The power of breath - Prana - Inhale Exhale
How many times have you come across photos or gifs or short videos, asking you to take a pause and breathe?
According to Eastern Anatomy and Physiology, our human body has five layers of bodies, a.k.a Shariras and Koshas, that cover our spirit, our soul - Atman. One of these layers is known as Prana Maya Kosha - Energy Body. This is the layer that generates the energy pivotal for life. And that regulation is got by transporting prana through your entire body.
Now it’s no magic to say that all this exchange of energy is done by your breath! Soft, slow and deep breath is the key.
Why you ask? One, considering the eastern belief, that each soul is brought into this world with a limited number of breaths. Saving them, let's you live a longer life. Two, as you might already know, that animals who take slow, long breaths survive longer. Take for example, the life span of an elephant or tortoise versus a dog!!!
Still not convinced?!? Time to comprehend details from Anatomy of our vital organ system - The Nervous System. If you study the nervous system, you will find that there are 2 Divisions of our Peripheral Nervous System - Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems. (Central Nervous System, comprises of our brain and spine; Peripheral is the nerves connecting this Central Nervous System to other sensory organs and motor organs)
The Sympathetic Nervous system - is the active autonomic nervous system. It is often referred to as the one that controls the fight and flight response. On the contrary, the Parasympathetic Nervous system is the one that is responsible for rest and digest. Inhale charges the sympathetic, while exhaling charges the parasympathetic.
When you are stressed, the sympathetic nervous system is activated and you will inherently take short quick breaths. On the contrary, when you are relaxed, your breathing will be normal - slow and steady.
Hence the focus is on taking slow, deep, long breaths, to charge both the systems and balance them. Hitherto, your regulated breath will give you more relief and longer life!
Now that you are loaded with all this information about breath, I would strongly urge you to experience this yourself. The next time you feel stressed, or going to do something important like meeting someone, a presentation; or even before sleeping - try exercising the power of breath!
Simple Breathing Practices:
1. Relaxing Breath
Sit in any comfortable position or lie down. Just observe your breathe for a minute. Then Inhale for a count of 2-4, & Exhale for longer count of 4-6 (you could adjust this based on your capacity). Repeat this 3 times and see the difference. Return back to normal breathing.
2. Diaphragmatic/Abdominal Breathing
Sit in any comfortable position or lie down. Place both your palms on top of your belly. As you Inhale feel your belly rise up, and as you Exhale feel your belly drop back towards your spine. Do this for a minute. Then Inhale for a count of 2-4, & Exhale for longer count of 4-6 (you could adjust this based on your capacity). Repeat this 3 times and see the difference. Return back to normal breathing.
3. Tranquilizing Breath - Bumble Bee Breathing
Sit in any comfortable position. Place your index fingers on both ear lobes and close them. Inhale and while exhaling keeping mouth closed, make a humming noise like the bees. Exhale as long as possible. Repeat 3-5 rounds and not more. Return back to normal breathing.
There might be some amount of difficulty in trying these in the beginning. Discontinue if feeling anxious, or too stressed. Just relax and observe your breathing.
YouTube link to the video describing these basic breathing practices:
I am a student currently receiving RYT 200 Teacher Training at a1000 yoga academy, Bangalore, India ( Jan- Apr 2021). This is an abstract of the anatomy module, coupled with my personal experiences!
