The second view comes from Rudolf Steiner. He explained that taking shallow breaths increases the Ahrimanic foothold inside you, meaning it increases qualities associated with the force of Ahriman such as mechanicalness, materialism, cold emotionality, irritability, even hate. I have found this to be true on my own case, that when I'm indulging in any of these my breathing gets very shallow, and vice versa. The few times I've gone to stores like Walmart, I noticed the air had a really stuffy quality to it as though it were lacking oxygen. Maybe they had crappy ventilation or maybe I wasn't breathing much, but after reading Steiner this made sense to me, that it would be in the best interests of business to cut down the oxygen and thereby emphasize the mechanical and materialistic side of its customers. I noticed schools tended to be that way as well...annoying fluorescent lights (cold light - another aspect associated with Ahriman) and low oxygen makes for kids less resistant to the social and intellectual programming.

Anyway, Steiner then mentioned the opposite danger, of breathing way too much. He said this made you vulnerable to Luciferic influences. That would mean a transcendental, egotistical, occultic tendency. Well obviously...if you run far away enough from being a programmed cow, you may overshoot equilibrium and become a rebel without a cause, serving the self for the sake of not wanting to be controlled by others.

This makes me think of Michael Topper's Charger Breathing method (breathe in as hard as you can several times, and do this periodically to push back the hyperventilation threshold) -- was it a good thing or dangerous thing, if what Steiner said was true. Well, I guess increased breath means increased power. If you can handle the power and remain stable and balanced, then that would be ideal. It's like the oven, if you can up the oxygen and keep your walls from melting or paint from smoking, then great. But those who are a bit too naive, who lack guidance and caution, can fry their circuits and spill into the Luciferic side when receiving too much power through breath.

Also, Zonabi, meditational breathing techniques, some of these anyway, are designed to put you into trance. If you practiced them all the time, you may stay in a trance all the time which may not be a good thing if, say, you're driving or having to think rational thoughts when making decisions.

As for ancient times, I don't doubt for a moment that oxygen used to be greater. That would mean greater life energy in people, and perhaps a tendency to be more Luciferic (Atlantis for example, abuse of occult power) compared to modern days where shallower breathing and lower oxygen would be parallel with a rise in Ahrimanic factors (wars fought out of hatred and materialistic reasons).

So being that we are breath-deprived, practicing natural breathing would be a good idea. That means breathing with your belly rather than moving your ribcage. It takes conscious effort to do this because we are programmed into taking very shallow breaths, a program that basically says "Stop breathing others' air, keep to yourself, don't make waves, you are not worthy of  partaking in vitality and personal freedom, just follow the program and keep your head down." You know how when you're happy and feeling alive, you breathe more deeply? Well, maybe if we tried breathing like that more often, we'd be more happy and alive

i read somewhere that in ancient times humans breathed differently, have u guys heard this stuff?