'Breath is life!' This statement invites absolutely no discrepancy on the plane of physical existence. However, the subject is not all that shallow, casual or surficial as it is generally perceived or dealt with. It's true that over a period of time, breathing exercises have gained stupendous attention and are trending these days all across the globe. But, is that all or does it encapsulate a deeper science, an insight into which can offer us a life characterised with a perennial source of joy, bliss, wisdom, relaxation and peace. To understand this asp, let us first know what happens when we practice breathing exercises. Undoubtedly, one enjoys a sense of relief and relaxation by resorting to deep breathing and plethora of variations available under the umbrella of pranayama. Justifying this benefit on the logical grounds, scientists say that deep breathing helps more oxygen to flow in with each breath. In other words, the unwanted CO2 is driven out of the body.
Our bio-mechanism is such that the brainstem is finely tuned to regulate the pH level of the blood. When the pH shifts towards the acidic side, the functioning of the body is jeopardised and a stress response is triggered. Now, this shift in the pH happens when the quantity of CO2 is more in the body. The brain immediately sends an urgent signal to the diaphragm to bring in O2 in order to balance the pH level of the blood. Here, we can easily join the dots and understand as to how deep breathing relaxes us. It is because, in the rush of life, burdened with truckload of tensions, challenges, problems etc. our breathing tends to beco5shallow. Meaning, less O2 intake, or in the words, relatively more CO2 in the body. In such a state, when we do deep breathing exercises, the proportion is set right as the intake of O2 increases. That's why the body feels comparatively relaxed and experiences a soothing effects amidst the hullaballoo around.
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"Deep-breathing exercises are only the first step. There are about eighty-four postures for various exercises. Some people have taken up this breathing as the whole pursuit of life...
As a matter of fact, breathing exercises are not the destination, but one of the catalysts in reaching the ultimate goal through Dhyana, which is loosely translated as meditation most of the times...
How the real dhyana is done? To read the complete article of monthly magazine of English Akhand Gyan May'2018.
