"The Study of Breathing" — Moving from an era of "doing it well" to "breathing well." How breathing changes the way we live and work [Column] Science of Thought (No. 53)

📘 "The Study of Breathing" Science of Thought: No. 53

— Moving from an era of "doing it well" to "breathing well." How breathing changes the way we live and work

🔍 3 Key Points of This Column

• 1️⃣ "Exhale" before you "inhale." That is the starting point for sustainable learning and living.

• 2️⃣ The "breathing" technique used in swimming can be applied to everything: work, education, daily life, and relationships.

• 3️⃣ In today's information-overloaded world, "designing your breathing rhythm" determines your performance and happiness.

🌱 Introduction | Learning that began with my own "breathing" experience

Hello, and welcome to "The Study of Breathing" 🌊✨
Have you been breathing properly lately?

When I was in elementary school, I was a typical non-swimmer 🏊‍♂️💦
I was so scared of putting my face in the water that I would get a stomachache whenever swimming class approached...
But one day, my swimming instructor told me something simple.

At the time, I thought, "Huh?" but when I exhaled first with a 'whoosh' and then lifted my face…I was surprised at how easily I could inhale 😳💨

That was my first successful experience with "breathing".

When I think about it, this "exhale before you inhale" concept is
🌱 in studying
🧠 at work
💬 in conversation
💼 and in daily life
, I've come to realize it's incredibly important.

For example—

• 📚 Even if you cram in a lot of information, it won't stick unless you "put it out" by writing or speaking

• 🗂️ Especially when you're overwhelmed with tasks, you feel better once you "organize and put them out"

• 🧘‍♀️ When your mind feels cluttered, just exhaling a little bit makes you feel relieved

But in the modern world, aren't we always being asked to just "inhale"? 😵‍💫
Learn, work, try hard, run, you should be able to do more—
But that's like constantly inhaling without stopping.

If you don't exhale, you can't get any oxygen in.
And yet, where did we ever learn "how to exhale properly"?

That is why I would like to think about this question together with you👇

• “Do you have time to “fully exhale” for yourself?”

• “Have you been feeling suffocated from “inhaling too much” lately?”

• “When do you feel like you are “breathing” well?”

In this column, using the “breathing” of swimming as a hint, we will re-examine the
learning, work, relationships, and life itself “rhythm of breathing”🌬️✨

Rather than swimming well, breathing well.
That should become the “technique” for living flexibly in the coming era.

Come on, let's relax our shoulders a bit💆‍♂️
Let's go on a journey to “exhale, inhale, and think” together🚶‍♀️💭🌿
(By the way, in the final part, a “fictional department” that turned breathing into an academic discipline will also appear. Please look forward to it...🏫✨)

📘Chapter 1 | Bringing the “Perspective of Breathing” Back into Daily Life

Have you been spending your days choking lately?😵‍💫
Feeling like you're about to burst from stuffing in too much information,
unable to speak your true feelings because you're too considerate,
or having no time to breathe because of all the things you have to do...

At such times, people might be in a state of “trying to inhale without exhaling”.

🤯 1. The reason why you feel suffocated when you only inhale

• 📚 Reading only information leaves your “head too full to organize”

• 🤐 Holding back what you want to say makes your “heart feel clogged”

• 🏃‍♀️ Continuing to add tasks leaves you “lacking time, yet somehow feeling no sense of accomplishment”

Yes, it's because “you aren't exhaling”.
If you could exhale first, breathing would be much easier.

🔄 2. What does it mean to “exhale”?

The “exhaling” referred to here is not just about breathing, but actions like these👇

• 📝 Writing down what you are thinking on paper

• 💬 Talking a little bit to someone

• 🧹 Letting go of things or plans

• 🤸‍♀️ Move your body to reset

• 😮‍💨 Take a breath with a deep exhale

Just by doing this, space is created in your head and heart, and
you become able to naturally inhale new things✨

🧠 3. Questions for you💭

• Lately, haven't you just been "stuffing things in"?

• Are you taking enough time to talk to someone, write things down, or organize your thoughts?

• Is the rhythm of "exhaling before inhaling" present in your daily life?

🌬️ 4. Your first “breathing” exercise

Please try doing just a little bit of this👇

• 📓 Try writing down just 3 lines of "what you're thinking right now" in a notebook

• 📱 Try whispering "I'm a bit tired lately" on LINE

• 🚶‍♂️ Try walking around the neighborhood for just 5 minutes to "empty your head"

Just by doing that, you will surely notice that you are able to breathe in more than you thought you could.

