The air we breathe on clear frosty nights is full of atoms that charge the atmosphere with vitality and power, and a long walk in the snow clears the system of germs foreign to the body. Winter sports teach us the value of this; for these atoms quickly gather and absorb the moisture wherein atoms of a lower nature are collected and give them strength and vitality.
Breathing Outwardly
When we breathe normally we do not exhale all the air from our lungs, and this remaining carbon-dioxide gas ultimately produces death.
Year in and year out we have been infiltrating our bodies with this carbon-dioxide gas. We leave about a hundred cubic inches of this deadly gas in our lungs; for when we inhale we use three times the muscular energy than when we exhale. Only when we can develop our breathing muscles to a high degree as the Yogi does can we keep our lungs pure. By careful exercise we learn to breathe outwardly. When this becomes a habit our body will be greatly refreshed and our mind-atmosphere cleared of its debris.
Excessive Breathing
When breathing excessively, through exhaustion, we collect atoms of a most disagreeable nature. We should bear this in mind while exercising; for such atoms are of the Secret Enemy.
Calm Breathing
When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe.