Breathing for us seems a natural thing. Most of us see this motoric function as a skill that comes with us with birth. Indeed we not realize how it can help us in everyday life. If we are looking at the eastern culture, we can see they have a high focus on breathing. It is not a random thing. They practice this skill consciously. There are several aspects of life where we able to utilize this knowledge.
Last year I saw the presentation of a Zen master woman who works at NASA. She told me if I take some small, fast breath, I can increase my pulse fast if I do the opposite: Take some big slow breath, I can calm down my body.
Recently Forbes magazine also published an article on the importance of proper breathing. Who often runs already have this knowledge. Know how you can utilize the perfect breath to be able to run even a marathon.
For me, the most important aspect was not the sport; the more the high blood pressure. A few years ago, a cardiologist doctor advised me three pills a day to tune my blood pressure. I can tell it had some side effects, which not fun. I decided to change my life. I read a lot, how I can handle stress, to decrease my blood pressure. It was only one aspect, but on the other hand, I learned the importance of breathing.
Now I'm able to take a deep breath and release my stress. Nowadays, I have normal blood pressure, like 120/80.
A few weeks ago, I started a different experiment. Again I started running. First, I had a high pulse. Next time, I consciously started to decrease the rhythm of my breathing. I had fantastic results with this method.
My advice to you! Start learning your breathing, and find out what helps to live longer!