According to the June 4, 2014 CNN news, “It is Her Majesty’s custom to send a personal greeting to her subjects on their 100th birthdays. These days the Queen of England has a lot more letters to write.
That's because a record number of people are living to 100 and beyond in the United Kingdom -- and worldwide. In fact, one-third of babies born in the UK in 2013 are expected to live to 100, according to their Office of National Statistics. In the United States, the population has seen similar trends.”
To live to 100 years, genes play a pivotal part. Other than that, lifestyle also accounts for the capability to extend lifespan. But the most important factor that many of us are unaware of is our breath—the longevity breath.
Why is breathing so important? It is because without breath, we die in minutes. Sadly, many of us are unaware of this because breathing is so natural, so spontaneous that we simply take it for granted.
Breath is the gift of life. Once we become aware of our breath, we will become aware of many other things in life, such as our heath, our diet, our thinking, we will begin to make changes in our lives, such as giving up smoking and drinking. But to make lifestyle changes is easier said than done because we are living in a toxic environment that contaminates the body and the mind. Every day we are bombarded with hypes by the multi-media and modern technology; they become toxic thoughts in our minds. We become controlled by them, such that our thinking minds have become dysfunctional. Unfortunately, what we think become our realities, just as the French philosopher Descartes’ famous statement: “I think; therefore, I am.” The thinking mind is important because it controls not only how we think, but also how we make our everyday decisions that have a long-term impact on our health, and hence our longevity.
But how is breath related to the thinking mind?
First of all, correct breathing is critical to our health. Babies breathe naturally. But as we grow up, our breaths change for the worse, not the better. Correct breathing affects your posture, which also affects your physique, including your physical health. Correct breathing means you breathe in sufficient oxygen and breathe out as much as possible all the toxic fumes and carbon dioxide from your body. Breathing is a natural rejuvenation and detoxification process. Unfortunately, most of us have incomplete or compromised breathing, leading to shortness of breath and accumulation of toxins inside the body. To have correct breathing (which means the breathing out should be longer than the breathing in) and complete breath (which means we use our diaphragm—the muscle between the lungs and the tummy—to push air and fill up the upper lungs), we must be aware of our breath—the longevity breath.
If you wish to live to a ripe old age like Santa Claus, then you must have the mindset of Santa Claus. Read my book: Your Golden Years and Santa Claus. This 252-page book is about the wisdom in living in the golden years. The wisdom is in using Santa Claus as your role model to believe in yourself, to think and act like Santa Claus.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
