B.PRANAYAM:
The next important thing to master is pranayam. But prior to it, we
must have good inhale and retention capacity for breath. These can be improved
with the help of various exercises as shown below.
The second important thing necessary is deep breath capacity. The same shall
be used for kumbhak during various mudras. Here we will analyse the capacity of
air in our lungs. The total air volume of lungs is 6 litres. Mostly people are shallow
breathers. They utilize about 0.5 litre of volume during normal breathing.
About 1.5 litre of air always remains inside our lungs and is called residual
volume. Normal breathing is done in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 lit, meaning we use
maximum of 3 litre capacity of our lungs i.e 50 %, while the remaining is
unutilized. When doing kapal bhati, since it uses forced exhalation and natural
inhalation, this range of breathing moves from 1-2.5 litre range. While in the case
of Bhastrika pranayam where both inhalation and exhalation are forced, the breath moves
in the range of 1-5.5 litre. This is clear from the graph depicted in the
breathing pattern of Diaphragmatic and Clavicular breathing.
Another method to
increase breathing capacity uses Ramping(already explained in post 'Yoga and Meditation' in yoga label), where inhalation and exhalation are
done with steps. We increase the number of steps from say 4 times to 16 times max. In the maximum stage, we will inhale a single breath in 16 steps and exhale it in 16 steps. Even flaring of nostrils while breathing, is said to
increase the capacity by almost 10 %.
With the help of pranayam the mind becomes free of impurities and
fit for meditation. The mind, controls our senses and breath, controls our mind. Our mind
and breath have a secret connection, wherever either goes, the other follows. There is a continuous fight going on in this body between the breath and the mind.
Most of the time the mind is the winner and hence an ordinary person moves from one
birth to another as per his karmas, his desires. But a yogi spends his time to
strengthen his pran every moment, so that at last when his time comes
to leave his body, the mind follows the pran, and not otherwise, as the yogi exits his
pran from the tenth door i.e Brahmrandhara,at the top of the head.
Forward bending of spine give strength to it while reverse bending of spine give flexibility to it. Hence proper mix of two is essential for sitting in long duration meditation practices. Thus, a stable spine and still chitt (mind) are essential for sadhana.
Forward bending of spine give strength to it while reverse bending of spine give flexibility to it. Hence proper mix of two is essential for sitting in long duration meditation practices. Thus, a stable spine and still chitt (mind) are essential for sadhana.
Pranayam literally means ‘elongation of the life force’, a process
by which our pranic capacity is increased. Pranayam practices have been categorized in
various divisions. One is called Samvriti and Visan vritti,They are as follows;
Surya bhedi1, Chandra bhedi2, Ujjai3,
Kapalbhati4, Bhastrika5, Sheetali6, Sheetkari7,
Kevali8, Bhramari9, Moorcha10 and Plavini11.
One is not going into the theoretical details of the above pranayam, which one can
get from books,magazines and the Internet but, here I will be adding small and important details to make the
practice more potent.
Suryabhedi1: Inhale with full force through right nostril while closing the left nasal
passage. Internal retention is carried out with Jallandhar bandh.
Hold the air as long as possible comfortably and then exhale through the left nasal
passage. Repeat the same procedure. It raises kundlini and improves digestive
power.
Chandrabhedi2: It is opposite of Suryabhedi. Here inhalation is done through the left nasal instead and breath is exhaled through the right nasal passage. The left passage is connected to Ida nadi. It cools the system. It soothes the nerves but should not be done in excess by people with low BP, and those who are too introvert. Also both of these pranayams are not to be performed on the same day.
Ujjai3: It is simply thorax breathing. Much has been written about it, for general details one can refer to these works. From a personal perspective, one should imagine a pillar of light energy rising through the anus and passing over the vertebral column and going up through the Brahmrandhra, or crown of the head. It is a personal interpretation. It helps raise our kundlini into Sahasrar. When in deep Dhyan, if one observes ones breath it will automatically be flowing like that. It brings about peace of mind, balances the two nadis and helps prana flow in Sushmana. It cures asthama and depression.
Kapalbhati4: It is a method of breathing in which the exhale is done forcefully and inhalation is done naturally with the help of the diaphragm. General description is available at many places which one can refer to. Here one would like to share that during this breathing, though, breath is going on through nose but one should amplify the feeling that it is flowing horizontally through a hole in between the eyebrows, where the nose and forehead meet. Also one should keep ones chin a little upwards for increasing this feeling. It makes our sensation at the space of ajna chakra stronger. In due course one is able to see light in ones forehead from where actual sadhana of a practitioner starts. There are great details from this point on but since it is not in the scope of the present subject one would not delve into that.
