Breathing Pauses
The Art of Pause
You know the nose is the main track. Now let’s add the second most powerful tool to reeducate your breath: pause. Let’s break down the technique so you can learn it progressively and safely. The goal is that, from today, you can use it as a tool to effectively regulate your inner state.
What is a Respiratory Pause (or Apnea)?
In short, it is intentionally interrupt your respiratory cycle. It is not just “holding your breath”; it is a controlled stimulus that generates very positive adaptations in your body. When you pause, you allow CO₂ (carbon dioxide) to accumulate a little in your blood. As we will see later, this is key for the oxygen you breathe to be better delivered to your cells.
To begin with, we are going to focus on the most important type of pause for re-education:
– Pause after Exhalar (with empty lungs)
This technique is one of the pillars of our training. Your regular practice reacts your brain’s response to carbon dioxide, gradually increasing your tolerance. Over time, this translates into a basal (at rest) respiratory pattern that is spontaneously slower, deeper and more functional.
Your First Practice: Soft Pause
- Preparation. Sit comfortably with your back straight, but without tension. Relax your shoulders, neck and jaw.
- Normal cycle. Take a normal and soft inhalation through the nose. Then, an equally soft and relaxed exhalation through the nose.
- Pause. At the natural end of that exhalation, when you feel that no more air comes out without forcing, just stop. Don't inhale. I held that break without air for 3 to 5 seconds.
- The Return. After the pause, inhale again through the nose. This is the most important part: your first inhalation has to be as calm and silent as the previous one. If you feel the need to take a big bite of air, it means that the pause was too long.
- Recovery. Breathe normally for about 15 to 30 seconds, allowing your rhythm to stabilize completely before starting again from step 2.
This exercise is the basis of everything. The goal is not to beat records, but to introduce the pause in such a subtle way that your nervous system hardly sees it as a challenge. The key is softness.
When to Practice
The beauty of this exercise is its simplicity. You don’t need a special place or much time. You can integrate it into little holes of your day to create “micro-moments” of calm and reeducation.
– In times of transition
When you finish a job and before you start the next job, when you get home or when you get out of the car. These are natural moments to insert a short practice.
– While you wait
In the supermarket line, waiting for the light to change, while the water is heated for the matt. I turned the wait in training.
– Like a mental "reset"
When you feel overwanted, scattered or stressed, I did 3 or 4 cycles to get back to your center. It’s your internal pause button.
– Before physical exercise
As part of your preheating for focus your mind and prepare your airways for effort.
♪ To get the voice back
After giving a class, singing or talking a lot, these breaks help to relax your throat and reestablish a calm pattern.
– Before sleep
It’s an excellent way to tell your nervous system that it’s time to lower the revolutions and prepare for rest.
Benefits of Practice
Although it seems very simple, the constant repetition of these soft breaks generates deep and measurable changes.
🧪 You increase your tolerance to CO₂
This is the central benefit. You are training your brain to feel comfortable with a little more CO₂, which is fundamental for more efficient breathing.
– Calm your nervous system
You help reduce stress and anxiety by directly activating your body’s relaxation response.
– Optimize your baseline breathing
You will use your brain to function optimally with a tighter air volume and a naturally slower pace.
The Power of Settle
Although it may seem like a minor gesture, the impact of this pause is profound. Those moments of stillness are a direct intervention to balance your nervous system, allowing you to actively manage your stress response, your energy level, and your mental clarity. You have just activated a far-reaching internal regulation mechanism.
It is the daily accumulation of these short breaks that establishes a new base line of well-being and physiological control.