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THE PHYSIOLOGY OF YOGAM
induced, probably for the purpose of throwing off a. quantity of carbonic acid by the skin. The Yogi's body is generally most of it naked, so that the air circulates freely over the skin : heavy clothes would greatly interfere with cutaneous respiration. The Yogi generally does his Yogam in a tropical climate, where the external air is as warm as the body, so that no consumption of fuel is required in the body to keep up the temperature. This makes an enormous difference : for "the observations made by Vierordt at various temperatures between 32 o F. and -750 F. show, for warm-blooded animals, that within this range, every rise equal to 100 F. causes a diminution of about 2 cubic inches in the quantity of carbonic acid exhaled per minute." (Kirke, p. 240). The Yogi prefers a dry clear atmosphere. In this likewise he follows the dictates of physiology, for the experiments of Lehmann show that the amount of carbonic acid exhaled is considerably influenced by the degree of moisture of the atmosphere, much more being given off when the air is moist than when it is dry.
Whilst sitting at rest I have myself found, after a little practice, that I could reduce my breathing from about 15 inspirations and expirations a minute to 12 inspirations in 15 minutes, holding the breath about 45 or 50 seconds between each inspiration and expiration; and at the end of the time I felt no unpleasant symptoms, but rather a feeling of exhilaration. If my blood had become abnormally charged with carbonic acid, I should have become livid and felt a strong desire for
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