Breathing and Yoga

Breathing is the most basic and intrinsic of body processes. It is also one of the most important processes for the human body, as it supplies oxygen to it. One can survive for a few days without food and water but only for a few minutes without oxygen. This demonstrates how important breathing is to our lives. The quality of your life is also affected in many ways by your breathing style.

There is an enormous amount of research that has been done to show why breathing is important to the human body and how it affects it. Ideally you should be breathing from your nose and not your mouth. This ensures that clean air enters the body in the most natural way. Breathing through the mouth can affect the throat and thyroid and in children it can interfere with mental development.

Importance of Breathing Right

• Breathing rids the body of toxins and waste.

• Most of us tend to breathe quickly and shallow. This reduces the amount of oxygen that enters the body and accordingly limits the body’s performance. Oxygen is especially important to the functioning of the brain, the internal organs and the nervous system.

• Oxygen is essential for the production of ATP or Adenosine Triphosphate in the human body. ATP is the basis for energy in the body and with a drop in this chemical the body grows sluggish, the immune system is lowered and leads to premature aging.

• A good level of oxygen in the body reduces the chances of arterial disease.

Yoga will help Your Breathing

Yoga emphasizes on deep and focused breathing and makes you conscious of this process. ‘Pranayama’ or breathing techniques used in yoga were essentially designed to facilitate meditative states. ‘Asanas’ have to be performed along with specific breathing techniques for the body to benefit from them fully. When you perform yoga you learn to breathe better and more effectively and you find an improvement in your concentration and also in your actions.

It is found that when you are affected by stress of any kind the body tends to stoop. Due to this posture the lungs are unable to work effectively and the position of the neck, bending forward, also does not enable optimal breathing. This reduces the oxygen in the body making you feel lethargic or sluggish, depressed and gloomy. Now in contrast if deep breathing techniques are used the mind and body are served with oxygen rich blood and you are more attentive and focused. This in turn helps you deal more effectively with the stress you encounter.

Most of us live a sedentary lifestyle, usually spending most of our day without fresh air with little time for exercise. Yoga gives you the opportunity to find a balance in your life, and in your mind and body. By practicing yoga regularly you adopt healthy breathing techniques and discover how important breathing is to your body and life