Air is the most vital substance to human existence: we can survive for many days without food, a few days without 
water, but six minutes without air would cause permanent brain damage; death, that is. We may pay attention to the food we eat, the car we drive, the clothes we wear, the places we go and even the company we keep, but rarely do we pay that much attention to the air we breathe, or more importantly how we breathe.
How many times have you taken time out to really breathe? How about time off to eat?! Uhuh, you get the idea! We need to fill up our air tanks (lungs) as often as we can, especially because air cannot be stored for use later!
How & Why
Breathing is vital to overall health
When we breathe, oxygen enters the lungs and is delivered to the bloodstream and then to every cell in the body. It combines with nutrients (food) and is processed for energy. Waste material produced in the form of carbon dioxide is eliminated through the same channel when we exhale.
This, in a nutshell, is the process of respiration. Therefore, the organs of the respiratory system such as the nose, mouth, trachea, other air passage ways, and lungs need to be clear of obstructions to deliver as much oxygen to the bloodstream as possible.
Translation: the more oxygen delivered to cells; the more energy produced.
This is one good reason to fill up the lungs with air by deep-breathing (Here’s how). Since we require a lot of energy to stay alive, the entire chest: from collar bone to the bottom of the rib cage is dedicated to respiration. Therefore, surface area is important to the respiratory system and its organs, especially the loading and off-loading docks (the lungs).
Did U know?
When spread out flat, the lungs will cover one half of a tennis court? The entire half including the doubles line (for men), or just the singles half (for women) on average. This is indicative of how much oxygen the body needs to thrive. Taking time to breathe deeply, filling the lungs with air is known to solve an array of health problems including indigestion, headache, gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), and insomnia.
Unfortunately, there are many unwanted particles in the air we breathe that the respiratory system is sometimes over tasked in its filtration job. Equipped with mucous membranes, the walls of the air passage ways trap dust, germs, pollutants, and other tiny particles in mucus so they don’t get enter the bloodstream.
It does not stop there; the system is equipped with tiny microscopic threadlike projections, called cilia that literally sweep mucus-trapped particles up the throat to be eliminated via the digestive tract and down the colon. This process is repeated when unwanted or harmful particles (including some foods) are ingested into the digestive tract. They get trapped in mucus to prevent harmful effects. This is why in Traditional Chinese Medicine the lungs are viewed as back-up for the digestive system.
Breathe and live.
As the lungs produce mucus to trap unwanted particles from the air and push them up the digestive tract; there are also unwanted particles from the digestive tract. This result in congestion in air passage ways, especially when other elimination channels (e.g. the colon) are sluggish or congested themselves. Diet is often the culprit of most respiratory problems. See more on dietary changes for respiratory health on our tips page.
While the respiratory system backs up the digestive system, the lymphatic system (an integral part of the immune system) backs up the respiratory system. White blood cells (the body’s main defense) are carried by lymphatic fluids, and lymphatic wastes are discharged into the colon. Again, if there is an obstruction in the colon, the wastes are flushed into the lungs (see more on “Channels Of Elimination”).
The result: congestion, and breathing problems. Less oxygen in cells and increased microbial activity increases in the lymph nodes (lymphatic “bus stops” mainly located in the groin, armpits and neck area) stir up all sorts of problems, such as runny nose, sinusitis, earaches, coughs, bronchitis, and asthma. See more on asthma here.
Also, poor oxygenation weakens the immune system partly because harmful microbes such as bacteria and cancer cells thrive in a poorly oxygenated environment. This respiratory-digestive-lymphatic-immune connection holds the key to respiratory health.