Another important point in its practice is its speed. One should do in the range of 60-80 per minute. If it is increased it will start changing into Bhastrika and if it is too slow it will not generate the desired effect. It can be experienced that if ones does around 1000x in a sitting, its effect on the fore head and mind will be self evident. Since breath is forced out, our throat has a tendency to dry up quickly, gulp down saliva or drink small quantity of water after few sets. So do it and experience. It generates introversion and should not be done longer by introverted personalities.
Bhastrika5: Here the breathing pattern is forced inhalation and forced
exhalation both, unlike Kapalbhati where it is only forced exhalation. It provides
great energy to our body and hence is good for people with low energy. But it
should not be done strongly and over longer duration by people having
high BP and heart ailments. They should just follow long and smooth inhalation
and exhalation patterns, without jerks during breathing and unwanted stress to the
system.
Sheetali6 : As the name indicates, it cools our body. Breath is inhaled from the mouth through curled up tongue stretched out which moistens the incoming air striking our throat. Then, this breath is gulped down or swallowed. As it reaches our stomach, one feels coolness spreading there. Hold it for a few seconds with Jalandhar bandh and then exhale as in Ujjai. After odd number of cycles like 7,9,11… one should stop the practice and inhale deeply through both the nostrils and relax.
If one gets fever, immediately start this pranayam and fever will be cured without medicine. One has tried it in 1020 centigrade fever and in just 15 minutes it was gone and did not recur. One suggests the readers to try it during fever and experience first hand.
Sheetkari7: The only difference from above is that we breath in through
our open lips with teeth joined together. Many places it is explained that this one
is for people with full set of teeth.
Both the above pranayams are cooling, soothing to ears, eyes and
good for stomach ailments. Activate liver and spleen.
Bhramari9: It is pranayam to focus mind on sound. One inhales through
Ujjai and closes eyes, ears,nose, lips etc and makes sound like a bee and keeps ones mind
focused there. It is advised to do it in a peaceful place. Thus night time is
good for such practice. In my opinion, actually one should listen to antar naad
instead of the sound produced physically. That meditative practice is best,
which makes us fathom the depths of our inner Self than the outside world.
Kevali8:
Kevali kumbhak is an advanced type of Pranayamic practice. As the name
suggests, it is not only kumbhak or retention, but it should be understood as
retention with very small inhalation. This can be explained with the help of
simple example of putting a bucket full of water under slightly opened tap.
Fresh water keeps trickling in, it changes the stale water as the bucket over
flows. Kevali is also like that. We keep
retaining most of the breath and only change 5-10 per cent of it at any time. As
our control on breath will rise more and more, our duration of kevali will
become more and more. Kevali will make our breath subtler and subtler and
reduce its length more and more.
A person’s breath in normal circumstances treads a distance of 12 fingers width from the nose. The goal of a yogi is to reduce it by 12 fingers and come just to the tip of his nose i.e he should take breath from there and leave his exhalation also there. If a strand of cotton is kept at the nose tip, it should not move at all. A yogi who has such subtle breath is called a Paramhamsa. Such a person will have all siddhis and nidhis at hand and will not be dependent upon nature for anything as he would transcend all the five elements.
A person’s breath in normal circumstances treads a distance of 12 fingers width from the nose. The goal of a yogi is to reduce it by 12 fingers and come just to the tip of his nose i.e he should take breath from there and leave his exhalation also there. If a strand of cotton is kept at the nose tip, it should not move at all. A yogi who has such subtle breath is called a Paramhamsa. Such a person will have all siddhis and nidhis at hand and will not be dependent upon nature for anything as he would transcend all the five elements.
Moorcha10: Inhale with Ujjai and hold breath internally as long as
possible. By repeating this a number for times one will feel like fainting or
swooning. This will slow down our mind and grant it peace.
Plavini11: It is concerned with floating on water. It is not taught
much or explained in details. Due to its mentioned purpose, one amasses air
in stomach and floats in water. A similar kind of floating is also done in Matsya
asan. The more air we can retain inside,the better floating will be experienced.
