Pranayama- Are you Breathing?

Why do we breathe? We don't tend to think much about our breathing. Why should we? Although we can influence the way we breathe, breathing is largely an automatic process. Why be concerned about something that seems to take care of itself just fine, when there are so many other important things to worry about?

But the answer to this important question is fairly obvious. Breathe, as we all know, is life, an equivalence that's been recognized all over the world for thousands of years.

We breathe to live on plant earth.So, the next question arises How well do we breathe?

You might believe that we all breathe in pretty much same way but in fact, each one of us has a unique breathing behavior or breathing identity. Some of us are very efficient breathers, while others aren't so efficient. Although, it may not seem that important to be an efficient breather, inefficient breathing can have far-reaching consequences. The three main conditions which affect your breathing:

1. Poor Posture, which includes a sagging spine and a stiff or sunken rib case

2. Weak, uncoordinated, or constricted respiratory muscles, especially the diaphragm, our primary breathing muscles, and its breathing synergist, the rectus abdominis

3. The wear and tear of everyday stress

How does an inefficient breather breathe? She's inclined to breathe too shallowly, mostly high in the chest because the diaphragm is stuck, and too fast - she hyperventilates, which makes the flow of the breath turbulent.

On the other side, how does an efficient breather breathe? She breathes slowly, which streamlines the breath, with the free and easy movement of the diaphragm, engaging the entire torso ( in fact, the entire body). She mostly breathes through the nose, which filters, warms or cools as needed, and humidifies the breath.

So how would you identify yourself as a breather?. Yogis have their ideas about the breathing.As we understand that intuitively breathing reflects consciousness and that we can affect or influence our breath..Luckily Yogis do think about the relationship between breath and consciousness and what it means. They discovered that breath and consciousness are just the flip side of two coins.

This is where the practice of pranayama is discovered and yogis have been practicing it for ultimate enlightenment.

Check the video below to start your practice of pranayama.

HAPPY BREATHING!