Respiratory areas situated in the brain constantly monitor the breathing process, eg fear inhibits the in-breath; anger produces a panting breath; pain seizes up the breath dramatically. Natural and effective breathing is not a process of increasing the intake of oxygen, but of securing its effective distribution. When we are quiet and peaceful, the body's oxygen intake is reduced because the breathing slows down. So from an average of 15 breaths per minute, when we begin to relax effectively or move into a state of meditation, the rate drops to around 6 breaths a minute with a decline in oxygen intake of up to 10 per cent. That is perfectly OK for when we are in a relaxed state as we need little oxygen when we are physically still. However to increase the oxygen intake to provide each cell with the oxygen they need to produce energy, we can begin to breathe deeply into our abdomen and feel our abodominal wall gently expand as we inhale and contract a little as we exhale.
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