Breathing is the core of life.

Unless we have an illness or injury that affects our lungs or compromises our ability to breathe, most of us take breathing for granted.

Decades ago, a yoga instructor said, "Breathing is of utmost importance.  You are to consider oxygen more important than food.  The body can survive without food for 30 days (or more); without oxygen for hardly four minutes." 

However, how we breathe is vital.

Haven’t you noticed that when you get nervous your heart beat accelerates and you breathe rapidly?

People suffering from panic or anxiety attacks often hyperventilate. Breathing in slowly and deeply is one of the principal ways you can shift fear into a state of calm and peace.

I once heard that smokers get addicted to cigarettes not only because of the nicotine but also because they take in deep breaths and therefore relax when they smoke. 

The only problem is their cigarette habit may lead them to   r - e - l - a -x   for  a   l - o-  n-  g     t - i - m - e. Prematurely and permanently!

Think how much those smokers you see shivering outside their office or apartment buildings or homes in the cold air of winter to take in a drag would benefit if they did deep breathing instead? 

Proper breathing is a vital part of a healthful lifestyle, especially after age 50.

According to James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, after age 35, our lungs shrink. But we can offset this physical change with proper and deep breathing.

Here are the three steps that I follow that should help you start breathing more deeply and effectively to keep your body and mind relaxed and to benefit your health:

1)     Inhale and exhale through the nose. (Although many yoga teachers guide you to inhale through your nose and exhale from your mouth when taking deep breaths during yoga class, I usually (and secretly) exhale from my nose.) James Nestor asserts that exhaling from the nose helps remove trapped particles and maintains nasal cleanliness.

2)     Bring the air ALL the way down to your diaphragm and push your abdomen OUT as you inhale.

3)     Then pull your stomach IN tightly as you exhale.  People in Western cultures have been trained to breathe in reverse. But try this alternate way. It should calm and energize you at the same time.

Proper breathing has additional physical benefits. Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once said,

Basketball is an endurance sport, and you have to learn to control your breath; that's the essence of yoga, too.  So, I consciously began using yoga techniques in my practice and playing. I think yoga helped reduce the number and severity of injuries I suffered. As preventative medicine, it's unequaled. 

Slow down, calm down, and improve your health and your life with effective deep breathing!