamental piece of the puzzle for better health, stronger movement, and even proper facial structure.
Many modern lifestyle habits, such as chronic stress, poor posture, processed food, and a lack of mindful movement, have led to dysfunctional breathing patterns. We’ve become reliant on shallow, inefficient mouth breathing, which not only affects our ability to move well but also has serious implications for spinal health, oxygen absorption, and even facial development.
By shifting back to nasal breathing, we tap into our body’s natural ability to function optimally, regulate stress, and build strength from the inside out.
Why nasal breathing matters
Your nose isn’t just a hole for air; it’s a highly evolved system designed to filter, humidify, and optimize the oxygen you take in. Unlike mouth breathing, which bypasses many of the body’s natural filtration and regulation mechanisms, nasal breathing allows us to breathe more efficiently and move better as a result.
The benefits of nasal breathing
Enhances oxygen absorption
When you breathe through your nose, you produce nitric oxide, a powerful molecule that helps dilate blood vessels and improve circulation. It also reduces the volume of air exposed to our lungs (relative to mouth breathing), improving the efficiency of the transfusion process. This means oxygen is delivered more efficiently to your muscles, brain, and tissues, allowing for better endurance, focus, and recovery.
Supports core & postural stability
Slow, deep breathing generally associated with nasal breathing utilises the diaphragm. When the diaphragm works properly, it coordinates with the pelvic floor and deep core muscles, creating stability for the spine to do lots of different movements. This can be replicated with mouth breathing when focused on, but as mouth breathing is often associated with other lifestyle habits that are less than ideal, it may be linked to underutilising the diaphragm and the associated musculature.
Calms the nervous system
Breathing through the nose, especially a slow exhale through the nose, activates the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” system. This helps lower stress levels, improve digestion, and promote relaxation. Chronic mouth breathing is often shallow and keeps the body in a constant state of low-grade stress, which can contribute to tension, poor sleep, and reduced movement efficiency.
Prevents dysfunctional mouth breathing patterns
Mouth breathing alters the mechanics of the ribcage and spine, through a slack jaw pulling forward the head posture, placing tension on our necks which tightens muscles around our shoulders back, causing restricted rib movement. Over time, these compensations can contribute to chronic pain in the associated muscles as well as headaches, migraines, poor mobility, and inefficient movement mechanics.
When you breathe nasally, you’re not just improving oxygen intake; you’re laying the foundation for better movement, stronger posture, and long-term well-being.
The link between breathing, chewing & facial development
Breathing and chewing are deeply connected. In modern times, our diets have become softer and more processed, requiring less chewing effort than our ancestors needed. As a result, many people have underdeveloped jaw structures and narrower airways, which make nasal breathing more difficult.
How chewing impacts breathing & posture
Narrow airway & mouth breathing
A lack of proper jaw development due to limited chewing forces can lead to a longer and narrower-shaped face, creating smaller airway passages. This may cause chronic mouth breathing, which further weakens the muscles responsible for maintaining open nasal passages and good posture.
Poor facial spacing & posture
Without regular, vigorous chewing, the upper jaw doesn’t develop fully, leading to a recessed chin, a narrow palate, and reduced tongue space. It also results in less space for teeth to grow and can be linked to needing teeth removed or orthodontic work.
Simply put, if we don’t chew enough, we don’t develop the muscles around our face that stimulate the bones to grow in a fashion that allows for spacious jaws and spacious airways. This then leads to poor jaw position, which can be a fundamental issue with our head and neck posture. All of this leads to compensations that affect everything from oxygen intake to spinal stability.
How ribcage movement impacts your spine
Your ribcage isn’t just there to protect your lungs; it plays a crucial role in spinal health, posture, and movement mechanics. If your ribs aren’t moving properly, your spine stiffens, your core struggles to connect, your shoulders and neck get sore, and your overall movement quality declines.
The role of rib movement in spinal health
Better spinal stability
When you breathe deeply and expand the ribs fully, your diaphragm engages properly, creating a strong, supportive connection for the muscles supporting the spine. Shallow breathing leads to poor activation of these muscles, making it harder for your body to properly engage the deepest layer of support for your spine.
Improved thoracic mobility
A rigid ribcage limits upper spine mobility, leading to compensation patterns elsewhere in the body. Proper rib movement supports spinal flexibility, reducing tension around the neck and shoulders and allowing for more freedom of movement in our everyday lives.
By optimizing ribcage mobility through nasal breathing and proper postural engagement, we create a stronger, more functional spine that supports movement for life.
How to improve your breathing & chewing habits
Breathing and chewing aren’t just passive habits; they’re trainable skills that can significantly improve your movement, posture, and overall health.
1. Breathe through your nose, always
Make a conscious effort to keep your mouth closed during daily activities and exercise to reinforce nasal breathing patterns. You should be able to comfortably walk around while breathing through your nose, even exercising to an aerobic level (moderate intensity).
2. Practice slow, controlled nasal breathing
Use techniques like box breathing (inhale 4s, hold 4s, exhale 6s, hold 2s) to improve oxygen efficiency and diaphragmatic control. As a bonus, try to breathe as quietly as possible to aid in this efficiency.
3. Strengthen your jaw with proper chewing
Eat more whole foods that require active chewing, like raw vegetables, tough meats, and nuts. Consider using mastic gum to build jaw strength and improve airway function. There are many jaw training devices that can also be utilised, but be wary of proper development and exposure to microplastics.
4. Work on rib mobility & breath control
Incorporate Pilates-based rib expansion exercises, spinal rotations, and deep breathing drills to restore full ribcage movement and optimize spinal health.
5. Tape your mouth at night
If you struggle with mouth breathing at night, consider using gentle mouth taping to encourage nasal breathing and improve sleep quality. There are a huge number of different taping methods and recommendations around this, as well as products that can facilitate expanding the nasal passageways.
For a more structured breathing program, consider looking at Buteyko Breathing or Breathability programs that are specifically designed to enhance nasal breathing.
The takeaway
Breathing and chewing are two of the most overlooked but essential components of movement and health. By prioritizing nasal breathing, proper chewing, and ribcage mobility, we can dramatically improve oxygenation, postural alignment, and overall movement quality. These small but powerful changes create a ripple effect, enhancing energy, reducing pain, and supporting long-term vitality.
Read more from Robert Carruthers and Ashleigh Berry
Robert Carruthers and Ashleigh Berry, Pilates Practitioners
With Rob's blend of sports science and Functional Neurology training and Ash's Dance and Somatic Movement Therapy training, their Pilates sessions are always multi-faceted and multi-dimensional and cover a broad range of health interests that go beyond simply stretching and strengthening our bodies.
Their combined knowledge base has facilitated many life-changing journeys for their clients and has resulted in being recognised names across the Australian Pilates scene. Their work also extends to facilitating world-class yet affordable professional development opportunities to Pilates Practitioners across Australia and online.
