So this happened last night and I genuinely can’t stop thinking about it. We’re all just hanging out, and somehow the topic of breathing comes up.
Friend A says automatic breathing is objectively superior you don’t have to think about it, it just happens, it’s the most efficient system imaginable. Friend B fires back that manual breathing gives you control. You can pace yourself, deepen it, regulate it on command. Why would you ever give that up?
It escalated FAST. Friend A called manual breathing “a full-time job with no pay.” Friend B said automatic breathing is “letting your body run on autopilot like a NPC.” At one point someone said “you’re literally breathing manually right now just because I mentioned it” and the whole room went quiet because everyone suddenly became aware of their own breathing.
They’re still not speaking to each other.
What do you think? automatic? or manual breathing? are you breathing manually right now because you read this?
I love automatic when it works. It randomly switches to mechanical and it takes a minute before I realized I’ve stopped.
To your friend’s point, the deep breathing is great for relaxation as well as resetting your automatic.