We breathe to live. We live to breathe. Our breath and our life is so closely knit and interdependent, but we have failed to learn how to manage our breath so we can manage our life better.
Our thoughts come and go at random isn't it? Or is it possible to exercise some control over them? Do you or I have any control over which thought will come and when? Or can we control the number of thoughts that flood our mind at any given moment?
Most people do not understand how one's breath can affect one's life and the results that are experienced in it.
Our breath provides the much needed oxygen to power our cells to produce energy and takes out the excess carbon dioxide that our body does not need. This we are taught in school in science class.
But we were not taught about how our breathing methods can affect our output and the results we experience in life. Even though this science was available to us in India over 10,000 years ago through the ancient texts of "Swara Yoga"
We do something every second of our life and we do not understand it's impact on us.
In an average lifetime of 80 years, one would take 672,768,000 breaths. Most people breathe on an average 16 breaths per minute, about 960 breaths an hour, 23,040 breaths a day, 8,409,600 a year.
Though we do it so much, we still have not bothered to learn about it and take charge of this aspect of our life. We are chasing targets, experiences and results without understanding the building blocks that can make it happen.
Your breath is the gateway to your mind, thoughts, actions and behaviours.
Control your breath and you can control your life.
At certain times of extreme stress we could even breathe at up to 100 breaths per minute. We are using up our life force if we spend more and more time in that zone. Our ability to swing between 4 breaths per minute to 100 breaths per minute helps us build the elasticity and the capacity to have a wide variety of experiences. At 6 breaths per minute or below, we can stay in a deep meditative state where we can dive deep into ourselves and discover the hidden reservoir of potential that we possess. At above 24 breaths per minute we are living in the external world and being tossed around by triggers that call on our senses to respond and experience the rush of adrenalin. Our ability to move smoothly between 4 BPM and 100 BPM gives us the range and width of our human experience.
In our programs Breath@Work and SENSEability we share the science of swara and the tools and techniques required for us to dive into this ancient science. This program is made for the busy working professionals and corporate leaders to reclaim their inner poise and resilience to tackle the vagaries of our world through reclaiming the power of their breath.
You can experience it yourself immediately now by sitting in a comfortable and well supported position and doing the following:
Gently close your eyes after switching on a one-minute timer and while sitting in a comfortable well-supported position.
Bring your attention to the tip of your nose and become aware of your natural breathing.
Count the number of breaths you are taking at the end of the minute.
How many was it? How did you feel during your normal breathing?
Now for the next minute, take deep inhalations and exhalations and count the number of breaths you took.
How many was it? How do you feel now?
Just by simple self-experimentation you can see how your BPM count can affect your mood and your performance. As you become conscious of your breath, you will automatically slow down your breath, take deeper breaths, and become present in a more resourceful state.
Peak performance comes to those who bring down their resting BPM from 16 or more BPM to 8 BPM. We have the tools and techniques to help you do that.
Once you have learned the basic techniques of taking charge of your BPM, you can then progress to discovering the more powerful techniques of using the right breath at the right time to produce the results you are seeking.
I wish you an exciting new journey where you are able to partner with your breath to achieve your goals and dreams more effortlessly in this life.