Patrick McKeown is an international breathing expert and author based in Galway, Ireland. Since 2002, he has worked with thousands of clients, including Olympic coaches and athletes, professional footballers, boxers, MMA fighters, elite military and special forces (SWAT) and many more. He is the CEO of Oxygen Advantage and the Founder of ButeykoClinic.com.
Atomic Focus (2021), The Breathing Cure (2021) and Breathing for Yoga (June 2023) are Patrick’s latest books. He is also the creator of MyoTape, the safe solution to ensure nasal breathing during sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.
Walk us through your morning routine.
I typically wake up at about 6am each morning. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later. Firstly, I brew a cup of coffee and then I head straight for the exercise machine. Luckily, my offices are right next to my house which saves on commuting time.
After about 40 minutes of physical exercise – with mouth closed of course – I head for the infrared sauna. Normally, I listen to a podcast, sit back and sweat it out for up to 60 minutes.
I didn’t always give myself attention in the mornings. For too many years, I got up early and headed straight to work. It took me a long time to realise that I need to give myself some attention first. Then to give attention to my daily work.
You are involved in a few different ventures and have authored a few books, so what does your typical work week look like?
It really depends. I suppose anyone in a small business like myself understands that nothing is structured. Everything changes and it can be difficult to predict how the day unfolds. One needs to be adaptive in my game!
If I have tasks that seem like they will never get cross the finish line, such as the Breathing for Yoga book I’m currently working on, I ignore distractions (e-mails and social media) for as long as possible, to focus on the project. A great day for me would focus on only one thing, such as writing, without disruption or distraction.
A typical day for me involves writing in the morning, getting disrupted in the afternoon and giving talks and podcasts in the evening. The hours can be long, but the work is great.
My next goal is to work less and enjoy more. Easier said than done!!!
Can you share one success story that stands out to you from someone that has implemented your breathing techniques and notably improved their quality of life?
I am lucky to work with a number of high performance individuals, one of whom is an international athlete. He reports that his sleep has improved (yes, he tapes his mouth during sleep), his mind is clearer and his recovery is faster.
I always get a buzz working with people at this level. They are already at the top of their game, and to know that breathing can give them the edge is very rewarding. Of course, breathing is still a secret as most athletes are not aware of its potential. More importantly, the trick is knowing the right type of breathing exercises to get that individual the extra 1%.
How much do factors like diet/nutrition, stress and sleep impact one’s “optimal” breathing?
They all play a role. The human body is amazing. Poor diet effects breathing patterns, and it could be argued that poor breathing patterns affect diet. If every day breathing is a little faster, harder or irregular – it activates a fight or flight response and comfort food can be the order of the day.
There is a two-way relationship between stress and breathing. One advantage of knowing breathing is that we can use it to remain calm in difficult situations.
Poor sleep also impacts stress and breathing. Waking up feeling lousy, almost like having a hangover, is a recipe for poor mood and poor breathing. Practicing light, slow and deep (LSD) nose breathing every day leads to a deeper sleep, waking up feeling more refreshed. Don’t wake up with a dry mouth in the morning!
If someone only wanted to focus on one of your breathing techniques, which would you recommend for the greatest impact?
Whenever you get into a difficult situation, make sure you don’t hyperventilate. Instead, bring your attention to your breathing and take a normal, silent breath in through your nose and allow a slow, relaxed and prolonged breath out through your nose. Continue to breathe in this manner for a minute or two. What’s more is that nobody will even know you are doing it.
Slowing down the speed of the breath out tells the brain that the body is safe. For me, this is a tremendous hack to remain clear headed when things don’t go right. If everything is going well for you, don’t worry. It won’t be too long before something does go wrong, and at least now you’ll know how to help yourself stay calm!
You have trained over 1,500 Oxygen Advantage Instructors — how would you describe your teaching and leadership style?
If you love what you do, passion flows into the work. For me, the scientific explanation of breathing is very important. Breathing has been ignored for decades, and it is time to take it from the woo woo brigade and bring it to the people. Everyone should know how to tap into their breath to improve sleep, exercise performance and regulate states.
Since 2002, I am lucky to have worked closely with thousands of people with asthma, anxiety, panic disorder, sleep apnea and more. I have made plenty of mistakes over the years, and have seen firsthand that breathing is powerful. I transmit this information to the instructors. It gives them the tools needed to directly tailor breathing exercises to their clients for maximum effect and little downside.
If you could leave one piece of advice for someone younger, what would you share?
Learn how to control your states. I spent too many years living in my head ruminating and over thinking. Understanding how the way you breathe influences your sleep and state of mind is instrumental to improving concentration, focus and attention span. Spend less time on social media and be more attentive to yourself.
If your goal is to reach your full potential, know how to upregulate and down regulate. Also, understand that if your goal is to improve blood flow and oxygen delivery throughout the body, it is not about taking the full big breaths. It is about doing the opposite, try it now.
Slow down the speed of air entering your nostrils, almost as if you are hardly breathing. Allow a relaxed and slow gentle breath out through the nose. Breathe about 30% less air into your body to create a tolerable feeling of air hunger. As you breathe less air for three to five minutes- brain cell excitability reduces, the vagus nerve is stimulated and the body’s rest and digest system is activated.
Do you feel a little sleepy or have increased watery saliva in your mouth? Are your hands warmer, signifying that your circulation has improved? It’s not always about breathing more air!!
Do you have any life mottos or principles you follow?
In terms of business, I hope we always provide value for money and that the customer feels that we looked after them well. My ultimate goal is to drive awareness of breathing techniques. To facilitate this, we just launched our non-subscription OxygenAdvantage app.
In private life, bringing a stillness to my mind is sacrosanct. No amount of money is worth high stress levels. Yes, from time to time the workload is high but I never want my mind to be overtaken by stress.
Is there anything that you haven’t done that you still want to do?
My goal now is to do less. The book I am writing now will be my last book for some years to come. At nearly fifty years of age, it is time to enjoy life and work less!