I read and am rereading a great little book, “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor.
One of the interesting things it mentions is that the best predictor of longevity is one’s lung capacity. We breathe too shallow.
It also shows the absolute superiority of breathing through your nose rather than through your mouth which I have always done since I broke my nose as a kid playing ball – actually, I had my mitt up but to the side and caught the ball with my nose.
The book also advocates the idea that CO2 is more important to us than O2 and so we need to learn to exhale more deeply.
There really does seem to be something to all this but I am not preaching here. I am practicing holding my breath though and am up to 2 minutes and 15 seconds (world record is 24 minutes) and think I have more in me but have no idea if that is indicative of lung health or not – just the competitive nature in me. (Don’t do this underwater.)
So, if you have read this far, don’t forget to BREATHE.
Jim Demello's Things 