To breathe is to live.

A famous qi-gong master from Taiwan said the following statement:

"A human can survive for weeks, even months without food. Without water, maybe three days, or even a week if they are strong enough, yet, without air? Only a few minutes."

Today, the importance of these three vital elements of life, has been horribly reversed. When people think of health, in general, the first thing they think about is, what kind of food they should eat? Secondly, are they hydrated enough? To this day I have never heard anyone ever say anything to me about the quality or regulation of their air intake. When one reflects on the statement made by the Taiwanese master, this seems ludicrously backwards, and counter productive at that!

To emphasize this even further, I can speak from personal experience. I remember when I returned to smoggy Los Angeles after living in Shanghai, China, for two and a half years, one of the three most polluted cities in the world, and being amazed at how fresh and clean the air was. Shanghai is a rapidly developing and tremendously congested metropolis of 28 million people, and is accordingly polluted as such. There are almost no environmental regulations, and definitely not any sort of mandatory, 'smog check', that we all take for granted in the the United States. As a matter of fact, I got a mild respiratory infection as my lungs adjusted to the remarkably cleaner air of Los Angeles!

Breakfast Of Champions

The first thing most people think about when they wake up is breakfast, and possibly, coffee or tea. If we take the words of the master into consideration, we should think about these things last. When one sleeps, their body is usually still for most of their slumber, allowing putrefactive waste to settle in their stomach. This waste will remain in your stomach until you eat, or drink, something, and will hinder the digestion of whatever you intake. A remedy for this is to drink two glasses of water, dissolving, and washing the waste from your stomach and, 'waking it up', so that you may eat if you so desire.

Rather than eat, one should then engage in the practice of qi-gong, whether it be seated, standing, still, or moving. The water provides movement and energy to your bloodstream, and energizes your cardiovascular system, vastly improving the rewards of proper morning qi-gong exercises. Utilizing your diaphragm to push down on your stomach (a method of breathing, taught in almost every discipline of qi-gong, where one learns how to consciously control the diaphragm just like any other part of the body), and other internal organs, acts as an internal massaging method that helps expel toxic gasses that have become trapped in your intestines. You will be surprised by the amount of belching, and even flatulence, that is exhumed at the early stages of this practice. This is nothing to be ashamed of, and in fact, should be welcomed, as you are cleansing and rehabilitating your body.

Even if you only practice qi-gong, or meditation (which in its self, is a form of qi-gong) for 10-20 minutes, you will feel tremendously energized, clear and even happy, making your breakfast all the more enjoyable and beneficial. This is the true, 'breakfast of champions.'

No Breath, No Life

Only that which does not live, does not breathe, and vice versa. Every single living thing, animal or plant, must breathe to live. Even fire cannot exist without oxygen. I would imagine, being suffocated, asphyxiated, or drowning would probably be one of the most horrible ways to meet one's end. The importance of proper breathing is so important, yet it is not emphasized enough, and sometimes dangerously so. The first rule I implement in my classes (whether it is qi-gong, meditation, kung-fu, or otherwise) is this: 'Breathe in through your nose!'

As simple as this may seem, this is the one phrase I repeat over, and over, and over again. Breathing in through your mouth depletes your oxygen intake by 50 percent, and the quality of the oxygen, unless you have abnormally clean blood, is sub-par to the oxygen processed through nasal inhalation. The habit of oral inhalation during times of exhaustion is the number one reason for fatigue, being light headed, and even lapsing into unconsciousness. One must mentally command ones self to, 'breath in through your nose', no matter how badly you want to suck air in through your much larger oral cavity. Although your falsely programmed mind will beg you to breathe in through your mouth, you must fight this urge. It is a habit, and a bad one, just like smoking. You gain twice as much oxygen when you inhale through your nose, and twice as fast. Your heart rate regulates twice as quickly, as does your ability to process more oxygen.

Take A Deep Breath

Outside of an 'active', or, 'physical', setting, breathing properly, will save you from fits of anger, depression, anxiety and even confusion. There is a lot to be said for the old phrase: 'take a deep breath'

When a human being is upset, sad, or emotionally fueled in any number of ways, their brain immediately begins to consume tremendous amounts of energy. We've all had those moments when someone upsets us, and we immediately retort with something we regret saying later, as we were emotionally charged at the time. When angry, blood rushes to our limbs, while our jaws, neck, and shoulders clench. Veins bulge from our necks and forehead, and heat fills the upper parts of our body. At times we begin to perspire uncontrollably, trembling, or even shaking violently! When sad, disheartened, or low, it seems as if our energy sinks to our feet, or as people commonly say, 'my heart sank to the floor.' Oftentimes people become pale, their head hangs, and their posture suffers. As you can imagine, this is a tremendous way to waste a lot of energy very quickly, and foolishly so.

Why does this happen? This happens because humans will commonly revert to their reptile mind state, i.e: 'flight or fight' when they become enveloped in emotions, triggering your body's emergency response system. If someone needs to engage in combat, or flee, they're going to need extra blood flowing to their hands and feet (and their nervous system) as quickly as possible. How can we avoid this misinformed response? The same way one learns to unconsciously develop the ability to breathe in through one's nose when exhausted or fatigued. Practice, awareness, and habit. As a bouncer/body guard, I am constantly confronted with both verbally, and physically violent aggression, and would be assailants. Even when a situation has gone beyond reason or verbal diffusion, combat having become completely unavoidable, I always say to myself, 'take a deep breath.' And usually just in the nick of time. Instead of being winded, sweaty and disoriented at the end of such an encounter, I am calm, relaxed, and ready for more. Rarely do I break a sweat or need to catch my breath. This idea can be applied to almost any situation, in every different spectrum of one's daily life. Someone irritates you at work, a driver cuts you off, an aggressive crackhead verbally assaults you on the street, your significant other breaks up with you, etc. etc. 'Take a deep breath.' You'll find yourself reflecting on how well you handled the situation, instead of regretting your actions and wishing you'd behaved differently.

In conclusion, whether you need a better way to start your day, a way to enhance your daily practice or routine, or just a way to deal with your emotions and everyday stress, simple mindfulness of breath can save you a lot of pain, suffering, and even your life. Breathe, live, and be happy.