Air We Breath
We heard about hundreds who died in the mine disaster in China a few years ago. They died of asphyxiation, lack of oxygen in their lungs due to the lack of air. We can live without food for a few weeks and without water for a few days. But if we are deprived of air nobody can live for more than a few minutes. The process of breathing through our nose and using of the content of breathing in the lungs for life and sustenance is automatically learnt instinctively from the moment of our birth.
This air exchange that happens in the lungs makes the body absorb oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide from our tissues. Deep breathing and regular exercise help in this air exchange. Smoking and exposure to air pollutants can damage lung tissue and reduce proper air exchange. If you are breathless after walking a few meters or if you are suffering from illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis your quality of air exchange is impaired.
The air that we breath goes through the nose to the trachea or the windpipe to the bronchus. Through the bronchus into the branches called bronchioles. Through the bronchioles the air enters small sacs called alveoli. Healthy lungs have hundreds of millions of alveoli. Oxygen, carbon dioxide exchange takes place in the alveoli.
Toxins in the Air
Children of smokers getting early asthma and bronchitis made the scientists research on the effect of second hand smoke. They concluded that these poor children were the victims of the bad habits of their parents. Young children in the inner cities such as Colombo also have high rates of childhood asthma and bronchitis. Toxic fumes from motor vehicles and factories can pollute the environment in the cities. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and lead are some of the culprits.
Smoking can damage your lungs which is a vital organ of the body. It can also harden the arteries and increase the risk of heart disease. It can weaken your immunity, cause cancer and early death. If you have not started this bad habit, please do not fall prey to it.
If you cannot quit smoking cold turkey, you can seek medical help. There are pills and nicotine patches that can help you. The worst thing is to make your children and family members ill through second hand smoke. It is proved that exposing to one hour of second hand smoke is equivalent to smoking four cigarettes.
It is the responsibility of all citizens to make our parliamentarians and legislators aware of the harmful effects of burning fossil fuel of energy could be a substitute. We are not short of bright sunny days where we could tap the solar energy for our domestic and industrial use. We also can improve the quality of air that we breathe.
There is a Sanskrit adage which helps the Hindu sages to meditate; " Aham brachmasmi." This gives a pantheistic connotation "I am God." But according to the Sanskrit scholars it means, "I am the spirit of God." The Hindu sages explain that if we have no "prana" (life force) or "athman" (soul) which we derive from the Spirit of God, we become just dead, rotting carcasses.
The first step of Buddhist meditation is learning proper inhaling and exhaling techniques call "anapana sati" The book of Genesis in the Bible says that god made man out of clay and breathed his spirit (life force) in to him/her. All major religions talk about the importance of pure air and breathing.
(If you have physical or psychological problems, or are on any medications or under the care and the supervision of any physician, psychiatrist or therapist, please consult your physician, psychiatrist or therapist, before you start any vigorous exercise program. Do not change your diet without consulting them.)