“As soon as you have begun to master the diaphragm muscle, you can consider the rhythm of the breath. This must be gentle, even and deep, and have four stages; (1) pause for preparation, (counting three); (2) breathe in slowly, (counting three; (3) hold breath whilst absorbing life forces, (counting three) and (4) breathe out whilst spreading the new life all over the body (counting three). Then repeat the exercise. As soon as you feel able, increase the counts to four times four and gradually increase until you arc able to breathe to four times seven without strain.”

“Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.”

“I smile and start to count on my fingers: One, people are good. Two, every conflict can be removed. Three, every situation, no matter how complex it initially looks, is exceedingly simple. Four, every situation can be substantially improved; even the sky is not the limit. Five, every person can reach a full life. Six, there is always a win / win solution. Shall I continue to count?”

“Correct breathing also performs a constant massage of the internal organs by raising them up and down, thus curing constipation when it is caused by faulty insufficient breathing (as is often the case) which holds the muscles of the abdomen in a static position. Therefore the first thing to do is to make sure that you know how to breathe from the physical standpoint, and how to control the muscle of the diaphragm. This muscle forms the dividing line between the chest and the stomach just below the ribs. Place the fingers upon the diaphragm muscle just below the ribs and under the centre breast bone. In this arched hollow lies the muscle upon which correct breathing depends. Take a slow breath, drawing the muscle upwards and inwards, following its movement with the fingers, fill the lungs with air right up to the collarbones. Then breathe out slowly whilst tucking the diaphragm still further inwards and upwards!”

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love … then make that day count!”

“To have her here in bed with me, breathing on me, her hair in my mouth—I count that something of a miracle.”

“Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count.”

“I wanna know all of your names. So at the count of three I want you all to scream your names! 1-2-3! (fans yell names) Good, now we know each other intimately. You know what that means? (fan yells Orgy!) Orgy? (laughs) No!”

“she held her breath, and in her head, counted seconds. She pretended that for each second she didn’t breathe, God would grant her another day”

“When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.”