Air is the first food of the newborn. - Edward Rosenfeld

The human body is remarkably adaptive and resilient. Human beings can survive for many weeks without food, for several days without water. But without air, life ceases in only a matter of minutes. Every cell in the organism requires a continuous charge of oxygen in order to carry out its function. Breathing supplies this energy to the bloodstream, but since it has been happening automatically for every moment of your life, you've probably given very little attention to it. Yet without it, everything stops. So this is where we will begin our investigation of wellness.

When the air is clear, your lungs strong, your body relaxed, and your mind at peace, you experience total wellbeing.

Unfortunately, this ideal is seldom realized. In the language of the Wellness Energy System, the input source - the air - may be polluted in some way. Or perhaps there just isn't enough of it available. High-altitude climbers must carry their own oxygen, or risk unconsciousness and even death around 24,000 feet.

Being in an overcrowded room without proper ventilation will have a similar, albeit less deadly, effect.

The channel (which is you) may have breakages (poorly functioning organs, illness, accident), or be blocked by foreign objects, by the restriction of muscles created from emotions such as fear, anger, and grief, by tight clothing, or by chronically poor posture. It may also be contaminated by the poisons of nicotine and tar accumulated in lung tissues.

The resulting output - your general metabolism, and your ability to work, play, and communicate with others - will depend upon these factors and upon how effectively the energy has been used.

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