Breathing,I'm alive so doesn't that mean I'm breathing properly? By Susan Pataky Why do we tell someone who is agitated or excited  to calm down by taking deep breaths? The breath is automatic much like or beating heart we don't think about it much it just does its job. The respiratory system is part of the autonomic nervous system, which means breathing happens without our thinking about it. The beauty of the breath is we have the ability to control it and thus change the course of our health. In times of crisis a heightened state is induced, and the fight-or flight mechanism kicks in. When this response is unwarranted the heightened state induced can lead to increased heart rate, the endocrine system pumps out adrenaline and cortisol to give us the extra "oomph" we may need to flee, the digestive system shuts down and the breath quickens which floods the body with O2-In some cases hyperventilation occurs causing more carbon dioxide to be expelled rendering the body alkaline which leads to more hyperventilation. This vicious cycle interferes with the bloods' ability to release O2 to the tissues and prevents the body from slowing down. This can trigger fear, anxiety or even  trigger a panic attack. Anyone who has ever experienced this knows it builds on itself According to Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 13.3% of the adult population. The U.S. spends more than $42 billion a year to treat anxiety. Clinical anxiety is broken down into six basic categories: Obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, social-anxiety disorders, generalized-anxiety disorders, and specific phobias. People with anxiety disorders are 3 to 5 time more likely to go to the doctor than those without anxiety. Women are twice as likely as men to be affected by generalized anxiety disorder. Anxiety is generally categorized by fear, doubt, and feeling dread. From a yogic standpoint it is an overactive mind. According to the ancient yogic texts (Sutras), a main tenant of yoga is to quiet the wandering, ruminating human mind. A great way to get out of your head is to get on your yoga mat. Yogis know that the breath and mood are closely linked and that yoga quiets the mind. Many yoga poses (asanas) elicit relaxation responses but if you can't get to a yoga class you still have that ‘override' ability with the respiratory system. Deliberately focus on your breath. By concentrating on the breath your attention gets focused and you cannot continue to be ‘scattered' in the swirl of anxiety.  When you slow down the breath and fully concentrate your mind gets focused and you can begin to take deeper more effective breaths. As you continue this deeper breathing you can then begin to exaggerate the length of the exhalation. Anxiety sufferers in particular are encouraged to concentrate on the exhale because that's the claming and centering part of the breath. Practice this Pranayama(breathing) technique while in a healthy state of mind so that you become more familiar with it. Inhale via the nostrils for the count of 5. Allow the belly to ‘balloon" as if it was filling with the air. This is called diaphragmatic breathing. Immediately exhale thru the nose as if letting the air "leak" out slowly. Ration it, so-to-speak, for the count of 10-(i.e. double your inhale number). Repeat this 5x or longer if you can. 5 min makes this a great refresher. You'll feel as though you had a nap. Very refreshed, relaxed and centered then you can calmly proceed with your day.