With every in breathe you oxygenate filling lungs that share it with every cell. With every out breathe you eliminate all the toxins you make converting that air into what you need.
Breathing in the life giving air, out with that which you no longer need. It is so vital that Thsi in and out flow be freely taken. It is equally important what we exhale becomes the the in breath of every tree and green plant out there.
This give and take in perfect balance keeps us healthy and whole. Remember to do it deeply and completely. Taking in the good air, exhaling all of the bad air.
You can go three days without eating . you can go nearly a month without eating I think. But you can never stop breathing for some. where around four or five minutes without passing out Unless of course unless yuou are under water. Then possible you can go 22 minutes. You would have to be a trained freediver though. Freedivers have trained themselves to dive to amazing depths on one breath.
I wou ld tell you to remember to breathe but of course that is automatic most of the time. so instead I will ask that you breathe deeply, at least nine times in a row focusing on every step of the cycle. The in breath the out breathe. It will calm you down. It is a method of meditation, it is called breathwork. It is our most sacred act of creation.