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Benefits of Pranayama
The physical body that is exposed to the processes of yoga is freed from old age, disease and death.
-Svetasvatara Upanishad
Pranayama initiates a process in the physical body whereby the energy molecules and the mental forces which interact with one another in life and consciousness are transformed. When the molecules of mind are transformed, higher qualities such as love, compassion and unity arise. Matter is energy and, therefore, the physical body can be transformed into energy. The physical body is not merely a bundle of bone, marrow, nerves and mucus. One must re-analyze and re-define what the body is and how far its transformation can be effected.
Can this body be turned into light particles? This must be considered in terms of science, not in terms of belief or faith. If this physical body can be transformed, if the molecules can undergo a state of metamorphosis, how is that achieved? The answer is that the body is rendered extremely subde and pure through the process of yoga and accordingly transformed. Pranayama is a key method. When the yogic texts state that through pranayama one can control one's circumstances and character, and harmonize the individual life with cosmic life, they are referring to the power of pranayama to bring about such an intrinsic transformation.
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