No one on earth could feel like this,
I'm thrown and overblown with bliss
There must be an angel
Playing with my heart.
~ from THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL by Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart
Breathing is one internal function that the conscious mind can control with comparative ease. The effect of controlled breathing is almost like communication with all conscious parts of one's being saying to them, "Simmer down and listen; there is something beyond the turmoil". It is communication in action that often works when words merely go in one ear and out the other, not even changing the cognitive mind. In essence, the effect is to turn all the elements of our will toward stillness and waiting.