Breathing activates our will power

This state attained by the yogis is called Samadhi or total equipoise. If we look at this only at the physical level, there are many animals like bears, squirrels and hedgehogs that go into this state naturally in very cold countries.

As winter approaches, their metabolism slows down and they go into hibernation for several months till the warmth of spring wakes them up again. However, human beings like us achieve physical, mental and spiritual equipoise only when we gain total control over our five vital airs. Since our vital energy revitalises all the five sheaths of consciousness, when we regulate it we comprehend the subtle qualities of every sheath. Our breath becomes the courier to bring us creative ideas, intuitive prompts, deep insights, patience, grit and determination from the sheaths of our mind and intellect and waves of bliss and peace from the sheath of bliss. Since breathing with a natural rhythm also activates our powers of will, comprehension and action, we acquire great presence of mind. Due to this heightened awareness, we have the perfect solution for any problem that surfaces in nano seconds. Even resolving what seems like an insoluble problem to others is just child’s play to us. As far as we are concerned, the solution is just the shadow of the problem because it follows so closely upon its heels. So, nothing shakes our mental stability and equipoise and others develop complete confidence in us and seek our advice whenever they get into a fix. In fact, because of our extreme sense of awareness, our organising, planning and flowing with circumstances is so perfect that no flaws or problems arise to impede us.

Another astonishing thing that happens is that when we begin activating our breath, even simple, mundane and common place things trigger wonderful flashes of creativity in us.  We suddenly see an extraordinary aspect in a very ordinary incident. For instance, the well-known scientist Isaac Newton had a brainwave when an apple fell on his head from the tree. Though millions of people had experienced this before him, they never wondered why apples on trees did not go shooting upwards into the sky instead of falling downwards to the ground. This flash of heightened awareness that Newton experienced at that moment led to his propounding the laws of gravity. In the same way, when the Greek scientist Archimedes saw the water being displaced from his bathtub as he got into it, he discovered and defined the laws of buoyancy.

Both these scientists looked at very ordinary occurrences from an extraordinary angle which brought about a paradigm shift in not just their thinking but the world at large. This led to wonderful discoveries that are the basis of innumerable inventions even today. There are still billions of mysteries in the cosmos waiting to be discovered in all realms of our life.