________________
The Science of Breathing." NHE Science of breathing is as old as the world.
1 It is practised not merely for health but for -evolving certain occult powers which are latent in all of us. The Chinese, two thousand years before the Christian era, had this science; the Greeks and Romans also practised it. Some of the Roman wiiters mentioned the practise of holding the breath for medical purposes, because it was believed that thereby they could induce heat in the internal regions of the body and also could strengthen the internal regions. Plato refers to the custom of resorting to breathing in certain ways, and later on, in mediæval ages, writers have made mention of this science. Kant wrote a work on the power of the mind to control sickness by the mere force of the will, and there is one chapter on this matter alone, that is, treating certain diseases by the holding of the breath. This science therefore must be deeply important not only for the curing of disease but for other more important purposes. If we do not breathe properly we cannot digest or live Tightiy. We all know the construction of the human body, that the lungs are the great organs of respiration, that the lungs and the heart are placed in a cavity and that the whole cavity is called the thorax, and is covered over by the libs, muscles, etc. In order to preserve health it is necessary that all these parts should be in
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
