Your body is a magnificent engine, tirelessly working to keep you alive and thriving. Just like any engine, it requires the right fuel to function optimally. Oxygen is the vital fuel that powers this incredible machine, and the act of breathing is the means by which you intake that oxygen. All body functions depend on breath.

So, what happens when you take a breath?

The diaphragm, a powerful muscle separating the chest and abdomen, triggers your breathing. As it contracts, it expands the chest and lungs, creating a vacuum that draws air in. When it relaxes, the chest and lungs contract, expelling air. This process, while partially under voluntary control, largely operates automatically, like your heartbeat.

As you inhale, air enters through your nose, where it is warmed by contact with the mucous membrane, enriched with blood. Passing through the pharynx and larynx, it travels into the trachea, branching into bronchial tubes resembling tree branches. These tubes extend into microscopic subdivisions within the lungs, called alveoli, which are millions of tiny air spaces.

Your lungs are spongy, porous and very elastic organs. If both of your lungs were spread out over a flat surface, they would cover an area of 14,000 square feet. Or the size of 3 basketball courts.

Simultaneously, at the same time you are breathing, blood is circulating your body. Your blood is propelled by the heart through arteries, and reaches every part of the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients. Then that same blood, picks up waste from every corner of your body and returns to the heart via veins, eventually reaching the lungs.

“Blood goes out like a fresh stream from the mountains,” Yogi Ramacharaka points out, “and it returns as a stream of sewage water.”

Inside the lungs, this impure blood enters the millions of tiny air cells which are thick enough to hold blood but thin enough to let oxygen in. Here, when a breath of air is inhaled, oxygen enters through the thin walls to reach the blood. This process purifies the blood, removing carbon dioxide and other waste gases. Oxygenated blood then returns to the heart, where it is distributed to the body, revitalizing tissues and organs.

So, the deal is simple: the more oxygen you can give your lungs, the healthier your blood becomes. You don’t want to mess around with dirty, oxygen-deprived blood, right?

Every time you inhale, make an effort to distribute the air to all corners of your lungs. Make sure all your blood is properly oxygenated. Give every organ the nourishment it needs to run smoothly.