LIFE GIVING AIR

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but
cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.” John 3:8

1. Air is a Life Necessity:
   Throughout most of recorded history, it seems that people have taken fresh air for granted. However, with the advent of the industrial revolution, followed by current concerns for indoor and outdoor air pollution, fresh air has become a more valued commodity. Air is an important preventive & natural healing agent. Life in the open air is God’s medicine for the restoration of life.
   1. Air Purifies the Blood:
      Without food we can live for months; without water we can live for days, but without air we can live only for a few minutes. “We are more dependent upon the air we breathe than upon the food we eat” (CH 173). Fresh air purifies the blood and electrifies the whole body.
   2. Air is food for the lungs:
      In order for the lungs to be healthy, they need a constant supply of fresh air. Air is the food that God provides for the lungs. They are constantly throwing off impurities, and the need to be constantly supplied with fresh air. Impure air does not afford the necessary supply of oxygen, and the blood passes to the brain and other organs without being vitalized. It is close confinement indoors that makes many people pale and feeble. They breathe the same air over and over, until it becomes laden with poisonous matter thrown off through the lungs and pores; and impurities are thus conveyed back to the blood.
   3. Signs of Lack of Oxygen:
      The medulla, a small part of the brain (located at the top of the spinal cord), keeps us breathing day and night. If our body is not getting enough oxygen we can become mentally confused, depressed, fatigued, anemic, have low creativity, poor memory, poor concentration, or poor quality sleep. In short, if we have poor breathing habits, it can rob us of the joy of living.
2. Posture and Deep Breathing:
   To ensure that proper amounts of oxygen get into your system, some simple tips can be:
   - be sure and situp straight with shoulders back.
   - use deep breathing techniques using the abdominal muscles for inhale and exhale of air.
   - exercise regularly in the outdoors or well-vented area.
   - exercise early in the day when the highest concentration of negative ions are in the air.
   1. Deep Breathing Exercise
      1. Stand straight, placing your hands along your lower ribs, with the fingers pointing down and inward.
      2. Take in a slow deep breath through your nose, making sure you feel the lower ribs move outward.
      3. When you have filled your lungs with as much air as possible, force yourself to take another sniff of air. If your ribs have not moved outward, give them a slight tug by hooking your fingers beneath them.
      4. Now let the air out slowly through your mouth, keeping the lips partly closed so there will be some resistance. When you feel like all the air has been let out, bend over and cough three times.
   2. Start doing this exercise once three times a day and gradually work up to four or five deep breaths three times a day. Musicians and public speakers are often benefited by taking these deep breathing exercises.
3. Air For The Sick
   During the Spanish-American War and World War I, those of the sick and wounded who were moved outdoors into tents as overflow patients improved much more rapidly than those who were cared for in the hospital wards.
   During the 1919 influenza epidemic, the hospital in Eureka, California was overflowing with patients. The head doctor arranged for the overflow patients to be housed in tents with no heat, except hot water bottles, to be used on the feet to keep warm. No patients in the tents died yet numbers of the patients in the hospital building were dying. When this was realized, the heat in the hospital was turned down and the windows were raised. The patients had to put on heavy underwear, but their death rate went down.
4. Oxygen Destroys Bacteria
   Oxygen has been shown to destroy a wide variety of bacteria. It thereby strengthens the immune system. It also increases the number of lymphocytes which help to destroy bacteria. Extra oxygen is required by the white blood cells that eat germs, because when they engulf bacteria they produce certain poisons with the oxygen which destroys the germs.
   Some of our most common diseases can be said to be directly related to oxygen starvation. Diseases such as asthma, emphysema and diseases of the lungs are increasing due to smoking as well as due to the pollution of the air in metropolitan areas.
5. Countering Air Pollution
   1. Move out of the cities - and into the country where the air is much more pure. Lung cancer rates are much higher among city dwellers than country dwellers. The air in our atmosphere normally contains about 20% oxygen. It has been reported that in many of our polluted cities the oxygen levels have dropped to about 10%. This pollution allows the extra oxygen containing hydrogen peroxide in the rain to be neutralized before it reaches the earth.
   2. Environmental Adjustments - Too low humidity in the home dries out the mucous membrane, making it more liable to irritation by pollutants and leading to respiratory troubles. A humidifier would be of help here. Air-conditioning helps to remove dirt and contaminants from the air, including pollen. A negative ion generator, is said to relieve headaches, respiratory conditions, speeds up the healing of burns and has a good effect on blood pressure. Respiratory masks are good to wear whenever one works in a dustry, fumy atmosphere. Professional cooks have the highest lung cancer rates of all occupations due to large amounts of benzopyrene occuring in the fumes and smoke from frying with grease. Planting trees helps absorb carbon dioxide and restores oxygen to the air.
      

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