You do it more than 23,000 times a day, but are you breathing properly? From a rebirthing session to holotropic breathwork, Richard Godwin inhales the latest wellness craze

“Breathe in,” says Poppy Jamie, a 27-year-old doe-eyed former TV personality who is regularly spotted alongside Suki Waterhouse and Cara Delevingne. An odd request, but nevertheless, I inhale. “You’re not doing it right!” the Brit squeals giddily, pointing out that I’m raising my shoulders rather than expanding my stomach.

As founder of The Breathing Class™, Dr. Belisa has taught and lectured nationwide on topics related to dysfunctional breathing patterns and stress. Unique in its straightforward approach, The Breathing Class™ addresses both physical and psychological problems related to oxygenation that is out of balance, and teaching people to breathe in an anatomically congruous way that maximizes balanced inhales and exhales.

Now we do it up to 20 times a minute, around 30,000 a day... so you would assume that we would be experts at it by now... but think again - according to Dr Belisa Vranich, breathing is something we could all improve on. The correct breathing by an athlete can give the 0.1% increase in performance; the possible difference between gold and silver.

Mike Parry and Ray Parlour debate the top sporting issues, including Manchester United's difficulties under Jose Mourinho, shocking penalty misses, Gordon Taylor's huge wage packet and much, much more. 

Breathing better isn't just for yoga any more, with top gyms across the US adding classes all about your breathe to their rosters. Slowing down and controlling breathing has long been accepted as one of the best ways to lower the heart rate and keep us calm. 

While we would all benefit from pressing pause and taking a much-needed break, jam-packed holiday schedules don't always allow it. Since taking a break isn’t always possible, having a 60-second trick up your sleeve to release that tension (and get a breather from your family) will be a life saver.

Yes, we all do it; we breathe. But most of us take shallow breaths. In time, Vranich says, this can lead to an array of problems with seemingly no connection to dysfunctional breathing: trouble sleeping, irritable bowel, depression, fibromyalgia and more.

Whether once a day or once a week, take five minutes to do some deep-breathing exercises.

Whether you’re dealing with co-worker chaos or pressure to perform on a project, it’s difficult to excel at work when you're extremely stressed. Can’t escape the office? Take a cue from real-life soldiers and try a technique called tactical breathing—also known as combat breathing, four-count breathing, and diaphragmatic breathing—to lower your heart rate and regain control of your breath.