Pranayama: The Yoga Breath: How to Transform Your Life by Improving Your Breathing Technique
Pranayama: The Yoga Breath: How to Transform Your Life by Improving Your Breathing Technique by Sundari Gibran
About “Pranayama: The Yoga Breath” by Sundari Gibran
This book is about the foundation of all yoga poses, i.e. the yoga breath. Yoga breath, technically called Pranayama is a deep breathing technique that helps calm your nerves. Along with stress relief, it provides so many additional benefits that you will learn about.
The phenomenal effects of this breathing technique make it the need of the hour today. With such chaotic lifestyles, we all need a magical solution for our mental and physical health issues. In addition to providing that, yoga breath also helps you connect with nature more profoundly.
Sundari Gibran leads you from breathing techniques for beginners to advanced forms of Pranayama and lays the foundation for all the benefits you will experience. The techniques will have positive effects on your mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional health.
“Pranayama: The Yoga Breath” takes you to a serene, tranquil environment mentally. The feeling is extremely refreshing as compared to being trapped in a concrete jungle all the time. You may be in the middle of a chaotic workplace and yet feel like you’re visiting somewhere pleasant.
Book Excerpt of “Pranayama: The Yoga Breath” by Sundari Gibran
Pranayama: The Yoga Breath: How to Transform Your Life by Improving Your Breathing Technique Sundari Gibran yournewbook.com
BENEFITS OF PRANAYAMA
Let’s admit, we’re all very greedy creatures. The only difference is what we’re greedy for. Some desire more wealth, others may want more fame, some people look for a bigger social circle while others have an insatiable thirst to visit every place they possibly can.
This greed can either make or break us. If you wish for something healthy, you’ll be driven to work hard towards it and also gain a lot in the process. On the other hand, wanting something that’s toxic for your mind and body can ruin everything.
Another thing to mention here is that we want things that would minimize our chances of ending up with a loss. We almost want a fool-proof guarantee that the solution provided to us would work a hundred percent. Looking at it this way, it seems like we tend to get a little unreasonable with our demands at times.
Actually, we don’t. The desire is completely in line with the basic nature. If we’re patient and persistent enough, we would start getting things on our own terms. But patience is something that our generation is always short of.
It’s hard to quantify the benefits of something like pranayama. It’s just like saying a good deed will earn you ten or twenty points. Or that a friendly gesture would yield a profit of twenty-five percent.
Adopting pranayama as a regular breathing technique is a service that you do to yourself. It is a favor that repays in more than one way. Some of the benefits are apparent while you don’t even realize many insignificant ones.
Nonetheless, you will never hear someone say that the yoga breath has done them harm. Even patients with compromised pulmonary functions find it helpful in expanding the capacity of their lungs. The best part is that it costs absolutely nothing to get started. No equipment, no training, and not even a guide or expert.
The resources available on the internet are sufficient for new followers. Most influencers also include the necessary precautions according to your age or medical condition in their videos and articles. Apart from that, there are platforms to engage with yoga experts online.
Another thing that favors yoga breath over other similar techniques is that it has proven benefits for the longest period. It is one of the most ancient techniques used for breath regulation. For something to exist for so long and still be fairly popular, it must have something special.
With absolutely no side effects and people feeling visibly better upon the very first attempt, it makes a strong case for itself. The skeptics can’t argue with the fact that this simple technique is much safer to try than all kinds of drugs that offer similar benefits. In the current era, yoga has regained relevance once again.
Now, what are these benefits that we’re talking about? As we said earlier, one can’t really quantify the advantages of something that is purely qualitative. But we’ll try to gather as much information as we possibly can to explain how pranayama works so miraculously well for our mind and body.
Benefits for mental health
First and foremost, pranayama increases the synchronization between your mind and body. Naturally, this makes your reflexes act faster. The coordination between your thoughts and actions is improved.
