New Age, Alternative,
Metaphysical Publication
Aquarius-Atlanta.com

Breathe! 

By Carol A. Lampman 

Breathing is the key ingredient in physical, emotional and mental health. It is a grossly underestimated source of life giving, healing and purifying energy. When we breathe, we take in more than just physical substances. An interaction takes place between our inner selves and the surrounding reality. It is essential, therefore, both for physical and psychological well being that our breathing is optimal. It unifies and integrates the body, mind and spirit. 

The average person breathes between 18,000 and 20,000 breaths per day,   averaging 5,000 gallons of air. 70% of the body's toxins are eliminated during the breathing process with only a small percentage eliminated through  perspiration, defecation and urination. Only 10% of the nutrition needed by the body comes from the food we eat while 90% comes from the oxygen we  breathe. We need oxygen to fuel our brains and metabolize our food. 

Clinical studies show the immense benefit of paying attention to how we   breathe. A study done in a Coronary Care unit at a Minneapolis hospital   examined 153 heart attack patients to determine the breathing patterns (deep   belly or tight chest breathing). The study found that ALL of the patients were chest breathers. In Holland, two groups of heart attack patients were studied.

The first group was taught simple Diaphragmatic breathing to counteract chest breathing. The second group was given no training in breathing. The first group had no further heart attacks while 7 out of the 12 from the second group had repeat heart attacks.                

Breathing in a full and relaxed fashion returns the body from a destructive   acidic chemical state, which is the breeding ground for disease to a normal alkaline condition. This shift from operating in chronic stress to a mode of relaxed awareness can lower the blood pressure, increase circulation, detoxify the body, boost the immune system, reduce physical and emotional stress, and naturally increase the life force energy. Breathing to full capacity, promotes mental clarity, creates new neuropathways in the brain, and expands consciousness, as well as enhancing the cellular, hormonal and psychological processes.                              

Breath is the only body function that is completely automatic and yet can be   controlled at will. It is because of this that the breath can act as a bridge   between our conscious and unconscious functions. The breath can be looked at as a physical system, a biochemical system, an energy system, and as an   expression of our emotional state. Of course, these systems are constantly   overlapping and interacting with each other.