Swami Saradanandra - The Power of Breath

The exercises in this book will enhance your vigour and wellbeing, but for maximum benefit, try to back them up with a healthy lifestyle. This includes eating more fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, exercising most days and giving up negative indulgences, such as smoking. In this book, you will find boxes offering breathing tips to make your work and home life more healthy. One of the best is simply to watch your breath through the day and take a few deep breaths, especially when you feel tense. Notice the effects on your mind, mood and body.

PRANA () is the first of the five forms of prana (sharing its name), governing inhalations. This is your vitalizing breath the dynamic force that enables you to take in all forms of energy.

SAMANA () is the second form of vital energy and processes the oxygen entering your lungs. This nourishing breath equips you to digest food and to understand thoughts and feelings.

VYANA () is the third form of vital energy and governs your circulation and the distribution of oxygen in your body. This is your expansive breath that distributes vital nourishment and equips you to expand into the world.

APANA () is the fourth form of vital energy and oversees exhalation and the release of carbon dioxide. As well as being a cleansing breath, it is the expelling force by which a child is born.

UDANA () is the fifth and final form of vital energy. It accompanies apana when you exhale, enabling your energy to rise up and find expression. This expressive breath gives you the energy you need to find a voice and turn your thoughts into action.

Whether you are new to breathing techniques or an experienced practitioner, it is best to begin by reading chapter 1, which outlines the benefits of breathwork, explains its theory and sets out techniques for cleansing your respiratory system and the basics of sitting to practise.

I hope this book will inspire you to try breath-enhancement techniques they are a perfect addition to a detox, healthy eating campaign or exercise regime, and help you to counter problems associated with busy lifestyles. But I also hope that as the exercises put you in touch with your energetic core, you experience a more profound understanding that your everpresent breath connects you to a power far greater than yourself.

Of all the necessities in life, breathing is your most immediate. If you are a reasonably healthy person, you can probably go for about six weeks without food and for a few days without water. But without breathing, you would not survive for more than a few minutes.

Your breath is your most intimate companion on your journey through life. You began to breathe a moment after you were born and some day you will expire with your last exhalation. In between, your breath is with you wherever you go. Your breath is nearer to you than anything else, and dearer to you than your wealth and the people you love most for if you lose your breath, you lose everything. And yet, like most people, you probably rarely, if ever, think about how, or even why, you breathe.

Although no one can survive without breathing, many people manage to live a good portion of their lives without breathing properly. The stressful pace of modern life together with sedentary jobs and leisure pursuits contribute to unhealthy breathing habits by creating tension in your body that inhibits the full expansion of your chest. In the 30 years that I have been teaching yoga and meditation, I have found that even the most dedicated yogis often lack the insight, as well as the tools, to efficiently manage their breathing. But poor respiratory habits can take a heavy toll on your physical, mental and emotional health and happiness viruses and bacteria thrive, for example, when your body is oxygendeprived, while shallow breathing contributes to many chronic stressrelated health conditions.