Refining Exercises 5

REFINING EXERCISE NO 5 - This Exercise Oxygenates the Blood, Adds a little Carbon - Dioxide CO2 into the Blood Stream, and activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System.

Method :
Square breathing [1] Inhale for 3 seconds [2] Retain (Breath) for 3 seconds [3] Exhale (Breath out) for 3 seconds (4) Keep (Breath out) for 3 seconds.
Slowly increase duration to 5 seconds.

Time Limit :
Start with three repetitions, gradually increase by 1 or 2 repetitions every fortnight of longer (Depending on how comfortable the performance feels) until the exercise can be continued for three minutes. Please do not extend beyond this time.

Benefits : Physical
Yoga says that when you hold your breath for three seconds the blood is oxygenated. Which makes you feel more alive, sensitive and vibrant. When you hold the breath for a further two seconds, it adds a little CO2. Not the CO2 already within us which is released by the cells as debris in the venal blood, but this extra CO2 acts as a natural antibiotic which keeps us healthy and free from minor ailments such as colds, fever etc. This holding the breath in and out slows the respiration and the pulse rate. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which has a calming effect on the whole body. When we are born the parasympathetic nervous system is working at a small percentage of its full capacity, which is necessary/enough to neutralize the excess secretions of the endocrine glands. This keeps us free from anger, irritation etc. With age the parasympathetic nearly stops working and thus a lot of irritation and anger flows/resides in our system due to imbalance (Secretion of Adrenaline). By holding this exercise we reignite the parasympathetic and thus ensure balance in the body/brain system.

Emotional :
At a psychological level, we live in a constant state of active-reaction. The direct result of this is a constant state of irritation. Irritation is a fuse which releases and wastes very fine psychic energy. After too much irritation we feel spent and it creates a groove where we get more and more irritated. In our agitated state we live in a constant state of reaction and we usually repent for our actions when we react.
The idea is to create a gap between action-reaction. Sage patanjal calls the gap 'Nirodha Sanskara', Shri Tavariaji called in the 'pause'. Our thinking instrument is useless in creating a gap long enough for understanding to flower. The present moment is too fleeting, for understanding to come from the use of thought and reason.
To help us not to react in the present moment but to respond out of understanding, we need this understanding to come from some higher dimension. This understanding then will help us respond to the situation as a whole, and avoid automatic reflex action or reactions. We call this inspiration of the beginning of intuition. As we go deeper, intuition grows in to perception and perception to spiritual reading. In this exercise we breathe in and then a gap  and then breathe out. Slowly as this training is absorbed by the body brain system, we start experiencing higher and higher levels of understanding.
Also, in this living of action -reaction, we are constantly agitation or jerking the emotional body. This scars the emotional body leading to more granthis and negative patterns and at the same time releases dangerous chemicals in the body which leads to diseases. By creating a habit of pause we are giving the emotional body a chance to repose / collect itself before reacting. Thus, that reaction, which was just an extension of the agitation, now comes from an inner calmness. In ancient India, the yogis and rishis conducting research in areas beyond the conscious brain had to temporarily put the conscious brain to sleep, suspend the thought - forming structure temporarily. By pausing for longer periods and taking in larger amounts of CO2 they could induce trance in the conscious brain and then look beyond.