The body can be kept, without movements, for long period, in the many sitting postures. It is also a highly relaxing activity. Breathing In today s vocabulary, take a deep breath means calm down One unique feature of yoga is its discovery of the close relationship between breathing and mental activity and also between mental activity and bodily activity. With the knowledge of these relationships the ancient yogis developed an elaborate system of breathing practises to gain control of the mind. Prana is the life force or bio-energy, defined as the fundamental form of all energy in the universe.
Breathing is the chief means of taking in prana to increase vitality of the living being.
In fact, the actual Yogic term for breathing is Pranayama , control of prana. Slow, long deep breathing calms the mind, a calm mind relaxes the body. When we are agitated, excited, angry or afraid, the breathing is heavy, short and irregular, when we are relaxed the breathing is slow, smooth and long. The yogis found that it works the other way too. Sighing is a natural way of calming the mind.