Breath is life. We can survive without water or food for some days but life without breath is simply not possible.
When we breathe in, we are not just inhaling air, we add fresh energy to our body and mind. This energy is healing and rejuvenating, it revitalises and nourishes the system. Similarly, when we breathe out, we are not just exhaling air, but also the toxins from our body and mind.
When we get stressed or angry our breathing pattern changes. It becomes short, fast-paced and irregular. In such situations the first thing we are generally asked to do is, “Take a deep breath”.
Try practicing slow and deep breathing for a few minutes every day. It can help you get rid of anxiety, depression and disorders brought on by stress.
Yogic philosophy says our lifespan doesn’t depend on the number of days we live but on the number of breaths we take. This means the “slower we breathe, the longer we live”.
Did you know that there is a correlation between the number of breaths you take and your lifespan?
Animals like giant tortoises take only about 4 long breaths per minute and they live up to 150 years!
On the other hand, animals like dogs take between 20-30 breaths per minute and only live up to 20 years.
People who suffer from lung issues like lung cancer, COPD, and interstitial lung disease take over 24 breaths per minute. This is much higher than the average person who takes between 12-16 breaths per minute. Taking many short breaths per minute takes a toll on the lifespan of people with lung issues.
Regular cardiovascular exercise can increase your lifespan because it forces you to take longer and deeper breaths which increases the amount of oxygen that goes into your body. The breath rate increases when we are stressed.
Yogic practices like pranayama and meditation are very useful for better breathing. In pranayama, the objective is to consciously control our breath, making it slow and deep. In dhyana (meditation), awareness is drawn to the object of meditation and while doing so, the breathing rate gets slower effortlessly, often to less than one breath per minute.
So, breathe slowly and add more years to your life.
