The air we breathe is the only element our body cannot do without for even the shortest time. We can, if necessary, sur­vive without food for as long as a month, without water for many days. But deprive the body of oxygen and we die within minutes. Cut off the supply of oxygen to the brain, and vital tissues are permanently destroyed.

Thousands of years ago the Hindee had come to understand the importance of breath so thoroughly that we find the fol­lowing legend told in one of their oldest scriptures, the Bri-hadaranyaka Upanishad:

"The senses, quarrelling amongst themselves one day as to who was the best, went to Brahma and said, 'Who is the richest of us—tell us!' And Brahma replied, 'He by whose departure the body seems worst, he is the richest.' And they determined to find out.

"First the eye departed, and having been absent a year it came back, asking, 'How have you been able to live without me?' They replied, 'Like blind people, not seeing with the eye, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, hear­ing with the ear, knowing with the mind, generating with the seed. Thus have we lived.' And the eye returned to its place.

"Next the ear departed, and at the end of a year it came back, asking the same question. And they replied, 'Like deaf people have we lived, not hearing with the ear, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye, knowing with the mind, generating with the seed.' And the ear returned to its place.

"Next it was the turn of the mind, and after it had been gone a year, and returned, they said, 'We have lived like fools with­out you, but we have lived.' And to the seed, after it had been gone a year, they said, 'We have lived like impotent people, but we have lived.' And the mind and the seed each returned to his place.(Figures below the line refer to the stock-bond ratios):
 
"And now it was the turn of the breath. And on the point of departing it tore up the other senses, as a great excellent horse of the Sindhu country might tear up the pegs to which he is tethered. Then all the other senses called out to him, 'Sir, do not leave us! We shall not be able to live without thee'!"

Is it not surprising that this ancient parable coincides with scientific truth? The first step toward re-orienting and im­proving the functioning of your mind and body is learning to utilize—really utilize—the air you breathe. The Yogis were the first to discover the importance of this and so actually de­vised an exact science of breathing. They called it prana-yama, from the Sanskrit word prana, meaning breath, and yama, its cessation. They also explored pranayama from every point of view—the practical and physiological and also the mystical—f or to them breathing was much more than just one of the necessary body processes.

Is it not surprising that this ancient parable coincides with scientific truth? The first step toward re-orienting and im­proving the functioning of your mind and body is learning to utilize—really utilize—the air you breathe. The Yogis were the first to discover the importance of this and so actually de­vised an exact science of breathing. They called it prana-yama, from the Sanskrit word prana, meaning breath, and yama, its cessation. They also explored pranayama from every point of view—the practical and physiological and also the mystical—f or to them breathing was much more than just one of the necessary body processes.

First let us consider the purely physical side of breathing: Air is nourishment to our bodies just as much as food and drink. Air gives our blood stream the supply of oxygen it must have in order to feed itself so that it may, in turn, feed the tissues, nerves, glands and vital organs. Without it our skin, bones, teeth and hair could not remain in condition. Our di­gestion—the process of utilizing the food we eat—fails at once without a proper supply of oxygen to the blood. Even our thinking processes are slowed down without intake and ex­halation of fresh air—which is the reason mental sluggishness overtakes us in an ill-ventilated room. Some authorities have even come to believe there is a direct relationship between a child's I.Q. and the supply of oxygen in its system—a low I.Q. being often traceable to bad posture, adenoids or merely bad breathing habits. Change these, and a sluggish youngster often blossoms overnight into a bright, responsive one!

To function properly, the brain needs three times more oxygen than the rest of our organs; and unless this is provided it will try to appropriate its supply by drawing on the overall allotment. This explains why so many city people, working at sedentary jobs, "using their heads," so to speak, all day long, tend to become debilitated and have greater susceptibility to germs and infections than persons who lead active outdoor lives. Sedentary individuals are permanently oxygen-starved. Yet this situation can be avoided at will, as this chapter will show you.

In a single day we breathe about 23,000 times. The average volume of air taken in with a single breath is about 20 cubic inches, depending on a person's size, sex, posture, the nature of the surrounding atmosphere and one's physical and emo­tional state. However, with proper attention given to the breathing act, this volume may be increased to 100 or even 130 cubic inches per breath. In other words, careful re-orienta­tion of your habits can provide you with five times the oxygen, and rid you of five times the carbon dioxide, with which you habitually function.

