Aloha: to love is to share the breath of life!
Humans can only live for a few minutes without air. We can live only days without water. Without food, we can live only for weeks.
Out of these three priorities of life, air is clearly the most important, yet it’s one of the most neglected. The optimized circulation of oxygen in our blood is one of the best ways to support our immune systems.
Most people seem to go all day, or even years, without focusing their attention on breath. They go so long, surviving on only the shallowest of unconscious breathing. No attention, no energy. And where attention goes, energy flows.
There are miraculous things that happen when we turn our attention to our breath. When we breathe deep, things change. We return to the present moment and reduce stress. Next time you’re in a tense situation, try taking three deep breaths.
A lot of breathing practices have been established over time. Most of them originating from the Ayurvedic system in India. They call it Prana Yama, which basically means: to take in life force energy from the air into our bodies through the lungs. And one of the popular styles in this modern time was developed by Wim Hoff. People all over the world and from many generations experience results that last a lifetime from practicing Prana Yama.
If you need scientific convincing of the health benefits of deep breathing, there’s a lot of research available. But for the sake of this post, we’re going to keep it simple and recommend that you start today with an easy (yet effective) approach.
Here’s a great way to get going with this:
- Find a quiet space by yourself.
- Stand or sit comfortably.
- Slow your mind and notice your heart.
- After an exhale, slowly take a deep breath in through the nose all the way.
- Slowly release the breath through the mouth all the way.
- Repeat the last two steps in a seamless rhythm a few times.
- Witness the softening of your spirit as the process happens.
This practice should only take a few seconds or even just a minute or two. It could take longer if you’re like, but if you’re not used to doing this, you may feel lightheaded and could fall down, so it may be better to start building up slowly.
You might be wondering when the ideal time of day is to do this, and we would say, anytime!
This is the true breakfast of champions, so you could start your day by getting your blood fully oxygenated.
Afternoon time is also a good time because some of us tend to drop in energy levels after a meal at lunch, and after sitting at work for the first few hours.
Evening time is good also because deep breathing has an adaptogenic effect on us. That means that while it can energize us when we need it to, it can also calm us down, if that’s what we need. Deep breathing for even a minute or two can lift us up, and it can settle us down for a nice little rest.
So we invite you to make the practice of Prana Yama a regular routine in your life. It’s been our positive experience that doing so brings more joy into life. Hopefully you’ll find feelings of joy in it as well.
Reach out if you have any questions or if you’d like to share your experience with us. As always, we’re here for you and wish you and your loved ones all the best!
Contributed by David Whipple