Pranayama and other breathing techniques that have been used for centuries by people all over the world to improve physical and mental health especially in India. Breathing techniques have so many health benefits because they equalize sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. In our modern life sympathetic nervous systems will be overactive due to the massive amounts of data we consume every day though visual, print and social media. Our lives have become so stressed compared to 100 or 1000 years ago because we give priority to external things like money, luxury, wealth, social status, work etc.
When the sympathetic or voluntary nervous system is overactive for a long time it creates many health issues like diabetes, heart problems, digestion issues etc because it is supposed to be a short term measure to face an emergency situation like a wild animal attack. At this stage the body’s first priority is to come out from the panic mode so it stops unrelated actions like healing, digestion and accelerates heart rate, sugar level etc to tackle the fight or flight situation.
Parasympathetic or involuntary nervous system is directly opposite and it will become predominant when we are relaxed. Breathing has a special importance here because that is the only thing we can do voluntarily and involuntarily. So if we voluntarily slow down the breathing then our body automatically will go into the parasympathetic mode. That is the scientific reason behind the healing due to Pranayama and other Breathing techniques. So when you do pranayama or slow breathing parasympathetic nervous system becomes activated and this helps healing, digestion and it slows down heart, lower sugar level etc.
There are many types of pranayamas like Bhastrika, Anulom Viloma, Kapalapathi, Bhramari etc. Even a simple long breathing in and out also helps if you dont know pranayama. It is easy to learn. There are 1000s of videos on YouTube teaching simple to advanced pranayama techniques but if you have access to any local pranayama teaching centers or Gurus then better go there and learn the basic things. In spirituality and Yogic science it is always better to learn from a Guru. That has tremendous advantages over online learning. It doesn’t matter what breathing techniques you follow but at least one breathing technique must be practiced at least once daily for a minimum 10 minutes. It will greatly enhance your physical and mental well-being. It will enhance your healing and body regeneration capabilities.