The Hindu-Yogi Science of BreathTheosophy / New ThoughtMystical / EsotericEnglishShareThe Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 21Project Gutenberg #13402 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableProject Gutenberg #13402LanguageEnglishEspañol‹The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 3The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 5The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 7The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 9The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 11The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 12The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 6The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 15The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 16The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 17The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 18The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 19The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 21The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 23The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 24The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 26The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 27The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 28The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 29The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 31The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 32The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 33The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 34The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 35The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 36The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 37The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 38The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 40The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 41The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 42The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 43The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 44The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 45The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 46The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 47The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 49The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 50The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 52The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 53The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 54The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 55The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 56The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 57The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 58The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 59The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 62The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 63The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 64The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 65The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 66The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 67The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 68The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 69The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 70The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 71The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 72The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 74The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 75The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 76The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 77The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 78›How To Acquire The Yogi Complete Breath.The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 21ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1The Yogi Complete Breath is the fundamental breath of the entire Yogi Science of Breath, and the student must fully acquaint himself with it, and master it perfectly before he can hope to obtain results from the other forms of breath-mentioned and given in this book. He should not be content with half-learning it, but should go to work in earnest until it becomes his natural method of breathing. This will require work, time and patience, but without these things nothing is ever accomplished. There is no royal road to the Science of Breath, and the student must be prepared to practice and study in earnest if he expect to receive results. The results obtained by a complete mastery of the Science of Breath are great, and no one who has attained them would willingly go back to the old methods, and he will tell his friends that he considers himself amply repaid for all his work. We say these things now, that you may fully understand the necessity and importance of mastering this fundamental method of Yogi Breathing, instead of passing it by and trying some of the attractive looking variations given later on in this book. Again, we say to you: Start right, and right results will follow; but neglect your foundations and your entire building will topple over sooner or later. 2Perhaps the better way to teach you how to develop the Yogi Complete Breath, would be to give you simple directions regarding the breath itself, and then follow up the same with general remarks concerning it, and then later on giving exercises for developing the chest, muscles and lungs which have been allowed to remain in an undeveloped condition by imperfect methods of breathing. Right here we wish to say that this Complete Breath is not a forced or abnormal thing, but on the contrary is a going back to first principles--a return to Nature. The healthy adult savage and the healthy infant of civilization both breathe in this manner, but civilized man has adopted unnatural methods of living, clothing, etc., and has lost his birthright. And we wish to remind the reader that the Complete Breath does not necessarily call for the complete filling of the lungs at every inhalation. One may inhale the average amount of air, using the Complete Breathing Method and distributing the air inhaled, be the quantity large or small, to all parts of the lungs. But one should inhale a series of full Complete Breaths several times a day, whenever opportunity offers, in order to keep the system in good order and condition. 3The following simple exercise will give you a clear idea of what the Complete Breath is: 4(1) Stand or sit erect. Breathing through the nostrils, inhale steadily, first filling the lower part of the lungs, which is accomplished by bringing into play the diaphragm, which descending exerts a gentle pressure on the abdominal organs, pushing forward the front walls of the abdomen. Then fill the middle part of the lungs, pushing out the lower ribs, breast-bone and chest. Then fill the higher portion of the lungs, protruding the upper chest, thus lifting the chest, including the upper six or seven pairs of ribs. In the final movement, the lower part of the abdomen will be slightly drawn in, which movement gives the lungs a support and also helps to fill the highest part of the lungs. 5At first reading it may appear that this breath consists of three distinct movements. This, however, is not the correct idea. The inhalation is continuous, the entire chest cavity from the lowered diaphragm to the highest point of the chest in the region of the collar-bone, being expanded with a uniform movement. Avoid a jerky series of inhalations, and strive to attain a steady continuous action. Practice will soon overcome the tendency to divide the inhalation into three movements, and will result in a uniform continuous breath. You will be able to complete the inhalation in a couple of seconds after a little practice. 6(3) Exhale quite slowly, holding the chest in a firm position, and having the abdomen in a little and lifting it upward slowly as the air leaves the lungs. When the air is entirely exhaled, relax the chest and abdomen. A little practice will render this part of the exercise easy, and the movement once acquired will be afterwards performed almost automatically. 7It will be seen that by this method of breathing all parts of the respiratory apparatus is brought into action, and all parts of the lungs, including the most remote air cells, are exercised. The chest cavity is expanded in all directions. You will also notice that the Complete Breath is really a combination of Low, Mid and High Breaths, succeeding each other rapidly in the order given, in such a manner as to form one uniform, continuous, complete breath. 8You will find it quite a help to you if you will practice this breath before a large mirror, placing the hands lightly over the abdomen so that you may feel the movements. At the end of the inhalation, it is well to occasionally slightly elevate the shoulders, thus raising the collarbone and allowing the air to pass freely into the small upper lobe of the right lung, which place is sometimes the breeding place of tuberculosis. 9At the beginning of practice, you may have more or less trouble in acquiring the Complete Breath, but a little practice will make perfect, and when you have once acquired it you will never willingly return to the old methods. ‹Previous chapterThe Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 19Next chapterThe Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 23›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the USA