Shut Your Mouth! The Case For Your Nose

Shut your mouth. No really—close it.

Your nose has been waiting its whole life for you to stop ignoring it. While your mouth has been busy with pizza, coffee, and the occasional “oops, did I say that out loud?” Meanwhile, your nose is just sitting there like an unpaid intern—totally underutilized, even though it’s the one built for breathing.

You’re going to take more than 600 million breaths in your lifetime. That’s hundreds of millions of chances to nourish your body, steady your mind, and reset your nervous system. But here’s the catch: how you take those breaths matters—and your nose is the key.

Air flowing through nasal passage

Why the Nose Is Your Built-In Breathing Tool

When you breathe through your nose, you unlock functions your body simply can’t access through the mouth:

• Natural filtration: Nose hairs aren’t for decoration. They clear out dust, germs, and allergens before they ever hit your lungs. Believe it or not, if you shut your mouth and you won’t get sick as often!

• Preps the Air: It warms and humidifies each inhale, so your airways stay protected.

• Deeper oxygen exchange: Nose breathing slows the breath and helps the body absorb more oxygen…by a lot.

• Nervous system regulation: Most importantly, nasal breathing signals safety to the body and mind. Your nose engages the diaphragm, activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and pulls you out of fight-or-flight. Your body moves from “on guard” to “at ease.”

Every time you choose your nose over your mouth, you’re choosing balance over stress. Making the switch isn’t easy. It takes work.

Rising Phoenix Breathwork Group Breathwork Session

Practicing the Art of Nose Breathing

Here’s the truth: if you’ve been mouth-breathing for years, nose breathing can feel strange at first. It might even feel like work. That’s because functional breathing is a skill—a practice you refine over time.

Think of it like learning an instrument. At first it’s clunky, awkward, even uncomfortable. But the more you practice, the smoother it becomes, until it’s second nature. Every time you pause to notice your breath, every time you keep your lips sealed and let the air flow through your nose, you’re strengthening the muscle memory that will eventually carry into your everyday life.

One breath at a time.

See Life-Changing Benefits of Better Breathing

The way you breathe isn’t the only thing that changes. Those benefits I mentioned above are like dominos pointed in a dozen directions at once.

When your breath shifts, your body shifts with it. You stop living on adrenaline and cortisol. You stop bracing for the next crisis before it arrives. Instead, your body finds steadiness—you rest more deeply, digest more fully, think more clearly, and move through the world with presence and creativity.

Think about it: if you’re going to take more than 600 million breaths in your life, wouldn’t you want those breaths supporting you, not working against you?

Breathing through your nose won’t make life’s challenges disappear. Life is stressful, and hard things will still happen. But when you breathe differently, you respond differently. Instead of reacting out of panic, exhaustion, or survival, you meet challenges with steadiness and resilience.

This is more than stress management! As crazy as it sounds, learning to breathe through your nose is a foundation for living fully.

Beyond the Breakthroughs

People often come to breathwork for a big release—the emotional breakthrough, the deep realizations. The once in a life time experience.

Those moments matter. But the real transformation happens in the practice. With each session, your body remembers. With each repetition, your nervous system learns to default to balance instead of stress.

This is the magic of showing up again and again. A handful of group classes, especially closer together, can be enough to reset breathing patterns. For others, a Breathwork Mastery Series or working one-on-one with a coach helps refine the practice and build consistency. Either way, the goal is the same: teaching your body how to use your nose as it was designed, so breathing properly becomes automatic.

Woman receiving support during breathwork

How We Can Support Your Practice

Breathing seems like an easy thing to teach, until you begin learning about the science behind breathing. Different breathing patterns elicit different responses based on the needs of the client. Prompting someone to breathe to music isn’t where the magic is.

At Rising Phoenix Breathwork, our Breathwork Facilitators are learning the art and science of breathing. Each have received additional certifications in Breathwork Integration Coaching, which incorporates functional breathwork into traditional life coaching.

We offer:

• Group classes to help you reset your breathing patterns and experience the power of community practice.

• Breathwork Mastery Series are magical small groups that will support you in developing a daily breathwork and meditation practice while reprogramming your subconscious mind. Each series is themed to help you improve areas of your life.

• Private coaching for personalized guidance, accountability, and faster progress.

• Daily Breathwork Practice- COMING SOON recorded breathwork tracks to support you with daily breathwork and meditations.

In any of these settings, you’ll learn evidence-based breathing exercises, receive feedback to break old habits, and build consistency that carries into everyday life.

Make Your Next Breath Count

Your nose is more than a passageway for air—it’s your built-in tool for health, balance, and calm. With practice, you can turn 600 million ordinary breaths into 600 million opportunities to reset, restore, and live fully.

Join us for a group class or Breathwork Mastery Series to retrain your breathing patterns, or work one-on-one with a coach for more personalized guidance. PLUS…add breathwork to your routine every single day! Every inhale is a chance to practice. Every exhale is a chance to let go.

Your next breath is waiting. Let your nose lead the way!