In Chapter III we dwelt very briefly on the physiology of breathing. Here is what takes place during the breathing proc­ess: When you breathe properly—that is, with the mouth closed so that the air is inhaled through the nasal passages— oxygen travels down the pharynx (rear of the throat), the lar­ynx (roughly the region of the Adam's apple), and the trachia or windpipe until it reaches the bronchial tubes. By then most of the dust and bacteria have been filtered out by the mucous membranes, or the moist lining of the nose. Mucous, by the way, in addition to acting as a filter substance, also has certain germicidal properties—another reason why it is so important to cultivate the habit of breathing through the nose, never through the mouth. A third reason, already mentioned else­where, is that while traveling this somewhat longer road the air is warmed to proper body temperature, which means extra insurance against catching colds.

After having been thus filtered and warmed, the supply of air moves on from the bronchiae into the lungs. Here it enters millions of cells—600,000,000 of them to be exact, if you can visualize such an astronomic figure—each of which is a tiny air sac. Surrounding these is a network of equally tiny blood vessels or capillaries. The blood absorbs the fresh oxygen di­rectly through the cell walls at the same time as it rids itself of the carbon dioxide from the last trip.

Next the freshly oxygenated blood travels to the heart. The heart pumps it via arteries and blood vessels to every part of the body, where in turn it seeps into every tissue and bone cell. In this manner 800 quarts of blood pass through the heart and lungs every hour. Small wonder, then, that the condition of your heart so closely governs your life expectancy!

By now pranayama should be amply clear why both a proper tech­nique of breathing and the quality of the air we take in are of such vital importance to our general health. The Yogis were aware of this long before the British scientist Harvey, in the seventeenth century, formulated the first facts about blood circulation for us in the Western hemisphere! But they also knew something else: Not only does pranayama help keep the human body healthy; it helps it stay youthful, supple, slim and vital, and for the following obvious reasons:

As the average person reaches middle age, lung tissues tend to grow less and less elastic. Years of improper breathing take their toll. The chest itself has a tendency to grow rigid. The consequence is an accumulation of uric acid in the blood stream which often leads to any one of those somewhat vague syndromes of pain and discomfort that doctors in general diagnose with a shrug as the miseries of aging, which they cheerfully advise you to learn to live with since nothing can be done about them. Backaches, headaches, stiffening muscles and joints, neuritis, rheumatism are some of the more common of these complaints. Excess fat is another, for as we begin to grow old and proper circulation is impeded by a sluggish diaphragm or hardening arteries, the red blood corpuscles become distrib ­uted unevenly and fat accumulates in spots instead of being burned up. Yet all of these complaints may be avoided, or at least considerably retarded, if only we learn to breathe sci­entifically. In the case of obesity, which of course can be further countered by some of the Yoga "contraction" exer­cises to be discussed later on, deep breathing itself has a direct salutary effect on it. For the cleansing, stimulating action of deep breathing improves metabolism and that, in turn, trans­forms deposits of fat into body fuel, or added energy.

So much, then, for the physiology of breath. But pranayama is not physical breathing alone. Nor is prana to be confused with air. It is a far more subtle substance. Without going too deeply into Yogi metaphysical concepts, let us try to arrive at an understanding of it in terms acceptable to us Western materialists.

A century before the scientists Priestley and Lavoisier con­ducted their famous experiments isolating oxygen as the sub­stance which made air all-important to life, a British chemist named Maynow ran a series of tests, revolutionary for his times, which convinced him that life was supported "not by air alone but by a more active and subtle part of it." He went so far as to suggest that the lungs were the organ which sep­arated this substance from the atmosphere and passed it into the blood. This substance, or rather this hidden property in the atmosphere, he called spiritus igneo-aereus, and excitedly presented a paper on it to his fellow-members in the Royal Society. But because in mid-seventeenth century the accepted medical belief was that the purpose of breathing was "to cool the heart," Maynow's learned colleagues held him up to ridi­cule. His pranayama theory was most effectively buried.

