We allow small things to become magnified into anxiety-producing, respiration-reducing events that definitively accelerate aging, and a host of physical symptoms of that anxiety, which include back problems, stomach problems, kidney problems, skin lesions, and so many other physical challenges that you can rid yourself of in rapid, organized order.

In effect, we relinquish control over crucial functions in subservience to other people’s opinions, and that kills thousands and thousands and more thousands of Americans every month. You are free to pick from which cause of death you believe is more prevalent: death by poor stress management, or death by poor diet management. Either way, we're not talking about a mere hundred deaths per day, UNNECESSARY and premature deaths; we're talking about several thousand people dying every single day from heart disease, which is rarely congenital, and most often from poor stress or diet management.

When we choose to shortcut the psychoanalytical process and just jump into acceptance that most overweight humans are overweight because of one or more of a dozen issues you may not yet be ready to deal with, it is still simple enough to use healthier shortcuts, in fact the healthiest shortcuts, to effect fast, powerful improvements by reverting back to the most basic of all human tools.

Re-teaching yourself how to breathe properly is the first, and by far most effective shortcut you can take towards adding to the quantity and quality of your life; how long you live, and how well you live.

Exhale completely, and inhale completely. If you’re that challenged by this vitally urgent requirement for a healthy life, challenged at the thought and deed of breaking out of your (ridiculously uncomfortable) comfort zone, then try one simple device and reap the benefits instantly, and within a day or two, measurably.

The device? It’s called PRACTICE!!   Almost precisely 90 percent of the people who read this will nod their heads and agree. They are the idiots, proven by the other 10 percent, who nod their heads and take action.

This very minute, before you even make a commitment to do it ten times per day, start with once; start with the first occasion in too long. Right now, as you read this, force all of the air out of your lungs. When you think your lungs are empty… think again; there are still AT LEAST two quarts of air left in your lungs that are dirty and in life-saving need of being replaced NOW.

Keep pushing that air out. Keep pushing. Believe me, no matter how empty you think your lungs are, you can find more to push out…. And if you were offered a hundred grand to push more air out of your lungs than five other contestants next to you, you’ll no less than amaze yourself with how much exhalation you’re capable of.

OK, you’ve hit the point of being certain that there’s no more air in your lungs. Slowly, and evenly, breathe all the way in now, through your nose, refilling your lungs. That’s it!!!

Just once is all you’re asked to do. Once. In an hour or so, do it again. Obviously, it’s best to do this outside, where you’re getting fresh air. Never mind all that city pollution: it’s far healthier than the air you haven’t even been breathing by virtue of the insanely shallow breaths you’ve been taking for years!! Doing it inside, however, is fine, as long as you’re not in a room filled with smoke or chemical vapors.

If I were you, I’d be getting very excited, because, having read this far, it means you DO care enough to want to glean benefits from shortcuts, and guess what? This one PowerGem brings a slew of benefits you haven’t even guessed at.

Engaging in proper respiration INSTANTLY boosts several brain functions, and for those who perform one really true and full respiration -- several times per day -- for the next 22 days? You will find that your thinking is clearer, faster, and by a powerful measure, more creative. This never fails, it works for one hundred percent of the people one hundred percent of the time. Yes, the more you breathe in and out per each lung function or lung cycle, the higher your intelligence grows.

Nothing can change the fact that, from the precise day that I began breathing a bit more the way I did in my first year of life, my mind and body have responded far beyond what any examiner thought was viable, let alone likely.

Your brain requires only two forms of food: tiny amounts of glucose, and enormous amounts of oxygen. The more oxygen you feed the brain on a consistent basis, the more it produces for you. When you understand that your brain is working considerably faster, more creatively, and more efficiently, you never want to go back. Unfortunately, we are human, so we require a habit before it becomes second nature. Breathe all the way out, breathe all the way in, and watch the results. One great way to measure it is to write down a whacky wish you might have, and try to produce twenty ideas per day on it for five days. Practice better breathing for 22 days, and then try the "whacky wish" test again. You'll be astonished.