As Your Breath Moves, So Does Your Mind

Benefits of the breath-mind connection

- Dr. Jyotsna Patel

Chale Vaate Chalam Chittam, Nishchale Nishchalam Bhavet. When the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the breath is calmed, the mind too will be still.

In 2004, a beautiful Marathi movie named Shwas released, which received a national award and was also selected for the Oscars in the foreign film category. It revolves round an eight-year-old village boy, who has to undergo a surgery for bilateral retinal cancer which will leave him blind for life. The elders in the family - his mother, grandfather - are unable to come to terms with this, but this child beautifully adapts to his new life without vision, and uses his other senses to perceive the world around him.

The essence of the movie is - "Life is breath and breath is life - precious and worth preserving at any cost."

Let us explore...

• The science behind deep breathing.

• What is Prana?

• My own journey of breath work,which has given me tangible and intangible benefits.

1. The Science behind Deep Breathing -

It works in four ways -

• Emotion regulation

• Enhances cognitive function

• Helps in body awareness

• Resets your stress response

Emotion Regulation