Memory's Domain


        Breathing for beginners by J.Hazlett

        1.  Determine the existence of adequate oxygen in the room.  A room lacking in sufficient
quantities of oxygen will severely inhibit your efforts to breathe.  The average oxygen
content of air is twenty-one percent; your figures may vary, but anything less than half of
this number is often uncomfortable.  Also make certain of the absence of dangerous aerial
chemicals such as carbon monoxide, asbestos, and sulfuric acid.  These also inhibit
breathing endeavors.

2.  Make certain that your airway is clear and unobstructed.  Items such as marbles,
chewing gum, and leftovers from last week's dinner have proven to hinder proper
respiration.  The proper method of clearing the airway is coughing and/or choking; if this
fails, get assistance from a reliable source.  Now we may begin the actual breathing
process.

3.  Contract the diaphragm and the muscles of the chest wall.  This will have the effect of
expanding the chest cavity.  This, in turn, will create a slight vacuum in the lungs.  In order
to equalize the pressure, air will begin to flow in through the nose and mouth.

4.  It is important that this airflow be allowed to enter the lungs.  The correct manner for
permitting this air into the lungs is to adjust the tongue, glottis, and soft palate so that
incoming air passes exclusively through the nose.  The nose is designed to filter dust and
other particulate matter out of the airflow, improving respiratory performance.

5.  Simultaneous to step (3), have your heart pump depleted blood through the pulmonary
arteries to the lungs.  This depleted blood should have a low oxygen and a high carbon
dioxide content, and therefore a blue color.  This blood, if properly managed, will wind up
in capillaries adjacent to the lungs' alveoli, microscopic air sacks where step (6) will take
place.  This step should require very little effort.

6.  At this point, fresh air recently obtained from the atmosphere should have filled the
lungs, and expended blood from the body should fill capillaries in the lungs.  Now, provide
several moments of inactivity for the true marvel of breathing to occur.  Oxygen from the
air will pass through the walls of the alveoli and into the blood, and carbon dioxide from
the blood will pass through the alveoli walls and into the air.

7.  Now, have the heart draw the refreshed blood from the lungs and send it throughout
the body.  This blood will provide oxygen to individual cells in a miniature version of the
steps taken here.

8.  Relax the diaphragm and chest wall muscles to constrict the chest cavity.  This will
increase the pressure in the lungs, to a point where it exceeds the pressure of the
surrounding air.  At this point, air will rush out of the lungs.

9.  Once again, do not obstruct the outgoing air.  Allow the air to discharge through the
mouth by again adjusting the tongue, glottis, and soft palate.  You have now successfully
taken a complete breath.

10.  Repeat the preceding steps on a regular basis.  Failing to do so can cause severe
damage to the mind and body.  Timing depends on the individual, but can generally be
determined after the first few successful trials.  Thank your instructor for the generous
help he has given you in learning to breathe.  Various advanced courses are also available,
and are recommended after you learn the basics of respiration.  This concludes our
instruction on the proper method of breathing for beginners.

        © 1997 mneysome@hotmail.com

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