There is a form of breathing that occurs naturally in mammals in a relaxed state. It can be described as deep, diaphragmatic abdominal or rhythmic breathing.
Human beings are no exception to this natural breathing rhythm. Just notice how the abdomen of a baby rises on inhalation and falls as on exhalation as it lies on its back relaxed.
Ever present stresses and strains of life make us lose this natural relaxed rhythm and adopt a habit of shallow chest breathing. This habit of breathing becomes our ordinary breath.
Breath is vital to life. Deep diaphragmatic breath is quality breath. Ordinary breath leads to ordinary lives and quality breath leads to quality lives. Ordinary breathing may sustain life, quality breath also enhances it.
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Human brain: (a) the brain stem that runs autonomic body mind behavior, and (b) the neocortex which runs our thought process and volitional behavior.
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Ordinary breathing is one of the many autonomous processes that sustain life. In addition, there are autonomous mental processes that drive reactive behavior. All autonomous body mind processes, including ordinary breathing, are run by the brain stem in accordance with our emotional states.
In addition to the brain stem, mammalian brain, human included, has another part called the neocortex. The role of the neocortex is to run volitional acts and behavior. Relaxed breathing, which occurs in mammals in the absence of an external threat, is a volitional act run by the neocortex.
Fundamental requirement of acting volitionally is being aware and knowing that something specific needs to be and can be done. Thus, awareness, consciousness, knowledge, thinking, discerning, considering alternatives, deciding, willing, the generation of a volitional response to an external stimulus etc. are all the functions of the neocortex. In addition, the neo-cortex is the seat of higher emotions of selfless love and compassion whereas the limbic brain is limited to base self-centered emotions that function largely in an autonomous manner.
Of all the mammals, human beings have the most developed neocortex. Human condition is such that we let this valuable resource sit idle and unused for the simple reason that we can survive letting the limbic brain run our lives autonomously. We must volitionally train our brains to use the thinking neocortex. We can practice volitional relaxed breathing for this purpose at any time of the day or night. Breathing is the only normally autonomic life process that we can at times run volitionally.
There is ample evidence to show that engaging in volitional deep diaphragmatic breathing rhythm for as little as 15-20 minutes can lead to quality lives:
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It is the most efficient way to supply abundant oxygen to the body to enhance physical health,
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It calms the nerves and balances related hormones for better physical and mental health,
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It requires the neocortex to continuously attend to breathing, thus increasing the duration of deep diaphragmatic breathing amounts to an increased attention span;
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Training of the neocortex to pay attention to breathing also trains it to pay attention in general including our behavior making it thoughtful,
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Training of the neocortex to pay attention to breathing also trains it to pay attention to the working of our own minds increasing emotional intelligence self-awareness and acceptance of the others,
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Training of the neocortex to pay attention to breathing also trains it to pay attention and solve life problems such as poverty, habits, addictions, relationships etc.,
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Involvement of the neocortex in regular practice of deep breathing opens our minds to higher emotions of selfless love and compassion, and
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It makes us the master of our own lives rather than being swept away in the tide of autonomic mind body behavior.
Link for training videos: http://spiritualeducation.org/library/LearningResources/tyb_videos
