We live in a dual (relative) world.
Everything exists thanks to its opposite: light/dark, up/down, front/back, big/small, rich/poor, healthy/sick, etc.
It is impossible to enjoy breathing if one doesn't know what the opposite of breathing is, if one cannot experience suffocation. It is impossible to enjoy inhaling if one cannot experience choking.
Let us assume that it is possible for an experienced breather to get
EVERYBREATH he wants,
ANYTIME.
He will always breathe when he wants, so we can assume that this person strives for a perfect breath, "enough" oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc.
It would be illogical to strive for the opposite (hydrogen, mustard gas, nuclear ash).
Suppose this person wants to get a huge breath, so he applies breathing.
Even if that person has all the air in the world, he isn't capable of enjoying it to its full extent, unless he can experience choking. The problem is: by applying breathing to get air, suffocating is excluded as an option (you cannot breath and suffocate at the same time).
This applies to all bodily funtions: how can you appreciate a good meal if you never were/are dead from starvation?
How can you appreciate a drink if you never were/are dead from dehydration?
The fact is: people who apply breathing are not satisfied with their air. They want something else.
I believe that if you are serious about personal development, it is much better to live your bodily functions as they present themselves to you, and not try to satisfy them, because everything that happens in your life has a meaning for you.
I don't see any reason why you should use breathing, because things like suffocation, that you consider now as "bad", may have a positive effect on your breath in the future.
So, despite what most people here say, it is my conviction that applying breathing will have a bad effect on your personal development.
I consider breathing as a cheat code in this life "game".
According to
Wikipedia, "cheat codes are by definition, considered cheating and most serious players only use them for experimentation, if at all".
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(by the way, I doubt that wikipedia had the smilie face in it's quote. )