IN Bob Dylan's musical poison pen letter Idiot Wind the object of his ire is cut down with the line “It’s a wonder you still know how to breath.”

However, there is a school of therapy that believes it is a criticism that could be levelled at the majority of us. Transformational breath practitioner Celia Leslie says most of us are only using 20 per cent of the oxygen we breathe in, and this is affecting our medical and spiritual health.

The Shoebury-based therapist has been an alternative therapist for 20 years, practising reiki and life alignment, but when, 18 months ago, she attended a workshop in Birmingham with “breath guru” Alan Dolan, who brought Transformational Breath to the UK, she was “blown away” by the affect his techniques had on her.

She says: “The impact was instantaneous. I was totally hooked.

"The breathing threw the doors open on my life. I used to get a bit shouty when I got stressed or something went wrong, but since Transformational Breath became a daily practice I feel calm and relaxed. It connects you to yourself, your body and gives you a real sense of peace.”

So Celia decided to learnmore, attending training courses in London, Italy and Ireland – some led by the founder of Transformational Breath, Judith Kravitz.

Though Kravitz, an American, has a background in yoga, Transformational Breath is very different to the controlled breathing used throughout that the flow of positions in yoga.

Instead it calls for a full relaxed breath that originates in the lower abdomen and repeats the inhalation and exhalation without pausing.

Celia, who now assists Dolan on his workshops and runs her own Transformation Breath therapy from her home in Shoebury, says most people’s control of their own breath is at the heart of their problems.

She says: “We tend to think control makes us safe but we need to let go. When we experience trauma or stress we hold our breath. We don’t even know we're doing it. This can lead to disease.

“Over the year’s I’ve become very sensitive to people’s breathing. Sometimes I'll look at someone and think ‘they’re not even breathing'’.

“This is the breath pattern behind repression of our emotions. These emotions need to be released and they will come out through Transformational Breathing.”

Celia says that most people “only use 20 per cent of the oxygen they inhale. I help my clients use so much more – it’s very energising.”

The benefits of the therapy has been recognised by integrative medicine experts such as Deepak Chopra MD and Christiane Northrup and and stars such as Naomie Harris, who plays Miss Moneypenny in the latest James Bond film, Spectre, and former rugby union international Paul Sampson have attested to its transformative powers.

Celia is careful not to discuss her clients, but reveals she has seen people become “happier, healthier, more confident, have more energy and change their lifestyle or relationships”.

Celia practices transformational breathing for herself each morning to set herself up for the day.

She says her clients can practice alone after a few facilitated sessions with her. The daily practice is vital, she says, to do battle against the brain.

According to Celia, the mind “is crazier than a box of frogs. It doesn’t want us to do the practice every day because it wants safety. But that holding on, the fear of the unusual needs to be let go.

“You shouldn’t believe your mind. You need to use it rather than let it use you.”

If there’s one example of a person who breathes well, Celia says, it would be the Dalai Lama.

“I met him in India about 25 years ago when I was travelling with my husband. We used to go there every six months to explore. At that time you could apply to shake his hand.

“It was a very emotional scene but he was always laughing. I’m sure he's a good breather.”

For more information on Celia and transformational breathing, call 07900 367355, email info@alwaysbreathing.com or visit her website alwaysbreathing.com