Using breathwork to gain mind-body balance

From my earliest memories, my breath has been my closest companion, even before I made real friends.

- Nidhi Bhanshali Pandya

From my earliest memories, my breath has been my closest companion, even before I made real friends. My mother's remedy for all of life's challenges was simple: "Bring awareness to your breath." Whether it concerned my fear of the dark, frustration with math problems, a tummy ache, or even the whims of a child's imagination, her advice was always the same. Through her, I discovered a world of healing and emotional processing long before I understood those concepts.

Over the years, I have explored various practices, from holotropic breathwork to becoming a certified pranayama instructor. Pranayama is a branch of yoga that focuses on manipulating the breath to enhance prana, or life force. This mastery allowed me to deliver both my babies in a state of complete calm, without uttering a single shriek, as I used my breath to disconnect from my body yet stay anchored in my consciousness.

I will be encouraging you to embark on your own journey with the breath and let it take you to places that you could have never imagined, but first let's revisit some key insights.

The nose is for breathing and the mouth is for eating, so the ideal is to breathe through the nose. Our nostrils act like filters, preventing dust, allergens, and microbes from making it into our respiratory system. Moreover, nasal breathing warms and moistens the air before it reaches the lungs, thereby improving lung function and our overall respiratory health. Ooh! How warm and moist! Our nasal passages also produce nitric oxide, which has antimicrobial properties and helps to enhance oxygen uptake in the lungs. Nasal breathing also promotes better use of the diaphragm, leading to deeper, more efficient breaths and supporting better oxygen exchange and circulation throughout the body.