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Significance of breath
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The breath, the doorway between the outer and inner worlds, was a cause of mystery to the ancients. It took them thousands of years to decipher the secrets of the breath. In their deep contemplations the yogis of the Vedic era came to the conclusion that the breath holds the key to the complete process of evolution and it is the breath which opens all the psychic doorways. Hence the ancients devised pranayamas “salutations to prana”, as breath was considered one of the major carriers of prana.
To understand breath we need to understand the complete mechanism, how with the process of respiration, energy is produced and utilised in the body. The entire process is divided into two parts according to modern science, inhalation (rechak) and exhalation (poorak) but yoga talks about retention (kumbhak) also (its purpose will be explained later as it is not done in initial stages).
When we inhale we take in oxygen and the prime property of oxygen is “combustion” or burning. In the entire process oxygen causes combustion and energy is produced which is utilised by the body, carbon dioxide and water are released. In this process a waste product is released in the body which is called “ama”. This ama, if not thrown out of the body starts collecting and rotting in the body resulting in diseases or ailments. The faster you inhale and exhale, you induce this whole mechanism to work faster. So the more oxygen you take in the body more ama is produced in the body. This collected ama which is acidic in nature then slowly and steadily starts corroding the internal organs. Also we need to understand the process of ageing. More is not always good. Nature is balance, and a healthy body is also a result of balance. When we inhale oxygen, through combustion, it produces energy, this energy is utilised by the cell, the process is called metabolism. Now this cell utilises the energy produced and after a period of time dies and two more are generated or we can say it splits or mutates into two.
The underlying point to understand is, faster the breathing, faster is the metabolism and faster is the rate at which the cell degenerates or mutates. Every new cell produced is weaker than the previous one and reflects the state of the body. This entire procedure is ageing of the body. In simple words faster the metabolism, faster is the process of ageing.
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—The writer Yogi Ashwini Ji is the
head of Dhyan Foundation, Delhi.
For Details contact: ashwiniyogi@yahoo.co.in
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June 2007
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