Man can survive weeks without food, a few days without water and a few minutes without oxygen. This shows us how important deep breathing is to reach and maintain optimal health. Yet in today’s society the number of people who breathe correctly are few and far between. When most people think of deep breathing techniques they think of different esoteric oriental techniques that indeed have the power to restore our proper breathing techniques. Sadly these may against our western desire for wanting everything immediately. As athletes we are above this, as we know that in order to reach the top we need not only the desire, but also the time put into the desired project to get there. Besides providing our body with all important oxygen, deep breathing has many more secondary benefits that are often overlooked:

• Deep breathing massage’s our internal organs.

• Deep breathing helps to alkalize our body, it has been said that disease can only grow in an acidic state.

• Deep breathing calms our mind, therefore reducing anxiety.

• Deep breathing lowers blood pressure.

• Deep breathing reduces the incidence of insomnia.

• Deep breathing enhances our immune system.

• Deep breathing has been found to lead to decreased levels of inflammation in the body.

• Improved concentration and mental focus.

With all these benefits, deep breathing can go a long way towards improving our lives and helping us reach higher levels of fitness. There are numerous methods and all will definitely bring an improvement to our present depth of breathing.

Andy Dubé