Meditation:  One Minute Breath

3 min – 31 min

Comments: This is a very effective, advanced pranayam. “If you can breathe one breath a minute, you can overcome everything and anything you have to face in life. The One Minute Breath builds endurance, strengthens your lungs and diaphragm for birthing. You say you are depressed? What is “depressed”? Depressed is you have impressed yourself that God is not with you—that’s depressed. What is “sad”? You are sad because you have not found the depth of your breath. When you are most sad, start breathing one breath a minute. If you are still sad on the fourth breath, call me!”—Yogi Bhajan – Begin the practice with 3 minutes. Increase gradually up to 31 minutes. A further extension to 62 minutes gives a mastery over breath, expanding one’s own pranic destiny across time to extend the lifespan.

The quantity, quality, and circulation of the breath creates the foundation of a vital and creative life. It is a barometer of how much energy we normally run on, and how much reserve capacity we have created for emergencies. The breath is both gross and subtle. The gross aspect is the blend of oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements that constitute air. The subtle aspect is the prana or vital force that energizes the mind, body, and consciousness. Most people do not breathe correctly. Breath signatures that create shallow, erratic, upper-chest breathing are common. The lack of relaxation and well-being on a personal as well as collective level, along with other factors, inhibits proper breathing. Yet, of all the positive changes a person can make, learning to breathe deeply, and completely is probably the most effective for developing higher consciousness, and for increasing health, vitality, and connectedness in one’s life.