I can heal myself. 30. Deep Breathing

Humans survive by eating food harvested from the ground and air coming down from the sky. You can endure 3 weeks without food and 3 days without water. However, if you can’t breathe, it’s difficult to last more than 3 minutes. Nevertheless, while we place importance on food and water, it is easy for us to neglect breathing. While food and water primarily provide the moisture and nutrients necessary to maintain the body, breathing plays an absolutely important role in cultivating the mind as well as the body.

Breathing includes inhalation and exhalation. Inhalation is the action of absorbing oxygen through the lungs and supplying oxygen to cells through the blood, while exhalation is the action of removing carbon dioxide from the cells and returning it to the blood and out of the body through the lungs. One deep, slow breath supplies more oxygen to the body than two shallow breaths. Cancer cells are aerobic mutant cells that hate oxygen, and normal cells are aerobic cells that desperately need oxygen. This is why most natural treatment cancer centers are located in the mountains or suburbs, where there is more oxygen than in cities, and why deep breathing is a habit for cancer patients.

All living creatures basically breathe. Therefore, just by focusing on your breathing, you can experience becoming one with nature and experience yourself as more generous, tolerant, and peaceful. I believe that the moment you wake up every morning and regain consciousness, deep and slow breathing along with a prayer of gratitude for a new day is the best habit to keep your body and mind healthy.
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Dr. Jin-man Kim, director of Peace Oriental Clinic