reathing correctly is important and should not be shrugged to the side, as it is foremost to a better quality of life. We can control our emotions by breathing properly; it can also help us become more productive at work, while providing superior exercise schedules!

As mentioned in one of my previous blogs - the way we react to a situation is greatly enhanced by our emotional state. Better quality air can have direct influence on our wellbeing, such as the level of pollution, or the ground to sea level where we live, or the geographical area. We can’t necessarily control our home place because of circumstances or obligations to others, but we can do certain things to focus on breathing right to enhance life in general. For example I’ve been living in an air conditioned apartment since coming to Miami from England a year ago, and the temperature is stable, fresher, and cleaner. If I stay indoors for too long though I feel somewhat claustrophobic and need to escape.

Anthony Robbins Unlimited Power  CD course taught me a breathing technique I’ve been using since the mid 90s. One way to control the quality of the experience is to inhale through the nose for the count of 5, hold count 4 times five reaching 20, and then exhale through the mouth for a count of 10. On the next breathe inhale for the count of 6, hold for 24, and exhale 12. Then inhale 7, hold 28, and exhale 14. Another way to explain this is inhale, hold four times as long as you inhale, and then exhale half as long as you hold in. Try it sitting down throughout the day or first thing in the morning, or last thing at night while lying in bed. This exercise opens up the lungs, and is excellent therapy to improve emotional balance.

Yesterday, I wouldn’t have been able to say what air is made up of, but after some online research I have discovered up to 79.2% of the atmosphere is made up from nitrogen, and only around 21 percent of the air we breathe is oxygen. I don’t know about you, but I always feel that I could do with some more oxygen. One source says over 75% of the air you breathe in is almost unusable to human. We inhale O₂ and then exhale CO₂ therefore breathing O₂ in creates oxygenated blood flowing to the heart, and then de-oxygenated blood CO₂ from the heart, so yes the quality of air we breathe has significant importance to the way we feel. This website shows the anatomy of breathing !

One last tip to finish my 5^th blog in the series is to drink plenty of water during the day.