Pranayama: The Ultimate Medicine for Mind and Body Healing

Soak the world in your breath. That’s what the wise sage said. Breathe deep and slow and let the healing power of Pranayama come to your aid. It is the greatest of all medicines, the simplest of all healings. 

Life starts with a long deep breath and ends with another. 

It is the most powerful force, the one thing we need to survive. 

We can survive without food for months and without water for days, but without breath, life comes to an end! Yet we focus so much on eating and drinking and so little on breathing. That’s why, in this blog, I bring to you the healing power of Pranayama as said by our great sages.

Also Read: Pranayama: Clinical Review

What is Pranayama?

Pranayama, it’s a Sanskrit word, Prana means ‘life force’ and Ayama means ‘extending’. It means using the life force to extend your life. Pranayama is the ultimate link between the unconscious and the conscious. 

When you are angry, stressed, or worried, your breathing quickens. And, when you are sleeping your breathing slows down. By slowing down the breathing and setting a rhythm, you make your consciousness still. Thus, with controlled breathing, you can achieve tranquillity.

Becoming aware of your breath, controlling your breath, and maximizing your breath has the potential to heal your body. It brings wellness to your mind, body, and soul. Controlled breathing reduces stress, aids in digestion, improves sleep, and keeps you calm.

Bringing the conscious and the unconscious under control brings you the power you never knew existed. Though it sounds intimidating for the first time, it’s just breathing.  

Also Read: Bhramari Pranayama in Tinnitus  

The healing power of Pranayama

Pranayama is the science of breathing. It’s taking in the air to open the windows of good health and wellness. It’s about controlling your breath. This controls your mind, heart, and all the involuntary actions of your body.

This is the secret to the healing power of pranayama. 

Check out these 7 benefits of Pranayama quoted by the sages backed by research.

1. The healing power of Pranayama shoos your stress away

Stress, if you don’t already know, is the culprit for all modern diseases. From obesity to diabetes to cancer, the root cause back to stress. Hence, it is very important to have control over your stress.

And Pranayama can help you gain that control! 

Ayurvedic doctors recommend Pranayama for depression, anxiety, fearfulness, panic, and stress. And now even psychiatrists and psychologists recommend the same. 

Long deep breathing calms the mind. It calms the racing heart and relieves anxiety, panic, and stress. Pranayama also has a positive effect on mood which helps in reducing depression.

Also Read: 6 ways to turn your bad day good

2. Breath in some air to fire up your digestion

As I already said, Pranayama calms your stress and stress can wreck your digestion. So, that’s one way Pranayama can reduce your episodes of indigestion. It relieves bloating and flatulence and is even effective in treating IBS.

But you already knew this!

However, there is a direct link to how Pranayama amps up your digestion.

Especially for those, who slouch on a chair the whole day long.

When we take long deep breaths, our diaphragm makes a rhythmic movement. The organs in the abdomen move along with the diaphragm. This promotes organ health and wellness.

This is the right way our organs are meant to function in rhythm. But Prolonged periods of sitting hunched causes our breath to engage primarily the upper and middle part of our diaphragm. The lower area is not used to its full potential.

This prohibits the natural organ movement and causes a pressure situation. That’s why the right sitting position is so important while practicing Pranayama. 

3. Pranayama is the best cleanser for your lungs

Go to the hills or the mountains and live in the forests for the purest form of air. Otherwise, live in the city but do Pranayama to cleanse the filthy air off your lungs.

Pranayama is the best exercise for your respiratory system.

The practice of Pranayama trains your mind to involuntarily hold your breath. It increases respiratory endurance and improves lung capacity and lung functions. With regular practice of Pranayama, inflation, and deflation of the lungs reach their full potential.

Research on the efficacy of Pranayama proved that it can strengthen the lungs. Further, it can be effective in the treatment and recovery of respiratory diseases. Especially, asthma, allergic bronchitis, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.

4. Build your immunity with the Practice of Pranayama

One sure link between practicing Pranayama and enhancing immunity is stress. By controlling your stress, you strengthen your immunity. That’s one explanation!

Secondly, pranayama much like meditation is a panacea for insomnia. It helps in improving your sleep quality and quantity. Sleep and rest are essential elements of immunity.

But there is more.

Practising Pranayama provides more oxygen to the blood. It also significantly increases the number of white blood cells in the body. WBC is mainly responsible for fighting diseases.

Also, Pranayama massages your digestive organs. You might not know this, but 70-80% of your immune tissue is situated in the digestive tract. Thus, it’s no surprise practicing Pranayama is the key to strong immunity.

That’s why expert researchers also advised yoga and pranayama as preventives for the pandemic. 

5. Heal your skin with the power of Pranayama

Practising Pranayama gives your body an extra pump of oxygen. When you hold your breath for a certain amount of time, you supply more oxygen to your cells. This makes your skin bright and plump with a healthy glow. 

Pranayama also detoxifies your blood and cleanses any impurities in the blood. Impure blood is the main cause of all kinds of skin diseases. From acne to blemishes, pranayama helps in keeping them all away.

This simple breathing technique has anti-oxidant effects that stimulate your cells and tissues. It improves your skin health and prevents premature signs of aging. It’s the secret to keeping the facial lines, wrinkles, freckles, and dark spots away. 

Also Read: 5 Self-care tips for dry skin

6. The healing power of pranayama makes you Live longer 

The very word Pranayama translates to extending the force of life. There is a Sanskrit proverb that says, ‘Breathing is living; if you breathe well, you will live long’.

Mastering your breath gives you control over the organs that we otherwise think involuntary. You control the movement of your diaphragm, stimulate your digestive organs, inhibit your stress hormones, harmonize your heart rhythms, and improve your circadian rhythms. 

All of these are tools to prevent long-term chronic diseases. From cancer to diabetes to blood pressure, Pranayama puts a stop to all! Pranayama also keeps your mind calm and mood good, which is the key to healthy relationships. And research proves that healthy relationship leads to a long life!

Also Read: Coffee and Longevity

7. Heal your heart with the power of Pranayama

The long deep breaths make your heart strong. Pranayama plays an important role in regulating your heartbeats. It slows down the pacing heart from anxiety or anger. It also helps in keeping a check on your blood pressure.

The increased oxygen intake with each long deep breath improves the circulation to the heart. Ayurvedic doctors have always recommended Pranayama as a daily ritual for better health. Especially for patients with high blood pressure.

A study examined the 3 months of regular practice of Pranayama for 5 minutes. It regulated a 2:1 ratio of exhalation and inhalation. And the results were remarkable. It showed a significant reduction in blood pressure and heart rate.

Pranayama is also very beneficial in the treatment of irregular heartbeats.

Also Read: How Anger affects your heart

 Unleash the Healing Power of Pranayama with every breath!

Pranayama is one of nature’s best healing forces. 

You see, every human is made of the five essential elements of nature – earth, air, water, fire, and space. The balance of all these elements is very crucial for your health. That’s why it’s very important for you to focus on how you interact with these elements.

Spare a few minutes with yourself concentrating on your breathing and it will create a butterfly effect. From improving your focus and brain functions to cutting down the bulge in your waist, everything starts to change.

The change is slow but it sure happens when you do your Pranayama right and do it every day.