In the next chapter, I will talk about "people who sink because they keep running"🏃‍♂️💨💥
What happens when you keep swimming without taking a breath... If you're curious, please join me here🐠💡

🏃‍♀️Chapter 2 | How to swim in an era of "shortness of breath" in work and learning?

Try to remember for a moment💭
When was the last time you "took a breath"?🫢
With so much to do, think about, and carry,
haven't you lost sight of the timing to "stop"?

🏊‍♂️ 1. You can only swim without breathing for short distances!

• 📍 If it's a 25m pool dash, you might be able to hold your breath and swim it all at once

• But as the distance increases to 50m, 100m..., you will definitely sink without "taking a breath"

Actually, isn't this exactly the same as daily life?

💼 2. Even at work...

• Replying to emails, creating documents, meetings, social media, taking in information... before you know it, you are running at full capacity 24/7 💻⚙️

• But without time to "pause here for a moment" or "take a deep breath," you end up with more fatigue than results 🫠

🎓 3. Even in learning...

• Studying every day, preparing for certifications, outputting... yet "I feel like I'm not really absorbing anything."

• That might be because you're running with zero breathing (= introspection, play, and white space)?

🧹 4. Even with housework and childcare...

• Laundry, cooking, cleaning, school runs, tidying up... just when you think it's over, it starts all over again ♻️

• "Sitting for 5 minutes with a coffee ☕️" is a switch for breathing/taking a break, but it's easy to forget.

💬 5. Even in relationships...

• When you try too hard to be considerate, you start to fear silence or distance.

• But "time spent apart" and "intentional pauses in conversation" are the keys to relationships connected by breathing 🫶

📌 6. A question for you 💭

• Has your current life or work become a "sprint"?

• Have you designed "breathing points" for your run?

• Are you convinced that "stopping equals failure"?

🌬️ 7. Those who can swim for a long time are good at "how to stop"

• 🚦 The courage to pause = preparation to accelerate into the future

• 🔄 Time to take a breath = time to reconnect with yourself

• 🌱 By stopping, true "white space" and "strength" return.

In the next chapter, I will share the story of why it's not that you're "afraid of the water," but that you're afraid to try because you "can't breathe."🌊💡

Why don't you find a "blueprint" for breathing that works for you, too?😊🏗️

🥽 Chapter 3 | The Absence of Breath Behind a "Heart That Cannot Take on Challenges"

Have you ever tried to take on a challenge, only to stop and think,
"Maybe I can't do it..." or "What if I fail?"
😶‍🌫️

That might be because what you're really "afraid" of isn't the "water," but the fact that you "cannot breathe."

🏊‍♀️ 1. Not being able to swim didn't mean I was afraid of the water

The reason I couldn't swim when I was little wasn't because the water was cold or deep, but because I didn't have the confidence to take a breath.

• "What if I get distressed halfway through?"

• "If I can't inhale properly, I might sink."

As long as I had this anxiety, my feet wouldn't leave the pool floor..

🧠 3. An adult's "inability to take on challenges" follows the same structure

Does this ring a bell?👇

• 🎤 Can't speak during a presentation → You don't have a "breath to recover with" when you can't get your words out properly.

• 📚 Can't learn new things → You don't have the "room to recover" when you don't understand something.

• 💬 Can't speak your true feelings → You're afraid that the other person's reaction will make you "feel like you're suffocating."

In other words, rather than the "failure" itself,
not having the "certainty that you can take a breath" afterward is what stops us.

🔎 4. The "structure" where the absence of breathing stops action

• 🧯 If "a mistake = game over," you're too scared to do anything.

• ⛔️ If "there is no room to stop when you get a little distressed," you can't take the first step.

• 🧩 In short, "whether or not you can take on a challenge" depends on the design of "whether you can recover along the way."

💭 5. A question for you

• How many "reasons why you can't take on a challenge" do you have inside you?

• Are those really about "lack of ability" or "risk"?

• Perhaps it is just that you lack a system or companions that allow you to take a breath along the way.

🌬️ 6. Do you have an environment, relationships, or habits that allow you to take a breath?

