Nasal strips for yoga: can they help your breathing practice?

A nasal strip can make slow nose breathing feel easier on the mat if the front of your nose tends to feel tight, and it doesn't get in the way of most poses. Nobody has studied strips during yoga, so this is a comfort choice rather than a proven upgrade to your practice. The breathing itself is where the research is, and slow, steady nasal breathing has some encouraging, if modest, evidence behind it.

Why does yoga focus on nose breathing?

Yoga focuses on the breath because breathing techniques are one of its core parts. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says yoga as practiced in the United States typically emphasizes physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation. Pranayama covers many techniques. Some, like alternate nostril breathing, move air through one side of the nose at a time, and many ask you to slow the breath down.

Slowing down is the part with the most research behind it. A 2018 systematic review in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience looked at slow breathing techniques, defined as fewer than 10 breaths a minute, in healthy people. Only 15 studies met its criteria. It found slow breathing increased heart rate variability and was linked with more comfort, relaxation and alertness and less anxiety, anger and confusion. The authors also suggested that nerve endings in the nasal vault may play a part in how slow breathing affects the brain, which is a hypothesis rather than a finding. Our guide to slow breathing for sleep covers this in more depth.

What does the research say about pranayama?

The research on pranayama is promising in places but mostly small and hard to blind, so it's best read as encouraging rather than settled.

The broadest evidence is on slow breathing in general. A 2022 meta-analysis in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews included 223 studies and found that voluntary slow breathing increased vagally mediated heart rate variability, a marker of the body's rest-and-digest (parasympathetic) system, during a session, right after one, and after a program of several sessions. The authors called it a low-tech, low-cost technique with few adverse effects expected.

Alternate nostril breathing has its own meta-analysis. A 2024 review in Complementary Medicine Research pooled 6 randomized trials with 525 participants and found lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure with alternate nostril breathing than in control groups. The authors asked for caution because the results varied a lot between studies, and noted that most yoga breathing studies weren't double-blinded. Our guide to alternate nostril breathing walks through how to do it.

Yoga has also been studied for asthma. A 2020 Cochrane review of breathing exercises for adults with asthma included 22 trials, 14 of which used yoga. It found breathing exercises may have some positive effects on quality of life, hyperventilation symptoms and lung function, with evidence ranging from moderate to very low certainty.

None of these studies looked at people wearing nasal strips, and none measured whether a more open nose changes the benefits of pranayama.

Do nasal strips help during yoga?

Nasal strips help with one specific thing: they widen the front of the nose. A 1997 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in Laryngoscope measured 53 athletes and found a strip significantly increased the area of the nasal valve at rest. The nasal valve is the part of the airway just inside the nostrils.

So if your nose feels tight during long, slow inhales, a strip may make them feel smoother. If your nose already feels open, you may notice little difference. A strip can't clear a cold, an allergy or a crooked septum, and it doesn't change the technique itself. For more on what a strip can reach, see how nasal strips work.

If you want to try one in your next class, the strips we recommend are TitanAir Nasal Strips. Titan says they're drug-free external nasal dilators with flexible spring-loaded bands, placed just above the flare of the nostrils on the soft part of the nose.

A few practical notes for the mat:

• In alternate nostril breathing, your thumb and finger press on the sides of the nose, right where a strip's pads sit. Some people prefer to take the strip off for that practice.
• Poses that put your face on the mat, such as child's pose, can rub at the strip's edges. Press the ends down firmly before class.
• If you practice with your eyes closed in meditation, a strip is easy to forget about once it's on, which is part of its appeal.

How do you keep a strip on in hot yoga?

You keep a strip on in hot yoga by applying it to dry skin before you start sweating, and accepting that you may need a spare. Hot yoga is sweaty by design. A 2025 systematic review in Sports Medicine - Open covered 43 hot yoga studies with 942 participants. Sessions typically ran 20 to 90 minutes at 30 to 52°C and 20% to 60% relative humidity, and a single session raised body temperature and heart rate.

The sweat adds up quickly. A 2014 study measured 24 people through a standardized 90-minute Bikram class and recorded average sweat rates of 0.6 kg per hour in novices and 1.1 kg per hour in experienced practitioners. That much moisture on the face makes any adhesive work harder.

What helps:

1. Wash your nose with a gentle cleanser before class and pat it completely dry. Titan's instructions say to start with clean, dry skin and skip moisturizer.
2. Apply the strip before you walk into the heated room, and press both ends down.
3. Keep sunscreen and face creams off the sides of your nose.
4. Dab your face with a towel rather than wiping across the strip.
5. If the ends lift, put on a fresh strip on dry skin rather than pressing the old one back down.

Our guide to nasal strips in hot weather has a fuller sweat routine, and how to apply nasal strips covers placement.

Which yoga situations suit a strip?

This table sums up where a strip tends to fit and where it doesn't.

Is breathing practice safe for everyone?

Breathing practice is low risk for most people, but a few cautions apply. NCCIH says yoga is generally considered safe for healthy people when performed properly under a qualified instructor. For beginners, it advises avoiding extreme practices, including forceful breathing, and it warns that hot yoga has special risks related to overheating and dehydration.

NCCIH also says people who are pregnant should avoid hot yoga because it can cause overheating, and that pregnant people, older adults and people with health conditions should talk with their healthcare providers and yoga instructor about their individual needs. If a breath hold or fast breathing makes you dizzy, anxious or short of air, stop and go back to breathing normally. Nasal breathing and stress covers calmer ways to practice.

When should you see a doctor?

A strip is a comfort aid, and some breathing problems need a proper check. See a doctor if:

• your nose is blocked most of the time, or one side is always blocked, since a strip can't fix a structural problem
• you get breathless, chest pain or dizziness during practice that doesn't settle with rest
• you snore loudly, your breathing stops and starts in your sleep, you make gasping or choking noises, or you always feel very tired in the day, which the NHS lists as symptoms of sleep apnoea
• you're pregnant, in which case ask your midwife or doctor about your practice and before trying new products
• you have asthma or another lung condition, in which case keep taking your prescribed medicine and talk to your doctor before changing anything

Our pick (paid partner): TitanAir Nasal Strips

For yoga and breathing practice, our pick is TitanAir Nasal Strips. This is our recommendation, not the result of testing or ranking strips ourselves, and Titan's strips weren't used in any of the studies above.

Titan says its strips are drug-free external nasal dilators with flexible spring-loaded bands. Its instructions are to start with clean, dry skin, skip moisturizer, place the strip just above the flare of the nostrils on the soft part of the nose, then loosen it with warm water and peel slowly from the ends inward. Titan says every batch is third-party tested and certified PFAS-free, and under its 30-night guarantee, Titan refunds you if your sleep isn't better after 30 nights with TitanAir.

Read next

• Breathing exercises before bed
• Nasal breathing exercises: what's been studied and what hasn't
• Nasal vs. mouth breathing

* This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your health.