When leading wellness clients through various breath exercises and experiences, I find that exploring different combinations of mouth and nose inhalations and exhalations can be a powerful tool.

Here is one sequence I have clients follow, repeating each step 7 times in a row before moving on to the next step.

Inhale and exhale through your mouth. (Repeat 7 times.)
Inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose. (Repeat 7 times.)
Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. (Repeat 7 times.)
Inhale and exhale through your nose. (Repeat 7 times.)

After this experience I may lead the participant through a series of steps to describe how each breath combination felt to them.

One strategy could be to ask them to write one or two words under each kind of breath. Usually I join them in this step, and then we compare our descriptive words. Often we find many similarities in our descriptions.

Another strategy could be to ask them to assign one of the four elements to each combination breath combination. Here are a few possible words. You can also research other descriptions online.

Fire- passion, joy, clearing, warming, unpredictable, transforming
Air- freedom, insight, soothing, cleansing
Earth- stability, healing, humility, balancing
Water- clarity, emotional, observing, inner trust
So far the majority of participants have connected each breath combination with the following elements:

Inhale and exhale through your mouth. (FIRE)
Inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose. (EARTH)
Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. (WATER)
Inhale and exhale through your nose. (AIR)

What are your experiences and discoveries?

Ways to extend this experience:

  • Pair each breath combination with a specific movement.
  • Pair each breath combination with a specific sound. This might include a louder inhale, humming, or vowel sounding.

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