One of the most common concerns while mewing is trouble breathing. As someone whose spent hours researching this exact topic, I’m here to share my findings in an easily understandable way.
We’ll be talking about the explanations and solutions. Let’s get started!
Can’t Breathe While Mewing – What Causes It?
Difficulty while breathing usually stems from one big mistake. Pushing your tongue against your soft palate (aka, the very back of the mouth where the roof of the mouth becomes soft) or too far back in general.
Pushing up against the soft palate closes up the airway, making it impossible to breathe.
While Mike Mew does advocate for pushing the tongue up against the soft palate, John Mew has disagreed with this method and recommends that you stay away from the soft palate. A seemingly deleted video on the Orthotropics channel showed the debate.
Another reason why you may find it difficult to breathe while mewing is that you may be exerting too much pressure on the palate.
Excessive pressure can cause the tongue to push too hard against the soft palate, leading to the obstruction of the nasal passage.
Solutions for Breathing Difficulties While Mewing
There are two ways to solve this, with either being more or less comfortable for different mouth shapes.
1. Lightly stick your tongue onto the soft palate rather than pushing it. This method is what sort of Mike Mew recommends.
You use a suction hold to stick your tongue onto the entire palate, including the soft part, and keep it there 24/7.
Doing this will allow you to reach the far back of your mouth without hindering your breathing.
I would recommend this way for anyone looking to expand the farther back areas of the palate rather than the front.
However, I wouldn’t recommend this to any beginners since it is quite uncomfortable and may cause gagging and a sore throat.
Long-time mewers shouldn’t feel any discomfort, though.
2. Don’t target the soft palate at all. This is what John Mew recommends.
By avoiding the soft palate in general, you can breathe freely while avoiding the discomforts of pushing against the back of your mouth.
I would recommend this for beginners since it lets you get used to the posture more easily.
Make sure that you’re pushing your tongue across the whole hard palate (where the roof of your mouth is hard).
You need to make sure that you can slightly feel your tongue touching the soft palate to ensure your tongue is widely spread out, just enough to feel a tiny soreness but not enough to be mildly uncomfortable.
A general rule of thumb is to strive to have your tongue across the entire palate, including the back. The more you can get without feeling bad, the better.
This method is better for people who want to expand the front of their palate rather than the back.
I use this method since the front part of my palate is much more narrow than the back, allowing me to target the front specifically.
Which should I choose?
Now that you’ve learned about the two methods, you might wonder which one you should do.
If you are an experienced mewer who doesn’t have a narrower front palate, I’d recommend doing method 1.
This is because the main goal of mewing is to expand the palate as much as possible, and the more surface area your tongue occupies, the more force you can evenly generate across the palate.
This method can be done quite easily for any intermediate mewer who knows how to hold a proper suction hold.
You also might get away with lightly pushing against the soft palate with no trouble breathing.
If you are a beginner (less than 4 months), you should do method 2.
The soft palate is a sensitive area in your mouth that can cause pain when irritated constantly.
Mewing for a long time will generally make the soft palate less sensitive, which can be used to build up to method 1.
I’ve been mewing for around 2 years and have little to no discomfort when touching the soft palate.
There is an exception! Having a narrow front palate can make mewing much harder.
That’s why it’s important to do method 2 if you’re facing this issue since it specifically widens the front palate, which can slowly make your mewing more efficient and comfortable.
To add on, many people with a recessed maxilla tend to have their palate shifted farther back into the mouth; if this is you, I’d also recommend this method since it pushes your palate forward, which pushes your maxilla forward.
A Breathing Technique That Will Help You Breathe While Mewing
I’ve found one breathing technique that works wonders at relieving any breathing issues while mewing.
You need to try to imagine the sensation of breathing in the ‘middle’ of your nose, not the nostrils.
Specifically, try not to focus on the nose/nostrils while mewing, and imagine breathing deep in your nose. Think of breathing as your lungs suctioning air rather than your nose sucking in the air.
It sounds weird, but it’s great once you get it.
If you’re struggling with figuring out how to do this, push your tongue against your soft palate and try different ways to breathe through your nose.
You’ll eventually find the breathing technique that allows you to breathe while pushing against the soft palate effectively.
Breathing Issues That Can’t Be Fixed At Home
While most people’s breathing issues are just from improper mewing, there might be a few rare cases where you’re genetically disposed to have trouble breathing when holding correct tongue posture, here are a few reasons why:
- Inflammation
- Deviated septum
- Orofacial disorders
Conclusion
Mewing is a simple yet effective technique that can help improve your facial features, breathing, and posture. However, it can be challenging to master, and many people face difficulty breathing while mewing.
By following the solutions and tips discussed in this article, you can overcome the difficulty in breathing and improve your mewing technique. Remember to practice regularly and monitor your progress to achieve the best results.