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PRANAYAMA…….BREATHING
In Yoga it is said that each person has a fixed number of breaths allocated to him. If one breathes slowly then one will live longer, for the number of breaths is allocated for the lifetime; if one breathes rapidly the given number of breaths are used up more quickly resulting in a shorter life span. Whether you accept this idea or not, there is nevertheless a great deal of truth in it. A fast breathing rate is associated with tension, fear, worry, etc.which tends to lead to bad health, unhappiness and of course a shorter life. A person who breathes slowly is relaxed, calm and happy, which is conducive to longevity. A person who breathes quickly tends to inhale small volumes of air and exhale the same small volumes; this tends to allow germs to accumulate in the lower areas of the lungs. Conversely, a person who breathes slowly tends to also breathe deeply and thereby fill the lungs to a greater depth. This helps to remove stagnant air from the lower reaches of the lungs and to destroy the breeding ground of germs and the germs themselves. There are other reasons that relate longevity to slow and deep breathing. For example, deep breathing imparts a good massage to the abdominal organs via the diaphragm. This is a natural and essential subsidiary function of the breathing process, which is often overlooked. The massage of the liver, stomach, etc. Keeps them in good working order by expelling old, impure blood and allowing pure, oxygenated blood to replace it. Shallow breathing connected with fast breathing does not give the internal organs the massage they require. This can lead to various diseases. It, in itself, does not cause them, but tends to encourage the onset in conjunction with other body factors.
Shallow breathing also leads to insufficient oxygen in the body. This causes functional disturbances and illnesses concerned with circulatory, digestive and nervous system, since the efficiency of these systems is entirely dependent on healthy, well nourished nerves and organs, which depend completely on oxygen for survival.
There was absolutely no need for him to consider whether he was breathing correctly or not- his very way of life was in tune with nature and sufficient to ensure that breathing was correct. His active way of life encouraged the lungs to work at optimum efficiency. His relaxed way of life encouraged correct breathing instead of imposing an almost continual inhibition and unnatural load on the respiratory system as modern man does. Modern man through fear, competition and hatred does not allow the respiratory system to work as it should. We take quick shallow breaths which in a way is in accordance with the fast, superficial modern way of life. Compare this with the life of a farmer, who generally has a good breathing rhythm and consequently good health. His active way of life is conducive to good, deep and slow respiration. He has the time and inclination to see himself in relationship to nature. He relaxes and tunes in with his surroundings.
There are a large number of factors that influence our breathing. For example, if we take a cold shower, automatically we must breathe deeply; it is a conditioned response. Yet most modern people rarely have a cold shower; instead they take a hot bath. Ancient man had no choice. A cold brisk atmosphere encourages deep breathing, yet modern man spends as little time as possible in the open, preferring to hibernate in air-conditioned and heated apartments. As such they lose touch with a natural stimulator of rhythmic breathing. Primitive man did not need to be taught how to breathe properly; it happened as an automatic response to his surroundings.
In comparison, the surrounding and way of life of modern man does not encourage correct breathing. It is for this reason that today most people have to learn how to breathe properly. They have to relearn what in fact is natural for them. They have to reactivate their nervous reflexes so that their breathing becomes normal and harmonious to life and health.
Think of how many diseases are caused or at least aggravated by faulty breathing. These include Cancer, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, heart, blood pressures and large number of other ailments indirectly caused by starving our body of the oxygen nourishment that it need as a result of shallow respiration.