#44 The Law of the Rhythmic Breath 



frst upon the freshness and purity of the air in* 

 haled. Every exhalation expels from the body 

 noxious principles, wastes generated in the physi- 

 ological chemistry of combustion processes, which 

 are virulent poisons to all living creatures. Do- 

 mestic animals and pet birds are even more sus- 

 ceptible to their deadly influence than is man him- 

 self, in whom unfortunately, the effects are slower 

 and more subtle; else would mankind have awak- 

 ened long ago to the loathsomeness of re-breathing 

 these foul exhalations. 



The cult of deep-breathing broke the first link 

 in these self-forged shackles that mankind has 

 dragged for so many weary centuries. But, un- 

 happily, the cult was no sooner launched than it 

 was split by theorists into many " schools " ; and 

 according to the teacher the student was drilled 

 in diaphragmatic, intercostal, or clavicular breath- 

 ing; systems which divide the thorax into lower, 

 middle, and upper registers respectively, and in- 

 hibit more than slight, imperfect movements of 

 air through the practically unemployed cells of 

 the lungs. It seems never to have occurred to 

 I these experimenters to ask (much less could they 

 answer the query!) why so much space was taken 

 up in the chest by masses of spongy substance that 

 was of no use in the human economy, yet was so 

 alarmingly susceptible to painful disorders! 



It was never intended that only a part of the 



