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Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal

Why You’ve Been Breathing Wrong Most Of Your Life

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AAAli AbdaalhostMMMike Maherguest

Feb 21, 2022·1h 23m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

Chapter summaries

1. 1

   Breathwork basics and why Ali is skeptical

   Ali sets up the episode by explaining that he didn’t think breathing could be “wrong,” but has heard it can affect health and quality of life. He introduces guest Mike Maher and asks the blunt question: what is breathwork, and is it a scam?

   • •Ali frames breathwork as consciously altering breathing patterns for outcomes like relaxation, energy, and stress regulation
   • •Ali admits skepticism and curiosity after hearing claims about mouth breathing and over-breathing
   • •Mike Maher is introduced as someone who has worked with and interviewed many breathing specialists
   • •Ali opens with the challenge: define breathwork and address whether it’s a scam
2. 2

   “Breathplay”: two categories—breathing less vs breathing more

   Mike reframes breathwork as “breathplay,” arguing it’s about experimenting with the breath rather than mystifying it. He simplifies all breathing exercises into two buckets: exercises where you breathe less than you need, and exercises where you breathe more than you need.

   • •Mike says breathwork can include scams, but there’s also science behind it
   • •He divides breath practices into “breathe less” (functional breathing) and “breathe more” (hyperventilation-style practices)
   • •He gives alternate nostril breathing as an example of breathing less by restricting airflow and slowing the breath
   • •He emphasizes getting the foundation of everyday breathing right before exploring more intense techniques
3. 3

   What “breathing correctly” means in modern life: efficiency, posture, and stress

   Ali asks what it even means to breathe “correctly” if we’ve been breathing our whole lives. Mike argues modern habits—poor posture, long sitting, and chronic stress—push people into inefficient breathing patterns, especially mouth breathing.

   • •Mike compares modern humans to a stressed, sedentary “chimpanzee” living unlike our ancestors
   • •He links compressed posture and stress to a shift toward mouth breathing and limited diaphragm movement
   • •Mike frames the goal as “efficient breathing,” not simply breathing to stay alive
   • •Ali probes why breathing efficiency matters beyond basic oxygen/CO2 exchange
4. 4

   Why the nose matters: filtration, airflow pacing, and nasal nitric oxide

   Mike explains why nasal breathing is physiologically different from mouth breathing. He highlights the nose’s roles in conditioning air and producing nasal nitric oxide, which he describes as having protective and vasodilating effects.

   • •Mike says the nose filters particles, warms/cools, humidifies, and pressurizes incoming air
   • •He contrasts the mouth as a wide, fast “pipe” versus the nose encouraging slower breathing
   • •Mike says nasal breathing releases nasal nitric oxide and that humming can increase it
   • •Ali asks about “sterilizing” air; Mike says nasal nitric oxide kills bacteria
5. 5

   What’s wrong with mouth breathing: CO2 loss, constriction, and oxygen delivery

   Ali challenges the idea that mouth breathing is harmful since it “works” day-to-day. Mike argues mouth breathing causes excess CO2 loss, which can lead to constriction and make oxygen delivery to tissues less efficient due to oxygen’s stronger “affinity” to hemoglobin.

   • •Mike calls mouth breathing “stressful breathing” and claims it can starve the body of oxygen by lowering CO2 too much
   • •He explains that low CO2 can contribute to constriction and reduced oxygen release from hemoglobin
   • •Ali connects this to physiology concepts like the Bohr effect and oxygen dissociation dynamics
   • •Mike describes a vicious cycle: chronic mouth breathing lowers CO2 tolerance, increasing air hunger and faster breathing
6. 6

   Measurable tests and practical benefits: sleep, HRV, and baseline breathing

   Ali asks whether switching to nasal breathing produces noticeable benefits quickly. Mike offers measurement ideas and emphasizes common improvements people report, especially around sleep, heart rate variability, and general return to a healthier baseline.

   • •Mike describes simple tracking methods: walking breath-hold steps and holding until the first impulse to breathe
   • •He frames many benefits as getting back to “baseline” rather than becoming “Superman”
   • •Mike highlights sleep: mouth breathing at night can disrupt deeper sleep, and he links better breathing with waking more refreshed and avoiding dry mouth
   • •Ali shares his own mouth-taping experience and mixed wearable-data results, but says he still finds it helpful
7. 7

   Blocked nose and breath education: ‘use it or lose it’ + unblocking exercises

   Ali raises the common issue that nasal breathing feels hard because the nose seems blocked. Mike says many people can retrain nasal breathing if they can breathe through the nose even briefly, and he frames congestion partly as a “use it or lose it” pattern that can improve with practice.

