Breath and wellbeing
- Abhishek
Breathing is being alive. How we breathe affects our minds' state and how we feel decides on the rhythm and depth of our breath. By altering how we breathe, we can impact our mood instantly, and by practising correct breathing methods, we can develop a more resilient, calm and aware mind. Breathing impacts our digestion, nervous system, blood pressure, mood swings, neck and back; actually, no system in the body does not get affected by how we breathe.
We, humans, can disturb this simple, natural function of our life. Many of us breathe shallow. By sitting in a bad posture for long hours, year after year since our childhood we have made it a habit to breathe through the top of our lungs because the lower and the broadest part of the lungs are pressurised and tucked in. Some of us have this bad habit of keeping our stomach sucked in to look thin, and pulling the belly in for a long time results in terrible breathing habits. Everyday stress, sudden shock, extreme reactions all result in shallow or fast breathing.
The diaphragm expands, and collapses horizontally, as we breathe in and out. But unmindful breathing habits have induced vertical breathing in us. Vertical breathing is where we move our neck and shoulder as we breathe in and out. Vertical breathing is also an indication that we are just filling the top of our lungs and confusing it with deep breathing by our shoulders' exaggerated movement.
We breathe short, fast or shallowly as a natural response to our mind's "flight or fight" state under extreme stress. While breathing short or shallowly because of lousy posture keeps telling our vagus nerve that we are stressed. So it becomes a terrible cycle of stress and poor breathing patterns; resulting in we being in a constant state of restlessness and anxiety.
Simple breath control practices for 5-10 minutes a day can hugely alter your mental and physical breath. If we decide to plunge into pranayama practices that yoga offers, we will attain the tranquillity we so desire.
Prachchhardana vidharanabhyam va pranayama
The mind is also calmed by regulating the breath, particularly attending to exhalation and the natural stilling of breath that comes from such practice. - Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.34