If I had not gone through several diet and exercise programs, I would not believe the connection that the elements of breathing, exercise and eating share. Since I have however, received quite an education in these three areas, I can vouch for the certain fact that they are all interrelated and do affect the body individually and jointly.

Now, the eating and exercise you may have already figured out, but are you aware of the role our breathing plays in providing the body with the oxygen needed for maximum metabolism? No, most people aren’t.

This is how the process works. In order to metabolize food, the body needs certain elements to come together and create the right conditions for food breakdown. Oxygen is one of the elements. The more oxygen we add to the process, the better our metabolic process can work to properly utilize the energy from the food we have consumed.

It is here that our breathing plays a key role in the metabolic process. The deeper, and more efficiently we breathe, the more oxygen we consume. The more oxygen we consume, the more we provide to the metabolic process. Makes sense doesn’t it?

What role does exercise play in this process? Well, exercise conditions our body to keep it in optimal shape. To keep muscles functioning correctly and build muscle mass. The more muscle we have, the more calories we burn; the more calories we burn, the better our metabolism is at using up the calories we take in through food consumption.

Can you begin to see how our body is really a well functioning machine? It’s a continual circle of events, one feeding off the other. When all the events are coming together properly, we are healthy, happy individuals. It’s only when abuse of the system begins to occur, that we put our bodies in jeopardy. Perhaps is we educated our children, while they are young, about the dangers of abusing their body, we would have better equipped young adults. We educate them about the dangers of household appliances that are incorrectly operated, about the danger of driving recklessly, and improper operation of the car they’re driving; we just don’t take the time to educate them about the most important piece of equipment they will ever operate, their own body.

Exercise, breathing properly and healthy eating are the ingredients vital to the proper operation of the body. Of all the things we ever learn, of all the thoughts we ever entertain, or the abilities we acquire as we grow, our health and the means to maintain it, are the most important. Nothing else works unless our mind and body have been kept in working condition. Have you ever noticed someone who is paralyzed? So many of the choices they could make about how to spend their time, playing sports, skiing, or swimming, have been taken away. The same is true for someone who has abused their body to the point of being an invalid; so many of the choices that could have been made to enrich their lives, have been taken away.