How to Breathe Correctly: 3 Fundamentals Most People Overlook
- kevinconnelly82
- Apr 22
- 7 min read
How to breathe correctly, in simple terms:
Breathe with the diaphragm rather than relying on shallow chest breathing.
Breathe through the nose instead of the mouth whenever possible.
Breathe slower and softer than you may be used to.
These three principles form the foundation of proper breathing technique and can improve stress resilience, energy, sleep, and focus.
Why Correct Breathing Matters
Learning how to breathe correctly can improve far more than your breathing. It can affect how calm or reactive you feel, how well you sleep, how much energy you have, and even how resilient you are under stress.
Breathing is automatic, but healthy breathing is often learned. That may sound contradictory. After all, if breathing happens on its own, how could we be doing it incorrectly? The answer is that while breathing is automatic, habits can shape how we breathe, and those habits can either support or strain the body. Many people live with breathing patterns they have never questioned—shallow chest breathing, chronic mouth breathing, and breathing at a pace that is much faster than the body actually needs.
These patterns may seem insignificant, but they can influence far more than oxygen intake. Breathing affects the nervous system, concentration, sleep quality, digestion, stress resilience, and even how we respond under pressure. In that sense, learning how to breathe correctly is less about mastering a technique and more about restoring a function the body was designed for.
When people ask me where to begin, I usually return to three foundational practices. Before advanced breathwork techniques, before breath holds or performance protocols, these are the basics worth getting right: breathe from the diaphragm, breathe through the nose, and breathe slower. They sound simple, almost too simple, but these three shifts can radically change the way the body feels and functions.
1. Learn to Breathe from the Diaphragm
When people ask about the correct way to breathe, diaphragmatic breathing is often the first place to start. It is one of the foundations of proper breathing technique.
One of the easiest ways to assess your breathing is to place one hand on your chest and one on your lower ribs or abdomen. When you inhale, which hand moves first? For many people, the chest rises while the lower ribs barely move. This often points to a breathing pattern driven more by the accessory muscles of the neck and shoulders than by the diaphragm.
The diaphragm is the primary muscle of respiration. When it contracts, it descends, allowing the lungs to expand more efficiently. When breathing is driven well by the diaphragm, the breath often feels quieter, fuller, and less effortful. There is often less unnecessary tension in the upper body, and many people notice a greater sense of calm.
When breathing is habitually high in the chest, the opposite can happen. People often carry tension in the jaw, neck, and shoulders without realizing it. Breathing can become more erratic or shallow, and over time this can feed into a subtle sense of physiological stress. This is one reason dysfunctional breathing is often associated with anxiety, fatigue, and poor stress tolerance.
Breathing from the diaphragm does not mean exaggerated belly breathing, which is a common misunderstanding. The goal is not to force the stomach outward dramatically. It is to allow the lower rib cage and abdomen to respond naturally as the diaphragm does its work.
A useful way to practice is by lying on your back and placing your hands around the lower ribs. As you inhale through the nose, feel for gentle expansion outward and slightly back, almost as if the ribs widen in all directions. Then exhale softly without collapsing or forcing the air out. Spend five minutes simply observing and practicing this pattern.
Over time, diaphragmatic breathing can begin to feel less like an exercise and more like your default. That is the goal.
2. Shift from Mouth Breathing to Nasal Breathing
If you want to know how to breathe properly throughout the day, breathing through the nose is one of the simplest upgrades you can make.
If diaphragmatic breathing is foundational, nasal breathing is equally important.
The nose does much more than provide a passageway for air. It filters particles, warms and humidifies incoming air, and supports the production of nitric oxide, a molecule involved in circulation and oxygen uptake. Nasal breathing also tends to slow the breath naturally, which can help support a calmer internal state.
Mouth breathing, on the other hand, often encourages larger, faster breaths than necessary. In some people it contributes to over-breathing, which can disturb the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in ways that influence how the body and brain function.
This is one reason breathing through the nose during rest, daily activity, and even much of exercise can be so beneficial.
It often surprises people how much mouth breathing has become normalized. People breathe through the mouth while working, walking, sleeping, and even sitting still. Sometimes this is habit. Sometimes it relates to congestion or structural issues. But the biggest killer is the way in which it creates inflammation.
Each time you breathe through your mouth and the air doesn't go through your nasal cavity (where it is thoroughly cleaned, filtered, and humidified) it continuously hits the back of your throat. Over time, your adenoids and tonsils begin to become inflammed. This inflammation begins to push forward on your face, causing your jaw to become less defined, dark circles to form under your eyes, and your nose to grow larger.
