Breathe to be healthy. Breathe to be beautiful. Breathe to walk taller, think smarter and live better. Every posture expert will tell you to fill your lungs. Beauty gurus (and cardiologists!) advise that better breathing increases circulation, which is good for our complexions (and hearts!). Psychiatrists will tell you short breaths increase anxiety. Doctors listen to your chest and back to make sure oxygen is properly flowing through our hearts and lungs.

While we all take in enough air to sustain our lives, are we taking in enough to live life vigorously—whether for what it demands or what we demand of it? Too often we don’t take in enough oxygen. If you don’t believe me, notice the physical fact of the lightheadedness experienced if we’ve stressed our lung capacity beyond our norm. Your lungs won’t collapse. We need to allow them to expand all the way down our rib cages.

Nervousness, anger, excitement and basically every emotion can be managed through breathing. The calming effect of steady breathing is a miracle.

As we get older and bone density tends to decline, breathing becomes even more important—as people who breathe poorly tend to slump and develop concave chests. This impacts all aspect of health.

Breathe, move, fill your lungs with oxygen. The more oxygen in your body, the brighter your skin and moods will be; the more rev in your engine; the more smarts in your thoughts; the more peace in your mind.

I’m @DianGriesel aka @SilverDisobedience