The Relief Society is here to meet your every need – even, in 1914, to instruct you on proper breathing:
In the first place, have the best air obtainable. We can live for a time without food or without drink, but we cannot live long without air. We should always sit or stand in an upright position and take deep breaths.
The lips should be kept closed for breathing purposes and the air inhaled through the nose. When children breathe habitually with open mouths, their parents should consult a physician.
It is a good thing when wearied from indoor routine or sitting long, to step outside and with lips closed, head erect, shoulders back and elbows down, to inhale the fresh air slowly, and exhale slowly. Some people raise themselves on the balls of the feet while inhaling and lower themselves while exhaling. Try some of these simple exercises and see how restful and renewing they are.
If chilled while out in cold weather, some warmth and comfort may be obtained by taking a few specially long, deep breaths. When leaving a warm room to go out into the cold air, be sure to close the lips before the first intake into the lungs of the changed atmosphere.
This remains great advice.
The world could have used a few deep breaths in 1914.
Oh, this is great. Unfortunately, all of the witty responses that leap to mind are either macabre or inappropriate for a family blog like this one.
Now I’ll go take a couple of deep breaths, rising onto the balls of my feet at inhalation and collapsing onto my heels upon exhalation.
With an air quality index of 335 at 10 pm in Spokane yesterday, and no improvement in sight, I’m grateful to be breathing at all today.
Stepping outside today in Western Washington is hazardous at best today, with several people reporting ash falling on their cars overnight from area wildfires. Right now the sun is almost obscured with the smoke and haze in the air. I’ll keep my breathing indoors today, thank you.
But on the other hand, keeping one’s lips closed as much as possible is always good advice. We could all benefit from that. However, Twitter may have rendered that a moot point.
As another inhabitant of a fire-ridden area, I sure miss my fresh air and would love to be able to step outside and do this!
I’ve frequently stated that I’m qualified to dispense only 2 items of medical advice. The first is, “Remember to breathe.” Only once was I required to give instructions…to my mother when she was deep into dementia. Her attempt to follow my example of deep breathing was comical and ineffective. Obviously the RS sisters were better at giving complete instructions.