The Hindu theory of prana goes much further than May­now's intuitive reasoning. We might paraphrase it by saying that oxygen itself is the overall stream within which flows a far more subtle force about which we Occidentals know all too little; nor have we ever paid much attention to it inasmuch as no instruments have yet been invented with which to measure and define it. (No need here to dwell on how skeptical we in this part of the world tend to be of whatever cannot be ex­plained away in purely materialistic terms!) Yet whether we like it or not this force seems to exist just the same—a latent vital power ready to be harnessed for our benefit if we so de­sire. In fact, the Hindee believe that all physical and mental manifestations are dependent upon prana. They call it the breath of life. Another definition of it is Absolute, or Cosmic, energy, and it may help your concept of it if you think of pranayama as the means for filling the physical body with this cosmic energy.

The Yogis say that prana circulates through the human body via a network of special channels called nadis, roughly equivalent to our network of nerves and blood vessels. The nadis, in turn, are governed by seven chakras, or wheels, which roughly are the astral counterparts of our anatomic plexuses (see pages 39-40). The three main nadis are called Ida, Pingala and Shushamna. Shushamna corresponds to the spinal cord, while Ida and Pingala are represented as two inter-circling snakes on either side of it and may be identified with the sympathetic nervous system.

Of the chakras, the lowest, Muladhara, is situated at the base of the spine, corresponding to the sacral plexus. At the physi­cal level it is said to control the process of elimination. But it is also a most important center for controlling the dormant energy called Kundalini, or the Serpent Power already men­tioned in Chapter II. This, when released, brings with it among other things the knowledge of good and evil. In modern Western terms Kundalini may be said to control the deepest aspects of the personality, most especially the subconscious. Probably the closest analogy in terms of our own concepts would be that what Freud calls the libido—man's deepest sex drive which, sublimated, translates itself into the source of all creative, emotional and spiritual drives.

The second chakra, Svadishthana, situated in the region of the genitals, is said to control overt sexual desire. Next comes Manipura, which corresponds to the solar plexus, with control over the digestive processes. This is the "stomach brain," our powerhouse of stored-up energy in many ways connected with all manner of physical reactions and emotions. The fourth chakra, Anahat, at heart level, corresponds to the car­diac plexus, which controls breathing. The fifth is the Visuadha, behind the throat, which controls speech. The sixth, Ajna, located between the eyebrows, supposedly controls the autonomous nervous system and is said to be the seat of the mystical "third eye" which accounts for the clairvoyance claimed by some Yogis. Finally there is Sahasrara chakra, called also the Thousand-Petalled Lotus, which corresponds to the cortical layer of the brain. Of this chakra it is said that here Kundalini joins her Lord, Vishnu, as matter ascends to the spirit and the gross in the human body merges with what is most lofty.

The mystical ramifications of this concept need not concern us here, but whatever the differences between prana and oxy­gen, one thing is certain: the practice of pranayama—even if you are determined to call it simply proper breathing—pro­duces immediate beneficial results. In short order the student begins to experience lightness of body, an absence of restless­ness, better digestion due to an increase in the flow of the gastric juices, clearing and smoothing of the skin. The physio­logical benefits we have already explained—now let the stu­dent discover for himself how quickly these will come to him once he establishes a daily routine of exercises. As for the spiritual well-being that will follow—the inner lightness, the serenity—it matters little whether you attribute them to ox­ygen burning out the wastes and poisons in your grey matter or to more subtle influences. The important thing is that pranayama is all yours to enjoy at will.

And now for method:

Except for certain exercises which specify otherwise, breathing, as you now know, should always be through the nose. It should also be rhythmic. A long inhalation, a short pause while holding the breath, then a long exhalation is the basic pattern to follow. But on no account must you make hard work of it or overdo it. Strain destroys the benefits of the ex­ercise. And regardless of what you may have heard about suspension of breath practiced by some Yogis, this is nothing for a neophyte to experiment with. In fact, it might be harmful. So the moment you feel the least bit queer when practicing Yogic breathing, stop.