• 🧘‍♀️ "Schedules with margins" that allow you to stop even if you fail

• 🗣️ "The presence of someone" to whom you can vent your thoughts

• 📒 "A notebook or memo" where you can write when you feel confused

What you should prepare before taking on a challenge is,
perhaps more than ability or courage, a "safety design" that allows you to breathe🫧

In the next chapter, I will introduce practical breathing techniques learned from the swimming technique of "exhaling before inhaling"🏊‍♂️💡

"The reason you are struggling now is not because you aren't 'inhaling.' It's because you aren't 'exhaling.'"
That counterintuitive idea might just give your next step a boost😉🌈

🏊‍♂️Chapter 4 | Incorporating breathing techniques and rhythm into real life

Well, I have talked about the "importance of taking a breath" so far, but
this time I will go back "into the water" a little and deliver practical breathing tips💨🌊

Why don't we learn together "breathing design techniques" that you can also apply to your daily life?

🫁 1. The basics of breathing are "exhale → inhale → rhythm → margin"

In the world of swimming, this flow of breathing is important👇

• 🌀 Exhale thoroughly: Exhale "bubbles" underwater to empty your lungs

• 💨 Inhale quickly: Take in a little fresh air in the instant you turn your face to the side

• 🔁 Consistent rhythm: Maintain your own tempo, such as taking a breath every 3 strokes

• 🌿 Create a margin: It is also important not to rush, to relax, and not to "put too much effort" into your swimming

When this flow breaks, your breathing becomes irregular, you feel distressed, and you start to sink, don't you? 😵‍💫

💡 2. How can we apply this to daily life?

You can apply these "swimming breathing tips" to your own life and work as well👇

• 💼 Exhale thoroughly = Output tasks and emotions (organizing To-Dos, taking notes, casual conversation)

• 💨 Inhale lightly = Take in only the necessary information (it's okay to have "time away" from social media)

• 🎵 Maintain a steady rhythm = Schedule "breaks" and "play" so you don't overwork

• ☁️ Create space = Intentionally set aside "time to do nothing" (taking a walk, zoning out)

🔧 3. You can design your own breathing!

Instead of saying "I can't because I don't have time," the key is to
be conscious of creating "breathing moments"💡

For example:

• ⏰ Don't pack your schedule first thing in the morning → A "warm-up breath" for a slow start

• 📅 Insert a "15-minute gap" in the afternoon → A "rhythm adjustment" for your head and heart

• 📕 Read or write in a journal before bed → Secure time to "exhale" for the day

💭 4. A question for you

• Are you designing only for "working hard" and forgetting to "breathe"?

• When was the last time you took time to create rhythm or space?

• Is there somewhere you can find a "breathing point" before you start feeling distressed?

🌈 5. Good breathing is a good way of living

People who are good at swimming are never swimming at full power the whole time. They properly relax, breathe, and then swim again.

In the same way, for our lives,
it might be that we can go much further by "continuing while breathing" rather than just "working hard"🏖️

In the next chapter, I will introduce ways to apply the "wisdom of taking a breath" to real life, such as in business, education, housework, and relationships🔄🏡💬💼

Now, before we move on to the next stroke—
Why don't you take a deep breath right now?😌🌬️

🔄Chapter 5 | Metaphors of breathing to organize "housework, work, and relationships"

"I want to absorb more, but it's not sinking in..."
"I'm working hard, but my head and heart are so full that I can't move forward..."

That is exactly when I want you to remember.
"To inhale, you must first 'exhale'"—the fundamental principle of breathing🌬️

If there are so many "breathing points" in our daily lives—
perhaps it would be good to have a place where you can formally learn how to "take a breath"😄
(...Actually, Chapter 7 is where I seriously fantasized about that📘)

Here, let's explore together the "analogies of taking a breath" that you can find in your own daily life🔍✨

💼 1. Business: Those who achieve results are the ones who "exhale" properly

• 🗣️ "Refreshing the air" by voicing ideas before a meeting

• 📝 Information sinks in more easily when you write it down to organize it

• 🤝 The team's breathing aligns when you "speak before you think"

🎓 2. Education: Learning begins with "exhaling"

• ✍️ Summarizing in a notebook = the act of "exhaling what you've learned"

• 🗨️ Understanding is solidified by explaining it to a friend

• ❓ Questions like "Why?" or "What does this mean?" invite new knowledge

🏡 3. Housework/Life: Being able to say "I'm tired" is the ultimate breath

• 🛏️ Giving yourself permission to rest by saying out loud, "I can't do any more today"

• 🧺 Getting rid of things or canceling plans is a "deep breath" for your life

• 🧘‍♀️ Days of "doing nothing" are adjustment times to reset your rhythm

🤝 4. Relationships: This is what a relationship where you can breathe feels like

• 😌 Silence is not awkward

• 💬 You feel safe enough to exhale your true feelings

• 📵 The peace of mind that it's okay to leave messages unread

🌍 5. Life as a whole: Dreams and goals start with "exhaling" first

• 🧭 By putting what you want to do into words, you bring oxygen into your dreams

• 📦 By letting go of what you "have to do," you can see what you truly need

• 🚏 The courage to stop and stand still helps regulate the rhythm of your life

💭 6. A question for you

• Have you had any time recently where you felt you were "properly exhaling"?

