How is it that the rishis in the Himalayas can maintain their youth till their very last breath? I have personally met some of them; even at 85 and 90 years of age, they exude a glow and radiance that is rarely seen in ordinary men even at the age of 20.
Yog is a subject of gyan. No matter how many books you read, unless you have gyan, you cannot move forward. Knowledge is for the brain and the five senses. Gyan, on the other hand, is the core of what you actually are, what you are living through and what you experience. Gyan is the experience that you live. Let us understand the two with an example. We ‘know’ that soul is immortal, and yet the greatest fear among all men, as mentioned in the Patanjali Yogsutras is the fear of death. This is because we do not have the gyan of soul. The fear of death is embedded in each and every cell of our body due to our past life impressions and thus it is very difficult to overcome it. The only way out lies in the Ayurvedic concept of agni.
When you inhale, the agni in the body gets activated. An exchange of gases happen in the lungs; energy is produced at the cellular level and in turn, toxins are also created. These toxins are called ‘ama’ in Ayurveda. Ama gradually corrodes the inner organs and tissues and because of its production, cells exhibit symptoms of weakening. Cells die and are reborn, each subsequent cell being weaker than the previous one. This progressive weakening translates into greying or falling hair, the wrinkling of skin, the dulling of the senses, the weakening of bones, the bending of the spine—in short, ageing. We may conclude that the breath rate of a person is indicative of his or her state of health. The faster you breathe, the faster you age.
You may observe the effects of faster breathing on the lifespan of a being by comparing the living and breathing cycles of a dog and a tortoise. A dog breathes 30-40 times in a minute and lives for 15-20 years. A tortoise, on the other hand, breathes two to three times in a minute and is able to live for over 150 years. Rapid breathing tires out the body by drawing upon the vital reserves of the cell. Athletes, in order to enhance their performance, are trained to take longer, deeper breaths even when they are sprinting. Sanatan Kriya details the Ujjai Pranayam, to slow down the breathing process and enhance longevity. For this, sit in vajrasan. Gently close your eyes and take your awareness to your breath at the tip of the nostrils. Observe the rhythmic pattern of breath at the tip of the nostrils. As you inhale, fill up your stomach with fresh prana from the air and as you exhale, contract the stomach to eject all the spent prana from the body. Repeat this process for sometime. With every subsequent inhalation, try to make your breath longer and deeper. Once you are comfortable with the abdominal movement, gently introduce a slight hissing sound from the pit of the throat as you inhale and exhale. Ujjai Pranayam is an effective balancing and purifying agent, regular practice of which rids the body of toxins while also normalising the breath rate to enhance longevity.
But the agnis which draw upon the life of your cell, are activated by not just breath. They are also activated by the food you eat. When you eat something, the dhatus are ‘cooked’ by the body and in ‘cooking’ them, the agni in the cell uses the vital reserves of the body, energy is produced and the body ages. So when you breathe, you are ageing; when you eat, you are ageing and also, when you think, you are ageing. In the next article we will delve a little deeper on how thinking leads to ageing and also on the various techniques to stall the process.
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