Shut Your Mouth

And if I were to endeavor to bequeath to posterity the most important motto which human language can convey, it should be in three words… SHUT - YOUR - MOUTH… Where I would paint and engrave it, in every Nursery, and on every Bedpost in the Universe, its meaning could not mistaken. - George Catlin

George Catlin is an incredibly interesting character. In 1830 he left his job as a lawyer and became a portrait painter of Philadelphia’s high society. Unfulfilled, he left Philly to travel the fledgling country to capture more realistic depictions of humanity.

Catlin traveled the terrain out west and met many interesting Native American tribes. Through his travels, he noticed that they (Native Americans) never seemed to get sick, have deformities or other chronic health problems. Catlin also noted that, although having never seen a dentist, the tribal people had remarkably straight teeth!

As regular as the keys of a piano

The tribes people attributed their remarkably straight teeth, and great health to …. breathing.

Yes breathing. The “great secret of life”.

They told Catlin that mouth breathing “sapped the body of strength, deformed the face, and caused stress and disease”. Vise versa, nasal breathing “kept the body strong, made the face beautiful, and prevented disease”.

They started training their offspring in nasal birthing literally at birth. Whether it’s the mother’s light touch of a finger over the baby’s lips after feeding or even some Plains tribes strapping infants to straight boards with pillows under their heads to make it more difficult to mouth breathe. The tribes people went to great lengths to ensure that their children grew up nasal breathing!

Catlin, who struggled with respiratory issues his entire life, took this to heart, and was determined to overcome his ailments. He forced closed his mouth during the hours he slept and always made an effort to nasal breathe during the day.

Soon, his aches, pains, and even bleeding from his respiratory system was gone!

By his 30’s he noted he was stronger/healthier than ever!

I at length completely conquered an insidious enemy that was nightly attacking me in my helpless position, and evidently fast hurrying me to the grave”.

So while it’s incredibly easy to be cynical about the topic of breathing “oH I’Ve BeEn BrEaThiNg FoR ‘x amount’ oF yEaRs, I fEeL FiNe”, it maybe a harder to grasp the concept that you may have been doing it “wrong” and that it could be a contributor to many of your ailments.

Sources

Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The new science of a lost art. New York: Riverhead Books.