This Breathing Exercise Is Strange, But Full Of Big Benefits

Most meditation practices encourage us to find our center by connecting with our breath, but this technique takes that mindful strategy to an entirely new level. The founders of the Holistic Life Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland, joined HuffPost Live host Caroline Modarressy Tehrani and HuffPost blogger and guest Sharon Salzberg today to explain how to perform the “taco breath” — an unusual, but beneficial exercise they teach students.

“The taco breath is one of the few breaths that we teach where you inhale through your mouth, and you actually have to curl your tongue and inhale through your tongue like it’s a straw,” said Atman Smith. “It’s really good for physically cooling down the body and mentally cooling you down. You have to sit with your back, neck and head aligned, feet flat on the ground, and inhale through your tongue like it’s a straw. Then you swallow the breath while you’re holding onto the breath, and then you exhale through your nose, pulling your bellybutton to your spine — a long, slow, deep breath. It soothes any stomach aches… and it’s good for arthritis.”

To hear more about this unusual but effective breathing exercise, watch the full HuffPost Live clip in the video above.