Yoga is a practice that descends from an ancient discipline and that includes different currents of thought but all with a common purpose: the totality of man.
Yoga does not believe in the separation between spirit and matter; each manifestation of the phenomenal world is a state of consciousness that is revealed thanks to the vibrations of Prana (life force). The faster these vibrations are, the more the consciousness manifests itself as a physical entity. The Atman (ego), responsible for the sense of dissatisfaction, separation and incompleteness, is only an ingenious artifice of the mind to perpetrate itself. Yoga helps us to recognize the egocentric nature of the mind and its tendency to create fictitious phenomena without objective evidence; it helps us not to cling to people or things in a morbid manner, to recognize and reject imaginary or deceptive feelings, to seek balance in all activities, both physical and mental.
In yoga philosophy, breathing is the main means of exchange between the external environment and ourselves ; the inspiration corresponds to joy, to light, to a smile; exhalation on the other hand corresponds to melancholy, darkness, emptiness. Every time we breathe in we let in a part of the universe and every time we breathe out we give up a part of ourselves to the universe.
The muscles that support breathing are:
- Diaphragm
- Intercostals (external and internal)
- thoracic
- abdominal
During inspiration the diaphragm lowers, the external intercostals widen the thoracic cage and some thoracic muscles raise it; one can therefore define inspiration as an active movement. On the contrary, exhalation is caused by the elastic return of lung tissue and inspiratory muscles, therefore a passive movement is defined; however, it is important to note that in the deep expiration the abdominal muscles actively come into play, which by contracting allow the diaphragm to rise higher, and the internal intercostal muscles, which reduce the rib cage by bringing the ribs closer together.
From the moment of birth, human breathing is subject to continuous modifications induced by physiological or emotional needs; among the latter, the emotions responsible for the major respiratory fluctuations are uncertainty / insecurity and fear ; they cause strong muscular contractions and stiffness, which inevitably affect the shoulders, rachis and diaphragm over the years.
Yoga expresses and pursues three fundamental concepts:
- In being, the vital energy is conveyed by the breath
- The vital energy is directed by the mind and where the mind is directed the energy itself is channeled
- Breathing is the only body activity that, although involuntary, can be constantly monitored and controlled even voluntarily.
Breathing plays a fundamental role in the communication between the conscious and the unconscious, and the study of breathing practices allows an improvement in the control of all emotional states, as well as the state of mental concentration.
The technique or way of breathing characteristic of yoga is called PranaYama . This term derives from the union of the two words Prana - vital force, and Yama - control. Prana is ubiquitous and is found in all living forms, in water, in the earth and in food, and according to the Yoga philosophy it can be absorbed in large quantities thanks to breathing; on the other hand, Ayama means "without control" or "beyond control".
When holding the breath with full lungs, the energy spreads throughout our body, while in the retention phase with empty lungs we can experience the perception of "nothing"; for this reason, yoga gives great importance to the breath-holding phase.
According to the yogis, our main source of Prana (life force) is undoubtedly the air we breathe, followed by the foods and drinks we introduce with food; the Prana of the air is absorbed through the mucous membranes of the nose and the nerve receptors of the respiratory system, while that of food and drink is picked up by the nerve endings of the tongue and throat. It follows that, in the practice of yoga, hygiene of the nose and tongue takes on a fundamental role but is complementary to the improvement of respiratory techniques and the treatment of food chewing.
Bibliography:
Harmony with Yoga, curated by Vanessa Bini
Translations :
Bhagavad Gita, edited by SarvepalliRadhakrisnan, ed. Ubaldini.
Bhagavad Gita, edited by AM Esnoul, ed. Adelphi.
Bhagavad Gita, edited by S. Radhakrisnan, ed. HarperCollins.
Hata Yoga Pradipika of Yoga SuamiSvatmarama, ed. HerperCollins.
Hata Yoga Pradipika of Suami Vishnu-devananda, ed. MotilalBanaarsidass Pvt. Ltd.
Upanishad, ed. Basic Books.
Rgveda (The strophes of Wisdom), ed. Marsilio.
