Pranayama (breathing techniques) means the control of Breath. “Prana” is Breath or vital energy in the body. On subtle levels prana represents the pranic energy responsible for life or life force, and “ayama” means control.

It helps:

• Reduce anxiety and depression
• Lower/stabilized blood pressure
• Increased energy levels
• Muscle relaxation
• Decreased feelings of stress and overwhelm

How does it work?

Our breathing is influenced by our thoughts, and our thoughts and physiology can be influenced by our breath. Learning to breathe consciously is helping to restore balance in the mind and body.

When you experience stressful thoughts, your sympathetic nervous system triggers the body’s response, giving you a burst of energy to respond to the perceived danger. Your breathing becomes shallow and rapid, and you start to breathe from the chest and not the lower lungs. This can make you feel short of breath, which is a common symptom when you feel anxious. At the same time, your body produces adrenaline, which increase your blood pressure and pulse rate and put you in a revved up state of high alert.

With deep breathing, you can reverse these symptoms and create calmness in your mind and body. Deep and slow breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which reverses the stress response in your body, slowing down your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, and calming your body and mind. Deep breathing is more relaxing and efficient, allowing higher volumes of oxygen to reach the body’s cells and tissues. Breathing can have an immediate effect on diffusing emotional energy so there is less reactivity to our emotions.