Overthinking is one of the most common mental health issues these days. Your mind is occupied with so many thoughts and ideas simultaneously, throughout the day. Being so engrossed in your thoughts affects your productivity as well.
Furthermore, it slows down the decision-making process. Overthinking is also the main cause of chronic stress. So, by eliminating this root cause of so many problems, pranayama does wonders for your mental health.
But the most amazing part is the effect it has on patients suffering from anxiety or depression. The difference you feel within a few practices is so pleasantly refreshing. It finally allows for some relief from the gloom and despair.
This positive effect has also been proven by research. An article published on PsyPost cited a study involving two groups to study the effect on the brain of those who performed pranayama against those who didn’t. It said:
“The amygdala has been the most cited brain region in studies related to emotion processing. This structure is part of the limbic system and has been particularly associated with negative emotions . . . We found that changes in the amygdala activity were correlated with changes in negative affect,” Novaes and colleagues report.
The team further stated:
“In line with this hypothesis,” the researchers say, “it has been suggested that the practice of meditation is associated with decreased activity in the amygdala in response to emotional stimuli, besides suggesting the influence of meditation particularly in the insula, ACC, and thalamus. Therefore, bottom-up models of emotion regulation seem to better fit the observed brain changes related to contemplative practices, such as meditation and pranayama.”
If you build a routine around the yoga breath, you also get to enjoy greater discipline in life. You become a better judge of when you have reached your limit and need to relax. This allows you to take better care of your needs.
If you’re a student, you’ll see that this practice has made it easier to memorize and remember things. If you’re a working professional, you’ll feel more confident in day-to-day choices. In short, there will be a significant improvement in your mental abilities.
Benefits for physical health
A plant grows much better when it is nourished right. Similarly, you can help your body perform better by taking in more prana. It is nourishment for your mind, body, and soul.
The physical health benefits of pranayama include relief from hypertension and a lesser chance of developing cardiovascular diseases. More obvious benefits, just like any other exercise would include the regulation of weight and feeling more active. This technique is also helpful in improving digestion and boosting your overall immunity.
Apart from that, as the exercise strengthens your respiratory system, the flow of oxygen to all the organs is improved. Hence, the function of the other systems in the body is also enhanced. The muscular tension is released making your body much stronger.
These days, we do so much to get glowing and radiant skin. From laser treatments to painful home remedies, we put in so much hard work to make our skin appear fresher. But the truth is, this can be achieved with very little effort, just by incorporating yoga breath into your life.
So yes, healthier skin is another amazing benefit of pranayama. Since it purifies your bloodstream too, you can feel the effects on the physical appearance. The best part is, it’s an entirely organic way of improving your skin.
The Fit Indian explains the various scientific reasons behind the skin glow in the following words.
- Yoga provides a natural glow to the skin by flushing out toxins from the body. It also helps in regulating the digestive and excretory system that helps the internal purification system to work in a better way.
- The soothing yoga poses help in relaxing the mind and the body and reduces stress. Stress can make your skin appear dull, tired, and worn out. Yoga rejuvenates and revitalizes the skin and makes it blemish-free by cutting down stress level.
- Allergies or impure blood can lead to infections, boils, and pimples. Yoga helps in healing skin infections and allergies by maintaining proper blood circulation and flushing out toxins from the blood.
- Yoga promotes restful sleep. Lack of restful sleep can make your skin lose its natural shine and luster.
- Yoga helps the skin to become tight and firm and gives it a natural lift thereby reducing wrinkles and fine lines.
Other than that, your body posture improves greatly. This helps in avoiding body aches related to improper postures. The yoga postures for pranayama and meditations usually require you to sit cross-legged, preferably on the floor.
Many of us aren’t used to floor seating arrangements anymore. But this habit has several health benefits that we’re missing out on. The pose for meditation ensures that your spine stays erect all the time.
To read the whole book, learn about all the benefits and the techniques, CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK FROM AMAZON.