Hatha Yoga is made up of three main parts: exercise, acts of body-cleansing, and breath-control. Of these, the Yogis consider the last of highest priority, because air is our most important food for both body and mind. In the Sanskrit language of the ancient Yogis, breath control is called PRANA-YAMA. Prana means "breath" or more accurately, "life-force", and ayama means "pause" or "control". The Yogis believe in an invisible cosmic force around us, the mysterious essence which gives us life, a kind of universal energy. Without prana you are dead; the more you have of it, the more alive and energetic you are. By mastering proper breathing techniques, you increase your "living" potential. You can become more alert and aware -master of yourself.
If you were to conduct a scientific experiment with yourself, you would discover that you can do without solids for over a month; you can survive without liquids or sleep for about a week, but without oxygen you would perish within minutes. However, if you attempted to hold your breath indefinitely (as small children will attempt to do as a means to getting their way) you would merely become unconscious and then an automatic breathing control would take over involuntarily. However, in view of its importance, it is amazing how much conscious control also we have over our breathing. Without that we could not express our emotions through laughing, sobbing, exulting or sighing. How much breathing influences our emotions is evident through simple observation. If you are excited or nervous you will breathe more rapidly than when quietly resting. And vice-versa, you can always "take a tranquilizer" of several deep breaths to calm yourself or your nervous system. For instance, thousands of insomniacs have found the Alternate Nostril Breath particularly beneficial. Regulating your breathing calms the mind, refreshes the spirit, prolongs life by slowing down the heartbeat, aids the digestion, and purifies the bloodstream which improves the complexion and increases energy.
In order to understand how this is possible one must have an elementary understanding of the breathing-process. Oxygen serves two main functions in the body. First, every single cell of the several billion in the body has to breathe by receiving cell-repairing oxygen and discharging the waste matter called carbon-dioxide. Second, oxygen is needed to change food into energy. It "fans the fires of combustion", so to speak. The more energetic you are, the more oxygen you need.
Ordinarily, the body can get 1/2 pint of oxygen from breathing in 5 quarts of air a minute. An athlete will need as many as 100 quarts or more. The lung, normally, can hold 5 - 6 quarts of air at a time. Since you are, as of this minute, using only 1/5 of your total lung power, you will realize how poorly you are using your natural resources.
Obviously, it is necessary to re-learn how to breathe properly. Technically speaking, the following happens. Your lungs contract and expand like a bellows up to twenty times a minute. The muscle controlling this action is the diaphragm. It is dome-shaped and inflates the lungs by flattening out, thereby pulling on the intercostal muscles. These, in turn, pull apart the rib-cage and the air is now permitted to flood into the bottom of the pear-shaped lungs. To make the diaphragm flatten out, one must push the abdomen out, which У exactly the opposite of what most of us do when inhaling. To breathe properly is especially difficult for women, who have been told all their lives to "push the chest out and pull the tummy in", and who have worn tight girdles, belts and corsets for many years.
Technically speaking, there are certain steps to proper breathing which must be observed in all breathing exercises:
1. All breathing must be done through the nose, which acts as a filter and prevents the lungs from clogging. As air travels through the nose it is warmed, moistened and cleaned of impurities. A famous Yogi once said, "the mouth is for eating and kissing, the nose for breathing".
2. You should always sit in a straight-backed position to straighten out the thorax. For the asthma-sufferer the Fish asana is prescribed, which throws the head far back to facilitate breathing.
3. Breathe outdoors whenever possible, or in front of an open window.
4. You should deep-breathe for about 10 minutes a day to receive the maximum benefits: an energetic body, a tranquil mind and a serene emotional outlook.
5. For a "hold" position it is recommended to use a chin-lock. This is done by lowering your head and resting it tightly against the jugular notch between the collar bones. When the holding period is over, usually after 5 seconds, raise your head again for the exhalation.
6. Attempt to breathe noiselessly, except in the Cleansing Breath and Cooling Breath where a hissing sound should be heard.
7. Breathe and perform the body-movements involved rhythmically, smoothly and slowly for greatest benefit.
8. On an inhalation, concentrate on expanding the ribs and pushing the abdomen out.
9. On an exhalation always tuck the abdomen in as far as it will go, to expel all old and stale air.
