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Breathing is involuntary. You can not choose to hold your breath indefinitely, because you will black out and your body will resume breathing as soon as you do. Your breathing is regulated by the CO2 level in your blood. Once the CO2 level in your blood reaches a certain level, your brain demands a new breath.
However, most people do unconsciously restrict the full extent of their breath. The maximum capacity of air that can move in and out of the lungs is called "vital capacity". An average person, during restful breathing, may only exchange 10 percent of the total capacity of the lungs. Conscious deep breathing allows a person to exchange about 80 percent of the air in the lungs. The remaining 20 percent stays in the lungs all the time and is called "residual air".
Although breathing is a simple natural process, many of us modify it as we get older, making it more complicated that is should be. Children breathe from the center of their bodies. This is because they have not learned any bad habits that interfere with the natural breathing process.
Bad posture, tight muscles, tense jaw or throat, among other bad habits can restrict the natural flow of breath through our bodies. This can result in shallow breathing from our upper ribs instead of natural breathing which allowing the lungs to expand to their full potential.
Whether you participate in an aerobic-type exercise class or in a stretching and relaxation class, your body will demand more oxygen to perform the demands of the exercise you are doing. Aim to keep your breathing deep and natural throughout your workout. Your breath is a gauge of how difficult you find the exercise. In an aerobic workout. If you find yourself gasping for air, you may be pushing yourself too far at that point. Be sure to breathe throughout stretching exercises, try to breathe deeply not ever holding your breath.
Telling yourself to breathe naturally will help you to find each exercise or stretch a little easier and will help you to get the full benefit from the exercise or stretch.
Most people won't need to be overly concerned with the deep breathing process outside of a warm-up, cool-down, or an exercise classes, unless your job is requires a lot of public speaking.
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