Breathing is an involuntary action for all humans and the animals. The human body is able to breathe on its own to take care of its functioning. That does not mean it works at its optimum. We may need to learn a thing or two from the animals. I read this passage in one of my favorite books, A Search In Secret India, by Paul Brunton.
This is the conversation between the author and a Yogi that he meets in Chennai. The Yogi says
an elephant breathes much more slowly than a monkey, yet it lives much longer. Some of the large serpents breathe far more slowly than a dog, yet they live longer. Thus creatures exist which show that slowness of breathing may possibly prolong age. These animals use their organs less, so the wear and tear is less which helps them to live longer.
From a Yogic point of view, breathing is considered supremely important. Not the involuntary breathing, but conscious breathing. There is a close connection between the breath and the blood, breath and the mind, breath and the thoughts. For breathing is linked to how the mind functions and the other way around. Mind is what we are interested in the Yoga philosophy.
When our mind is agitated, we breathe fast and shallow. Or it could also be that when the breath is shallow, the mind loses clarity which gets translated to thoughts going haywire. The lungs are underutilized, which means that the muscles of the heart need to work more to keep the system going as there is not enough oxygen coming by.
Conscious breathing translates to Prana in the body. Pranayama is the yogic term used to breathing correctly and optimally. As there is no way to voluntarily control the brain or the thoughts, Pranayama is used to indirectly control the thoughts. The side effect of Pranayama is to live long and giving the heart a little rest as it slows down the heart rate.
Some yoga texts like Yoga Rahasya by Nathamuni written in 9th Century AD, say that we all have certain number of breaths for a day (21600) and in the lifetime. If we take it really slow, we can live healthy and long. If we breathe swiftly, we borrow too many breaths from the reserve. It means we are in a hurry to the end.
Exhalation is given a lot of importance here. This is prescribed in Yoga Sutras by Patanjali as one of the soultions to control the mind. To figure out how long the exhale is, take a deep inhale and chant Om on an exhale. Chanting is also one of the methods to teach kids and adults the technique of Pranayama. The chant on an exhale is longer than an inhale forcing us to breathe the Yogic way.
Aside from the Pranayama, breathing correctly is important while performing asanas too. On an inhale, when the lungs start to fill up, the spine starts to straighten. This gives more space for the lungs to expand. This movement of the spine is crucial. We always get into a lot of asanas that need the chest expansion or the ones that maintain the length of the body on an inhale using the length of the spine. The asanas that contract the body are done on an exhalation.
Normally, Ujjai breathing is used while performing an asana. This is the style of breathing where the throat is used and we can hear ourselves breathing. This helps us focus on the breath and also tells us how we are performing in an asana. If we cannot hear ourselves, we have gone beyond our capacity and need to backoff a bit. So, the breathing is an indicator of our capacity and we have to respect that. Focussing on the breath prepares our body for Pranayama which is usually followed by Dhyanam.
Take it easy, slow down and breathe like a Yogi, for a happy and long life!
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