TWO BASIC RULES FOR BREATHING

[Ani]

TWO BASIC RULES FOR BREATHING

 

In breathing, we must observe the following two basic rules:

 

1. Exhaling must always be done with the lungs full of air. This rule is very important for the health of man.

 

2. Breathing must always be through the nose; never through the mouth.

 

The Master says:

 

Man must inhale and exhale the air through the nose, not through the mouth. God inhales life through the nostrils and not through the mouth. When man breathes through the nose he thinks well and when he breathes well he is healthy. Guard your nose against the cold so the nostrils will not get congested.

 

What does this rule mean? Inhaling and exhaling should be through the nose. The air which passes through the nasal cavities becomes warm. The moisture of the tissue in the cavities filters out the dust that is in the air. In this way the air is purified and warmed as it enters the lungs. People who breathe through the nose are less sick from colds in their throat and lungs.

 

But breathing through the nose has another meaning, a deeper meaning, in connection with the mental and spiritual development of man. It is obvious that people who breathe through their mouth delay their mental development. If one is accustomed to breathing through his mouth, he must change and free himself of this bad habit. If he breathes through his mouth because of a cold, he has to restore nasal breathing.

 

There is a connection between the breathing system of man and the width of the nose. The way of breathing affects the width of the nose.

 

The Master says:

 

As much as we develop our breathing system and our blood circulation, the nostrils will be healthy and have a healthy width. If the breathing system is not well developed, that much we are nervous and irritable, and the nose and nostrils are narrow.

 

This is explained as follows. When your lungs are welldeveloped, you accept a larger quantity of air which passes through the nose and gradually increases its width. If you notice that your nose is becoming thinner, begin immediately to breathe deeply. A healthy man has a nose three centimeters wide. If this measurement becomes smaller, it is a bad sign. When I say three centimeters, I consider the following condition: We have to take into account one's stature and age. This measurement is only for a man sixty-five centimeters tall, healthy and twenty-one years of age.