The Importance of Breathing

The yogic view is that the breath is a direct mirror of the quality of the mind, and irregular or incorrect breathing reflects a scattered mind and a lack of the mind/body connection. 

As such, breath is indicative of health, and chaotic breathing eventually manifests itself as disease. Learning to breathe freely, observing the breath so that it gradually penetrates every cell of our body, is therefore fundamental to healing. 

Physical, mental and emotional stress impress upon the way we breathe and, likewise, the way we breathe can affect our psychophysiology. The breath contains thought-waves, which can be unravelled. In yoga we aim to repattern the breath gently, unravelling its threads to gradually dislodge habitual ‘holding’ patterns reflecting mental tension. According to Dr Alexander Lowen’s school of bioenergy, abnormal breathing is a sign of inhibited feelings, such as anger or resentment, which may contribute to disorders including asthmatic attacks and habitual muscular tension combined with inhibited breathing reflecting underlying disharmony. 

The practice of pranayamas restores the balance of the inbreath and the outbreath. The inbreath is energising, expansive and creative; the outbreath calming, centring and rooting. An expansive inbreath is called ‘brahmana’ (solar) breath; a deep outbreath is called ‘langhana’ (lunar) breath. 

Extract taken from ‘Yoga for Life’ by Liz Lark (published by Carlton)

We all know that breathing is important – without oxygen our bodies and vital organs would not last more than a few minutes. What a lot of people forget is that breathing also serves a second crucial function and that is the removal of waste products and toxins from our body. 

It is therefore obvious that the quality of our breathing has a major effect on our health and ability to function optimally. Poor oxygen supply affects all parts of our bodies and as we get older the oxygen supply is generally reduced due to poor lifestyle. Lack of oxygen supply is also considered to be a major cause of cancer. Research has shown that when oxygen is withdrawn, normal body cells could turn into cancer cells. Similarly, it has been shown that lack of oxygen is a major cause of heart disease, strokes and cancer. 

Thousands of years ago the first yogis realised the importance of adequate oxygen supply and they developed and perfected various breathing techniques. The benefits of these techniques are most notable in people who have sedentary jobs and spend a lot of the day indoors. Their bodies are operating as best they can but certainly not at an optimal level. The result of this inefficient oxygen transportation is tiredness, nervousness and irritability leading to a lack of productivity and general well being. Sleep tends to be disjointed and thus a vicious circle develops which eventually leads to a weakened immune system and ultimately illness. 

The science behind why this happens can be explained quite simply. The chemical basis of energy production in the body is a chemical called ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). Oxygen is critical in the production of ATP and a lowered ability to produce ATP (i.e. impaired/lowered oxygen usage) results in a lessened ability to produce energy and therefore lowered vitality and well being. 

We all know how to breathe we just don’t always do it effectively and efficiently and we don’t even realise it. Our breathing is too shallow and too quick and we are not using the full capacity of our lungs. It has been shown that mammals which breathe slowly live the longest. Most people on the otherhand are in a hurry most of the time and living under a high level of stress emotionally, physically and mentally. We just have forgotten to take the time to do what our body will do by itself. 

What can we do about it and how can we increase the amount of oxygen we are getting into our body? 

Clearly, increasing the quality of our breathing can do this and yoga in particular which is itself a focus on breathing through the practice of pranayamas can be of significant benefit. 

The most important step to beneficial breathing is to ensure that we are breathing through our nose and not through our mouth. Many people are unaware that they breathe through their mouth – this can lead to a multitude of problems including impaired development of the thyroid gland. We were designed to breathe through our noses – mainly to reduce the amount of impurities we are taking into our body (nasal hairs serve the purpose of filtering the air we breathe) as well as providing a long winding mucous lined passage down to our lungs which warms excessively cold air to protect our sensitive lungs. In addition, the nose has the ability to detect poisonous gases (through smell) which may be harmful to us. 

Yogis believe that the nose has an additional function – the absorption of ‘prana’ – the vital life force, similar to chi.

The simplest way to make sure you are breathing through your nose is to keep your mouth closed! Over time this will become a habit. 

The next step is to ensure that the breaths you are taking are deep and slow. This also may well take practice and yoga helps you to do this by making you focus on the length of your breathe as well as putting your body into positions which physically open up the thoracic (lung) cavity and the abdomen. 

Simple practice of these two steps will start you on the way to achieving the following benefits:

1. Improved blood quality through oxygenation and improved elimination of toxins from the body through breath.

2. Increased efficiency of the digestive system leading to a more effective ability to get the best out of the food you are putting into your body. This is due to the fact that the diaphragm during deep breathing gently massages the abdominal organs (stomach, small intestine, liver and pancreas). 

3. Rejuvenation of your skin – this is the largest organ of the human body and is responsible for excreting many of the toxins from your body. If you are already using the breath as an exit mechanism you will be decreasing the need for toxins to travel through your skin and therefore unblock the pores. This will lead to smoother and less wrinkled skin.

4. Improved nervous system – this includes the brain, spinal cord and nerves. This system relies heavily on oxygen to make it function effectively.

5. Rejuvenation of the glands particularly those found in the brain (pineal and pituitary).

6. Healthier and more powerful lungs which in turn will help you with everyday living and protect you from respiratory problems. 

7. Increased health of your heart – by breathing deeply you are reducing the workload on the heart by helping the oxygenated blood around your system through a greater pressure differential in the lungs. This leads to an increase in circulation and a reduction in blood pressure and can lead to less heart disease. 

8. Improved weight control. The extra oxygen is utilised to burn excess fat more efficiently in overweight people. If you are underweight, the extra oxygen feeds the starving tissues and glands. 

9. Relaxation of your body and mind. 

It is important also to realise that these benefits don’t only occur whilst you are practicing the deep breathing. By strengthening your lungs you will be increasing your breathing capacity overall and therefore you will see the benefits on an on-going basis. 

Of course yoga isn’t the only activity to help with improving your breathing – increasing your level of active sport will also be beneficial and ideally you will use a combination of yoga and exercise to achieve optimal breathing.