Hatha Yoga of the
Body
Chapter 7 The Crematory Of The
System
The
Organs of Respiration consist of the lungs and the
air passages leading to them. The lungs are two in
number, and occupy the pleural chamber of the
thorax, one on each side of the median line, being
separated from each other by the heart, the
greater blood vessels and the larger air tubes.
Each lung is free in all directions, except at the
root, which consists chiefly of the bronchi,
arteries and veins connecting the lungs with the
trachea and heart. The lungs are spongy and
porous, and their tissues are very elastic. They
are covered with a delicately constructed but
strong sac, known as the pleural sac, one wall of
which closely adheres to the lung, and the other
to the inner wall of the chest, and which secretes
a fluid which allows the inner surfaces of the
walls to glide easily upon each other in the act
of breathing.
The
Air Passages consist of the interior of the nose,
pharynx, larynx, windpipe or trachea, and the
bronchial tubes. When we breathe, we draw in the
air through the nose, in which it is warmed by
contact with the mucous membrane, which is richly
supplied with blood, and after it has passed
through the pharnyx and larynx it passes into the
trachea or windpipe, which subdivides into
numerous tubes called the bronchial tubes
(bronchia), which, in turn, subdivide into and
terminate in minute subdivisions in all the small
air spaces in the lungs, of which the lungs
contain millions. A writer has stated that if the
air cells of the lungs were spread out over an
unbroken surface, they would cover an area of
fourteen thousand square feet.
The
air is drawn into the lungs by the action of the
diaphragm, a great, strong, flat, sheet-like
muscle, stretched across the chest, separating the
chest-box from the abdomen. The diaphragm's action
is almost as automatic as that of the heart,
although it may be transformed into a
semi-voluntary muscle by an effort of the will.
When it expands, it increases the size of the
chest and lungs, and the air rushes into the
vacuum thus created. When it relaxes the chest and
lungs contract and the air is expelled from the
lungs.
Now,
before considering what happens to the air in the
lungs, let us look a little into the matter of the
circulation of the blood. The blood, as you know,
is driven by the heart, through the arteries, into
the capillaries, thus reaching every part of the
body, which it vitalizes, nourishes and
strengthens. It then returns by means of the
capillaries by another route, the veins, to the
heart, from whence it is drawn to the lungs.
The
blood starts on its arterial journey, bright red
and rich, laden with life-giving qualities and
properties. It returns by the venous route, poor,
blue and dull, being laden down with the waste
matter of the system. It goes out like a fresh
stream from the mountains; it returns as a stream
of sewer water. This foul stream goes to the right
auricle of the heart. When this auricle becomes
filled, it contracts and forces the stream of
blood through an opening in the right ventricle of
the heart, which in turn sends it on to the lungs,
where it is distributed by millions of hair-like
blood vessels to the air cells of the lungs, of
which we have spoken. Now, let us take up the
story of the lungs at this point.
The
foul stream of blood is now distributed among the
millions of tiny air cells in the lungs. A breath
of air is inhaled and the oxygen of the air comes
in contact with the impure blood through the thin
walls of the hair-like blood vessels of the lungs,
which walls are thick enough to hold the blood,
but thin enough to admit the oxygen to penetrate
them. When the oxygen comes in contact with the
blood, a form of combustion takes place, and the
blood takes up oxygen and releases carbonic acid
gas generated from the waste products and
poisonous matter which has been gathered up by the
blood from all parts of the system. The blood thus
purified and oxygenated is carried back to the
heart, again rich, red and bright, and laden with
life-giving properties and qualities. Upon
reaching the left auricle of the heart, it is
forced into the left ventricle, from whence it is
again forced out through the arteries on its
mission of life to all parts of the system. It is
estimated that in a single day of twenty four
hours, 35,000 pints of blood traverse the
capillaries of the lungs, the blood corpuscles
passing in single file and being exposed to the
oxygen of the air on both of their surfaces. When
one considers the minute details of the process
alluded to, he is lost in wonder and admiration at
Nature's infinite care and intelligence.
