Breathing. It's not as easy as it sounds. We do it every day but most of us only breathe as far as our chests. This is clearly fine for staying alive but we could be taking in more oxygen and energy to power the body and calm the mind.

So I've come for a session with breathing guru Alan Dolan, who is based in London and Lanzarote. He's had lots of success working with asthma suffers - and one man gave up smoking immediately after the session! Read the article here.

The session will work on three levels he explains before we start; physical, to help the body repair and power cells with oxygen; mental, to clear blockages in the subconscious and free negative thoughts or 'baggage' the body might be holding; and spiritual, in the act of yogic breathing - achieving wholeness and unity.

So I lie on a bed and breathe deeply for about half an hour while Alan works on pressure points on my body to help the flow. He directs me into different positions, tells me when to make sounds, tells me when to bang my hands on the sides of the bed and move my feet. And I move from panicky thoughts of 'I'm not doing it right, it's too hard, what's supposed to be happening', to complete calm and yes, a flow of breathing, by the end of the session. The idea is to harmonise and re-balance the body and re-connect with our core. Which won't happen in a single session, so practising for at least 10 minutes every day is key.

A lot of us have moved away from our core, moved away from who we are, says Alan - and so this exercise aims to re-establish the link. I'm delighted to report that at the end of the session my core told me to treat myself to some delicious food, the finest I could afford. (Which was interesting as I hadn't been eating very well or healthily for the previous days. And as my core was too blissed out and relaxed for cooking, the gourmet ready-meal section of M&S provided my dinner.)

I liked it. I liked the way it made my body feel, I liked the way my head felt clearer afterwards, I liked the insights the session threw up. I will definitely go back for another session in July when Alan returns to London. Meanwhile I'll be nourishing my core and breathing ....

Find out more about Transformational Breathing, Alan Dolan, his London practice and Lanzarote retreat at www.breathguru.com.