How many times has a friend asked you, “Come, let’s have some fresh air?” Certainly not as many times as you have been asked, “Come, let’s have a drink,” or “C’mon let’s have a bite!” The catch here is that when you are asked the questions like “Come, let’s have a drink”, or “C’mon, let’s have a bite,” you invariably answer in the affirmative, even if you are not thirsty or hungry at that point in time.
Fresh Air – the Best and Easiest Health Supplement
How many times have you thought of having fresh air? Only rarely, when you feel stuffy and breathless in crowded smoky rooms and feel your lungs crying out for a walk in the garden for fresh air. But here it is your body that is crying out for fresh air. You are rarely invited by your family and friends to have fresh air, as compared to the times when you are invited for a drink “on the house,” and for one more bite “for the road.”
Being so instinctive, the act of breathing sinks into your subconscious mind and you do not make any conscious effort to breathe. Conscious labored breathing is not necessary, unless your body dictates it after any action that makes you breathless. But if you make an effort to take in the most universally available life-sustaining resource -- air -- it could have a beneficial effect on your health.
When it is clear to you that your body requires a constant supply of oxygen to enable your mind to keep functioning at its best, then you have unlocked the most obvious and also the most necessary secret of life - to keep breathing all the time irrespective of any tense or difficult situation.
Consciously Take in Fresh Air for Your Lungs
Taking fresh air into your lungs deliberately ensures that you enable an adequate supply of oxygen to reach your lungs. This enables the heart to work better and pump purified blood to all parts of the body. This process can be described as the “oxygenation of the cells,” which in turn leads to reduction in general debility and to overall good health. The fact that such deliberate breathing can work wonders can only be experienced by a person if she or he actually does it over a period of a few weeks.
This is the question which the Science of Pranayam addresses. Pranayam is a Sanskrit term and is an amalgam of the two words "Prana*" and "Ayam**" which literally mean, “to extend or to stretch one’s life.” Pranayam is a part of the wider discipline of yoga.
Pranayam is not a process of medication, but is all about the usage of something so instinctive and obvious that you can easily overlook it - and in fact you do overlook it. The fact that you overlook breathing is told to you painfully by the breathlessness your lungs experience when you are in a crowded place where stale air pervades. This also happens when you freeze into inaction and stop breathing, when, say, your car is about to crash into another, or any such similar situation.
In any similar scenario your first reaction is identical – that of holding our breath and also to stop breathing. This makes you breathless and “purple at the gills” and unable even to speak coherently. Why does this happen? Only because your lungs do not receive their regular supply of oxygen that is necessary for the human mind to formulate a response to any stressful situation.
Breath Therapy
Pranayam involves deliberate and conscious breathing along with certain postures can be termed as “Breath Therapy”.
The most common posture is holding one nostril and breathing in from the other nostril. After this, you hold your breath for some time and then breathe out through your other nostril while holding your first nostril shut. Lift your head while breathing in and lower it while breathing out. This will help you to take in maximum air. But keep your lips sealed and do not breathe in using your mouth. You should have fresh air around you when you do this. So, the ideal places are a garden during the daylight hours, or if a garden is not nearby then a balcony or a terrace of your house or office will do. Do these steps as many times as you wish to and are comfortable doing them. There is no hard and fast rule for everyone to follow.
Sources:
*http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&tinput=prana&country_ID=&trans=Translate&direction=AU
**http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&tinput=ayam&country_ID=&trans=Translate&direction=AU
Disclaimer
Information in this article is not medical advice. People with questions regarding diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions are encouraged to seek the advice of their personal healthcare provider.
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