Dr. Jack Feldman

But you're doing that by pulling on this 70 square meter membrane.

But that's enough to bring enough fresh air into the lung to mix in with the air that's already there that the oxygen levels in your lungs

Your bloodstream goes from a partial pressure of oxygen, which is 40 millimeters of mercury, to 100 millimeters of mercury.

So we have this amazing mechanical advantage by having a diaphragm.

I would say a key step in the ability to develop a large brain that has a continuous demand for oxygen is the diaphragm.

Without a diaphragm, you're an amphibian.

In the context of things like breath practice, I'm a bit agnostic about the effects of some of the different patterns of breathing.

Clearly, some are going to work through different mechanisms, and we can talk about that.

But at certain level, for example, whether it's primarily diaphragm or you move your abdomen or not, I am agnostic about it.

I think that the changes that breathing induces in emotion and cognition, I have different ideas about what the influence is.

And I don't see that primarily as how, which particular muscles you're choosing.

But that just could be my own prejudice.

It turns out we sigh about every five minutes.

And I would encourage anyone who finds that to be an unbelievable fact is to lie down in a quiet room and just breathe normally.

Just relax.

Just let go.

And just pay attention to your breathing.

And you'll find that every couple of minutes, you're taking a deep breath.

And you can't stop it.

You know, it just happens.