Science of Breath “BREATH IS LIFE.”

The work of controlling the body and mind by the Will.
Life is absolutely dependent upon the act of breathing.
To breath is to live.

The infant draws in a long, deep breath, retains it for a moment to
extract from it its life-giving properties, and then exhales it in a
long wail,its life upon earth has begun. From the first faint
breath of the infant to the last gasp of the dying man, it is one long
story of continued breathing. Life is a series of breaths.

To maintain Man’s mental power, happiness, self-control,
nearsightedness, morals, and even his spiritual growth may be
increased by an understanding of the “Science of Breath.”

THE ESOTERIC THEORY OF BREATH.

Prana is the name by which we designate a universal principle, which
principle is the essence of all motion, force or energy, whether
manifested in gravitation, electricity, the revolution of the planets,
and all forms of life, from the highest to the lowest. It may be
called the soul of Force and Energy in all their forms, and that
principle which, operating in a certain way, causes that form of
activity which accompanies Life.

Let us CONTROl THE EMOTIONS through breathing.

The undesirable emotions, such as Fear, Worry, Anxiety, Hate, Anger,
Jealousy, Envy, Melancholy, Excitement, Grief, etc., are amenable to
the control of the Will, and the Will is enabled to operate more
easily in such cases if rhythmic breathing is practiced while the
“willing.” The following exercise has been found most
effective,
get rid of these
undesirable mental qualities by growing spiritually beyond them.

Breathe rhythmically, concentrating the attention upon the Solar
Plexus, and sending to it the mental command “Get Out.” Send the
mental command firmly, just as you begin to exhale, and form the
mental picture of the undesirable emotions being carried away with the
exhaled breath. Repeat seven times, and finish with the Cleansing
Breath, and then see how good you feel. The mental command must be
given “in earnest,” as trifling will not do the work.

-BRAIN STIMULATING.

most useful in stimulating
the action of the brain for the purpose of producing clear thinking
and reasoning. It has a wonderful effect in clearing the brain and
nervous system, and those engaged in mental work will find it most
useful to them, both in the direction of enabling them to do better
work and also as a means of refreshing the mind and clearing it after
arduous mental labor.

Sit in an erect posture, keeping the spinal column straight, and the
eyes well to the front, letting the hands rest on the upper part of
the legs. Breathe rhythmically, but instead of breathing through both
nostrils as in the ordinary exercises, press the left nostril close
with the thumb, and inhale through the right nostril. Then remove the
thumb, and close the right nostril with the finger, and then exhale
through the left nostril. Then, without changing the fingers, inhale
through the left nostril, and changing fingers, exhale through the
right. Then inhale through right and exhale through left, and so on,
alternating nostrils as above mentioned, closing the unused nostril
with the thumb or forefinger. This is one of the oldest forms of Yogi
breathing, and is quite important and valuable, and is well worthy of
acquirement.

-SPIRITUAL BREATHING.

develop spiritual faculties, or rather aid in their unfoldment, in the same way.
The Oriental philosophies teach that man has many faculties which
are at present in a dormant state, but which will become unfolded as
the race progresses. They also teach that man, by the proper effort of
the will, aided by favorable conditions, may aid in the unfoldment of
these spiritual faculties, and develop them much sooner than in the
ordinary process of evolution. In other words, one may even now
develop spiritual powers of consciousness which will not become the
common property of the race until after long ages of gradual
development under the law of evolution. In all of the exercises
directed toward this end, rhythmic breathing plays an important part.
There is of course no mystic property in the breath itself which
produces such wonderful results,

SOUL CONSCIOUSNESS.

The real Self is not the body or even the mind of man. These things
are but a part of his personality, the lesser self. The real Self is
the Ego, whose manifestation is in individuality. The real Self is
independent of the body, which it inhabits, and is even independent of
the mechanism of the mind, which it uses as an instrument. The real
Self is a drop from the Divine Ocean, and is eternal and
indestructible. It cannot die or be annihilated, and no matter what
becomes of the body, the real Self still exists. It is the Soul. Do
not think of your Soul as a thing apart from you, for YOU are the
Soul, and the body is the unreal and transitory part of you which is
changing in material every day, and which you will some day discard.
You may develop the faculties so that they will be conscious of the
reality of the Soul, and its independence of the body.