This deep pranayama rhythmic breathing, for which a few simple exercises follow, is not to be confused with the kind of effort­less dynamic breathing which you should also learn, then assimilate so completely that you will be doing it uncon­sciously all the time. Most of us breathe in short staccato jerks, shallowly, aimlessly. If for a while you take time to watch yourself, if you train yourself to breathe more slowly and more deeply, though without the pause between inhalation and exhalation as recommended for special exercises, the new rhythm will shortly become automatic. From about fifteen breaths a minute—or 21,600 each twenty-four hours—you will have reduced your tempo by possibly three breaths a minute, which is twenty percent, or 4,320 per day. Such a slowing-down means a corresponding easing of the wear-and-tear on the entire body—less work for the heart, lower blood pressure, a relaxation of body tensions, and quieter nerves—in short, still another pranayama-way to lengthen the years of your life and make them enjoyable!
Of all the Yoga exercises and poses, the breathing routines are done with least effort. They take very little time and may be done anywhere, just as effortless Dynamic Breathing may be practiced while you go out for a walk or sit in an easy chair to rest. So even if you have no time for any of the routines discussed in other chapters, under no circumstances omit your deep breathing, regardless of how crowded your schedule or how long your day.

The following deep-breathing pranayama exercises are most effective if done upon arising. They are best performed before an open window but may also be practiced before going to bed or even sometime during the day.

Stand erect and at ease. Place the hands on the hips, elbows well out and never forced backward. Draw the chest straight upward, then press the hip bones with the hands in a down­ward direction. By this means a vacuum will be formed and air will rush into the lungs of its own accord. Remember to keep the nostrils wide open so that the nose may serve as a passive channel for inhaling and exhaling. The breathing should be noiseless. Remember to stretch the upper part of the trunk. The chest must never be cramped, the abdomen should be naturally relaxed, the spine and neck straight. Remember not to draw the abdomen inward; lift the shoulders up, never force them back.

To exhale, allow the ribs of the upper part of the trunk to sink down gradually. Then lift the lower ribs and abdomen slowly. Again, care must be taken not to bend the body or arch the chest. Exhale silently through the mouth. At first do not retain the breath after inhalation. Start with three or four rounds a day; increase by one each week.

An excellent way to practice pranayama is lying down. Lie flat on a hard surface—preferably on the floor, using a mat or rug. Let your arms rest by your sides, parallel to the body. Keep the legs straight but not stiff. Relax muscles and mind, step by step, as in Savasana, the exercise for complete relaxa­tion (Chapter VI). Breathe deeply and noiselessly from the diaphragm. Start with three or four rounds a day, increasing by one round each week. This exercise may be done in con­junction with complete relaxation, but do not substitute one for the other. Also, do not try to use a bed unless it is an ex­ceptionally hard one, since relaxing on a hard surface is by far the most effective method.

Persons engaged in sedentary occupations will derive great benefit from practicing pranayama while sitting comfortably upright in an easy chair. For this pranayama exercise, inhale through both nostrils, then hold the breath for a short time before exhaling effortlessly. No strict ratio need be established between in­halation, retention and exhalation so long as the process is deep and natural. The important thing is that rhythm be established in the entire being, so that the nerves are toned and the mind calmed. You will be astonished how much easier your next task of studying or working will become, how unrest and disturbing elements will vanish from your consciousness. Fatigue will disappear and you will feel deeply refreshed. However, in order to get the full benefit of this pranayama exercise you must remember to keep not only your body but your mind passive. Try to blank out all conscious thought, concentrating —as you breathe—on some bland, pleasing object directly be­fore your eyes.

Controlling mental images during the practice of prana­yama is a conscious discipline which must be learned. The average person's mind, left to itself, dances like a flame in the wind. It flits from image to image, free-associating, as the psychiatrists call it, allowing full play to the imagination, to day-dreaming, to wishful thinking. With the mind racing this way, no true relaxation or meditation is possible. The Yogis devised the following exercise to counteract this tendency to wool-gather:

Stare steadily and without blinking at some small object directly in your line of vision. Continue until tears begin to form in your eyes. You need not be alarmed at the slight sting­ing sensation you will have—there is nothing harmful to the sight here; on the contrary, your eyes will be strengthened. At the same time you will be developing will pranayama power. (The Yogis claim this exercise is an early step to clairvoyance, but of course this is not an area we propose to explore in this book.) If your sight is poor or your eyes tire easily, try the following routine after the concentration routine: While breathing slowly in­ward, roll the eyes with a circular motion outward; then ex­hale, rolling the eyes inward. Repeat three times, then reverse, and rest.