• Talking, writing, discarding, zoning out... have you incorporated even one of these into your daily life?

• If you want to "inhale more," why not start by "exhaling" right now?😉✨

In the next chapter, we will finally talk about the most familiar "apnea state" for modern people—
the AI/internet society and the need for "digital breathing"📱🧠🌐

Before that, why not take a moment today to exhale deeply?😮‍💨🫶

🖥️Chapter 6 | "Digital Breathing Methods" in the Age of Information Overload

Your smartphone📱,
how many notifications did you get just today?
How many times did you scroll, and how many times did you feel "vaguely" tired?😵‍💫

The modern age is truly a "digital apnea society."
If we aren't conscious of it, we will sink into a sea of information while holding our breath🌊

⚠️ 1. Do you recognize any of these symptoms?

• 📲 Your brain is constantly in an ON state due to SNS and chat notifications

• 🧠 You feel like your ability to think is declining the more information you see

• 🌀 You keep scrolling even though you want to stop

These are all "signs that you've forgotten to breathe."

💨 2. What does "taking a breath" mean in a digital society?

The "taking a breath" referred to here means re-evaluating how you interact with information. In other words, the following actions correspond to
"exhaling and inhaling"👇

• 📴 Turn off notifications: Create breathing space for your brain

• 📵 Create time to cut off information: "Digital fasting" on weekends or first thing in the morning

• ✍️ Output what you have seen and thought: Write, speak, draw

• 🤖 Take a breath even when interacting with AI: Don't just ask ChatGPT too much, but return "what you have thought"

📚 3. "Co-breathing" with AI like ChatGPT is also important

AI will respond to your questions indefinitely. However, if you repeat "question → answer → question → answer..."
without taking a breath, even if the information coming back increases,
the "oxygen for your own thinking" will become thin💭

That is why:

• 💬 Stop asking questions for a moment and "exhale" your thoughts

• 📓 Write it down in a memo, digest it yourself, and then ask again

Such a "human-like breathing rhythm" will become a healthy way to interact with AI🤝✨

💭 4. A question for you

• "I realized I had been looking at my smartphone the whole time..." Has that happened to you recently?📱

• Are you "inhaling" too much information, leaving your own thinking "oxygen-deprived"?

• Have you included even one "digital breathing break" in today's schedule?⌛

🧘‍♂️ 5. What people who "don't sink" in the information society are doing

• 🧘‍♀️ Deep breathing instead of your smartphone in the morning

• ✍️ "Write, speak, or share with someone" the information you've seen

• 📵 Decide on days to go off social media (#DigitalDetoxHabit)

In the next chapter, I will introduce a somewhat unique "future discipline" that focuses on taking a breath in learning, work, and life.🏫🌟

Before then, please try putting down your smartphone and exhaling deeply.😮‍💨🧡
—— Surely, "true questions" will emerge within you.✨

🏫Chapter 7 | A future discipline that redesigns learning with breathing at its core

What if there were a university in this society that fostered
"people who can take a proper breath"…?

Born from such a delusion is this👇
✨ The Fictional Department of "Breathing Studies" ✨

Would you like to take a peek?😄🎓

🎯 1. The Mission of the Department of Breathing Studies

Information overload, lack of time, emotional confusion, hyperventilation in human relationships….
What is needed in such an era is a "design that allows for breathing."

We do not want to foster "people who do things well," but rather
"people who can breathe well."

📘 2. Introducing a part of the curriculum!

Every lecture is reputed to help you acquire the "breathing power" to survive the modern age.🌊✨

• 🫁 Breathing Design Theory I-III
  → How to design "timing for taking a breath" into life, work, and learning?

• 🔄 Input-Output Equilibrium Studies
  → Learning the exquisite balance of "not stuffing too much in" and "not exhaling too much"

• 🧭 Emotional Rhythm and Time Strategy
  → The art of "breathing scheduling" to match the waves of irritation, impatience, and fatigue

• 👂 Sensitivity Exercises for Reading Subtle "Pauses"
  → Training to find breath in the "gaps" of conversation, writing, and thought

👨‍🏫 3. Professor Introduction: Professor Mogutsu

• Former swimming instructor, current breathing researcher

• His catchphrase is "Shallow breathing leads to shallow relationships."