   • •Mike says some people may need medical evaluation or surgery, but many can improve nasal breathing with training
   • •He quotes the idea: if you can breathe through your nose for a minute, you can breathe through it for life
   • •Mike explains that if you mouth-breathe all day, the nose may feel stuffier at night when you try to switch
   • •He emphasizes the lack of formal education about nasal breathing and how people copy poor role models
8. 8

   Wim Hof and ‘breathing more than you need’: intense experiences and a caution

   Ali asks about evidence-based benefits beyond functional breathing, including altered states and big claims associated with practices like Wim Hof. Mike recounts his first Wim Hof retreat experience and describes powerful sensations during hyperventilation-style breathing, while warning that foundational breathing should come first.

   • •Mike explains Wim Hof’s method as combining cold exposure, breathing, and mindfulness
   • •He shares his 2016 Poland retreat story, including struggling with ice exposure and then relaxing into it
   • •He describes a prolonged breathwork session with vivid sensory experiences and emotional release
   • •Mike cautions that hyperventilation practices can be stressors and may not be ideal if someone is already chronically stressed
9. 9

   How Mike changed his life: Camino, Tony Robbins, quitting corporate, and building a breathwork career

   Mike describes a series of decisions following his breathwork awakening, including walking the Camino and attending a Tony Robbins event. He explains what drew him to Robbins, what the event felt like, and how it led to leaving his job and eventually building a breathing-focused YouTube channel and podcast.

   • •Mike says he walked the Camino for 33 days and found it aligned with “what nature intended” (movement, tribe, sunlight)
   • •He describes the Tony Robbins event as a high-energy, immersive multi-day experience with intense exercises like the Dickens Process
   • •Mike says the Dickens Process helped him visualize consequences of not changing, prompting his decision to resign (with a long notice period)
   • •He explains how his video background and early breathing videos led to a growing channel, then deeper study of breathing science and interviews with experts
10. 10

    Breath affects thinking and stress: bidirectional signaling and the power of the exhale

    Ali presses on how breathing changes the way we think and feel. Mike describes breathing as bidirectional—stress changes breath, and breath patterns also signal stress or safety—and shares examples like longer exhales for calming versus hyperventilation for activating.

    • •Mike references research describing neurons that ‘spy’ on breathing patterns and influence brain state
    • •He says extending the exhale can signal safety and calm, while stress breathing signals danger
    • •He recounts a clinician’s framing: don’t debate chicken-and-egg—fix the breathing first, then reassess
    • •Ali relates the idea to broader body-mind theories and argues practical results may matter even when mechanisms are debated
11. 11

    Breathing rate, coherence breathing, diaphragm mechanics, and a full guided practice

    The conversation moves into specific mechanics: ideal breathing rates, coherence breathing, and why diaphragm movement matters. Mike then leads Ali through a sequence of practical exercises: nose unblocking, breath awareness, box breathing, reduced-airflow training, rib-opening movement, and diaphragm-focused breathing.

    • •Mike discusses typical breathing rates (roughly 10–15 breaths/min) and introduces coherence breathing around ~5.5 breaths/min as a practice (not an all-day target)
    • •He explains diaphragm use as central to better ventilation in the lower lungs and links restricted diaphragm motion to issues like upper-chest breathing and ‘gut sucking’
    • •Guided exercises include a nose-unblocking breath-hold protocol with movement and safety caveats
    • •Mike guides breath awareness, box breathing, airflow-softening to build CO2 tolerance, rib mobility (‘picking apples’ and twists), and 360-degree/abdomen breathing focus

Publisher timestamps

1. 0:00Intro
2. 1:13Is Breathwork A Scam?
3. 3:40What Do you Mean By Breathing Correctly?
4. 7:53What’s The Problem With Mouth Breathing?
5. 18:43The Maximum Breathlessness Test
6. 20:13How Does Breathwork Improve Your Health?
7. 26:15Wim Hoff + Tony Robins Retreat
8. 44:15How Breathwork Changes The Way You Think
9. 54:43How Breathwork Helps Stress
10. 59:21Guided Breathing Exercises

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