The Power of Breath

Wonderful insights on breathing from my teacher, Master Chunyi Lin:

Not only does breathing give us life, but also the quality of our breathing affects the quality of our lives. It is the major source of the energy that allows our body to function.
The better we breathe the better the energy is that we take in and process to help our body function. And obviously, breathing is what keeps us alive. After three days of going without food we may feel hungry, but we are not dying; however, if we go without breathing for twenty minutes, we will die.
This is how Chinese medicine understands breathing: When you inhale, the lungs get energy that is divided into three parts. The first part goes directly to the kidneys to help strengthen the life force. The second part goes to help digest the food we take in. The third part goes to help purify the blood. If the lungs get good energy, it means every part of the body gets good energy too.
Western medicine understands that the oxygen that is taken in through the lungs goes into the blood stream and then is dispersed throughout the body to help the entire body function. The organs need a certain amount of oxygen to function well; the brain needs its own oxygen to think best. The more oxygen in the body the better it functions.
Both East and West know that healthy breathing helps prevent stress or helps you to stop feeling stressed. All ancient traditions of the East have known that healthy breathing is the foundation of a healthy person, and the West now understands that also. Any way you look at it, healthy breathing leads to a healthy body and that affects your whole life and that is why it’s so important. 

Love Qi to all,
Tom