How to breathe while running?

Slow down. If you are on all fours with your tongue hanging out you are running too fast. Don't even say "but I'm running slowly" because my next response will be "you are still running too fast."

You may be interested in a program like C25k or Jeff Galloway's beginner conditioning program, which both have you ease into running using walk/run intervals.

you're not going to like my response......
Slow down

This is a great post for me as well. I feel like I can't run because I tire easily and know my breathing isn't right. I will need to look into breathing techniques and doing a walking-to-running program.

Thanks for the post!

Short answer is slowly built up your fitness and let your body do it's thing. All the stuff about controlling your breathing, deep breaths, through the noise, etc are taken out of context.

"Ventilation is regulated in much the same manner as cardiac output. The heart increases cardiac output by increasing both stroke volume and beating frequency. The respiratory nerves control ventilation similarly. At low exercise workloads, the dominant ventilatory adjustment is an increase in tidal volume, the volume of air being moved in and out of the lungs each breath. At high workloads, an increase in breathing frequency is the primary adjustment.
...
Unlike heart function, ventilation is under considerable voluntary control (with involuntary override mechanisms!). So, you might ask the question, "Can I control my breathing to make it more efficient?" For example, you could decrease the breathing frequency and take bigger deeper breaths to achieve the same total ventilation volume. Studies have indicated that normally the body spontaneously balances the depth of ventilation and the frequency of breathing so that ventilation is optimally efficient. You may also have noticed that at low exercise intensities, you can "play" more with your breathing, by varying its rate and depth. However, as the workload gets high, especially at workloads above the lactate (and ventilatory) threshold, the body assumes much tighter control on breathing and there is far less room for variation in breathing "strategies.""

The Methods and Mechanisms Underlying Performance by Stephen Seiler

See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3934509/ & cited reference for more info.

I started running about 4 years ago and have now run 13 full marathons and probably 100+ half marathons. (I might have gone a little overboard.) In my opinion, at the beginning, it's not about breathing right, it's about getting a solid aerobic base. Plus, my breathing is probably hardest and most labored in the first mile of any run until my body gets loose and settles into a rhythm (and I was running 40 miles a week). The feedback about slowing down is great advice. Slow down...or take tiny walk breaks (just don't let them get out of hand) as you build endurance. Couch 2 5k is a great app for beginners (it's what I used as well). Over time, you'll find your "happy pace" and be able to carry on conversation on a leisurely run. Just stick with it and it'll come. It may take a couple months of regular running to get a solid base but it's worth it...and the "high" will come.

It's helpful for me to pace my breathing with my footfalls. Breathe in for 4 steps, breathe out for 4. Once I get the breathing in rhythm, I vary the depth based on how I'm feeling.

Now, if I can just get my knees and ankles to cooperate, I'll be good! Good luck!

One of the best things about becoming a runner is the day you realize you are running and breathing normally! I used a C25K-like app (it was called Get Running) and I think by week 7-8 I felt like a totally different person. Congrats on getting started! I hope you love it as much as I do now.

If that's happening to you then you really are running WAY too hard. Slow down, even if you're barely doing more than a trickle of a jog . You should be able to speak while doing it. With time will come your pace and distance. I think I breathe with my mouth open a bit and breathe in and out through both my nose and mouth. I started out the same as you though. It was discouraging but also made me that much more determine to "get there". Try C25K. It really is a solid program to get you going .

Slow down and then slow down some more.....your breathing should be deep but relaxed. It takes time to build your aerobic base and you'll find even champion ultra-marathoners do most of their runs at a conversational pace (really hard when you first start out but if you can't speak in complete sentences you're going too fast)

Depending on your level of fitness you may even want to stick with walking briskly at first. It takes patience & consistency.

Have fun!