Who knew that one of the most simple, most automatic bodily functions could actually improve your health? While I was at a yoga class yesterday, the instructor had us do several minutes of deep breathing. I assumed it was to get us ready to coordinate our breath with our movement, but she told us that daily deep breathing can actually improve your health.

Well, that makes sense. Deep breathing should increase the amount of oxygen getting to your vital organs, and most of us don’t take the time to breathe properly. After doing a bit of research, I found a whole host of benefits that can come from doing a bit of deep breathing, and as little as five minutes a day can help us reap these benefits.

The increased oxygen levels in your blood improves your overall blood quality. Those deep exhales also release a lot more carbon dioxide from your system. Deep breathing has also been shown to strengthen the heart and lungs as well as helping to increase muscle mass. Most every system of the body from the digestive system to the nervous system can reap some benefit from a little bit of deep breathing.

The key to deep breathing is to allow the air to expand into your belly, not your chest. You should try and balance the inhale with the exhale so that you take the same amount of time doing each. Breathe in through your nose and hold the breath for a moment before exhaling through your mouth. It may make you feel a bit lightheaded or tired the first few times you try it, but it’s only because your body has probably grown accustomed to the lower amount of oxygen you typically breathe in.

If you’re looking for a simple, practical way to improve your overall health, take five minutes each day to breathe deep. It will improve both your physical and mental health.