BREATHING AND HEALTH. Essen tial to continuance of physical being are food, water and air, and the most important is air. The supply of food may be cut off for days or weeks and life remain in the body. The quality may be poor and amount reduced, and while it affects health and perhaps reduces strength, life will not go out for a long time. Cut off the supply of air completely for 14 minutes and life becomes extinct. Change from purity of air to that which is only slightly contaminated and in an hour vitality lessens. Headache and nausea appear, and unless there is return to fresh and pure air, disintegration of tissue and physical breakdown follow. These facts are patent to all, and are referred to as a starting point to consider how breathing may be used for the establishment and continuance of per fect health. The diseases most dreaded by the medical fraternity are those of a pulmonary nature. They are, in many cases, the result of insufficient air supply and inefficient means of securing it. Diseases affecting digestion fol low close upon those relating to the lungs, and these, too, can be regulated by and through breathing. Nervous disorders, likewise, suc cumb very readily when breathing is properly ordered.
The act of breathing is, then, so important that it should have the attention of every in dividual. To use it to its best advantage every one must know something of its action and of the parts directly affected by it. There is in stinctive breathing and mentally directed breath ing. Every one breathes. Instinctive breathing begins at birth and continues through life. If we could always be in fresh air and have little to do we would need no more knowledge of the operation than has any animal. Even for great physical activity instinctive breathing would be sufficient, because every physical exertion would increase the rapidity and breath of the instinc tive act. But we are thinking animals, and we live in conditions requiring more than ordinary physical action. Excitement, nervous move ments, high living and attributes of mind cause us to throw off poisons and gases which the breathing apparatus must take care of. To dis pose of these we must go beyond instinctive breathing and adopt mentally directed action.
Breath is air taken through the nose and mouth into the lungs, which are elastic sacks made of microscopic vessels suspended on the bronchial tubes in the chest. They expand and collapse as they are acted upon by organs made of muscle. When they expand they draw air into the body; when they collapse they expel air. The muscles which operate them are those
of the chest. The chief one is the floor of the chest, called the diaphragm. Those next in im portance are the costal muscles, located in the ribs. The next, the dorsal muscles, located in the back. Last, the pectoral muscles in the upper chest in front. The muscles already noted are those which dilate the lungs and draw air into the body. Their action produces inspira tion of breath, and that action expands the chest. Their return to normal position permits the collapse of the air-cells of the lungs. Such return is, however, insufficient to cause complete collapse of air-cells and the expulsion of all air. Return is assisted, and expulsion made complete, by calling into use the abdominal muscles and those in the ribs below the dia phragm. It becomes, then, very important to know the location of the diaphragm. This organ is attached in front to the end of the breast bone. One should find this location by pressing with his fingers. Men find it easily because the ribs spread quickly where they leave the breast bone. Women find it less easily as the ribs are close together. But follow up to the point where the very end of the breast bone is located. The diaphragm attaches at the sides to the ribs. One can tell where by placing the hand flat on the side and inhaling a deep breath ; that which pushes first against the hand from within is the diaphragm, which is from. one to two inches lower than the level of the end of the breast bone. It attaches to the sides all around and into the small of the back, where it is a little lower than at the sides. One should study the location of the diaphragm day after day, until it is definitely fixed in mind. Many who have supposed they knew how and where to take breath by using the diaphragm will find their conception has been that it is lower than it is. The real reason for having the correct location clearly in mind is to avoid desultory and, possibly, harmful practice. The reason for repeating the examination of location so many times is that the mind may go instantly to it in order to direct voluntary inspiration and ex piration. Another common error is to suppose the lungs to be located in the upper chest. Ask one if his lungs are sound and he will pound high in front. The largest portion of the lungs is in the sides and back. He pounds over the space occupied by the heart. This common error leads many who practise voluntary breath ing into misdirected effort, which is liable to be harmful.