Hashira: Why Breathing is Power, Skill and Vitality (Demon Slayer Anime Analysis)
The better your breathing, the more powerful you are. Does this translate to how we breathe in our daily lives?
The Hashira, or “Pillars”, are the most powerful warriors within the Demon Slayer Corps. The Demon Slayer Corps are an organization that fights against dark warriors of the night known as Demons, within the world of the anime Kimetsu No Yaiba, or “Demon Slayer”. To combat the demons of the world, the demon slayers use a variety of powerful techniques known as “Breathing Styles”, where the warrior in combat uses the power of their breath to amplify their power. Using the breath, a warrior can increase their speed, strength, durability, precision, agility, range, and even their healing capability. The Hashira are the most powerful breath users, due to all of them having almost complete mastery over their breath.
Due to mastery over their breath, the Hashira are capable of incredible feats. Feats that are just not possible for the average breather. The breath is the source of their power. Every breath has a purpose, and when a Hashira improves their breathing to compliment their fighting ability, they become more powerful. So does this notion of the breath holding the secret to great power have any bearing in our world today? How powerful is the human breath? What limits can we push through if we just improve the way we breathe? We will investigate these questions.
Breathing Styles
The Hashira are masters of their breathing style, and as a result, they are capable of unleashing powerful techniques using the power of their breath and their skill with a weapon. These techniques are known as “Breathing Forms”, and these forms are used especially in combat against demons. The Hashira can also use their breath to increase their mental capabilities, their senses, and their decision-making.
The original breathing style is what is known as Sun Breathing, and it is commonly considered as the most powerful breathing style due to its versatility, as well as its holding the essence of what a breathing style should be. Sun Breathing then evolved into five more distinct breathing styles: Water, Flame, Thunder, Wind, and Stone. From these five breathing styles came other derivatives, such as Mist, Love, Insect, Sound, Serpent and Beast. Even Moon Breathing was developed, as such warriors and breath users sought to increase their power and capabilities, not only in combat, but in their everyday life.
With complete mastery over their breathing style, the Hashira have the respect and awe of all other demon slayers. They use their powers to conquer the challenge of the demons that lurk in the night, and they overcome the odds after every battle. With skill and work ethic, they improve day in and day out, every time they train within their breathing style, their domain. This draws great parallels to us in everyday life.
“If you can only do one thing, hone it to perfection. Hone it to the utmost limit”
-Jigoro Kuwajima, a former Thunder Hashira
The Importance of Good Breathing
The distinct breathing styles is a representation of how breathing can aid a man in his pursuit of excellence. We also see within the Hashira that different types of breathing can give different effects. If a man knows how to breathe, he is more likely to succeed and reach his potential. The fact that each Hashira is a master of their breathing style is similar to how a man uses the breath to achieve excellence in their own domain, whether it is in athletics, in their profession, or within a spiritual practice.
The breath hold the key to great power. The better a man breathes, the more he can do. This is why we are taught at a very young age how to breathe whenever we are in a difficult or stressful situation, when a challenge before us seems too daunting. Our breath can be manipulated to control our heart rate, either to slow it down or to speed it up. Without the breath, life is not possible.
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
Those that have not mastered the breath, or who breathes improperly is usually low in energy and vitality. On the other hand, those that fully breathe, deeply into the stomach, are fully of life, power, potency and energy. With proper control of one’s breath, anything is possible, much like how the human Hashira is able to fight against the most powerful supernatural demons simply with the power of their breath.
So what are some incredible feats one can do once control and full manipulation of the breath is achieved? Here are some acts that can be done with the breath under full control…
Physical Capabilities
The Hashira are the best examples of what excellent breathing techniques can do for your physical performance. The same holds true for us in the real world. Have you ever been doing cardio, and notice how much longer you can go for if you breathe deeply and properly? Have you noticed how much more weight you can lift if you have your breathing down pat and under control? One of the most fundamental skills for any athlete is to maintain their breathing throughout their training or during competition. They must know what pace to breathe at, as well as the volume of air to breathe. Without this knowledge, or rather even the application of this knowledge, their performance suffers.
The breath can also enable someone to have greater control of their body temperature. It is your breath that enables a man to control their body and maintain their composure whenever they are exposed to extreme heat or cold. It is much easier to take a cold shower when you breathe deeply and quickly. The breath can control the chemistry in one’s blood, and proper breathing can even improve one’s immune function. Could such control of one’s breath be the reason why you almost never hear any Hashira get sick?
If you breathe properly and have a proper regular intake of oxygen during physical stress, whether you are lifting weights, sprinting, or taking an ice bath, your body will respond better to the challenge. As an athlete, consider incorporating certain breathing exercises into your physical regimen. Proper breathing technique will drastically improve your performance.
“I advise the athletes I consult with to breathe more than they feel they need to and to think of it like a mantra. When you breathe more than you feel you need to, you can surpass your conditioning regardless of your VO2 max, which is the measure of your maximum oxygen consumption during exercise. And when we are able to surpass our conditioning, we also gain an ability to overcome stressful situations and to rise beyond our perceived physical limitations”.
