Breathing and Health.

Are we Breathing right?
All of us know how to breath. Breathing is something spontaneous, natural and automatic. So it seems foolish to think that we need to be told about breathing.

Yet, one's breathing becomes modified and restricted in various ways, not just momentarily, but habitually. We develop unhealthy habits without being aware of it. We tend to assume positions (slouched positions) that diminishes lung capacities and take shortened breaths. We also live in social conditions that is not good for the health of our respiratory system.

Scientists claim that there exist a strong connection between our respiration and our mental state. Improper breathing produces diminished mental ability. If you are tired or ill it is also reflected in your breathing.
It is known that mental tensions produce restricted breathing.

A sedentary individual when confronted with a disturbing problem tends to lean forward, draw his arms together and bend his head down. These body postures reduces the lung capacity. The more intense the concentration, the more tense the muscles become. The muscles in the arms, neck and chest contract. The muscles that move the thorax and control inhalation and muscular tenseness clamp down and restrict the exhalation. The breaths become shorter and shorter. After an extended period of intense focusing, the whole system seems to be frozen in a certain posture.

We become fatigued from the decreased circulation of the blood and from the decreased availability of oxygen for the blood because we have almost stopped breathing. As our duties, responsibilities and their attendant problems become more demanding, we develop habits of forgetting to breathe.

What's Wrong With The Way We Breathe?
Our breathing is too shallow and too quick. We are not taking in sufficient oxygen and we are not eliminating sufficient carbon dioxide. , As a result, our bodies are oxygen starved, and a toxic build-up occurs. Every cell in the body requires oxygen and our level of vitality is just a product of the health of all the cells.

Now the link between insufficient oxygen and disease is firmly established. The more oxygen we have in our system, the more energy we produce. (Researchers have found that the human body was originally designed to grow and operate at a 50% stronger concentration of oxygen than what's currently available.)

Shallow breathing does not exercise the lungs enough, so they lose some of their function, causing a further reduction in vitality.
Animals which breathe slowly live the longest; the elephant is a good example. Dogs breath fast and they have short life span.

We need to breathe more slowly and deeply. Quick shallow breathing results in oxygen starvation which leads to reduced vitality, premature ageing, poor immune system and a myriad of other factors.

Why Is Our Breath Fast and Shallow?
Of course there are several reasons but the major are:

1. Busy, hectic life style.
We are in hurry most of the time and our movements, actions and breathing follow this pattern.

2.Day to day Stress.
When you are in stress you breath more quickly and less deeply.

3.Emotions.
We get too emotional too easily. We get excited easily, angry easily, and most of the rest of the time we suffer from anxiety due to worry. These negative emotional states affect the rate of breathing, causing it to be fast and shallow.

4.Technology at work
Modern technology and automation reduces our need for physical activity. There is less need to breathe deeply, so we develop the shallow breathing habit.

5.Internal Pollution.
We are working indoors more and more. This increases our exposure to pollution. As a result, the body instinctively inhales less air to protect itself from pollution. The body just takes in enough air to tick over.

Breathing is the only means of supplying our bodies and its various organs with oxygen which is vital for our health and it is one of the ways to get rid of waste products and toxins from our body.

Why Oxygen is so vital?
Oxygen is the most vital nutrient in our bodies. It is essential for the proper and efficient functioning of the brain, nerves, Glands and other internal organs.
Four basic components which have to do with the generation and maintenance of the life process are proteins, carbohydrates, water and energy.

When looked at from the standpoint of their chemical makeup, the importance of oxygen becomes readily apparent.

· nitrogen + carbon + hydrogen + oxygen = protein
· carbon + hydrogen + oxygen = carbohydrates
· hydrogen + oxygen = water
· oxygen + carbohydrates = energy

All four of these vital elements of life...have at least this one thing in common- OXYGEN.

The makeup of the human body is largely composed of the element oxygen. Especially after you factor in the human body being about four-fifths water, with water itself being at least 33% oxygen.

We can survive without food for weeks and without water for days, but without oxygen we will die within a few minutes. If the brain does not get proper supply of this essential nutrient, it will cause degradation of all the vital organs of the body. The brain requires more oxygen than any other organ. If it doesn't get enough, the result is mental sluggishness, negative thoughts, depression and, eventually, vision and hearing declines.

Oxygen supply in our body, however, declines as we get older and if we live a poor lifestyle.

The process of oxygenating the human body works like this:

When a person breathes, there is an exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen. The oxygen, which is taken in by the body from the atmosphere around us, is picked up by the hemoglobin in the blood and distributed to all of the body's trillions of cells where, among other things, it is then used for another vital process called oxidation.

Any form of stress can cause oxygen deficiency. Stress due to chemical toxicity leads to a reduction in oxygen as the body attempts to detoxify itself by oxidizing accumulated toxins; emotional stress produces adrenaline and adrenaline-related hormones, requiring the body to draw down its oxygen reserves for their production and eventual oxidation; infection also depletes the body of oxygen which it uses to combat bacteria.

Even the stress of a chronically heavy workload will deplete the body of much needed oxygen.
Also a chronically acidic system-practically a "given" for most people in today's society-also causes the body to draw down its precious oxygen reserves. Doctors believe this often leads to a vicious cycle of toxin accumulation and oxygen depletion which eventually results in serious illness and disease.
Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body's cells by an anaerobic (ie., oxygen-deficient cell respiration).

In short, oxygen deficiency will result from any excessive stress, whatever the cause.

Oxygen purifies the blood stream.
One of the major secrets of energy and rejuvenation is a purified blood stream. The quickest and most effective way to purify the blood stream is by taking in extra supplies of oxygen from the air we breathe.

The Breathing Exercises, Pranayama etc., described in our programs are very effective methods for saturating the blood with extra oxygen.

So here are a few things about what oxygen do to our body:

Oxygen bums up the waste products (toxins) in the body, as well as recharges the body's batteries (the solar plexus). Most of our energy requirements come, not from food, but from the air we breathe.
By purifying the blood stream, every part of the body benefits, as well as the mind. Rejuvenation of the skin will start to occur.
Scientists have discovered that the chemical basis of energy production in the body is a chemical called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). If something goes wrong with the production of ATP, the result is lowered vitality, disease and premature ageing. Scientists have also discovered that oxygen is critical for the production of ATP; in fact, it is in fact its most vital component.
The work done at Baylor University in the USA has shown that you can reverse Arterial Disease in monkeys by infusing oxygen into the diseased arteries.

Yoga and Pranayama
The Yogis realized the importance of an adequate oxygen supply thousands of years ago that is why they developed and perfected various Breathing Techniques that will help to revitalize the mind and the body.
Pranayama - the science of breath control, consist a series of exercises intended to meet these needs and to keep the body in vibrant health.

For more details attend our programs.