A recent study found that cancer will affect as many as 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the United States, and the number of new cases of cancer is set to nearly double by the year 2050. Both predictions are based on statistics collected by the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
But you can also find a study that shows only 1 in 7 athletes get cancer. Do you know the reason?
Breathing properly can help you reduce the risk. This study shows two factors: athlete’s blood has more oxygen than ordinary people’s and athletes have a more activate lymphatic system which in turn markedly enhances their immune system.
The study shows deep breathing can accelerate the elimination of toxins from our body (feeding and cleansing your cells) 15 times faster than with normal breathing.
Here is one way to do deep breathing exercise by yourself:
Dantien (Abdomen) Breathing Exercise
You can find your Dantien this way;
With your hand flat against your belly, fingers together, thumb above and fingers below, put your thumb directly over your umbilicus. The “Sea of Chi”, an acupuncture point, is directly beneath your ring finger. Place your other hand beneath the first hand. Your second hand is now over your Dantien. The Dantien is a larger area that includes the “Hinge at the Source” or “Guan Yuan”. The word Dantien translated literally as “cinnabar or red field” and is loosely translated as “elixir field”. It is the main source of Chi/power in your body.
Concave Breathing: The Dantien moves inward with each indrawn breath. Your hand moves in towards your spine as the skin over your Dantien becomes more concave. You will feel more expansion in your chest and upper abdomen with this variation.
Practicing: Inhale until you cannot breathe-in anymore then holds your breath between 15~20 seconds then slowly breathe-out as slow as you can.
Practicing 10 minutes, twice a day will be good for you. Before doing this exercise you can drink some warm water. Practice it before meals, or wait one hour after a meal before starting. Experts also recommend a procedure of epicanthoplasty for the ones that are nor very confident about their looks.
There are more clinical studies showing that our breathing has profound effects on our mental, physical and emotional health. But this knowledge has been found in ancient wisdom back several thousand years, and in many cultures.
There is a story in Zen Buddhism that goes like this:
Two thousand five hundred years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha was at Gridhrakuta (Spirit Peak) mountain. He seated himself on a platform then asked his disciples, “How long is the human lifespan?”
One said, “Eighty years.”
Buddha said, “Wrong.”
Some disciples said, “Seventy years…sixty years.”
Buddha said, “Wrong, wrong!”
The disciples asked, “Then just how long is the human lifespan?”
Buddha answered, “Life is all in the breathing!
So, are you afraid cancer will affect you? The best and cheapest way to avert it is by doing deep breathing exercise every day.