It
will be seen that unless fresh air in sufficient
quantities reaches the lungs, the foul stream of
venous blood cannot be purified, and consequently
not only is the body thus robbed of nourishment,
but the waste products which should have been
destroyed are returned to the circulation and
poison the system, and death ensues. Impure air
acts in the same way, only in a lessened degree.
It will also be seen that if one does not breathe
in a sufficient quantity of air, the work of the
blood cannot go on properly, and the result is
that the body is insufficiently nourished and
disease ensues, or a state of imperfect health is
experienced. The blood of one who breathes
improperly is, of course, of a bluish, dark color,
lacking the rich redness of pure arterial blood.
This often shows itself in a poor complexion.
Proper breathing, and a consequent good
circulation, results in a clear, bright
complexion.
A
little reflection will show the vital importance
of Correct breathing. If the blood is not fully
purified by the regenerative process of the lungs,
it returns to the arteries in an abnormal state,
insufficiently purified and imperfectly cleansed
of the impurities which it took up on its return
journey. These impurities if returned to the
system will certainly manifest in some form of
disease, either in a form of blood disease or some
disease resulting from impaired functioning of
some insufficiently nourished organ or tissue.
The
blood, when properly exposed to the air in the
lungs, not only has its impurities consumed, and
parts with its noxious carbonic acid gas, but it
also takes up and absorbs a certain quantity of
oxygen which it carries to all parts of the body,
where it is needed in order that Nature may
perform her processes properly. When the oxygen
comes in contact with the blood, it unites with
the hemoglobin of the blood and is carried to
every cell, tissue, muscle and organ, which it
invigorates and strengthens, replacing the wornout
cells and tissue by new materials which Nature
converts to her use. Arterial blood, properly
exposed to the air, contains about 25 per cent of
free oxygen.
Not
only is every part vitalized by the Oxygen, but
the act of digestion depends materially upon a
certain amount of Oxygenation of the food, and
this is only accomplished by the oxygen in the
blood coming in contact with the food and
producing a certain form of combustion. It is
therefore necessary that a proper supply of oxygen
be taken through the lungs. This accounts for the
fact that weak lungs and poor digestion are so
often found together. To grasp the full
significance of this statement, one must remember
that the entire body receives nourishment from the
food assimilated, and that imperfect assimilation
always means an imperfectly nourished body. Even
the lungs themselves depend upon the same source
for nourishment, and if through imperfect
breathing the assimilation becomes imperfect, and
the lungs in turn become weakened, they are
rendered still able to perform their work properly
and so in turn the body becomes further weakened.
Every particle of food and drink must be
oxygenated before it can yield us the proper
nourishment, and before the waste products of the
system can be reduced to the proper condition to
be eliminated from the system. Lack of sufficient
Oxygen means imperfect nutrition, imperfect
exhumation and imperfect health. Verily, ''breath
is life.''
The
combustion arising from the change in the waste
products generates heat and equalizes the
temperature of the body. Good breathers are not
apt to "take cold," and they generally have plenty
of good warm blood which enables them to resist
the changes in the outer temperature.
In
addition to the above-mentioned important
processes, the act of breathing gives exercise to
the internal organs and muscles, which feature is
generally overlooked by the Western writers on the
subject, but which the Yogis fully appreciate.
In
imperfect or shallow breathing, only a portion of
the lung cells are brought into play, and a great
portion of the lung capacity is lost, the system
suffering in proportion to the amount of
under-oxygenation. The lower animals, in their
native state, breathe naturally, and primitive man
undoubtedly did the same. The abnormal manner of
living adopted by civilized man—the shadow that
follows upon civilization—has robbed us of our
natural habit of breathing, and the race has
greatly suffered thereby. Man's only physical
salvation is to "get back to Nature."
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