stopping breathing

[Swiss88]

In this sentence,

I either stopped breathing or came close to stopping breathing.

"stopping breathing" sounds incorrect to my ears, but I cannot explain why.

Could anyone explain the grammar of this to me?

Thank you!

[stanislaw.masny]

In this sentence,

I either stopped breathing or came close to stopping breathing.

"stopping breathing" sounds incorrect to my ears, but I cannot explain why.

Could anyone explain the grammar of this to me?

Thank you!

Dear Swiss
I'm not a native speaker, but I would say
-'I either held/caught my breathing or came close to it'.
I'm not able to explain why.
S.M.