Breathing is one of our basic non-voluntary bodily functions, and is our connection to life itself and we also have control over it, so if we learn to breathe correctly we can actually maximize our health and energy levels.
The correct breathing exercise can be done by anyone you don’t need to know anything about yoga and it is a quick an easy way to look and feel better instantly.
Lets look at correct breathing and its benefits.
As we have control over it, in yoga philosophy it is believed that if we can breathe correctly we can energize our bodies and our lives. This fundamental believe in correct breathing is seen as the basic cornerstone of yoga and other forms of exercise such as Ti Chi – They all base their exercise regime upon correct breathing.
Below we will look at how to use the basic Yoga principle of Pranayama…Control of the Breath to reenergize your whole body.
Breathing correctly why it’s so important
In many languages to breath has the same basic root as the word soul, spirit, and essence. The ancient Yoga Masters believed that if you can control your breathing, i.e. breath correctly you can enhance your life.
In Yoga the Yogis call the life energy Prana, and the Buddhists, Chi, but whatever you wish to call it, it is the energy that surrounds all life, all of creation and in the yoga philosophy we need it to derive the maximum from our lives
In Yoga it is believed that the breath holds more than just air, but also the energy of life. Therefore, by breathing correctly we not only take in a necessary dose of oxygen, but we also receive life energy at the same time, that acts as an energy boost to the whole body.
Breathing correctly to energize your body
The 20th century Yoga Master, Paramhamsa Yogananda taught through his organization, the Self-Realization Fellowship, a series of re-energizing exercises that focused on correct breathing that if performed each day, were believed to keep you fit, active, alert and energetic.
Correct breathing is one of the basic building blocks upon which all yoga exercises are based upon.
In yoga it is stressed that when you were feeling tired, or need some energy and general body re-charging, a correct breathing exercise can instantly give you a boost of energy.
Breathing correctly
Stand upright, with your arms straight out to your sides at shoulder level.
Exhale with the double breath, with your knees bent slightly and then bring your arms (still extended) to the front until your palms touch.
Then with a double inhalation this time, bring your arms back out, straightening your legs as you do so – and then tense the entire body upwards in a wave fashion.
Now, relax the body downwards in a wave in reverse order with another double exhalation. Repeat this exercise 5 times. To help you understand this, and to do it correctly, double breathing must be a short and long inhalation through the nose and a short and long exhalation through the nose and mouth.
The double breath will allow you to inhale and exhale more deeply and to provide oxygen to the blood, and at the same time take in a dose of life energy.
To practice the double breath, you should begin by inhaling strongly through the nose immediately with a short, defined inhalation followed directly by a long, profound inhalation – completely filling the lungs.
When doing so visualize the energy going into every cell of your body and filling you with energy.
Without pausing, exhale twice through the nose and mouth with a short, then a prolonged exhalation – making the sound: “Huf, Huffffffff.”
Try to visualize as you are breathing correctly, the life energy flowing into your body with every breath reenergizing your soul.
The positive benefits of correct breathing
If you practice only this exercise daily, you will gain positive benefits that will help you look and feel better.
Not only will you feel fresh and alert, you will also have exhaled by breathing correctly, many toxins and negative particles produced through our respiration process.
You will as a consequence look and feel healthier, you will be alert, and gradually you will come to sense the life energy that breathing correctly can give you.
This is a simple exercise that can be done by anyone even if you don’t want to practice yoga itself, correct breathing will give you health benefits with very little effort.