“All I need is the air that I breathe, and to love you.” (The Hollies, 1973)
“Breathe!” Great advice, if healthy air is available. And if you can afford it.
Access to breathable air may be as elusive as the “non-smoking section” of the neighborhood park.
As a globe, we are facing breathable air-death. Toxic air is a silent killer, and 99% of the world’s population breathes in polluted air. The World Health Organization reports over 47 million have raised a clarion call for breathable air. In March, 2025, the Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Cartagena, Columbia had several key findings: 41 million lives are claimed annually from non-communicable diseases linked to air pollution exposure and fine particulate matter. 2.1 billion are exposed to dangerous levels of household air pollution. Major sources for air pollution are energy production, industrial emissions, transport, agriculture, waste, and natural catastrophes like wildfires and dust storms. The biggest polluters are also the least adversely affected by their toxic environmental emissions, and also reap the economic benefits of polluting industries, while the world’s poor bear the most egregious effects of environmental degradation.
Breathable air is becoming the new global currency, and air quality can be tracked live across the biosphere. Access is an indicator of affluence, and the world’s wealthiest nations enjoy the spoils. Global air quality indicators reveal the astounding disparity between the “haves” and “have nots.” The potency of choice for those most vulnerable to environmental degradation means the difference between chronic pulmonary/respiratory disease and death, on the one hand, and vibrant health and resiliency, on the other. For those whose breath is compromised from Day 1 of life, unbreathable air for environmental refugees compels relocation or air quality improvement. But moving to where breathable air is plentiful requires money and hospitable welcome, which means most of the world’s poor are excluded.
How are we advocating for and protecting those most vulnerable to toxic air quality in the U.S.?
Such disheartening news might call for a practical, breath-focused Soulution that flourishes in the rhythm of Nature’s own respiratory dance. Consider holistic breath-work as part of daily political activism.
Practice: First, we take a deep breath, in through the nose, and out through the mouth. We relax our neck and shoulders, and release the tension in each muscle and nerve, from the toes to the crown, noticing where our breath originates in our body, and feeling each breath’s cleansing journey. We take another deep breath. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Second, remember, it’s a dance! Respiration in the biosphere is reciprocal. Trees and plants breathe in CO2 and breathe out oxygen, while humans and the vast majority of the animal realm breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2. We dance-breathe. We breathe-dance. The oxygenated air that we animals need for survival is provided by the exhalations of our plant-kin and arbor elders. Imagine this gyrating, rhythmic pan-global exchange enlivening every moment of every day, a vibrant cyclic dance that is necessary for all life in the biosphere.
Third, focus on our connection with all creation, and relax. When we practice daily Nature immersion, we recognize how central breath is to Life as a whole. We begin with our breath as our focal point. Intentional breathing (as distinct from involuntary breath), focusing on the location of breath in our body, and utilizing breathing techniques for alleviating stress are disciplined practices for calibrating the human body’s respiration to the entire natural world. We begin to relax in the embrace of everything that lives and breathes in the biosphere. We are connected intimately with all Life. Our “WE” is wide. Inter-breathing means sustainable health and resiliency for the planet. Once we begin to experience ourselves embedded in a wider “WE,” we learn to cherish and protect the whole. And we can express a beautiful global sigh of gratitude.
Now that we can breathe better, we extend our breath to all creation. Perhaps a daily practice of intentional breath-work might help us appreciate the centrality of breath for Life as a whole, and inspire us to call our leaders to accountability in protecting ALL our relations who require clean air for health and vibrancy.
