Rhythm is the principal thing to be considered in breath, as it is on the rhythm of the breath that the working of the whole mechanism depends, and the chief reason of the irregularity of the beats of the heart or head is lack of rhythm in the breath.

As man generally neglects to think of this breath, he overlooks the fact that his health entirely depends on rhythmic breath. Rhythm is the central theme of the whole creation. Therefore the infant moves his hands and legs by turns, forming a rhythm. This shows that nobody teaches anyone rhythm; it is natural to all beings. It is rhythmic movement which enables the fish to swim and the serpent to climb trees. If rhythm were not an instinct the animal would never have known how to walk, nor the bird how to fly.

The life of man is so pulled from all sides, so divided that he often forgets things that are most essential to his life, which the lower creatures seem to keep more correctly in their lives. Neatness in man's work and balance in man's actions show rhythm in him. When man shows lack of balance in his life and when his life is disturbed and all things seem to go wrong, it is most often that the rhythm of his breath has become wrong. Irregularity of activity and repose in the habits of life causes disorder of rhythm in the breath.

Very often the Eastern mystical exercises are wrongly understood by many. When a teacher gives a breathing exercise to his pupil, often he does not mean the breathing itself but rhythm.

Thought given to the breath becomes a weight upon it and naturally holds it longer in its movement, altering it from what it would otherwise naturally be. It is the following of the rhythm of the breath, and the keeping of the rhythm regular which brings about the best results.