Why breath is so vital

In the beginning there was just the breath:

As long as we are alive the breath is there, it is with us every moment of our incarnation. The day we are born into this world as babies from the mothers womb we need to inhale our very first breath to live. The day we die we exhale our last. In between there are many cycles of the breath and each has its own significance, the breath determines the state of our mind, the quality of our lives and the length of our lives. The slower and deeper we breathe from moment to moment the less we are prone to stress, the more mental balance and wellbeing we are able to create in our life. The shorter and more shallow the breath the more stressed, anxious and mentally imbalanced we become. The rhythm, the volume and texture of the breath immediately tells us something about the moment we are filling.

The breath has been with us since the beginning of humanity as it is that which keeps us alive, it is so to speak a primordial field because it is that which was already present before the evolution of consciousness, individual or collective. It contains within its continuous ebb and flow the every essence of life. All of nature works in a cyclical natures, the seasons, day and night, the constellations in the night sky, even the cosmos, the universe itself expands and contracts and this has been proven by scientific observation. When we breathe and we become increasingly aware of this primordial field that is with us for all our life, we bring ourselves in tune, in sync with the nature that we are part of.

The breath also has its physical functions and properties, to bring oxygen into the body and to remove carbon dioxide. The mechanisms that allows the breath to happen in the physical body and also to support and spread the physical qualities of the breath through the body include the nose, ribcage, diaphragm, sternum bone, spine, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs, alveoli and the red blood cells that transport oxygen and carbon dioxide. This is observable with the eye and with a microscope and we can feel and hear when someone is still breathing or not.

But the breath is so much more than just its physical functions and properties as it is that which brings vital force (prana) to our entire system, to each and every cell of the body. Physiologically we breathe into the lungs, the diaphragm pushes down and the ribcage expands, and as we exhale the diaphragm releases, the ribcage contracts. We can observe this cyclical action with every breath, but because the breath is also the conduit for prana it is the entire body that breathes. This is why it is vital for our wellbeing to learn the art of breathing. If this intrigues you read more in our next blogpost on How to Breathe.