The Art of Breathing

Do you know how to breathe?
You may say, what is she talking about?

I am going to talk about the art of breath.
Like many of us, I’ve spent almost my entire life at my desk.

Over time, my shoulders curved down, my neck extended forward and my breath became shallow. Despite eating right and sleeping well, I kept getting tired. Anxiety was my friend and caffeine was my fuel. My Oriental doctor said that coffee is devastating for my body type, but I felt scarcely alive until I’d had a cup of coffee. In order to boost my energy, I had to ingest poisonous things like caffeine or nicotine. And it became a vicious cycle that harmed my mental and physical health.

About 3,000 years ago, people already knew how to become energized through breathing. Almost every culture and religion had developed some sort of prayer technique, requiring the same breathing patterns — slowed down with humming.

When we follow this slow breathing pattern, blood flow to the brain increases and the circulation within the body is enhanced. This enables us to be at a peak energetic state and to remain calm in tense situations.

But that’s not all.

Breathing has a huge impact on our body structure and face, even bone density.

Today, freedivers know this better than anyone.

Most people can’t go further than 3 metres, ears screaming. Freedivers go underwater to 30 metres, 60 metres and even 100 metres without an oxygen tank.

We all came from the ocean and we were born to dive. As we lost the art of breathing, we lost the ability of diving.

However, they say we can make our lungs larger by force of will as they do.

Our capacity to breathe has changed through the processes of human evolution, especially over the past few hundred years of industrialization

In the 1930s, A dentist named Price traveled around the world, taking photographs of the teeth of indigenous people in Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Australia.

As you see, our teeth were crooked.

Humans became the only species who have crooked teeth and the worst breather in the animal kingdom. Even if we educate our children to brush their teeth 3 times a day, our next generations teeth will be more crooked. Why? Because of industrialized foods.

We eat bread, yoghurt, cakes, smoothies, canned food and all kinds of processed food everyday. It hardly requires any chewing at all.

I had four of my teeth extracted to fix my crooked teeth. As a result, my mouth became small and my airways narrowed. Breathing through a mask is a burden for me, and it is a very critical issue getting through this kind of pandemic situation. I always long for fresh air which is very tricky living in a dense city.

However, I discovered we can make our lungs larger as freedivers do.

Even if I am not able to expand my lung size, I can release my stress and be healthier and am able to concentrate on my work for as long as I want to through proper breathing.

It’s simple.

Breathe through your nose, slowly and less, with a full exhalation.

Everybody breathes, but few of us breathe well.
Everybody breathes unconsciously, but we should practice it consciously as our ancestors did.

We already know that we should breathe through our nose. But we forget about it when we sleep. We should breathe through our nose even at night. If you are not sure whether you open your mouth, tape up your mouth when sleeping.

We already know that intermittent fasting has so many benefits for us. Breathing has the same mechanism.

Empty your lungs.

Patients are suffering not because they can’t get fresh air into their lungs, but because they can’t get enough stale air out. Just a few minutes of daily bending and breathing can expand your lung capacity.

The art of breathing is the key to boosting your energy. No matter what we eat, how much we exercise or whatever genes we’ve inherited, none of it really matters if we’re not breathing correctly.

Breathing has a profound effect on our long-term health and our happiness and likely can help increase lifespan as our ancestors had said all along. Changing our breathing habits can transform our mental and physical health. How we breathe also affects how we look.

And it’s all for free!