As a student, I avoided any biology class out of fear I would have to cut up a frog. Consequently, my knowledge of anatomy is rudimentary. Even that may be an exaggeration. One piece of information I have picked up is that the autonomic nervous system regulates processes that are not under our control, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion. The system also regulates our breathing, but unlike the other processes, we can override that regulation by concentrating on our breathing. Various patterns of breathing that alter the normal pattern can activate the body’s relaxation response and increase