The most common mistake made in breathing is to inhale a deep breath and pay no attention to the exhalation. The chest and organs are thrown into a bad shape and left there. Every deep breath should be preceded by an emptying of the lungs.

If you get a glass of water you first throw out the water that has been standing in the glass. If you desire pure air, why inhale it upon the lungs when they are half full of dead air? It is true that a complete expiration prepares the way for a long, large draught of air.

Some people are masters of themselves; but ninety-seven percent of all men and women are subject to complete abstraction. If a thing interest them, they hold the diaphragm wherever it happens to be, either up or down. Gossip is a spell in itself; and the fascinated listener sits with gaping mouth and bated breath, taking in the tale; and, a few hours later is surprised at a high state of nervousness, often attended by a palpitating heart, weak powers of digestion, and bad blood. The cause of the foolish habit is the inability to think of two things at the same time. The other class is rare indeed, and includes those who can so far control themselves as to carry on a normal habit of breathing while attending to other matters, especially those that are supposed to absorb the attention.