We don't notice our breath because we don’t have to. It is one of the body’s many miraculous and autonomic functions. From our first gasp at birth to our last rattling sigh, we may never give our twenty thousand breaths per day a second thought. However, in a yoga or meditation practice, breath is the focal point. As any yoga practitioner, meditator, laboring expectant mother, or athlete knows, the breath is where the magic happens. It is the bridge between the body and the mind and links the physical and subtle dimensions.
As we practice asana, we learn to keep the body calm through the breath. The combination of movement and conscious breathing produces a unique physiological response. By maintaining a steady, slow breath, we cultivate relaxation and keep thoughts at bay even while we may be pushing our physical limits. Conscious breathing and asana become a moving meditation.
Our mental state and our breath are interwoven. If we’re relaxed, the breath is slow and deep. If we’re stressed, it is shallow and fast.
The breath is one of the rare essential functions in the body that is both voluntary and involuntary. Like blinking our eyes, we don’t have to think about our breath, but if we choose to, we can interrupt the natural breathing rhythms. When we do so, we also interrupt that breathing pattern’s associated biological reactions. For instance, when the body begins shallow breathing due to anxiety, we can reverse the response loop by initiating deep, slow breathing. When we are slowly “belly breathing,” it’s difficult for the fight-or-flight (anxiety) response to take hold.
Yoga teaches and guides us toward experiencing this mind/body/spirit connection that leads us to an inner peace, regardless of outer circumstances. This is what it means to be whole, a word that shares its root with health and holy. Yoga guides us back to wholeness. Healing must take place within our own bodies and minds.
