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Deep breathing has much more benefits than we know. Breathing is an involuntary function of the body that it uses to keep itself alive, but over a period of time, we have been so busy that we don't realize how less and incomplete we breathe.

Basics

The body is designed to release 70% of the toxins during breathing, and practicing deep, conscious, healthy breathing patterns can highly benefit the body. Improvement in digestion, quality of the blood, strengthening the lungs, strengthening the immune system, strengthening the heart, blood circulation are just a few benefits of deep breathing.

Correct Breathing

An excerpt from Wikipedia in italics: Diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing or deep breathing is breathing that is done by contracting the diaphragm, a muscle located horizontally between the chest cavity and stomach cavity. Air enters the lungs and the belly expands during this type of breathing.

This deep breathing is marked by expansion of the abdomen rather than the chest when breathing. It is a form of complementary and alternative treatment.

Diaphragmatic breathing is also known scientifically as eupnea, which is a natural and relaxed form of breathing in all mammals. Eupnea occurs in mammals whenever they are in a state of relaxation, i.e. when there is no clear and present danger in their environment.

70-80% of the inhaling should be done by the diaphragm so that your breathing is nice and deep. This has many advantages.

Physical Benefits

A fit mind makes a fit body, and a fit body helps in keeping the mind happy. Mind is more powerful than matter, but if one doesn't take care of the matter (i.e. the body), it tends to become unwell, dis-eased, and thus, causes restless, uneasiness, and discomfort in the mind. Practicing detachment / meditation AFTER falling ill is such a reactive / reverse way of making yourself happy. Why not start doing this from today itself, and bring about a positive change in yourself?

Spiritual Benefits

Deep breathing, and focusing on breathing is one easy method to silence / quieten the mind, and - since a silent mind is a focused mind, and it's the focused mind / energy that attracts abundance, health, wealth, prosperity, love, happiness, and everything, by the virtue of the law of attraction, as you may have read on this website - practicing quietening the mind regularly can bring about a huge transformation in one's life. There are other ways to quieten the mind too, by the way.

Articles on the Web

- How to Breathe Properly
- 4 Breathing Mistakes You're Making Every Day
- You're Breathing All Wrong

You can find many more by searching the keywords on Google.

Just reading this is not enough. Try it out for 10-15-20 days, and see it for yourself. Since this is a physical exercise, you must consult your physician / doctor / advisor before doing it, if you think it is not suitable to you.

Breathe in as / until this diamond fully expands. Breath out as / until this diamond fully contracts. I found this image on Tumblr, and I'm sure there are many other similar images that can help you in the process. This is just one of the simplest.