Many thousands of years ago, our Vedic ancestors recognized that this life force, Prana, is embodied in all life at all levels, from the macroscopic to the microscopic. The balance of these is the natural attributes of human life. If Prana is depleted from our system, we cease to exist. If we stop breathing, the body’s functions stop. by Aviad2001/CC 3.0
By the exercise of breathing, we begin to feel all the movements of the body that we otherwise do not feel. As soon as this awareness begins to manifest, we inadvertently undergo stages of transformation where the refined qualities of Being, flow as a bubbling brook nurturing all aspects nature and life. The pure intent of breath is not the breath itself, but the “essence” of breath---Prana. This has been clearly illustrated via a story:There was once a minister to a great king. The king, displeased with the minister, ordered him to be confined to the top of a high tower. This being done, the minister was left there to perish. His wife, very saddened by the turn of events, came to the tower at night and called to her husband. The husband tried consoling her and suggested that instead of weeping she go get some honey, a beetle, a ball of fine thread, some pack thread, a ball of twine and a rope. He then described the procedure of how all these items were to be orchestrated. The wife tied the fine thread to one of the legs of the beetle, put the honey on top of it’s head and let it go with it’s head facing the top of the tower where the minister was confined. The beetle slowly crept onward (in hopes of reaching the honey) until at last, it reached the top of the tower. The minister held the beetle with joy and promptly provided the reward of honey. He now proceeded to pull the fine thread which led to the packthread which led to the twine and finally to the rope. The minister descended from the tower by means of the rope and made his escape. So in this body of ours, the breath motion is the “silken thread”. By laying hold of it we grasp the pack thread of nerve currents and from this the stout twine of our thoughts and lastly the rope of Prana, by which we attain freedom. Hence by the disciplined application and use of the contents in the material plane, we come to finer and finer perceptions actuating the subtle energy fields enabling the transformational process. The universe is one, whatever point we touch. All the points are but variations of that one point, and by the simple means of breathe, we can touch the very womb of the universe.