• He has a habit of suddenly saying during class, "Now, let's spend 5 minutes silently feeling the 'pause'"😌

• The professor's motto: "If you don't sink, you'll reach the shore someday."✨

💭 4. A Question for You

• Does your life plan include "breath-taking"?

• Are you consciously taking time to "stop once," "take a breath," or "pause"?

• If the "Department of Breath-Taking" actually existed,which lecture would you want to take?

This department doesn't exist in reality, but you can establish it within yourself🏫🧠
Through the design of breathing, let's draw a future where you continue to swim at your own pace with your own hands🌈

In the next chapter, while looking back on the journey so far, we will reconsider the meaning of "breathing" for us living in this era🍀

Please join me while taking a deep breath😌🌿

🧭 Summary | New scenery visible by "breathing well"

Hello, a quick word to you who read to the end. Up to this point,
was there any part that overlapped with "the current you"?😌

In this column, through the perspective of "taking a breath," I have conveyed that for learning, working, and interacting with others,
"rhythm and margin" are the keys🌿

📌 Here is a summary of "tips for taking a breath" you might want to be conscious of starting today👇

• 🌬️ Exhale properly before you inhale
  　→ Emotions, ideas, words... if you let them out, air will come in

• 🧘‍♀️ "Stop with rhythm" rather than "keep running"
  　→ Not for a short-distance lifestyle, but to swim long and flexibly

• 📚 Output becomes breathing
  　→ Write, speak, organize. What you absorb circulates by being released

• 📵 Have a habit of "digital breathing"
  　→ In an era of information overload, time to "not look" and "not overthink" is also important

• 🧭 Create your own "breathing design"
  　→ Consciously incorporate margins, transitions, and safe stopping points into your life

💭 A final question for you

• Is there a situation today where you could "take a breath"?

• What kind of "breathing" do you truly need right now?

• If you chose to "breathe well" rather than "do it well"—what do you think might change?🌈

In the coming era, perhaps more than knowledge or skills,
"a well-regulated breathing rhythm" will take people further🏝️✨

Come on, continue at your own pace.
Exhale deeply, inhale flexibly, and let's swim freely🏊‍♀️💨

✍️ Afterword | "If you want to dive deep, take a breath well"

This column, too, was born within that "rhythm of breathing"—"write and stop, think, then write again"🌿

The reason I am writing this “Science of Thought” series is because I wanted to take the time to face the “questions” that suddenly arise in my daily life and work, one by one. 🧠💭

The themes are always:
・A slight sense of discomfort
・Emotions that are easily overlooked
・And, ways to “enjoy” things more ✨

I chose “taking a breath” this time because I myself might have been living

“breathless” days without even realizing it. 😮‍💨

Things to do, things to think about, information to process... all of it is important, but I realized that I “wasn't exhaling properly.”

From there, I thought that “breathing well” might actually be a much deeper theme than “doing things well,” so I picked up my pen. 🖋️

I created this column together through a dialogue with ChatGPT. 🤖🫱‍🫲
The very process of using AI to organize my thoughts and deepen my questions was, in itself, an experiment in
“digital breathing.”

For “you” who read this, I would be happy if this piece could become
a small “trigger for breathing.” 😊💫

🌈 If you think this is “a bit nice,” I would be very grateful for your support with a Like 💖 or a follow 👣, as it serves as

excellent “oxygen” for the author. 🌬️✨

Let’s join together for the next breathing journey with a different theme! 🚶‍♀️🌍

Profile | Kazuomi Matsunaga

Biography:Graduated from a national university in Kyushu (Materials Engineering) ⇒ Engineer at a metal materials manufacturer in the Chukyo region (Production Technology) ⇒ Advertising sales for a local free paper in Nagasaki Prefecture ⇒ University staff member (← currently here). A person in his 50s living in Nagasaki Prefecture. Both children have graduated from university and left the nest, and I am living with my wife.
I am a writer who lets my thoughts play at the intersection of “questions” and “curiosity” every day. Recently, I have been writing about my own unique perspectives on themes such as education, stories, psychology, AI, and design, centered on my serial column, the “Science of Thought” series. I am currently exploring “free design of knowledge” that transcends existing frameworks. My motto is “Imagination opens up the world.”
In my professional life, while working in university and education-related fields, I value carefully observing “the moment someone starts to ‘like’ something” and “the scenes where questions sprout.”
🧭 I would be happy if I could deliver articles that help a “new perspective” sprout within you after reading.
📮 Thoughts and messages of support are always welcome!