With the Sydney running festival coming up we would like to share an article by Lynn Burgess from active.com about breathing techniques to improve your performance. The way you breathe has a lot to do with your athletic performance as well as your quality of life. Breathing powerfully affects every system in your body (cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine, lymph, immune, digestive, and of course, respiratory). Breathing properly can decrease stress and muscle tension; calm your nerves; sharpen your focus; minimize negative and distracting thoughts; reduce fatigue; and promote stamina. Unfortunately, proper breathing is often an overlooked component of athletic training. If you watch a baby breathe, you will see the infant's belly rise and fall with each breath. Most probably stopped breathing this way long ago. Our cultural upbringing, suck in that gut, and the development of bad habits, like slouching, have resulted in shallow breathing or chest breathing. Compared to diaphragmatic