The Untapped Power Within Us
We come into this world with an inhalation, and we leave it with an exhalation. Our breath signposts two major events in our life, the beginning and the end…but, it also tells us so much about the way we feel and even our health.
Observe your breath right now…
Are you breathing through your mouth or nostrils?
Where do you feel the breath?
Is it short and shallow? Or deep and slow?
The yogis of old closely observed and analysed our breathing patterns to reverse engineer certain moods, feelings and physical responses. They observed how we breathe fast and shallow when we are agitated or excited, and how the breath slows down when we are in a relaxed state. They noticed the alternating of nostril dominance during the day and understood its relationship with a slight increased activation of our sympathetic (right nostril) or parasympathetic (left nostril) nervous system.
This empirical knowledge served as the basis for all of the breathing techniques that have made it to us, standing the tests of time and now finding solid basis in scientific research.
During a yoga practice we learn to pay attention to the breath as well as to use techniques that allow us to hack our nervous system. It is time to reconnect with this innate knowledge as, in most western countries, we have become the “worst breathers in the animal kingdom”, science journalist James Nestor warns us in his book “Breath”. And this is affecting not only our state of mind, but the very health of our bodies.
Nestor highlights some of the most unhealthy habits we have developed: mouth breathing and over-breathing. These largely unconscious habits can lead, among other issues, to adrenaline and blood sugar spikes, anxiety and asthma. It sounds odd, however this points towards how disconnected we have become from our bodies.
Nestor goes on to explain that nose breathing alone is responsible for more efficient oxygen absorption, as it releases nitric oxide, a molecule that plays an essential role in increasing circulation and delivering oxygen into cells. Immune function, weight, circulation, mood, and sexual function can all be heavily influenced by the amount of nitric oxide in the body.
But again, it’s not just the health of our bodies that is affected by the way we breathe, but our state of mind.
The good news is that it takes very little to revert back to health.
For instance, lengthening the exhale phase of the breath, allows us feel calmer and more grounded, as it stimulates the vagus nerve and the release of acetylcholine, the chief neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system, which dilates blood vessels and slows heart rate. Another example is practing “samavrtti” breath (from the sankrit “sama”, “same” and “vritti” “movement”): inhaling and exhaling with a ratio of 5.5’, which brings about a state of coherence where the heart, lungs and blood circulation work at peak efficiency, whilst the mind gets quieter and calmer. So simple, yet so powerful.
We must then find our way back to our bodies, to our breath…
because breathing is life.
The way we breathe is the way we feed our bodies, the way Prana – the life force in yogic philosophy – enters our bodies. So connect to your breath, pay attention, and choose how you want to feel.
Main – Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
