I stopped to refuel, on my way home.
I was thinking about a breathing course. Whether it was worth it. Whether it would add anything to my Chi Kung practice, after 25 years.
I filled the tank. Went to pay.
Two people ahead of me in line.
The first was breathing through the mouth. With no prior effort — not coming from a run, not carrying anything. Just standing there, breathing like someone climbing stairs.
The second had a tight jaw. The shoulders rose with each breath, stayed up there for a moment, and slowly lowered.
I reached the cashier.
The person who served me was breathing through the nose. Calm. Steady.
I started to notice that. Just observing.
And then, for no reason, he took a deep breath. Through the mouth.
That’s when I decided: I’m going to take the course.
The number that wouldn’t leave my head
It wasn’t the course syllabus that convinced me. It was the line to pay for the fuel.
Because those three people didn’t look sick or in crisis. They were just living an ordinary Tuesday, waiting their turn. But they were breathing as if they were.
I did the math in the car, on my way home.
One hour of training per day — already more than most of us ever do — leaves 23 hours when the body is on its own.
96% of the day.
While I was writing this article…
Halfway through, I noticed myself tending to open my mouth to breathe. The same impulse from the gas station line — only this time it was me, sitting on the floor, writing about it.
The difference between those three people and me, at that moment, was not the breathing. It was having become aware of an impulse that, in the past, would have gone unnoticed.
This is the skill that is trained. It’s not about breathing well all day — no one can do that. Even me, after almost 30 years of practice, I observe myself daily and still find areas to refine.
The point is to be aware of this impulse earlier and earlier. And, from there, have a tool to return to breathing more functionally.
That’s why this doesn’t get solved in one session, one course, one scheduled hour. It’s solved during the other 96%. Wherever you are — even in the middle of a sentence you’re writing.
A friend of mine often says training in a session is like reading a book; training outside it is like writing it — that’s where practice merges with life.
At breath.pt/respirar there’s a stopwatch always available, free — not to replace the hour you already train, but to keep you company the rest of the day. In those moments when the body asks to return to a more regulated state, and the only course you need is to notice in time.
Keep breathing.
Lourenço de Azevedo