Pranayama (or Breathwork) for Beginners: 3 Techniques To Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Because there's a strong relation between breath, stress and anxiety.
Prana is a Sanskrit word that means “life force.” It is different from breath — breath is not life; it is the vehicle of Prana.
When we breathe, our body converts oxygen into pranic energy (or life force). There are two sources of Prana in the body: Air (~85%)and Food (~15%).
Pranayama means expansion of life force. It is the fourth limb in Maharishi Patanjali’s eight-limbed Yoga system. Sources suggest he wrote them around 5000 years ago.
In modern times it is referred to as breathwork, which I don’t think is correct due to the above differentiation between Prana and Breath. But practice is more important than terminology.
Why is breathwork important in overcoming stress and anxiety?
Scientific reasoning: Breathwork helps regulate our nervous system and helps increase oxygen flow to our Brain. When we are stressed or anxious, we tend to take shallow breaths, and our sympathetic nervous system kicks in, causing our heart rate and blood pressure to rise.
