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THE SCIENCE OF BREATHING
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tell us. If that is the only object, we might say, we do not wish to be soldiers; what is the use of the strength of the body. We say that the health of the body is indeed necessary, but not for the purpose of making the body strong, but of using it for a higher purpose, and therefore have given rules from both standpoints. You all understand the construction of the organs of respiration, that the thorax is the part in which the lungs are located, that it is in the form of a triangle and that it is separated from the stomach and lower organs by the diaphragm. When we take a long breath, we expand a certain part; in this way breathing is divided physically into two classes, the chest and abdominal breathing, some advocating the one and some the other. Really speaking the breath goes only to the chest and not to the abdomen and therefore there ought not to be any such distinction as they give us, but they do not really mean this; orly that the sides of the chest are expanded in what is called the chest breathing, and when the lower part of the chest is expanded, it is called abdominal breathing. When we expand the chest only, at the sides the ribs indeed are forced out, and the middle ribs not being so elastic as the others, an unnecessary strain is given to these ribs. Still some exercise should be given to the ribs and muscles of the whole chest. In the abdominal breathing, only the top and bottom of this cavity are exercised; there is no exercise given to the sides. Equal exercise should be given to all sides. We must
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