Once you have mastered the technique of pranayama, you may go on to other breathing exercises for further strengthen­ing the body. Here are a few:

Pranayama element:sitkari the first of these, is recommended for improving the general vigor of the body, for overcoming drowsiness and indolence and, in some cases, for conquering hunger and thirst. Here is how it is done:

Sit tailor fashion or stand relaxed, fold the tongue so that its tip touches the upper palate, and draw air through the mouth with a hissing sound. Retain the breath briefly without discomfort. Afterwards exhale through both nostrils. An­other method for exhaling is again through the mouth, with teeth closed. Repeat three times, then rest. Neither this nor the exercise which follows should be done out-of-doors or in a chilly room, because of the mouth-breathing involved.

Shalt is an exercise for purification of the blood. It is done as follows: Protrude the tongue slightly and fold it like a tube.

Again, draw the air in through the mouth with a hissing sound, retain briefly, then exhale through both nostrils. Three times daily is enough. The Yogis say this practice "cools the sys­tem," and helps the body get rid of dyspepsia, fever, bilious disorders and the effects of poison.

Pranayama element:bastrika relieves inflammation of the throat, clears the si­nuses, cures diseases of the nose and chest and gets rid of asthma, as well as strengthening the lungs. It destroys the germs which give rise to upper respiratory disorders and gives warmth to the body in cold weather—surely a boon to those of us who live in vast, crowded urban centers with their air pollution and smog. Here is how it is practiced:

Sit tailor fashion on the floor. Start a brief rapid succession of expulsions of breath, one after another. Having done ten or twelve, draw in the breath with the deepest possible inha­lation. Then suspend breathing for a few seconds, but not long enough to feel strain. Repeat three times. Like other Yoga breathing practices, this exercise must not be continued to excess.

Later on, as you learn to assume Yoga poses, or asanas, you may choose to do your breathing exercises while practicing one of them. This, however, is not at all necessary. What is necessary is for you to feel comfortable and relaxed when you start. This means that your clothes must be loose and never binding, that you shut out all unnecessary noise and that there be no disturbing influences in the room.

The more you increase your supply of prana, the greater will be your sense of well-being. In time, as you gain confi­dence in your ability to control self, you may even be able to achieve what the Yogis do—utilize prana for healing by con­sciously directing its currents to any unhealthy part of your body. What the exact process is by which this vital force acts to marshal the resources of the human body we cannot, of course, attempt to define. Nevertheless with practice even a Western student should be able to close his eyes—this in order to concentrate more perfectly—and by fixing his mind upon the sick area effect an improvement.

The advanced Yogis also frequently heal others by trans­mitting their own supply of prana through laying their hands upon the sick. By this pranayama method they give warmth, renew failing strength, relieve pain. For them even absent healing is possible, for currents of prana may be transmitted, like electricity, over distances and in any direction. But here a word of warning is necessary: nothing like this should ever be tried by anyone with only a slight knowledge of Yoga; in fact, experimentation in this pranayama area might prove extremely dangerous, as every Guru is careful to warn his disciples. For there is much too much about prana we do not know and it is best not to unleash mag­netic forces in nature which we are so very far from under­standing.

Similarly, there are dangers in any premature awakening of the Kundalini power before the student has learned full self-control and become passion-proof. If we accept the parallel between Kundalini and the subconscious, we can readily un­derstand the reasons for this. Ordinarily the subconscious is buried deep under layers of civilizing disciplines, taboos and inhibitions arising out of the need of the individual to live an orderly life in a complex world among his fellow-men. But release the subconscious from all restraints, and the result may be a waking dream of the kind induced by drugs. Then, with the line between reality and fantasy blurring, the inner censor gone, who can predict what one might not be tempted to do? Illusion combined with a false sense of power can only spell danger. Fortunately, basic Yoga training and pranayama carefully guards the student against foolish illusion and only a recklessly experi­mental attitude can possibly harm one. The sensible person, calmly following the routines we have outlined, can only benefit. At the least you will be learning to use your respira­tory organs to best advantage, increasing your physical vigor. You will discover a new joy in living and a new peace of mind.

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