Natural Health and Holistic Living expert Jane Alexander certainly thinks so. In this month’s Natural Health Magazine, meditation is number 5 in her list of 10 Ways to De-stress, and she doesn't see why it has to take hours.

Here’s what she has to say: “Even five minutes of meditation can bring your heartbeat down and soothe your stress levels.”

Breathing is more than an automatic act of survival, it is the key to your health and sense of well being. The Chinese say that “breathing is 100 times more important than medicine”.

Why? Because when you take care of your breath you take care of every cell in your body. You oxygenate your blood better, which better supports your brain, and you take in more vital energy or chi. And it is chi that keeps you alive. How you take in that chi can make the difference between feeling truly alive, vibrant and healthy, or just being alive and functional without any personal sense of vitality.

Pranayama is the term used to describe an ancient collection of breathing exercises that can greatly benefit your mind and body.

Kapalabhati Pranayama is a breath work technique that is known to increase mental clarity and energy in minutes. Because of the way the exercise is performed it also activates the deeper abdominal muscles and aids digestion. And of course, all the other benefits of deep breathing are present too, like oxygenating your blood and relieving tension.

Here’s how to try this popular pranayama exercise for yourself: