Living through an English winter can put you at risk from several respiratory problems; influenza, common cold, bronchitis and allergies, to name but a few. If you live in a built-up area where there is a lot of traffic, the amount of pollution in the air also contributes to the likelihood of getting a respiratory illness. This can also affect the health of your lungs in the long-term.
Your respiratory system is one of the most important areas of your body. Taking in the right amount of oxygen is incredibly important to your wellbeing. How you breathe substantially affects your state of mind, causing you to feel relaxed or energised, depending on your oxygen intake. This is why you can control your state of mind by practicing various specific breathing techniques. The amount of oxygen you can absorb through your lungs also affects how much oxygen is in your blood stream. This, in turn, affects the correct functioning of your major organs – the more oxygen entering your body the better.
The practice of Yoga involves several breathing exercises and even the practice of basic postures helps you to deepen your breath. This is because all the postures of yoga form a moving meditation through which you must breathe deeply into your abdomen. Yoga helps increase the amount of oxygen in your body and helps circulate it.
Additionally, there are many postures that help to open up your chest, thereby expanding your lung capacity. Add this to the fact that you can learn specific breathing exercises that make you relax, energise you or stimulate specific states of mind or bodily functions, and you have a real storehouse of powerful practices that will help your breathing, the amount of oxygen in your body and your state of mind.
Yoga is truly one of the best complementary therapies you can practice for your wellbeing. But more than this, yoga is an all-round system for your complete spiritual emotional, psychological and physical wellness, making it well-worth the effort to learn.
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