As you read this first sentence of this week’s column, take a deep breath. In through the nose. Feel the wave of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide press against the bounds of your ribcage and your lungs. Exhale. 
As humans, we significantly underestimate the very concept of breathing, and the power of exercise our lungs do while breathing. Your body breathes on autopilot, but scientific research clearly shows that mindful, conscious breathing — paying attention to your breath and learning how to manipulate it, use it, exercise it — is one of the most effective ways to improve a variety of health factors ranging from the health of lungs, to your mood, or metabolism.
We rarely use our lungs to their full ability, instead taking ordinary, relatively shallow breaths without clearing out excess air, and inhaling in fresh air. The lungs have a big job: sending oxygen into the bloodstream to be delivered to every cell in the body. As you inhale, the diaphragm contracts to take in oxygen. However, if you’re not breathing deeply, the lungs eventually may lose some of their elasticity, causing air build-up in the lungs. 
With respiratory disease causing the world’s largest pandemic in over a century, it’s never been more important to know how to exercise your breathing. Deep breaths increase the lungs’ capacity to push out excess air, and leave you feeling noticeably different — perhaps lighter, or more ‘awake’ — which is why I especially recommend breathing exercises in the mornings when you need to be alert and active to start the day. 
The Wim Hof Method breathing techniques is something I discovered a few years ago and still think about today. It was developed by Wim Hof, who is also known as The Iceman, and he believes you can accomplish incredible things by developing command over your body through use of specific breathing techniques. The technique also helps improve your productivity, performance, and overall well-being. Hof has worked with scientists to gain credibility by proving that his techniques work to bring about health benefits. 
Participants in a 2014 study performed breathing techniques such as consciously hyperventilating and retaining the breath, meditated, while walking into ice cold water. Results showed that the sympathetic nervous system and the immune system were controlled by the powerful breathing techniques. To put it simply, these people were able to withstand freezing cold water through the control of their breathing as a result of having a mind focused on inhaling, exhaling, and not allowing the ordinary ‘freaking out’ feeling that anyone would experience in such cold water to take over the body. 
Being able to self-heal certain feelings, or during certain experiences, but remaining focused and being consciously aware on how you are breathing and what you are feeling is key. 


* The author is an expert in vegan wellbeing and health. Instagram handle: @Ghanim92