It is one of the sad facts of the health industry that the people who keep it running often have a hard time staying healthy themselves.
This is especially true for those whose positions are "on the ground": the nurses who care for patients and the paramedics who bring in emergency cases.
However, improved respiration can help address many of these concerns.
Nursing is an incredibly tiring job.
Many nurses spend most of the day on their feet, unless they have a desk job.
In some countries, like the Philippines, many nurses in hospitals cannot count on the labor rights enjoyed by their counterparts in Western countries.
For example, they can be "asked" to work overtime without pay.
The odd thing is that many nurses are overweight, and not getting enough sleep, to boot.
This is because the exercise they get is not balanced, or targeted towards burning fat.
Deeper, more regulated breathing can help stave off hypertension brought on by a great deal of body fat and/or imbalanced exercise.
Nurses also have stressful jobs.
They may also have more direct exposure to the pain, anger and frustrations of patients than the doctors do.
After all, it is the nurses who give day-to-day care, and sometimes doctors only pop by to see a patient for a few minutes in a day.
In such a scenario, it is important to keep a calm and pleasant attitude, so as to both avoid incurring patient complaints, and also just to make the hospital experience less unpleasant for sick people.
Paramedics also have to deal with stressful situations all the time as part of their work.
They can get sent to fetch someone at a moments notice, and may have to venture into dangerous neighborhoods in order to do so.
Once they get there, they might find the person in a position that makes it difficult to get them into the ambulance without further injury.
(A person trapped in the debris of a car wreck with a broken neck is a prime example.
) In such a situation, a paramedic must always keep a calm mind and a steady pair of hands.
Both these requirements are difficult to keep up with, especially if the paramedic in question lacks sleep.
Deep breathing, especially that advocated by yogic techniques, tends to have a calming effect, which allows both nurses and paramedics to function better during the most stressful aspects of their jobs.
However, what about the sheer physical exertion involved in the lives of both paramedics and nurses? Many nurses and paramedics will have to carry patients, or shift them in their beds.
Nurses may have to hold down certain patients, or lug heavy equipment all over hospital grounds.
Paramedics may have to pick through heavy debris in order to reach a person in trouble.
Well, better breathing can help with that, too.
It allows muscles to be more efficient, and helps keep limbs relaxed and flexible.
Muscles often tire when they are stiffened unnecessarily-it is better to save your muscular strength for when you need it.
If you want to be a healthy health worker, try looking at your breathing habits.