I am looking for the source of this idea but can’t find it - one of the samhitas? Thanks.
what kind of samhita you looking friend?
I thought it might be from the Siva or Gheranda Samita
well if that is the case just do a lot of long deep breathing. some people do a breath where they slow it down to one breath a minute,if you could sustan that all day you could live for a few hundred years at least.
It is all about controlling the breath in a manner that eventually leads to the samadhi or supreme concentration of the mind.
I have found two references for this topic:
- Harish Yohari, “Breath Mind and consciousness”, p 7:
“According to the scriptures of Swara Yoga, Shiva Swarodaya and Gyana Swarodaya, the life span of a man is measured not in years but in number of breaths.”
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati, “Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha”, p. 368:
“The ancient yogis and rishis studied nature in great detail. They noticed that animals with a slow breath rate such as pythons, elephants and tortoises have long life spans, whereas those with a fast breathing rate, such as birds, dogs and rabbits, live for only a few years”.
Maybe this theory will not stand up to modern scientific evidence. But it does underline the importance that yogi’s attach to proper breathing.