The Power of Breath...

By John Dunbar 30 October 2008 05:25:00

Morning Yoga Class, Anantara, Seminyak, Bali

Most of us take breathing for granted; a function preformed without thought. Is the breath important? Well without it we would die - that we all know. But there is so much more to this life sustaining practice.

Pranayama is the Sanskrit word for breathing exercises. The word prana means "energy" or "life force", ayama means to increase, lengthen or extend and yama means to control or discipline. So when you combine them Pranayama translates to bringing energy or life force into our bodies with control.

Through the practice of Pranayama we can learn to get the most out of our breath. Increasing our ability to breathe properly will allow us to bring more oxygen into our lungs which ultimately equates to more health and overall wellness.

Many people are shallow breathers. This is where you take in basically enough air to sustain life in quick, shallow breaths. You use only about twenty-five percent of your lungs capacity. Shallow breathing is mostly a result of our quick-paced lifestyles. People that suffer from increased anxiety or get angry or frustrated easily tend to be shallow breathers. These negatives states coupled with our high-paced lifestyles are strong influencing factors that bring on shallow or rapid breathing. When we are able to train our bodies to slow the breath down, taking deeper and slower breaths how there is a profoundly positive effect on those negatives states. A slow, deep breath will quickly calm us in stressful situations.

Most people tend to breath from their chests and do not use the diaphragm for breathing. The diaphragm is the muscle that is located below our lungs and it travels up and down as we breathe. When we inhale the diaphragm relaxes down and when we exhale it contracts. The diaphragm is a large, pancake type muscle, no different than another muscle in our bodies. The more we use it the stronger it becomes. The practice of Pranayama strengthens the diaphragm and a strong diaphragm is the frame work needed for the body to take slow, deep and comfortable breaths.

These deep breaths will increase the amount of oxygen available to the body. Decreased oxygen levels are known to lower your resistance to many diseases including heart disease, a greater chance of poor mental ability and overall lethargy.

Proper breathing will not only increase the oxygen supply to our bodies, but it will also increase the amount of carbon dioxide we can eliminate from the body.

One of the most powerful tools of the breath is its ability to relieve stress. Whenever I find myself in a stressful situation I just do some deep yogi breaths (inhaling a deep comfortable breath with a large stomach and exhaling slowly with control with my belly button coming back toward my spine), and it seems like the stress just melts away. The next time you are feeling stress just check in with your body and see what is happening with your breath. More than likely you are holding your breath and your chest is tight. This is where you really need to use your diaphragm to relax you. Just take a few deep yogi breaths to relax you. Taking control of your breath will bring an amazing calming effect to your body and mind.

Breath control is also a powerful mechanism to enhance meditation. Your breath can become your mantra. Just focusing on your inhale and exhale will allow your mind to enter a meditative state, gently moving thoughts aside and allowing your mind to drift deeper into a peaceful place. Pranayama aids our spiritual journey by with our relaxed body and mind.

To illustrate the physical benefits of Pranayama I will share a personal example. I love to snorkel and free-dive in the ocean. Free-diving is where you are equipped with just a mask, snorkel and fins and basically turn toward the bottom and see how far you can go and how long you can stay down. Prior to practicing Pranyamaa I could comfortably hold my breath underwater for about 40 seconds. Within about a month of practicing Pranyayam I was up to just over 2 minutes. After a year this reached 3 minutes. The breathing exercises increased the amount of oxygen I could take in and also taught me to relax my body and mind. Thus I was using much less oxygen than I normally would. It is a wonderful experience to be snorkeling fifty feet underwater watching a sea turtle feed, and not having to rush up to the surface to grab a breath.

I recently arrived at the amazing new Anantara resort in Seminyak, Bali. This resort is located right on the beach and we are doing our yoga classes just a few meters from the sea. The air is fresh and pure. A wonderful place to practice Pranayama. Drawing clean ocean air into our lungs while we listen to the waves gently breaking in front of us.

In the coming months I will continue the series on Pranayama and provide detailed instructions on how to practice the three breathing exercises I use in my own practice. So stayed tuned and try and use your diaphragm for breathing and not your chest. Be conscious of your breath, just check in and see if you are shallow breathing or holding your breath during stressful times.

Yoga Teachers, Anantara, Hua Hin