Ayurveda Breathing – What’s it Like?
Ayurveda is India’s natural health system that has been around for 5,000 years. Through ayurveda, you will learn to prevent disease, bring your body into balance and live a long life. It seems simple, but it is really very complex.
According to vedic science, everything is a living balanced being. We all are based on five elements: earth, wind, fire, air, water and ether. Each of these elements represents a part of our bodies:
Earth – a solid state of matter.
Water – change and the liquid state.
Fire – In our bodies, fire equals energy.
Air – is a gaseous form necessary for energy to work
Ether – is the space where things happen.
These elements are affected by our five senses: hearing, touch, vision, taste and smell. And each of these senses are affected by our six tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent and pungent. All of these elements and tastes are divided into three dosha: vata, pitta, kapha.
When any of these are out of balance, our bodies respond negatively. If we increase or decrease the tastes within our doshas, we can bring back the balance. Like I said, very complicated. Sort of like a computer program. You find an ailment, then follow the diagram to discover what is out of balance and how to fix it.
I started with breathing. The rule of threes states that you can live without food for 3 weeks, water for 3 days and air for 3 minutes. And yet, we typically only use about 20% of the air we have in our lungs. Learning to really breathe will help you gain energy and clarity.
Breathing can be done anywhere and for any period of time, but if you do it for longer than 10 or 15 minutes, you may begin to feel light headed. All this air it going straight to your brain. The therapist who led my class said that’s why all the monk’s look so happy all the time. Because they are high on oxygen.
Breathing is commonly done in conjunction with meditation. Sit in a comfortable place. If you can, close your eye. Breath only through your nose. Now take a big breath. Then breath in a little more. Let it out completely, using your stomach muscles to push all the air out. You should breath deep enough to make a noise. Another member of the group said it was his darth vader breath. I make little whistling sounds.
The hardest part is clearing your mind of all thoughts. You concentrate on your breathing. But soon, your mind wanders. You force yourself back to your breathing. This takes time. When I am really into “the breath”, I feel relaxed and filled with energy. It doesn’t take a lot of time. Ten minutes at a time is good.
For a great site on ayurveda, check out Naturally Healthy You with Ayurveda .
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