The Forgotten Art of Breathing

“If the mind is the king of senses, the master of the mind is breath.”

Breathing is life and practising breathing exercises is a miraculous way of controlling the mind. Breathing exercises are a very powerful way of meditation in order to calm the mind and the nervous system but unfortunately, it is taken for granted.

Breathing does not have to be forceful or deep, however, it does not mean shallow breathing at all. It should be comfortably deep, avoiding any strain on the lungs, chest, facial muscles and skull. Inhalation and exhalation should be at their comfortably lowest speed level. There must not be any jerks while inhaling or exhaling. It must be a very smooth flow of breath. In this way each cell and muscle of the body get oxygenated thoroughly which is the life force. It rejuvenates the body and one feels alert and active. Vincent Cronin in his book Napoleon (1995) mentions a very interesting fact about Napoleon regarding his sheer vitality and alertness. He says that Napoleon had exceptionally large-sized lungs which gave him the advantage of inhaling a great amount of oxygen at one time and this made him super active. For this very reason, according to Cronin, Napoleon could manage with as little as 3-4 hours of sleep in a day. The reason is that his long and extended inhalation and exhalation gave him enough life force and oxygen to cleanse his bloodstream thoroughly. That was the secret behind his very active life and exceptional stamina which enabled him to plan his battles better than others. This is just one example of the benefits of taking in large quantities of oxygen for gaining extraordinary energy.

Inhalation should be gradual and controlled, and then the breath should be retained in the lungs for a comfortably long time without any strain. Similarly, during exhalation, once again, the release of breath should be gradual and controlled.  It allows human cells to absorb as much energy as they can to rejuvenate the body and to remove toxins from the bloodstream to make anyone feel lighter. How very simple is this process but in our stressful lives we have forgotten the true art of breathing.

Posture is equally important to get the maximum out of breathing exercises. By sitting upright with a straight back, like Buddha, all obstructions in the flow of breath are removed and full benefits of a wonderful journey start to flow into one’s life.

During the exercise, the mind should focus on breathing only i.e. it should see the breath coming in and going out like a flowing stream. Being motionless during breathing exercises creates the bliss of internal silence. This will focus the mind, create meditative effect and a person will feel fresh after the exercise.

If only we could spare 15 minutes, or at least 5 minutes, a day to do breathing exercises, we can achieve great mental and physical benefits. During breathing exercises, the brain is quieter; the nervous system is at peace and functions effectively. Compassion, kindness, politeness and calmness are some of the outcomes of being focused.