People can exist for many weeks without food and for days without water or sleep, but life will cease in a few minutes without air. Pranayama Practice provides our bodies with oxygen which is the primary element for life. It is important both for the nervous system, as well as for our internal organs and glands.
Right breathing provides sufficient oxygen for the correct operating of every body cell. Without sufficient oxygen intake, the cells cannot metabolize nutrients properly. Brain cells have a high rate of metabolism, so the brain needs more oxygen than any other organ. Proper respiration facilitates the body to metabolize food efficiently. It nourishes the muscles and organs with oxygen and rid the body of carbon dioxide.
However, most people do not realize the meaning of correct breathing. A modern way of life with a combination of stress and sedentary lifestyles turns us into “chest breathers” when we use only the upper chest while inhaling. Such chest breathing leads to an imbalance in the ratio of oxygen/carbon dioxide.
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Pranayama Practice for Beginners
For keeping good health, breathing should be even and deep using the diaphragm and ribs to fill and empty the lungs. Proper breathing is regulated by the movement of the diaphragm. As it goes down, the abdomen expands drawing fresh air through the nose and into the lungs. Deep abdominal breathing facilitates a proper exchange of air, maintaining the oxygen/carbon dioxide ratio balanced.
The inhalation and exhalation create a constant flow of energy and releases within the body. The inhalation carries continuous energy into the body while the exhalation treats and relaxes us.
By training our body to breathe in a particular breathing technique, we adopt it with this new way of breathing. This breathing technique is called – yoga breathing. Yoga breathing or “pranayama” brings more oxygen to the blood and to the brain and controls prana or the vital life energy. The word “pranayama” consists of two parts: “prana” which implies life force and “Yama” which means control. The Pranayama Practice Breathing focuses on inhalation, exhalation, and retention of breath.
Yogic breathing helps to keep both sides of the brain in balance. The right side of the brain is intuitive, emotional, and subjective and governs simultaneous reasoning and nonverbal activities. The left side of the brain is aggressive, logical, objective, and regulates mathematical and verbal activities. Proper breathing assists the two sides of the brain to work together.
By control over Pranayama Practice, people learn to control the energy within the body, and then get full control over the mind. In yogic breathing exercises, the breath joins our physical and mental aspects.
In coordination with yoga poses, the breath unifies mind and body, balances opposing energies, and assists the body to relax deeply and safely into the pose. It also promotes spiritual development and helps one to achieve balance in life.
Yoga breathing revitalizes the physical body, but the real important benefit is for the mind. Proper breathing soothes the nervous system; calms the emotions and creates clarity of mind, improves concentration. What’s more, yoga deep breathing is the best tool to withstand stress.
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