The way we breathe directly influences our health, body weight, lung function, and ability to control our nervous system. The book highlights the importance of nasal breathing compared to oral breathing, explaining how nasal breathing optimizes oxygen intake and prevents health problems, while oral breathing leads to dehydration and impairs brain function. It also argues that a full exhalation and a slow breathing rate, of about 5.5 breaths per minute, are crucial for longevity and physical performance, and that chewing hard foods contributes to the correct development of the airways and facial structure.
Conscious and correct breathing, especially nasal, deep, and slow breathing, has a transformative impact on physical and mental health, longevity, and human performance, often surpassing the importance of other factors such as genetics or diet.