All of us take bath daily, may be even twice daily, to get rid of the dirt, grime, germs and the all the unwanted things from our body’s outer surface to keep ourselves healthy. However, we never try and cleanse the mind, which harbours more deadly poisons that could destroy us very easily. Most of us wonder as to where the human mind is, knowing full well that we can not see the mind as we see our hands or feet.



The mind is an integral part of the body and resides in every cell in the subatomic quantum level. This quantum concept of the mind explains many of the intricacies of the mind that were hitherto a mystery and did not come under scientific scrutiny. With the advances in quantum physics and the realisation that the mind (consciousness) is the one, which observes everything; even in the most complicated scientific experiments. The “Schrodinger’s Cat Hypothesis” and “Werner Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle” have brought to fore the importance of the observer. Each and every experiment depends on the eye of the beholder. No physicist has seen the Lepto-Quark, the last bit of the atomic split, although most have felt its impact. Mind only feels what the external sensory organs see and observe.



The mind, thus defined, is the source of all our thoughts that, in turn, direct all our actions. Actions and reactions being equal and opposite, our actions beget their consequences, good as well as bad. There are basically two kinds of thoughts-positive and negative. While the former help the growth and development of the organism, the latter, the negative thoughts, are now known to be at the root of all our ills on this planet, beginning with the simple common cold to the deadly heart attacks, strokes, and even cancer, the all pervasive destroyer!



Study after study of the risk factor hypotheses has revealed the vital role played by negative destructive emotions on the major killers. The Johns Hopkins’ student study, the London White Hall study, and the Scandinavian study of men with heart attacks showed the major role played by frustration, hostility and depression in this disease. Similarly depression, with or without treatment, came up as the single most dangerous predisposing factor for growth and maintenance of cancers, with anger as the leading cause of stroke! The simple summary is that it is not what one eats that kills him, but it is what eats one that kills him.



Having thus made sure that it is the mind with negative thoughts that is at the root of all human ills, let us try to find out the source of those negative thoughts and the way they could be cleansed from the mind. Man is born with only two basic instincts-the instinct of self-preservation and that of procreation. The rest of our instincts are acquired after birth. The innocent God like child has a mind full of universal compassion and love along with the other two necessary basic traits mentioned earlier.



All the negative emotions are fed into our minds after we come into existence. In the name of civilization our environment makes an effort to inject all these negative feelings, basically related to the monetary economy that we inherited in the last few hundred years. Our ancestors, that lived in the forests for thousands of years, were innocent people without any of these negative thoughts but could have been physically more cruel when in danger. Emerson was not wrong when he said, “if mankind would have an end it would be as a result of our present civilization.” Today man’s greatest enemy is man himself!



The basis of monetary economy is competition. Competing with others is mediocrity, but competing with oneself is excellence. The present society has evolved to respect money and power, thus making man hate another of his species, even when not in danger, leading to unhealthy competition. In a quest for achievement we drive our younger generation into the bottomless pit of hatred. Our educational system does not inculcate values in the young mind. Spiritual quotient is as important as the intelligent quotient and emotional quotient in education but the first and the last are totally missing in the present system. When the negative feelings have taken root firmly, even if one realises the mistake, it takes a long time to flush one’s mind of those devils.



For the future generation at least the educational system, for children below the age of fifteen, should avoid competitive ethos. For all of us who have been brought up in the existing system a different approach needs to be thought of. How do we cleanse our mind of the poison already inside? Indian ancient wisdom (not religion, lest it should be misinterpreted by vested interests) has many antidotes for the negative feelings in the mind. The best among them is the correct breathing technique.



There are enough scientific studies available today to show how this seemingly simple method could have such profound changes on the human mind. “Yogic” breathing techniques that use abdominal breathing (belly breathing) methods in place of the inadequate upper chest breathing used by most of us in this busy world, caught in the day-to-day rat race, would make a world of difference.



The method of belly breathing brings on basically two changes inside the system. The first is that it reduces the rate of breathing. This in itself improves tissue oxygenation, reduces heart rate, decreases aortic pressure (thereby blood pressure) and also reduces the pressure in the lung artery (pulmonary artery) taking blood out of the right heart to the lungs. While aorta takes blood out of the left heart, the pulmonary artery does the same to the right heart. Both sides, thus, get relieved of their extra load to that extent. This has been shown even to help patients with advanced heart failure. (Failure of the heart to pump blood adequately to all parts of the body)



The second change happens in the amount of lung tissue that is available for air exchange in the lungs when one takes a deep slow breath using the abdomen. In this method when one draws air inside the lungs, the diaphragm moves so far down into the abdomen pushing the anterior abdominal wall forwards. The lungs now distend fully and oxygenate the blood many times better than in the shallow breathing of anxiety and stressful living. Although this effort, twice a day for as short as fifteen minutes, does a world of difference to our well being by soothing the nerves reducing negative thoughts, making a habit of using belly breathing routinely is a great help! Body’s wisdom, in those of us using shallow breathing, compensates the loss of oxygenation by increasing the functioning of the heart to pump that much more blood every minute to make up for the loss of lost lung area. This latter is the cause of all misery. Shallow breathing, therefore, increases heart rate and blood pressure to make one feel tired easily. This is like burning our life unnecessarily.



Inadequate oxygenation of the brain added to the above sequence leads to perpetuation of negative thoughts. One small example would suffice. When you are very angry ask someone to watch your breathing and ask them to remind you to belly breathe for a while. If you did that you would be surprised to see how quickly you get rid of the hatred that brought on the anger in the first place. Many a time you wonder why you became angry at all. Anger and danger are but just one letter (D) apart. Anger and happiness are but a few belly breaths away.



Regular breathing exercise added to a session of shavasana for ten minutes makes you very tranquil and could bring on good sleep as a bonus. Philosophic outlook in life with the awareness of the insignificance of the human organism in the working of the macrocosm would make one humble, reducing pride and jealousy that eat into our minds. Hostility is our biggest enemy. The above simple methods help get rid of all the dangerous negative thoughts



Regular physical exercise, especially outdoor walking, enjoying the bounties of Nature en route would add to the perks. Diet enriched with fruits and vegetables could be an added bonus. Small regular meals four to five times a day help keep the internal environment within the limits of healthy fluctuations of the multifarious functions of the body.



Mind could never be forced to do anything but could be indirectly taught to be tranquil through regular breathing exercises and following certain simple rules of the game. Man lives for others. Helping others is the rent one pays for the comforts one enjoys in society. Molecular biology has taught us that even the thought of helping others brings on favourable changes in the cells of the immune system to prevent diseases! Praying for others is very effective as shown by a couple of well controlled prospective studies done in the US. In addition, praying for others helps one to see life in a better perspective. It gives purpose to life and makes life worth living avoiding depression. The latter is the greatest epidemic of the West these days. Breathe away to happiness and glory!