To be honest, if there is one quick way to check whether you are breathing well or not, it is to put a face mask on. It is fascinating to observe everyone going about their daily life, behind the mask and be able to freely observe just how significant overbreathing is in our community. Everyone at some stage over the last 2 years has wanted to rip their mask off, feeling constricted and overwhelmed from the impact on their breathing, not to mention disgusted at the stale air they are re-breathing. Does it have to be like this? 

What does the mask show?

Observing breathing behind a mask can give quite a lot of information about the breathing pattern. It is easy to see whether people are breathing through their mouth or their nose by watching the mask movement. Mouth breathers will blow in and out, gentle nose breathers will show very little movement of the mask fabric.

How is it best to breathe behind a mask?

In a nutshell, the mask has really highlighted the difference between ideal and poor breathing. For someone who breathes in a relaxed, gentle, calm and rhythmical manner with just 8-12 breaths / minute through their nose, breathing through a mask is slightly annoying, but not too bad. There is certainly no moisture gathering on the mask, and no feeling of restricted breathing, nor glasses fogging up.

At the other extreme, for someone who breathes heavily, through their mouth with lots of yawning and sighing, breathing through a mask is plain awful…. The fabric moves with each breath, becomes moist quickly and a feeling of restricted breathing is fairly ongoing. The smell and taste of poorly breathed air is grim, and the ability to think clearly, with all this going on is almost impossible.

How do we change our breathing?

Clearly, the face mask has presented us with a fabulous opportunity to recognise when our breathing is less than perfect. Face masks are here to stay, hopefully not quite as consistently as 2021, but it is hard to see us getting through winter 2022 without requiring the use of masks in some situations, particularly for those who live in bigger centres and use public transport.

Changing your breathing is a certain way to improve the experience of wearing a face mask. There is no doubt, your ability to focus, concentrate and attend to critical thinking tasks will be greatly improved behind your mask, once your breathing is improved. Not to mention the simple comfort factor of having a mask that is sitting neatly on your face, not fogging up your glasses, dry and clean smelling - surely that is reason enough to take some time to check in on your breathing…

My clients see a significant change in their breathing within 48 hours of commencing The BreatheWell Program, so if you are fed up with how your mask is making you feel, let's change your breathing - it really will change your life.