Yoga and Breathing
In Yoga the focus is on the breath, we consciously breathe, we connect to our breath and breathe deeply.
A yogi measures the span of life by the number of breaths, not by the number of years.
„Swami Sivananda“
Breathing and your life span
It is said that if you breathe 15 times per minute, you will live to be 75 or 80 years. If you breathe 10 times per minute you will live to 100. The speed at which you breathe will dictate the length of your life. If you breathe fast, your life will be shortened, therefore breathing slowly will help you to live longer.
The essence of Yoga is conscious breathing. Breathing consciously has a biological effect on our mental, emotional, and physical state. Through connecting and concentrating on your breath, you are present, you let go of the past and the future and you are focused on the moment during the breathing cycle. This is why breathing consciously is a meditation in its own right.
Yoga breathing and science
It was scientifically shown that conscious breathing activates specific parts of the brain. While unconscious breathing is controlled by the medulla oblongata in the brain-stem, the primitive part of the brain, conscious breathing comes from the more evolved areas of the brain in the cerebral cortex.
Conscious breathing sends impulses from the cortex to the connecting areas that impact emotions. Therefore, changing your breathing pattern produces different states of mind; as mentioned above slow breathing has positive and balancing impact on your emotional state, This is accomplished by activating the cerebral cortex through consciously slowing down the release of breath, Then the cerebral cortex sends inhibitory impulses to the respiratory center in the mid-brain, which in turn flow into the area of the hypothalamus, the center of emotions, and relaxes this area. This is why slowing down the breath has soothing effect on your emotional state.
Because you truly deserve it!
You are stressed and feel overwhelmed?
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Come and join a Reviving Yoga Class, learn how to focus on your breath, to be aware of your breath, to let go of any tension, and to let go of the past and the future.
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