Your daily breath

As a way to quickly and effectively take back control over your body and mind, the breath has long been used as a way to calm even the most fevered of emotions. Yet most people don’t breathe very well; they over-breathe, chest-breathe or hold the breath when they should be filling their lungs with rejuvenating oxygen. Given that breathing is an automatic function of the body, this chronic lack of skill is a curiosity of the modern era.

The breath, it would seem, is often only focused on when compromised. In so many ways, breath and breathing are intrinsic to wellbeing. Becoming more attuned to the breath can improve memory, anxiety levels, digestion and chronic pain among other things. Learning about the breath and becoming more efficient at breathing can not only boost energy levels and improve thinking, it can also enhance the connection between the body and mind.

The act of breathing

Physiologically, the act of breathing is completely automated, controlled by the respiratory centre in the brain’s medulla oblongata. This sends signals to the muscles that control respiration, causing breathing to occur.

Each breath you take allows oxygen to be absorbed into the body while each exhalation pushes carbon dioxide out. Your