BREATH OF LIFE

(T-D) Ardhachandrasan, Matsyasan and Parivrutta parshwakonasan

Health is wealth! But, in the pursuit of wealth, most us forget about our health and take things for granted. Like many others, VBS Mani would also run away from exercising or doing serious workouts. He often felt guilty for not taking his physical and mental health seriously. 

Over a period of time, his annual  medical checkup started showing the effects of occupational  stress and lack of self care in the form of high cholesterol levels, a deficiency of vitamin B 12 and frequent infections with the body losing its resistance. Fear set in within Mani. He started learning yoga at the age of 62.

Learning and practicing yoga over the past five years has made him physically and mentally very healthy, active and agile.

He says that one does more good when he feels good. This ‘feel good factor’  has come within him through and through.

He realised the real effect of yoga when he contemplated donating his kidney to one of his distant relative, a 13- year-old girl suffering from kidney failure.

She could not find any matching kidney donor either from a close relative or a cadaver. The entire family was devastated. Members of the family and the medical fraternity close to Mani were against his intention of organ donation.

Mani says, “When I went to see how healthy I was and would I survive after kidney donation, the doctor checked and confirmed  that my organs are as healthy as that of a 20-year-old boy.

My pulse rate and cardiovascular parameters were matching with that of an athlete. I was told that after organ donation, I will be as sound as I am for my life time.

This couldn’t have been possible without the help of yoga. I could give life to a young girl on January 6, 2011. I am as normal and healthy as I was before. The girl who received my kidney is also doing extremely well.”

Over the past four years, he has started trekking, atleast one Himalayan trek per year, and many around Sahyadri.

“Using Pranayama and correcting the breathing imbalance I cure myself. When I see young boys and girls of  one third of my age attending the yoga class and practicing yoga, I start feeling young.

Yoga is such a great science given by our ancestors. It is the west which has validated this science with hosts of research. There is also a perception amongst us that yoga is for women or the sick while men must not do it. We are mistaken. We have a lot to learn about the art.”

Mani not only practices yogic breathing, but performs asanas as comfortably as the young member of the batch.

Yogic ujjayi breathing

Breathing few breaths deeply can give a refreshing ‘pep-up’ when we are fatigued by the frantic pace of the day. Then with a little practice, it can become a regular feature of the day. As adults, our ‘hurry and worry’ lifestyle reflects in our shallow and rapid breaths and curtailed exhalations.

A full and unrestricted exhalation is more vital than only a deep inhalation. It is during this exhalation that the ‘relaxation and rejuvenating responses’ gets triggered, restoring the inner balance.

The smooth, quiet, relaxed and flowing breathing that is the outcome of awareness slows the heartbeat, lowers blood pressure, and produces a sense of stability, actually encouraging the heart to rest as the long exhalations slow down the heart rate.

A good exhalation results naturally in subsequent fuller and unforced inhalation. With regular practice the breath becomes free, more steady and deep, without any conscious effort on our part. This reduces stress and enhances our physical, emotional and mental health.

Technique
Airflow is restricted by keeping the voice box area of the larynx and glottis in the throat partially closed which results in a soft, uniform, low hissing sound, as the air rubs across the surfaces. The mind is focused on breathing, particularly on the low hissing sound.

•   Sit comfortably in any posture with ease.

•   Relax the facial muscles with a gentle smile. This will not only relax you but also prevent you from overdoing the practice to a strenuous degree.

•   Bring your awareness to your throat. Visualise breathing through a tiny hole in front of the throat. This way, we will partially tighten the larynx and the air will pass slowly through the throat, producing the hissing sound.

•   The sound should have a low and uniform pitch and should be pleasant to hear. It should not be audible to others but only to oneself.

•   Friction of air in the nose should be avoided so that no nasal sound is heard.

•   Initially, do Ujjayi only while exhaling, and then during both inhalation and exhalation.

Remember, it is never too late to start.