Many suffering from this odd occurence beleiev they have a deviated septum and end up getting surgery. However, some surgeries lead to an excess of bone being removed, only for the individual to have to go back into surgery and have additional bone replaced (we've seen this).
The best way to get into the habit of breathing your nose is to start setting alarms on your phone. One every hour. Then make sure to breathe through your nose when you exercise, run, work in your garden, cut the grass, feed your pets, all of it! You want to be doing it all day long!
3. Breathe Slower Than You Think You Need To
Many people searching how to breathe correctly assume they need bigger breaths. Often they need quieter and slower breaths instead.
Of the three fundamentals, this may be the one people underestimate most.
Many people assume healthier breathing means taking bigger breaths. In reality, many people would benefit less from breathing more and more from breathing less.
Modern life often pushes breathing in the opposite direction. Stress tends to speed the breath. Screens can subtly increase tension. Even habitual over-breathing can become normalized. The result is that many people breathe far more frequently than they need to.
Slower breathing can help interrupt this.
There's growing interest in how slow breathing affects autonomic regulation, heart rate variability, and vagal activity. While the research is interesting, many people can feel the effect before they understand the science.
When the breath slows in a comfortable way, the nervous system often begins to shift.
The mind often follows.
A simple place to begin is an exercise we created called dynamic coherence training. You begin by breathing 3 seconds in and 3 seconds out through the nose. The you increase to 4 seconds in and 4 seconds out, then 5 seconds, then 6...all the way up to 15 seconds.
Try five minutes. Notice what changes.
Many people report feeling calmer, clearer, or more settled after even a short practice.
That is not because slow breathing is magic. It is because breathing patterns and physiological state are deeply linked.
Common Breathing Mistakes
Before going further, it helps to recognize some of the most common patterns that interfere with correct breathing:
Breathing from the upper chest instead of the diaphragm
Habitual mouth breathing at rest
Breathing too fast, even when relaxed
Frequent sighing or taking large recovery breaths
Holding unnecessary tension in the jaw, shoulders, or belly
Correct breathing is often less about adding something new and more about removing these inefficient patterns.
Why These Three Fundamentals Work Together
What makes these principles powerful is that they reinforce one another. Diaphragmatic breathing often supports slower breathing. Nasal breathing often supports diaphragmatic breathing. Slower breathing often makes mouth breathing less likely. Together, they begin to reshape your baseline.
And baseline matters.
Because breathing isn't only something you do during practice. It is something you bring into meetings, workouts, difficult conversations, long flights, stressful mornings, and sleepless nights. When breathing improves at baseline, it can influence how you meet those moments.
That's a very different goal than simply “doing a breathing exercise.”
Start with Function Before Technique
There's a tendency to jump quickly into advanced breathwork techniques. People become interested in stimulating practices, long breath holds, or complex protocols. Those tools can have value, but they're often more effective when built on healthy fundamentals.
If someone is chronically over-breathing, breathing through the mouth, and relying heavily on upper chest breathing, advanced techniques do not necessarily correct that.
Sometimes they can reinforce it. That is why I often encourage people to think less about breathwork and more about breathing function.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is belly breathing the correct way to breathe?
Diaphragmatic breathing is often described as belly breathing, but the goal is not exaggerated abdominal movement. It's relaxed lower rib and diaphragm function.
Is it better to breathe through the nose or mouth?
For everyday breathing, nasal breathing is generally preferred because it filters air, supports nitric oxide production, and often promotes calmer breathing patterns.
How many breaths per minute is healthy?
At rest, many people benefit from breathing slower than they currently do. Practices around 5 to 6 breaths per minute can be useful during training, though comfortable natural breathing is the goal at around 8-11 breaths per minute.
Can breathing incorrectly cause anxiety?
Breathing patterns can influence physiology and perceived stress. Dysfunctional breathing can sometimes contribute to feelings of anxiety or reactivity.
To learn more about breathwork, visit our website and check out our courses. If you really want to dive in and become certified, join our Instructor Training and learn our 3-part framework on how to guide others out of dysfunctional breathing patterns and into better self-control and emotional knowledge. Or join us in the India on our breath expedition.
Kevin Connelly, founder of Reconnect
Kevin is an author, researcher, and breath expert who's led thousands of wellness enthusiasts through breathwork and ice bath experiences in Mexico and around the world. He is one of the leaders in breathwork-related research and conducts studies on the effects of breath on the heart and brain. Kevin delivers breathwork and cold exposure trainings for retreats, corporate events, and businesses worldwide.
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