Though in the case of matsya asan one’s body is angularly floating with nose and
forehead above the water surface and the rest submerged. But if one has lots of
air in the stomach like a pot, then I think the body must also be supported by inside
air to come up towards the surface. In that position the body will become
horizontal. A similar thing can be experienced while floating on the back. When asked the
secret of it from a Himalyan yogi, it was said inhale maximum and then breathe like in Kevali. As science students, we will agree that more the air inside our body better will be floating.
Anulom Vilom12: ‘Loma’ means hair, ‘Vi’ means against order, while ‘Anu’ means
in natural order. It can be done in two ways, i.e. Anulom pranayam and Vilom
pranayam. Viloma pranayam is with ramping on both sides while anulom pranayam
can be without ramping.
Anuloma pranayam reduces hypertension, high BP, cleanses nasal
passages, sharpens inner awareness and quiets the mind.
Viloma pranayam is good for people suffering from low BP,
soothes the brain.
There are different ways suggested by different teachers but one
liked the interpretation of anuloma viloma as taught by Guru Dattatreya to his
disciple Sanskriti in Jabal Darshan Upnishat on his question of how to keep ones
nadis cleansed, which is as follows.
He surmised that first
one should follow only those karmas as stated in the scriptures, leave all the
hankering after desires and fruits of karma, follow the precepts of ashtang yoga
and make ones mind still, be always truthful, perform service to learned
people, always delve in the chintan of atma. Locate a good place on a mountain
top, a river bank or near a bilv tree in forest where there is peace and no
fear. Sit on an asan facing East or North keeping head, neck and body aligned.
Close mouth and focus on the realm of moon in front of the nose tip and
visualize that in pranav bindu there the nectar of Paramatma is flowing and one
is having His darshan there. Then inhale through the left nasal passage and fill up
ones stomach. Hold it inside and visualize nectar of the moon spreading everywhere. Exhale through right nasal passage. In the middle of the stomach, visualize
the realm of the Sun. Inhale through right nasal passage and see the appearance of
the deity of the Sun. Join fire (Agni beej) ‘R’ with naad and bindu. Thus, chanting ‘Ram’
spread its energy throughout and exhale through left nasal passage. Repeat it
3,5,7,9….number of times.
Then one can add 16:64:32 ration in the poorak, kumbhak and rechak during this pranayam. In Poorak concentrate on ‘A’, in Kumbhak concentrate on ‘U’ and in Rechak concentrate on ‘M’. It is said that one who does this for six months without fail, even an ignorant person generates knowledge; if one does it for one year, one would have Darhsan of Brahm. Thus, practicing daily, a yogi gets free from the bonds of this world to experience eternal freedom.
Then one can add 16:64:32 ration in the poorak, kumbhak and rechak during this pranayam. In Poorak concentrate on ‘A’, in Kumbhak concentrate on ‘U’ and in Rechak concentrate on ‘M’. It is said that one who does this for six months without fail, even an ignorant person generates knowledge; if one does it for one year, one would have Darhsan of Brahm. Thus, practicing daily, a yogi gets free from the bonds of this world to experience eternal freedom.
By doing this the nadis get cleansed. Various symptoms are there to
gauge the cleansing of nadis. The first symptom is lightness in body; second
symptom is increase in digestive fire and third is hearing of antar naad. Till
these symptoms are experienced, keep doing practice. Such is the saying of Lord
Dattatreya.
Then he explained the effects of pranayam as follows which are
very interesting. According to him they should be done during both sandhyas,
morning as well as evening.
By holding the breath at the nasal tip, pran comes under control,
By holding it inside naval, all diseases are removed,
By holding it in the big toe, lightness of body is achieved,
By drinking air through curled up tongue fatigue is removed,
pitt is reduced and the body becomes disease free,
By attracting the air through the tongue as above, holding it in the
neck slowly one should drink it. Thus all the diseases are removed.
By attracting air through Ida holding in the middle of eyebrows, one
should visualize as if drinking nectar, all diseases are removed,
By attracting the air through both nasal passages and holding
in the middle of navel, all ailments of stomach are removed,
By attracting through both the passages and holding it therein,
all diseases of the eyes are removed,
By attracting through both the nasal passages and holding it in
ears, all ear problems are removed,
Similarly, if held in the head, all problems pertaining to the head are
removed. One should try them to experience first hand.
..............TO BE CONTD TO PART III...................Shaktanand.
~OM~
..............TO BE CONTD TO PART III...................Shaktanand.
~OM~
Fabulous. Om.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! ! Om
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