Two-Category Breath Play Model
Classify any breathing practice by whether it reduces or increases ventilation
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
The model begins by dividing breathing practices into two categories: exercises in which you breathe less than your immediate ventilatory demand and exercises in which you breathe more. Breathe-less practices slow or restrict airflow, often through nasal breathing, and can build tolerance to rising carbon dioxide while encouraging calm. Breathe-more practices deliberately hyperventilate, creating a short-term physiological stressor that may produce stimulation or unusual sensations. Each exercise can then be described through seven variables: mouth or nose, inhale, hold after inhaling, exhale, hold after exhaling, pace, and the overarching choice to breathe more or less. This turns breathwork into controlled experimentation while preserving the priority of healthy everyday breathing.
Origin
Extracted from Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal, where Mike Maher simplified the breathwork methods he had studied and practised since attending a Wim Hof retreat.
Core principles
- 01Separate everyday breathing from deliberate exercises
- 02Classify practices by whether you breathe less or more than needed
- 03Secure functional breathing before adding intense hyperventilation
- 04Treat breathing patterns as adjustable variables rather than rigid rituals
How to run it
- 1
Define the outcome
Decide whether you want calm, functional retraining, stimulation, or another specific state. The desired output determines which category is appropriate.
Pro tip Use a single, observable outcome such as feeling calmer before a meeting.
Watch out Do not choose an intense exercise merely because it feels more dramatic.
- 2
Choose less or more
Use a breathe-less pattern for slowing, carbon-dioxide tolerance, and functional practice. Use a breathe-more pattern only when a deliberate short-term stressor fits the goal.
Pro tip Default to breathe-less practice when unsure.
Watch out Hyperventilation practices can be powerful and are not appropriate in water or other hazardous settings.
- 3
Select the airway
Choose nasal or oral breathing deliberately rather than unconsciously. Prefer the nose for ordinary functional practice while recognising that some exercises intentionally use the mouth.
Pro tip Notice whether the airway choice changes pace and perceived effort.
Watch out Do not confuse occasional exercise-related mouth breathing with chronic everyday mouth breathing.
- 4
Build the pattern
Set the inhale, optional inhale hold, exhale, optional exhale hold, and pace. Adjust one variable at a time so you can observe its effect.
Pro tip Start with equal phases before experimenting with longer exhales or holds.
Watch out Changing many variables simultaneously makes the response harder to interpret.
- 5
Observe and refine
Track how the pattern changes physical tension, air hunger, alertness, and mood. Retain patterns that reliably support the intended outcome without excessive distress.
Pro tip Compare your state immediately before and after several rounds.
Watch out Stop if you become unsafe, severely distressed, or medically symptomatic.
In the wild
A manager leaves a tense meeting breathing rapidly. She selects the breathe-less category, uses her nose, chooses a four-count inhale, four-count exhale, and brief holds, then repeats the pattern while observing her tension.
→ Her ventilation slows and she becomes composed enough to decide what to do next.
A beginner classifies thirty large breaths followed by a retention as a breathe-more exercise rather than an everyday breathing pattern. He first works on nasal breathing and only later practises the stimulating method in a safe setting.
→ He distinguishes functional retraining from deliberate physiological stress.
Common mistakes
Treating every technique as equivalent
Relaxing nasal breathing and deliberate hyperventilation create different physiological conditions and should not be selected interchangeably.
Chasing intensity before function
Using stimulating practices while chronically over-breathing can add another stressor before the everyday baseline is stable.
Banning all mouth breathing
The framework distinguishes chronic default behaviour from purposeful exercises that may legitimately involve the mouth.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for beginners comparing breathing practices for relaxation, functional improvement, stimulation, or altered states.
Not ideal for
It is not a substitute for medical assessment when breathing difficulty may arise from asthma, obstruction, cardiovascular disease, or another clinical condition.
From the transcript
“The simplest thing I would say is, you've got two areas of breath works, I'm going to try now to simplify breathwork, where I'm going…”
“So we have all these different breathing exercises, but we already know it's breathe more, breathe less. If we took that down a little more,…”
“Let's get our baseline, right, let's get it secure. And then once it's in a good place, we can then start to play with it.”
From the episode
Why You’ve Been Breathing Wrong Most Of Your Life - Breathing Expert Mike Maher