Life is the period between one breath and the next; a person who half breathes, only half lives. He, who correctly breathes, acquires control of the whole being. HATHA YOGA PRADIPIKA -Ancient Yogic Literature
Each human being has a fixed number of breaths allotted. If one breathes slowly then one lives longer; if one breathes rapidly the given number of breaths get used up quicker resulting in a shorter and more stressed life. And that’s not the only problem……
Whatever aspect of life you need to succeed in…
- Health
- Wealth
- Relationships
- Career
- Personal Effectiveness
Everyone is faced with the challenging question, “Can I have a better life, while pursuing my goals?” Yes, you can. All you need to do, is learn and practice how to breathe your way to success…
You probably know that your thoughts and your feelings, decide who you are and what you become. But do you know what connects your thoughts & feelings?
It’s your breath that connects thoughts, emotions, desires and actions.
Do you know how many times you breathe everyday? 21,600 times
Which body part moves when you Inhale? Is it your tummy, chest or nothing moves?
When I asked the question “When you, Inhale, your tummy comes up or goes down”?, more than 50% of participants answered me that the tummy goes down below and many said, there is no movement at all. Very few answered that the tummy bulges up as they breathe in.
By learning to manage your breath, you can learn to manage your thoughts, emotions & actions. India had developed this scientific fact thousands of years ago and passed it down from generation to generation. Whether its meditation or yoga, the fundamental learning is, how to breathe right – number of breaths per minute, pattern, depth, etc
Change in food habits, sleeping pattern, physical activities, stress levels, etc, have all contributed to increasing man’s average breathing count to between 14 to 20 breaths per minute and made it more shallow.
Every emotion has a strong impact on your breathing pattern. Some emotions make the inhalation shallow, some make it slow, and some make it rapid while others make it deep. Since emotions affect our breath cycle, we end up breathing in an inefficient way.
Inefficient breathing leaves us drained and chronically fatigued, irritable, tired, emotionally strained and intellectually dull. In such a state, one cannot understand people or situations correctly; one cannot take proper decisions; and cannot communicate appreciations or critical suggestions in a positive manner. Such people become personally ineffective.
My Personal Research:
Look at the image below which is the breath-heart-brain pattern of one of my research subject.
The subject is breathing 18 times/minute in a shallow and improper rhythm. The heart is conditioned to beat at 105 times per minute and 93% low coherence with the brain. This is the way this person has conditioned his breath-heart-brain-emotions & actions. Many of us are unaware of this fact and continue with our lives expecting peak performance and inner well-being.
Indian Yogic Science had maintained that one’s breath needs to be slow and deep to improve one’s Peak Performance & Inner well-being. Now modern technology and neuroscience has discovered that the perfect balance of the autonomic nervous system happens at a breath count of 5 per min. Peak Performance & Inner Well-being requires a perfect autonomic balance.
This is how 5 breaths/minute will look like with a proper breath pattern, heart beating at 63 and a 100% coherence with the brain. This is my personal score using Heartmath emWave Biofeedback tool.
True, slow & deep abdominal breathing has a profound effect onto your thoughts, desires, action, behaviour and even your belief system.
If you want MORE in your life, then LESS & deep should be your number of breaths per minute.
Breath@Work, a revolutionary new program that combines ancient Indian Science, Management Science & Neuro-Science. This potent mix empowers Breath@Work practitioners with the techniques needed to go from good to great in their chosen roles and professions.
As a Co-creator & Chief Scientist of Breath@Work, I say that, Leadership starts from within and we now have the technology and know-how to understand, practice & implement ancient yogic techniques for Performance & Well-being.
Upcoming workshop in Chennai, India on 17th Mar 2013.
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