Patrick McKeown

Just as we have an optimal quantity of water and food to consume each day, we also have an optimal quantity of air to breathe. And just as eating too much can be damaging to our health, so can overbreathing.

So how do we ensure that we breathe correctly so as to make optimal use of our amazing respiratory system? As odd as this may seem, it’s not oxygen that exerts the primary influence on your breathing efficiency, but carbon dioxide.

Correct breathing both relies on and results in the right amount of carbon dioxide being retained in your lungs.

Upper-chest breathing is more likely to be associated with a stress response, while nasal breathing helps ensure regular, calm, steady breathing using the diaphragm.

To bring air down into the depths of the lungs, it is not actually necessary to take a big breath, as even the quietest of breaths will activate the diaphragm. When you are practicing abdominal nasal breathing, you should not be able to see or hear your breath during rest.

As U.S. Army general George Patton wrote to his troops during World War II: ‘Fatigue makes cowards of us all. Men in condition do not tire.’ And he was right; endurance is relative to how well the body is prepared, and the onset of fatigue occurs when the body is pushed beyond the limits of preparation.

The number of times you place attention on your breath, your inner body or your senses is far more important than the length of time occupied there. Be aware many times throughout the day.

A reporter once asked the Dalai Lama whether he held anger towards China. He replied ‘They have taken everything from us, should I let them take my mind as well?’

Formal education teaches us how to think, but it does not teach us how to stop thinking. Thought after thought after thought is enough to make us go mad!

Remember that when you mouth breathe for periods of time, you are reducing oxygenation of your brain.

Thinking for practical purposes is fine, as it serves a function. However... most thinking is spent on insane repetitive worry and anxiety. If you could eliminate your repetitive thought activity by 50%, you would be very happy indeed. If you could eliminate all repetitive and useless thinking, you would live a life of bliss.

The calmer and quieter you breathe, the larger your blood vessels open, enabling better circulation and distribution of oxygen throughout the body, including the brain. Oxygenate the brain—breathe less.