Yoga has studied and understood breath like no other form of science. Yogis have devised techniques to regulate the breath and alternate parameters like heart and metabolic rate; oxygen consumption, temperature of the body etc. Extensive research has been carried out to assess the impact of pranayama or breath-regulation on cellular repair, anxiety, depression, cancer and aging. Regular practice of pranayama is known to optimize health and assist in age reversal.
Right breathing can help increase oxygen absorption in the body. This influences metabolic rate which helps in loosing or maintaining your weight. It also helps arrest aging at a cellular level by controlling cellular damage and facilitating repair. This boosts your organ health, cardiovascular-system, nervous activity and increases your energy levels tremendously. Thus your lung capacity and the ability to breathe right play a huge role in keeping you healthy and youthful. A combination of postures and breathing practices help improve lung capacity.
Yoga divides the mechanism of breath into three parts: purak (inhalation), rechak (exhalation) and kumbhak (retention). It also defines a specific ratio of purak, kumbhak and rechak for the various breathing techniques. Pranayama or breath regulation can cleanse, revitalize and increase the prana or life force in your system.
The connection between breath and mind
Normally, you take 12-18 breaths per minute. It is possible to bring the number of breaths down to 2-6 per minute using the techniques of pranayama. One of the ways to achieve this is to simply become aware of your breath. Breath influences the mental body deeply. It goes through the ups and downs of your emotional life with you. The easiest way to understand this is to notice your breath when you are angry or stressed. When you are angry your breath rate (number of breaths per minute) increases rapidly. When you are stressed beyond a point, you exhale forcefully with a ‘hu’ sound. When you are trying to accomplish a task which requires immense concentration of mind, you tend to hold your breath. Yogic wisdom states that when the breath is controlled it is possible to control the mind.
Pranayama holds the secret to the fountain of youth
The ancient science of yoga has observed that breathing right can enhance your life span. Working on your breath does not only change your appearance in terms of skin texture, hair growth, sparkling eyes, it also affects the brain. Research in the elderly has shown that practicing pranayama can improve the motor and cognitive skills of an individual, boost memory power and slow down aging to an extent. Another research has studied the effect of pranayama on the ANS (autonomic nervous system). ANS has two drives and controls the involuntary actions or functions of the organs. With regular pranayama, it will switch from sympathetic drive (flight or fight response) to parasympathetic drive (rest and digest response). In the parasympathetic drive, stress levels drop, immunity gets a boost, decision making and creativity are enhanced. It also makes you feel peaceful. Stress, anxiety, depression can be eliminated from your life. You can achieve vibrant health, happiness, and youthful energy through your breath.
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