Breathing is life. When we’re startled, we gasp; when we’re stressed or afraid, our breath is shallow and rapid. Contentment or relief is accompanied by a deep sigh. Sadness and grief often result in limited breathing.

Be they short, long, deep, or shallow-we experience life one breath at a time.

We can go weeks without food and days without water, but only minutes without a breath of air. In fact, we take about 20,000 breaths each day. Understanding that breath equals life, shouldn’t we pay more attention to how we breathe?

The way we breathe can deeply influence our health and happiness. Have you ever watched an infant sleeping? Its abdomen rises with every breath, each taken unconsciously and effortlessly through the nose. Full and efficient breathing forces the stomach to rise as air fills the diaphragm (between the stomach and the ribs) and then the lungs.

Over time, our internal organs stop working in the relaxed manner they did when we were born. Even children begin to breathe shallowly and unnaturally. Our breathing patterns are altered by stress. Shallow breathers pull in their stomachs with each breath, which pushes the diaphragm up, so the air has nowhere to go. If your chest and shoulders rise with each breath, you’re doing a lot of unnecessary and inefficient work. The abdomen and chest should “expand” with each breath and deflate with each exhalation. As well, if you breathe through your mouth, your lungs receive cold, unfiltered air.

The first step in gaining breathing awareness is to notice how you breathe. Make a point of checking your breathing throughout the day. You’ll be surprised how often you will catch yourself breathing shallowly. Shallow breathing means blood cells are getting less oxygen. This, in turn, means muscles and other parts of your body’s system have insufficient oxygen to function efficiently.

According to a study published in The Lancet, cardiac patients who took 12 to 14 shallow breaths per minute (six breaths per minute is considered optimal) were more likely to have low levels of blood oxygen, which, “May impair skeletal muscle and metabolic function, and lead to muscle atrophy and exercise intolerance.” Alternative-health icon, Dr. Andrew Weil, says: “If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.”

Proper breathing decreases anxiety, depression, irritability, muscle tension, and fatigue. Good breathing habits, which become natural with time and practice, enhance overall health, provide increased energy and circulation, and improve brain and nervous system function.

Breathing patterns reflect our physical, mental, and emotional states. Shallow chest breathing is associated with the body’s “fight or flight” stress response. Habitual chest breathing causes the body to think that it’s in a

constant state of stress. Breathing from the diaphragm, on the other hand, sends a direct message to the body that everything is fine.

Breathe fresh air whenever you can. Combining breath awareness with nature walks, meditation, or other forms of immune-boosting exercise is a wonderful way to practice and appreciate the breath of life. Oxygenating every cell in our bodies is exciting, natural, and necessary. Reclaim your life’s breath-savour it, revere it, and enjoy its benefits.

Go ahead, take a deep breath-it’s your life.