Images Provided by Keith Roberts & Graham Taylor

The Science of Breath.
"Conscious breathing, the technique employed by both the yogi and the woman in labor, is extremely powerful. There is a wealth of data showing that changes in the rate and depth of breathing produce changes in the quantity and kind of peptides that are released from the brain stem. And vice versa! By bringing this process into consciousness and doing something to alter it -either holding your breath or breathing extra fast you cause the peptides to diffuse rapidly throughout  the cerebrospinal fluid, in an attempt to restore homeostasis, the body's feedback mechanism for restoring and maintaining balance. And since many of these peptides are endorphins, the body's natural opiates, as well as other kinds of pain -relieving substances, you soon achieve a diminution of your pain..... The peptide -respiratory link is well documented: virtually any peptide found anywhere else can be found in the respiratory center. This peptide substrate may provide the scientific rationale for the powerful healing effects of consciously-controlled breath patterns."
{peptides are tiny pieces of protein, which Pert calls "informational substances."}

Candace Pert
Molecules of Emotion,   p.186