In Yogic tradition, life expectancy is linked to the frequency of breaths. Elephants, alligators and tortoises breathe very slow and have a high life expectancy. Mice, rabbits and foxes breathe quickly and have a shorter life expectancy.
The spirit, ‘spiritus’ and ‘sprirare’ literally means breath. With proper breathing you can burn and transmute karma.
Your breath should be conscious and expansive. Your inhale should come naturally, expanding your lower region imagining you are absorbing the life giving energies of Brahma as you breathe. When the breath is retained, focus on extracting the life force of the air and circulating it throughout your body. When you exhale see all negativity, sickness and tension leave your body and return to the earth for purification.
The aim of all yogic breathing exercises is to prolong the retention of breath, which is how one burns karma, attains siddhis, and learns to control the transition into the next life.
“The practitioner of Tantra aims at stopping the unconscious flow of micro-cosmic forces by getting control of the functions of breathing, which represents the outward aspect of vital energy. The initiate must master the breathing process until it becomes a most responsive and subtle tool.” -Varahi Tantra