BREATHING AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

[Ani]

BREATHING AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

 
Breathing and health have a great interaction. The Master says:

 

Whatever pain you have, with proper breathing you can cure it. Deep breathing reflects benevolence upon the health of man for these reasons:
 
1. Accepting enough oxygen to oxygenate the tissues liberates a certain amount of necessary energy. We mentioned earlier that in the organism there are two processes which are parallel - assimilation (or construction) and dissimilation (or destruction) of the tissues. Dissimilation occurs through the oxygen absorbed through breathing connecting with the organic contents of the tissues and oxidizing them. The end products of this burning are carbon dioxide, water, creatine, acids and the destruction of albumen and toxicities in the urine. The residue from the burning of fat and protein is eliminated through the urine and perspiration. About one to two grams of creatine are discarded every day and eighty to ninety percent is urine. Usually the creatine and urine are the least poisonous to the organism.
 
Breathing brings a big flow of oxygen into the blood. The necessity of deep breathing is clear. When breathing is shallow and fast, it doesn't allow a rich flow of oxygen to enter the blood and tissues and burning in the tissues is insufficient. As the burning is not complete, the acids and creatine are not dissolved completely and stay in the tissues in greater quantity. Naturally some is thrown out through the urine, but a sediment remains in the tissues which may cause them to become sick, especially with rheumatism and gout. To avoid this insufficient burning and the residue of poisonous products in the organism which can cause sickness and premature aging, we need to assure Jul! burning in the tissues through deep breathing.
 
2. It is known from time immemorial that there is a connection between a healthy state and the absorption of the vital strength of the prana. When the organs become low in vital force they are susceptible to illness. Indisposition can also be caused by something outside, but the basic cause of illness is the reduction of prana in the organs. One source of prana is the air. Through correct breathing we can prevent some illnesses. There is not any state in a human organism which is not susceptible to illness through the loss of prana, and this is avoidable through deep breathing. This loss can also affect other processes which are functioning incorrectly. Deep and rhythmical breathing, a big flow of life and vital energy, will protect the organism from illness.
 
3. Through deep, rhythmical breathing the psychic life of man becomes very intensive and harmonious. Then the superiority of the human eminence is projected. There are two causes of sickness, inner and outer. The inner has a psychic character, but this too causes interaction and very often is the main cause of sickness. Through deep breathing harmony, calmness and brightness are restored, which give a new condition for curing the organism of sickness. Deep breathing has a mighty psychic influence over man. It raises his vibration and this leads to healing because the high vibration of the organism conquers the low and weak vibration of the sickness.
 
4. Through the total regulation of the rhythm of the whole organism, as we saw above, the rhythm of deep breathing benefits all organs because it causes the vibrations to be in harmony with the general rhythm of the body. The correct rhythm of breathing spreads through all the organs and becomes a factor to protec the body from disease and to harmonize the whole organism.

 

It is advisable as a general rule - whatever sickness a man has - that he begin to breathe deeply. Naturally you have to consider the character and the degree of the sickness. The Master says:
 

If man doesn't breathe correctly he has foul breath. Also his perspiration has odor. But he who breathes correctly has good blood circulation and is healthy. Deep lung breathing cures rheumatism, chest and stomach diseases, headaches and anemia. There is no sickness which cannot be cured by deep breathing. If your leg has pain, the reason is incorrect breathing. The spinal cord, the same. In general all sickness is due to incorrect breathing. Fast and shallow breathing is very dangerous for the organism. It leads to different diseases.

 
Try an experiment to cure yourself with breathing. If you have a headache, stomachache or other indisposition, do the following exercises six times each in the morning, afternoon and evening. Inhale, retain and exhale the air, and do this breathing with consciousness. If you are not experienced, do a total of six exercises. The Master gives the following advice:

 

When you become sick, breathe and sing. If you hear that somebody is sick advise him before anything else to breathe deeply. If he doesn't know how to breathe he lies on his back and says, "It is God's will," which means he doesn't wish to make any effort to cure himself. If he thinks as God thinks he will make this effort.

 
There is a connection between breathing and the position of the diaphragm. In incorrect breathing the diaphragm is expanded upward more than is necessary and this is very bad for the heart. The diaphragm separates the chest cavity from the stomach cavity and when you inhale, this prevents pressure on the heart because the diaphragm goes down and is not so extended. There is a difference between shallow and deep breathing. In shallow breathing the diaphragm goes down a little, but in deep breathing it contracts more and goes down toward the stomach cavity. This is important because with this the diaphragm doesn't press the lungs and the heart and they can function correctly. Fast and shallow breathing, because of the pressure of the diaphragm, very often causes the heart to become overworked. This is one of the important causes of heart disease. In some heart disease deep breathing is recommended so that the diaphragm can take its normal place and in this way stop pressing the heart and lungs. Consequently, this creates a condition which can cure some heart disease.
 
Deep breathing, connected with some other favorable methods, can be applied with success in cases of blood pressure. With deep, rhythmical breathing the diaphragm descends toward the stomach and brings a flow of blood to them which activates them, nourishes them and they become healthy. Therefore, there is a liaison between deep breathing and a good digestive system. Whoever breathes correctly can change the condition of his digestive organs and be a master of the low forces in himself. Sometimes to cure some organ we can practice deep breathing and at the same time put our hand over the sick organ because the vital force which comes from the fingers acts to heal. The Master gave this exercise:

 

You have to practice to cure yourself with deep breathing. If you have a stomach ache, do six breathing exercises four times a day. When you do this exercise put your left hand on your abdomen or on the stomach with your palm against your body and your right hand over your left hand. When you have chills do deep breathing exercises and you will raise the temperature of your body.

 
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Even in nervous disorders it is possible to apply deep breathing. This may be done with other therapy, for example, with early morning walking, exposing yourself to the sun at sunrise or an hour or two after dawn. Even in cases of paralysis, deep breathing can be used in accord with other methods. In paralysis the nerves are affected. With deep, correct breathing all organs of the body are enriched by the prana, including the center of the brain, where the nerves of this sick organ are directed. The whole nervous system is enforced and this revives the nerves of the sick organ.

 

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In tuberculosis, deep breathing is also recommended, but under the guidance of a very competent person.
 
For a man sick with tuberculosis, the Master says,

 

People with weak lungs must live in high altitude places, above 2,000 meters, where the air is pure and light.

 
With these conditions great reactions occur in the organism. The electromagnetic currents are stronger at high altitudes than in the low places and they enforce the circulation of the blood in the organism. Tuberculosis is a sickness of the sentiments. This is why with the connection of breathing, curing the tuberculosis is possible. In contagious diseases deep breathing helps because it increases the whole vitality of the organism and this increases its resistance against the sick process. It is known that in curing a disease the main factor is to increase the vitality of the organism.