The first thing a newborn infant does when he enters the world is to draw breath. Our breath is our life force, and any yoga practitioner will tell you how important it is not only for our physiological health but also for our spiritual well-being. When our breath is restricted, we breath only with the upper respiratory tract and do not fully oxygenate our blood, brain and vital organs. It is now fairly common knowledge that cancers thrive in a poorly oxygenated body, and shallow breathing keeps us in a state of low-level stress – a state that diseases will flourish in!
Pranayama, or breathwork in yoga teaches us to breathe slowly and deeply utilizing the full capacity of our lungs. Not only does this nourish our body with oxygen but it stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system, where healing takes place. We feel calmer and can manage our stressful lives when we allow our nervous systems to exist in parasympathetic dominance, meaning we can cope with all the challenges life throws at us with more ease, and more success!
But in our current world we are encouraged to wear face coverings to protect both ourselves and others from airborne viruses. While this is important, it is also important to remember how this impacts our breath and thereby our life force.
We now see many people walking, running, biking , all with face coverings. When we should be taking in large lungful’s of fresh air we are shallow breathing, because our faces are covered.
So how can we protect ourselves and those we love from the threat of pathogens and still ensure our own respiratory systems can function as they should?
First of all its important not to use face coverings made from unnatural fibres which we will be inhaling into our own bodies. We need to be able to breathe as naturally as we can, and know that whatever protective covering we choose is going to support our breath and not hinder it in any way.
Any natural organic fibre will be better that synthetic masks that have been dyed or treated chemically, but by far the best choice in my own opinion is natural silk.
Research shows that silk is one of the most effective type of face coverings for COVID19[1]
Silk is hypo-allergenic and naturally water repellant meaning it will protect against airborne droplets. Caterpillars build their silk cocoons knowing they will be safe from the wet weather, because the silk will protect them, and keep them warm and dry.
Because silk is hypoallergenic it will not cause the breakouts people are suffering with from keeping a warm damp cloth over their faces.
To order your natural beautifully hand made silk mask, please contact Liz from Pranasilk Masks for further information at Littlemisswardie730@hotmail.co.uk
- [1] Parlin, A. F. et al. (2020). Silk Fabric as A Protective Barrier for Personal Protective Equipment and As A Functional Material for Face Coverings During The COVID-19 Pandemic. medRxiv preprint. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.25.20136424. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.25.20136424v1
LORRAINE EREIRA 
Good piece with some practical advice on natural fibres.
I think the thing about breathing deeply is important but the other side of this discussion depends on where you live.
In large cities like Malaga, Madrid, Rome, London etc, air quality is questionable and diesel particulates and other airborne toxins are hugely significant to lung health. I’d be interested to know if it is better to take in a deep breath on say Oxford Street, with a mask or without a mask. Is it better to restrict airflow if toxic particles are filtered out or have a clear airflow but breathe in the toxins too? I honestly don’t know the answer.
I’m fortunate enough to live where the air quality is very very good so mask material is of great importance to me and hence why I really like this piece.
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a great question! i dont have the answer, but i do feel thats its never good to restrict your respiration. It causes great stress on the nervous system when we are unable to breathe fully. Of course we dont want to inhale airborne particles that may cause us harm, in any situation, but neither do we want to restrict our life force, or our gaseous exchange in any situation either.
Glad you have good air quality where you air, breathe deep, and enjoy!
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