BREATH OF LIFE (Breathing for Health, Vitality and Meditation)

The book is meant for increasing breath awareness used in many disciplines to bring about balance and harmony between body, mind the spirit.

It has been found that stretching movements with breath knowledge and co-ordination can help muscle tone, improve glandular movement and reactivate the internal organs. People with high blood pressure and heart disease can benefit from the slow smooth movement with breath co-ordination.

"Swimi Dharmananda Saraswait is the Director of the Dharma Yoga Centre, formed in 1980 as a centre for the development of spiritual awareness through yoga.

Excerpts from Reviews:

"The book 'Breath of Life' by Swami Dharmananda Saraswati is a simple and easy to follow introduction to the difficult subject of Pranayana is useful in the current condition of stress, tension and depression."

The Vedic Path, Vol. 58, No. 5, Sept-2000

"The booklet can serve as a useful manual for those who have been formally initiated into the practice of these exercises."

Swami Satyaswapurananda
Belur Math, Prabuddha Bharata
Vol. 105, No. 7, July 2000

"This small book is about certain exercises based upon Yoga and Chinese Ancient Arts. The end result is balance and harmony between body, mind and spirit. The book is profusely illustrated."

Aasha Reddy, The Vedanta Kesari, July 2002

Throughout the ages various cultures have recognized the importance of breath awareness and the use of breathing techniques and movement to improve the health of body mind and spirit. This is being proven in many cases today. It has been found that stretching movements with breath awareness and co-ordination can help muscle tone improve glandular activity and revitalize the internal organs. Also people with high blood pressure and heart diseases can benefit for the slow smooth movements with breath co-ordination. These practices can also play a part in stress release.

Breath awareness is used in many disciplines to still the mind induce inner awareness and bring about a meditative state. Thus these practices can being about balance and harmony between body mind and spirit.

The exercises in this book are drawn from some of those I have practiced during the last 35 years. Some are from the Chinese Anceint Arts said to date back about 4000 years which were recorded in the famous Yellow Empero’s compendium. The basic Pranayama practices are derived from the Yoga texts which date from around 1000-500 B.C.E. I trust that you will enjoy practicing them.

The exercises in this book should be undertaken with awareness of one’s own physical capabilities gradually increasing the number of practices and working with breath awareness and co-ordination of breath with movement.

Take care not be over extend in the stretching and the breathing exercises. Rations are given but students must work within their own capacity. Remember no strain.

Although these exercises can help people with heart disease high blood pressure or arthritis work wit care and consult your medical practitioner if in any doubt about the advisability of doing these exercises.