-Wim Hof (The Wim Hof Method)
Mental Capabilities
Before or during battle, the Hashira are masters of strategic thinking and quick decision-making. They have a clear head, which allows them to come up with a plan quickly during battle against a demon. Now imagine that you are in a difficult exam, or you are in front of your PC at work completing a project. You are struggling, and your mind refuses to function. It refuses to provide you the answer you need. Then you begin to breathe deeply and slowly, and all of a sudden, your brain kicks into gear. Then all of a sudden, you are able to come up with an answer to your exam question. Then all of a sudden, you get a second wind at work, and you can push through any mental plateau you face.
The brain is a very metabolically demanding organ. It requires a constant flow of oxygen in order for it to continue performing at the highest level. The more oxygenated the brain is, the better one’s mental performance will be. Those that are in professions that require the juggling of multiple variables will benefit from better breathing. Why do you think CEOs or major thought leaders have a meditation practice that allows them to have full control over their breath? Reason being is because they need to be at their best mentally.
The mind need the breath to function properly, as well as to grow and improve. To improve focus, information retention, and cognitive judgement, learn how to breathe.
“The physical nature of breathwork helps drive distractions from your head. Breathwork is calming, but it isn’t always easy. In fact, the challenges it brings are part of the process”.
-Jay Shetty (Think Like a Monk)
Emotional Capabilities
In the heat of battle, the Hashira exhibit poise and confidence, due to their incredible control over their emotional state. You will notice that in battle, the Hashira does not take shallow, rapid breaths. Rather, they take slow, deep breaths that take in large volumes of air. Slow deep breaths are crucial in maintaining emotional control. This is very similar to taking deep breaths when under extreme stress, which results in your body calming down in the heat of the moment.
This is due to the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system during slow, deep breathing. The parasympathetic nervous system takes charge when your body is at rest, or in a non-stressed state. Whereas the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the ‘fight or flight’ response of the body during times of stress, is activated during rapid breathing. Why do you think your parents tell you to breathe when you are angry? When you are deeply breathing, you are more able to keep calm under pressure, and make rational decisions that is not swayed excessively by your emotions.
Even against the most powerful of demons, the Hashira is able to stay poised and in control in battle due to their breath. This is applicable to each of us, in that when we are stressed, filled with emotion, and unable to think and operate rationally, the best thing we can do is to breathe, and to breathe deeply.
“The lungs are covered with nerves that extend to both sides of the autonomic nervous system, and many of the nerves connecting to the parasympathetic nervous system are located in the lower lobes, which is one reason long and slow breaths are so relaxing”.
-James Nestor (Breath)
Spiritual Capabilities
The Hashira are not just physical warriors. They are moral and spiritual warriors. They represent the highest of moral standards that the rest of the demon slayers strive for. Yes, none of them are perfect, but they understand that they are representations of good. They are fully devoted to their purpose of protecting the world from demons, even if they will never get the credit for it. They understand that their internal qualities are developed through discipline, which is demonstrated through their disciplined breathing and life structure.
You will never see a Hashira indulging themselves in pleasure, vices or instant gratification. The reason being is because they have developed such a strong sense of purpose, discipline, and a vivid sense of what a good future looks like. A Hashira demonstrates focus and determination to master their craft, and such discipline is developed through their regimented breathing training. This spiritual peak has many parallels to our lives in the form of yoga and meditation, both practices that involve careful and rhythmic breathing, and both develops one’s presence and discipline. Have you ever noticed that you are more able to experience the present moment when you are breathing deeply and just taking in the moment through the senses? Have you ever noticed that it is easier to delay gratification the more you breathe deeply? For example, if you are practicing NoFap or semen retention, it is easier to stop yourself from masturbating when you are conscious of your own breathing. Same thing applies to all forms of temptation.
The Hashira is always on their purpose, their mission, because they have the strength of character to stay consistent. This consistency has been practiced so many times through their consistent breathing practice. When developing ourselves spiritually, whether it is by practicing presence or gratitude, or meditating, or journaling, or reflecting on yourself, or determining what you want to be in the future, remember to breathe in a disciplined way. Be consistent in how you breathe, be conscious of how you breathe, and enjoy and experience the present moment through your breathing.
“Your breath is a primary expression of your personal energy. Therefore, your breath is one of the primary ways to give your gift to the world”.
-David Deida (The Way of the Superior Man)
Should We Practice Breathing?
One of the best and most overlooked practices is the practice of breathing. There are many techniques that one can learn to hone in their breathing for a multitude of scenarios and situations, such as Yogic breathing, Box breathing, among others. The reason being that many do not consciously practice breathing and breathing wrong is because they don’t understand the importance of breathing properly.
“Feel the rage. The powerful, pure rage of not being able to forgive will become your unswerving drive to take action”.
-Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira
As a result, people breathe in the wrong way, and their life can never reach their peak as a result. You see many people breathe into their chest rather than their stomach. You see many people breathe through their mouth rather than their nose. People can never reach their full potential as a human being until they breathe in the proper way.
So take this seriously and take the steps to learn the importance of correct breathing. Learn how to breathe more efficiently and more effectively. Your capabilities in all areas, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, will drastically improve. It won’t change straight away, but slowly and surely, you will become a better person the better your breathing is. Be like the mighty, awe-inspiring Hashira, who through effective breathing became strong examples of power, skill and vitality.
