I highly recommend this book. It talks about all of the ways that breathing correctly can be good for us.
Spoiler Alert: Many people don't breath correctly according to the book. It has some really thought-provoking insight in that regard.
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art: Nestor, James: 9780735213616: Amazon.com: Books
“Breathe normally through the nose and hum, any song or sound. Practice for at least five minutes a day, more if possible.”
― Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art“* One thing that every medical or freelance pulmonaut I’ve talked to over the past several years has agreed on is that, just as we’ve become a culture of overeaters, we’ve also become a culture of overbreathers. Most of us breathe too much, and up to a quarter of the modern population suffers from more serious chronic overbreathing.”
― Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art“the greatest indicator of life span wasn’t genetics, diet, or the amount of daily exercise, as many had suspected. It was lung capacity.”
― Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art“the most efficient breathing rhythm occurred when both the length of respirations and total breaths per minute were locked in to a spooky symmetry: 5.5-second inhales followed by 5.5-second exhales, which works out almost exactly to 5.5 breaths a minute. This was the same pattern of the rosary. The results were profound, even when practiced for just five to ten minutes a day. “I have seen patients transformed by adopting regular breathing practices,” said Brown.”
― Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art“Prayer heals, especially when it’s practiced at 5.5 breaths a minute.”
― Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art“he noticed that patients in the worst health all seemed to breathe far too much. The more they breathed, the worse off they were, especially those with hypertension”
― Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art