Article: The dance of breath.(breathing exercises for dancers)

Breathing is a dance with the atmosphere. We repeat a delicate exchange of gases some 20,000 times a day, nurturing every cell in our body. We take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide with each breath. It sounds simple, but the actual physiology of breathing is quite complex.

Every part of the body needs oxygen, but it is carbon dioxide that regulates the release of oxygen to the cell. Oxygen can only be released in the presence of carbon dioxide, which maintains the chemical balance. You can think about carbon dioxide as the delivery mechanism for oxygen to get into your bloodstream.

While the body normally breathes without help from the conscious mind, we can choose ...

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