Please Help me Understand the Breath Method

[fishmansf]

Hey all,

I’ve been smoking my pipe on and off since 18 but only seriously started smoking about six months ago. I’ve been watching countless YouTube videos and reading articles on how to perform the breath method but just can’t seem to get it down. From my understanding, as you inhale, you as also “pulling your tongue back” into your mouth to draw just a bit, exhaling, drawing some more, exhaling through the stem, etc. etc. For some reason, I’m still getting the same tongue bite I get from smoking normally, and I can’t ever seem to keep my bowl lit with the “sips” I take from my stem on the inhale. Many of the YouTube videos don’t do a good job explaining exactly what you do IN your mouth (pulling my tongue back? Just passively breathing in and out through my nose and smoke will accumulate, etc.) when inhaling and exhaling during the process and it seems like I’ve got mixed messages on what you do with your mouth. Can some of you seasoned veterans help a newbie out?

 

[sablebrush52]

Youtube pipe videos, with a very, very few exceptions, will rot your brain.

Stick the pipe in you mouth and keep your lips shut while you breath in and out a couple of times through your nose. Changes in pressure caused by breathing will induce smoke to enter your mouth without your sucking on the pipe.

Don't forget to exhale.

Personally, I don't use or need "methods". I just smoke a pipe for flavor and relaxation and have been doing it for over 50 years. But if people find "methods" helpful I guess they're more good than bad.

 

[loneredtree]

Just close your mouth and breathe through your nose.
(I can feel, with out the pipe, a slight bellows effect from my cheeks.)
Now, do that with the pipe in your mouth.
On the exhale, your should see a wisp of smoke from the bowl.

Good luck.

 

[mso489]

Simplicity is my method. I don't breathe through my nose to smoke a pipe, nor do I inhale or retro-hale, though some enjoy those approaches. I sip gently.

Avoiding bite -- tongue bite, gum bite, chemical burns inside the mouth -- involves not puffing continuously and hard, packing not too hard, drying the tobacco sufficiently, maybe including a beverage with your pipe. I found that smoking only non-aromatics for a while eliminated my tongue bite altogether, even with strong blends.

I now prefer non-aromatics, and enjoy tobacco-forward aromatic blends more when I smoke them.

Take it easy and go by trial and error to find which approaches help you.

 

[kcghost]

A lot of people swear by this method, but I find it very tedious.

 

[Chasing Embers]

If you're trying muttonchop's idea of it, you'll burn a hole in your pipe and your tongue. Breathing is used as a metronome, not the source of drawing. You draw slowly while breathing in, and out, not blow through the pipe with each exhale.

 

[anotherbob]

neat trick to learn. Put the pipe in your mouth don't draw don't inhale or not. Then after doing that for a few seconds take the pipe out and blow the slight wisp of smoke out. And then you get to see how right Mr. Embers is about the breathing being a timer and not a mechanical aspect of the process. I highly reccomend trying this method either because you'll love it or just to show you how little work it takes to draw smoke out of a pipe. If that doesn't work try to pack your pipe a little bit lighter, since that's the only thing I've encountered that prevents this method from working.

 

[alaskanpiper]

One important thing to remember is that when you push air back through the pipe, all your really doing is breathing out while clenching. You don’t have to push air through like you’re blowing bubbles with a straw. Just enough to cause a small rise of smoke from the bowl and keep the ember barely alive.

Don’t worry too much about how you draw smoke as long as you do it lightly. Just try to draw smoke every now and then without interrupting your nasal breathing rhythm and eventually it will take care of itself and become second nature, I promise.

If your ember starts to die, sometimes a longer (5 seconds or so) very light draw can pop it right back into action, although that single draw will taste slightly hotter. If that doesn’t work after one try just relight.

Remember, you don’t want big clouds of smoke. As long as you are tasting tobacco when you draw in and not ash, you’re alive, and some would argue, in the sweetspot.

All blends are different but eventually you will be able to quickly adjust your cadence to get the most of what’s in your pipe without even thinking about it.

And don’t bother with counting breaths or timing. Your natural cadence will throw that all out the window anyway. Just don’t puff like a freight train. The timing thing is an example of cadence, not a rule.

Cheers.

 

[rubyx20]

Youtube pipe videos, with a very, very few exceptions, will rot your brain.

Stick the pipe in you mouth and keep your lips shut while you breath in and out a couple of times through your nose. Changes in pressure caused by breathing will induce smoke to enter your mouth without your sucking on the pipe.

Don't forget to exhale.

Personally, I don't use or need "methods". I just smoke a pipe for flavor and relaxation and have been doing it for over 50 years. But if people find "methods" helpful I guess they're more good than bad.

As a new guy, it's refreshing to hear this kind of thing. Keeping it simple!

 

[FLDRD]

In then out.
Others prefer out then in.
Both have kept me alive for quite some time.

On a more serious note... maybe working on your initial lighting to get a nice ember and then it's easier to keep lit with much less effort. Until you find your magic, each tobacco, pipe, and day of the year will present seemingly unique obstacles to overcome. But you can get there.

 

[bullet08]

After reading this thread, I almost forgot how the breath. Good advices. Just keep on breathing.

 

[jpmcwjr]

It happened with me accidentally almost, on a long drive with lots of bowls.
I'd say it's one "feat" that's very low on the list of things to learn.

 

[tklee]

As far as I understand, just close your mouth, and breathe using your nose. Automatically, the smoke will follow. Not draw. That's how we smoke slow..... Really slow...... Correct?

 

[cigrmaster]

Youtube pipe videos, with a very, very few exceptions, will rot your brain.

Stick the pipe in you mouth and keep your lips shut while you breath in and out a couple of times through your nose. Changes in pressure caused by breathing will induce smoke to enter your mouth without your sucking on the pipe.

Don't forget to exhale.

Personally, I don't use or need "methods". I just smoke a pipe for flavor and relaxation and have been doing it for over 50 years. But if people find "methods" helpful I guess they're more good than bad.

I have the most sophisticated way of smoking a pipe which my good friend Jesse taught me. Light the pipe and then smoke it, I know it is rocket science but after 2 decades of practice I have it down pat. Thanks Jesse.

 

[bullet08]

Go to nearest bagpipes teacher and ask him/her to teach you circular breathing. Once you learn circular breathing, breath method is pretty easy. Some people just can't get it, but it's OK. Breath method isn't exactly an end of the world.

 

[OverMountain]

Ruby- You’ll like the breath method when you get comfortable.

Doing the breath method while walking and you have a little forward airflow is even better (to me).

If it’s not enjoyable, try a different way.

 

[atwaterville]

I find it helpful to rest the top of my tongue against the upper part of inner mouth while going through the breathing part of the method. This also helps when retrohaling.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've written lengthy diatribes on the method, but really... it's simple. Just put the pipe in your clench, light the pipe, and forget about it. Just walk about all day with it in your clench, not actively smoking or puffing, just breath through your nose, and that will be enough passive pressure to keep some smoke trickling along into your mouth. It really helps to be doing something that gets your mind off of that pipe.

I find that the slow trickle is enough to give you the nicotine, and smoking really slow increases the amount f cake in your pipe, and bringing your attention to tastes every now and then, I find that I get more flavor, because of the very slow trickle. Smoking fast, kills flavor.

Yeh, it takes getting used to. But, you'll never get there unless you start trying.