Yes.
The average human breathes somewhere between 9,000 and 11,000 litres of air every day. Lung Care Foundation places the number at around 11,000 litres a day, across nearly 25,000 breaths (“Lung Basics”). That is a lot of air to leave unexamined.
We think about the water we drink. We think about the food we eat. We check ingredients, compare oils, buy better skincare, track sleep, book Pilates, and try to reduce stress.
Fair enough.
But air is the one input the body receives all day, every day, without a break. Every minute. Every commute. Every meeting. Every night of sleep. The process is not complicated, but it is impressive. We learned this in school: air travels into the lungs. From there, it reaches the alveoli, tiny air sacs surrounded by blood vessels, where oxygen moves into the blood and carbon dioxide moves out. This is not a one-time exchange. It is a continuous infrastructure. Quiet, efficient, always on. Which means one thing: the air around you does not stay around you; it enters you.
In India, that is worth paying attention to. Our days come with traffic, construction dust, humidity, closed rooms, air-conditioning, incense, cooking fumes, pet dander, seasonal pollution, and the general personality of a busy city. Outdoor AQI gets the attention, especially when the sky starts looking like it has given up. But most people spend a large part of the day indoors, in homes, offices, schools, gyms, clinics, cafés, and cars. I know I do.
Indoor air is not automatically clean air.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that indoor air quality is affected by sources that release gases or particles, including building materials, household cleaners, dust mites, and pet dander (“Indoor Pollutants and Sources”). Indoor air can also contain fine particles, allergens, mould spores, smoke residue, fabric dust, and volatile compounds from paints and cleaning products.
You may not see them. You may not smell them. Your lungs still meet them.
This is where air quality becomes personal. If you, like me, practise yoga, you know breath is not just a function. It is attention. For someone working long hours indoors, cleaner air can support comfort, focus, and recovery. For children, older adults, people with allergies, and anyone sensitive to dust or pollution, the air inside a room can change how the day feels.
And perhaps the simplest realisation is this: clean air should not feel like a luxury. It should not be reserved for hill stations, wellness retreats, or two weeks in Europe. It belongs in the spaces where people live, work, sleep, study, heal, and breathe. If we breathe up to 11,000 litres of air a day, air cannot be treated as background. It is part of the room. And when the body takes nearly 25,000 breaths a day, the quality of that room matters.
Works Cited
“Indoor Pollutants and Sources.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, 17 Dec. 2025. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-pollutants-and-sources
“Lung Basics.” Lung Care Foundation. https://lcf.org.in/lung-basics/
“Your Lungs.” Canadian Lung Association. https://www.lung.ca/
