You may have seen the photos this August of Iga Swiatek of Poland wearing tape over her mouth during the practice round from the Canadian Open Tennis tournament. But what exactly was she trying to accomplish? And is it safe for the general population?
In the simplest of terms, mouth taping during exercise can make exercise more challenging and so it can help build endurance for those times we are not taping. During strenuous exercise our body creates a natural “oxygen hunger” that causes us to open our mouth and take in large volumes of air in order to keep up with the body’s demand for fuel. Often, we may give in to oxygen hunger too soon and therefore gradually reduce the effectiveness of the body’s oxygen exchange process. (for more, read my blog – Breathe Less, Get More Oxygen). What Iga, and other athletes in the know, have done is to gradually increase the effectiveness of the exchange process, thus giving themselves an “oxygen advantage” during competition.
Is it Just for Athletes?
Application during sport is an advanced concept. However, mouth taping can also be used in many other ways for a less advanced user. It can be used as tool to help re-train the ourselves to breathe through the nose. Remember, nasal breathing is the way we naturally breathe as infants (for more, read my blog – Mouth Breathing is Learned Behaviour).
It is important to understand that the tape itself is not necessary to practice nasal breathing. We can simply focus on breathing through the nose. The tape is there to remind ourselves of the objective. It is not there to seal the mouth shut.
Mouth taping can be used at rest, during practiced meditation (for more, read my blog – Breath, Prayer and Ancient Civilizations), during varying levels of activity, exercise recovery. Not only can it help you breathe better, it can reduce snoring, reduce the incidences of ear nose and throat infections and aid in proper dental and jaw development! However, it’s important to understand a few concepts to make sure that your mouth taping journey is a successful one.
How can I mouth tape safely?
First and foremost, consult an expert in Breath Recovery, in addition to your physician.
Once you know you’re good to go, start with nasal breathing and seeing how long you last before you begin mouth breathing. You can have a friend watch you. You may find that you’re mouth breathing without even realizing it! (Ask a family member if you sleep with your mouth open or closed – snoring is a big give away.) Either of these could be a reason to use the tape.
What Kind of Tape?
Only use, specially designed mouth tape (myotape.com has the best ones). These are designed specifically for this purpose and come with detailed instructions. They have a slit across the middle to allow you to open your mouth if you need to and use a medical grade adhesive.
Start Slow
As with any new activity, start small and progress slowly. We don’t just jump in the deep end; we start with easiest concepts. Get help expert help if you need it.
Until next time… ~ breathe ~ move ~ unwind ~
