All the benefits of Pranayama
If you talk to a yoga teacher, if you talk to an Indian monk or anyone who has to do with health, he will tell you that life is not calculated by the number of years but by the number of breaths we take … so yes he easily understands how important it is to breathe correctly and how important is pranayama, or the science of breathing.
On the other hand, even those who want to teach yoga, must have a thorough and not superficial knowledge of pranayama.
Benefits of Pranayama
With a normal inhalation we let in about 500 cm3 of air, and air is food, oxygen, consequently the pranayama or the art of breathing helps us to improve almost to ingest the right food, in the appropriate manner and time, and helps us to live better and longer; if you think about it you can live a few days without eating or drinking, but not even a moment without breathing.
Therefore, practicing pranayama constantly promotes blood circulation in every area of the lungs, even in the pulmonary apilli which are scarcely affected by secondary respiration; it also facilitates the dilation of the pulmonary alveoli and the increase in pressure with consequent improvement of vital capacity.
Practicing for about 20 minutes, the heartbeat slows down, the blood pressure is optimized and stabilized, the skin’s resistance to electricity increases (this indicates a state of mental serenity visible through the electroencephalograph).
Other benefits of pranayama
Pranayama:
- facilitates the elimination of toxins,
- improves blood and lymphatic circulation,
- optimizes the filtering action of the kidneys,
- tones the nervous system,
- has a positive effect on memory,
- helps digestion,
- frees from negative thoughts and fear that immobilizes intent,
- stimulates the spleen,
- balances the glandular system,
- strengthens the immune system.
Pranayama and yoga
From the yogic point of view, pranayama is one of the main gateways for samata and shanti and literally “equanimity” and “peace”, which are important goals and fundamental stages in the journey of every inner seeker.
Through pranayama, the rhythm of our breath joins the cosmic one, thus favouring an identification with the whole, an identification with the universe.
This detached view helps us to accept what happens in life, the episodes and the facts, and gives them the right place in our daily life.
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