BREATH

Breathing affects our nervous system directly. Deep and slow inhalations and exhalations awaken our Sympathetic nervous system, whereas shallow and swift ones awaken our Parasympathetic nervous system. The former is responsible for our fight or flight operating behaviors, and the latter is responsible for rejuvenation and healing of the cells, and as such - of the body.

The truth of the matter is that in our modern lives we mainly and constantly operate under the Sympathetic nervous system. And while it is important to make sure we can easily tap into high performance mode, it is as crucial we spend more time under the Parasympathetic nervous system’s presence.

When we inhale deeply we provide more oxygen to the cells who in fact require it, and in fact are the ones that breathe. In the cells rests our genetic code which consists of our stories from when we were created, and further more it consists of our impressions and responses to these stories.

Similar to the the many streams in Yoga that all lead back to the same seed of Yoga, so does breath work have many streams. Whether it be Pranayama, the Wim Hof method, fire breath or Rebirthing, they all point back at the label-less, pure act of life - breathing.