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THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BREATHING – When one embarks on developing a pranayama
practice it might
feel like stepping off into unknown territory. In
this day and age yoga has become a generic term
usually referring to
the asana’s or postures that are so widely recognized and publicized
everywhere
you look. However, the yogi’s of ancient
times…the ones who lived in the caves and forests and dedicated their
lives to
this path also trained themselves in various other techniques to reach
those blissful
states of higher consciousness. Pranayama,
or restraining of the breath, was one of
those other
practices. Today, science and medicine have confirmed
that the rhythms
of the breath have a powerful and significant impact on health. Blood pressure is one of the bodily
functions
that responds to breath control. And
blood pressure is a major contributor to healthy heart function. We
also know
that an increase in oxygen to the kidneys & liver help promote
optimal functioning
of these organs as well. Balancing out
hormonal functions is very likely another benefit to monitoring the
breath. The waves of extreme emotions can
be quickly soothed
by breathing consciously to certain rhythms. And, the negative effects
of
stress on the body, the most documented topic of all, are immediately
reduced
and minimized by conscious breathing. Finally, the greatest miracle of
all is
that breathing more consciously is a technique that is available and
easy to do
for all of us, no exceptions. Think of
it as a gift from our creator enabling all of us to self-soothe and
self-heal
at any given moment. The idea that we
can heal or cure ourselves, without the intervention of modern
medicine, is a
concept that many of us have sadly forgotten. One of the things that I first noticed as a
yoga teacher was
how few people have any awareness of the breath at all.
They are ignorant of how they are breathing. It’s
one of those automatic bodily functions that we tend to take for
granted. That is until one encounters a
major problem
such as shortness of breath, asthma, anxiety, or emphysema. Unfortunately, by this time it may (or may
not) be too late to completely reverse the situation. However,
some gains can still be made by
becoming even more conscious of our own breathing process and by
attempting to
bring some conscious control and a more focused awareness to the
process. At the very least, the increased
levels of the
stress hormones will subside enough for one to experience some relief
from immediate
circumstances. Cellular regeneration of
dis-eased systems might also be possible depending on the depth and
regularity
of your practice. I remember watching an episode of Storm
Stories on The
Weather Channel. One survivor of a
terrifying hurricane spoke of his experience. A very large shard of
glass from
a breaking window had seriously cut him in the vulnerable mid-section
of his
body. He was bleeding profusely and
couldn’t move from where he had fallen in his kitchen.
The storm raged on and it wasn’t until the
next day that he was discovered. He knew
that he couldn’t live through the night at the rate he was bleeding so
he
immediately began to practice the yogic breathing techniques he had
learned in
his yoga classes. Through these
practices he was not only able to stay calm and relaxed both mentally
and
emotionally but he was also able to slow down his heart rate and reduce
his
blood pressure thereby slowing down the bleeding process.
It was a moving story and clearly showed the
benefits of not just pranayama but the whole of yoga.
These practices are not for everyone. Nor will they necessarily cure everything
that ails you. But one thing they will do
is to enable you to stay calm, centered, and present through the
everyday
stresses that challenge you. And in the
event of crisis, or the unexpected chaos that life presents, you will
have some
tools at your disposal to help you maintain your balance over longer
periods of
stress. But remember, they are practices,
which means ‘something that you repeat on a periodic basis’. Going to one class or one workshop is not
going to do much. The sooner you
integrate them into your daily life the sooner you will feel more
alive, more
vibrant, calmer, clearer, and more balanced.
Remember also, that
yoga means union, and that suggests that
you can’t just isolate one particular yogic practice from the whole and
expect
the same results. Breathing, postures,
meditation, and living an ethical life all need to be practiced
together
at the same time. Many benefits can be
had by learning these techniques one at a time, but for long lasting
and life
enhancing effects it is best to integrate them as a whole into ones
life.
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