Pranayama - The Science of Breath Control
Hatha Yoga (Ha – Sun/Tha – Moon) is the path of Yoga dealing with the physical discipline of the Asanas (Yoga postures) and Pranayama (Breath Control). (Yoga = Union/Joining of the individual with the universal soul)
Breath is life. We can live for days without food and water but deprive us of breath and we die in minutes. It’s therefore quite amazing how little attention we pay to the importance of breathing correctly.
To a yogi, there are 2 main functions of proper breathing:
a) to bring more oxygen to the blood and therefore to the brain
b) to control Prana, or vital energy/life force, leading to control of the mind – the two are interdependent.
Definition of Prana – it is in matter but it is not matter. It is in air but it is not oxygen. It is a subtle form of energy that is carried in air, food, water and sunlight and it animates all forms of matter.
Your state of mind is reflected in the way you breathe. When you are angry or scared, your breathing is shallow, rapid & irregular and conversely, when you are relaxed or deep in thought, your breathing becomes slow and measured. Therefore, it follows that by controlling your breath, you can learn to control your state of mind. When your breath wanders, your mind is unsteady, but when your breath is still, your mind is still & powerful.
Yoga breathing revitalises the body, steadies the emotions and creates clarity of mind. It recharges your cellular batteries with fresh Prana
How does it work?
On either side of the spine in our etheric/subtle/astral body, we have nadis, nerve channels or tubes, which carry Prana. When the nadis are blocked, Prana cannot flow freely and poor health results. They are cleansed by Asanas and Pranayama. The nadi on the right which starts at the right nostril is called Pingala and is the nadi of the sun, and the one starting at the left nostril is called Ida, the nadi of the moon and they both should be free and clear. They correspond to the sympathetic ganglia of the spinal cord. The Sushumna is the nadi of the spine, the main channel of nervous energy and the counterpart of the spinal cord. These nadis intersect each other at various places (Ida and Pingala spiral around Sushumna) and these junctions are called chakras or wheels and they regulate the body’s mechanism. They correspond to the endocrine glands.
Alternate Nostril Breathing – Nadi Sodhana
This breathing exercise is the most efficient classical exercise for purifying the nadis and therefore the nervous system. With the nerves calmed and purified with an identical flow of air and therefore Prana, on each side, the mind becomes still and lucid and one feels refreshed.
METHOD
Always sit or lie with a straight spine so that the energy can move freely.
Take your right hand and bend your index and middle fingers into your palm. This leaves your thumb and ring and little finger free.
Raise to your nose and lightly touch the end of your nostrils, the cartilage just below the nasal bone, using thumb and fingers to release and block each side in turn,
Left hand rests on left thigh with thumb and index finger joined. Index finger represents the individual soul and the thumb, the universal soul. By joining them you are creating a union and a seal, a symbolic gesture used to seal Prana in the body. This is called the Jnana Mudra. A Mudra in yoga is a sealing posture.
If your right hand gets tired, you can support it with your left. So, spine, neck and head in a straight line. Close eyes. Exhale through both nostrils, then close the left nostril lightly and breathe in the right nostril to the count of 5. Close the right nostril and breathe out the left nostril to the count of 5. Breathe in the left, close and breathe out the right. Repeat in right, out left, in left and out right and finish off breathing in the right nostril. This cycle can be repeated several times.
Start by breathing in to the count of 5 and out to the count of 5 which can be increased gradually as you become more proficient. When you inhale and exhale, do so quietly and gently. No strain & the tongue passive. Inhalation is called Puraka and Exhalation – Rechaka. Do not contrict the throat.
With practice when you are no longer thinking about your fingers, concentrate on the air passing through the nostrils.
Nadi Sodhana breathing is good to practice daily, preferably in the early morning or the evening. It balances both sides of brain & helps with headaches. Choose a quiet, clean, airy place. Noise creates restlessness. Not to be done after a heavy meal.
When you are comfortable with this method, you can progress to the same but holding the breath – breath retention between inhalation and exhalation – called Anuloma Viloma. Breath retention in Pranayama is called Kumbhaka. However, a warning, never hold the breath if you have HBP or Heart trouble. Nadi Sodhana is beneficial to both.
Some breathing exercise concentrate on exhaling longer than inhalation. The more stale air you exhale, the more fresh air you can inhale.
BKS Iyengar, a name synonymous with Yoga in the West, says that continuous practice of Pranayama will change the mental outlook of the practitioner and reduce considerably, the craving of the senses for worldly pleasures, such as smoking, drinking and sexual indulgence.
References:
The Book of Yoga – The Sivananda Yoga Centre
Pranayama - Andre van Lysebeth
Light on Yoga – B.K.S. Iyengar
Breath is life. We can live for days without food and water but deprive us of breath and we die in minutes. It’s therefore quite amazing how little attention we pay to the importance of breathing correctly.
To a yogi, there are 2 main functions of proper breathing:
a) to bring more oxygen to the blood and therefore to the brain
b) to control Prana, or vital energy/life force, leading to control of the mind – the two are interdependent.
Definition of Prana – it is in matter but it is not matter. It is in air but it is not oxygen. It is a subtle form of energy that is carried in air, food, water and sunlight and it animates all forms of matter.
Your state of mind is reflected in the way you breathe. When you are angry or scared, your breathing is shallow, rapid & irregular and conversely, when you are relaxed or deep in thought, your breathing becomes slow and measured. Therefore, it follows that by controlling your breath, you can learn to control your state of mind. When your breath wanders, your mind is unsteady, but when your breath is still, your mind is still & powerful.
Yoga breathing revitalises the body, steadies the emotions and creates clarity of mind. It recharges your cellular batteries with fresh Prana
How does it work?
On either side of the spine in our etheric/subtle/astral body, we have nadis, nerve channels or tubes, which carry Prana. When the nadis are blocked, Prana cannot flow freely and poor health results. They are cleansed by Asanas and Pranayama. The nadi on the right which starts at the right nostril is called Pingala and is the nadi of the sun, and the one starting at the left nostril is called Ida, the nadi of the moon and they both should be free and clear. They correspond to the sympathetic ganglia of the spinal cord. The Sushumna is the nadi of the spine, the main channel of nervous energy and the counterpart of the spinal cord. These nadis intersect each other at various places (Ida and Pingala spiral around Sushumna) and these junctions are called chakras or wheels and they regulate the body’s mechanism. They correspond to the endocrine glands.
Alternate Nostril Breathing – Nadi Sodhana
This breathing exercise is the most efficient classical exercise for purifying the nadis and therefore the nervous system. With the nerves calmed and purified with an identical flow of air and therefore Prana, on each side, the mind becomes still and lucid and one feels refreshed.
METHOD
Always sit or lie with a straight spine so that the energy can move freely.
Take your right hand and bend your index and middle fingers into your palm. This leaves your thumb and ring and little finger free.
Raise to your nose and lightly touch the end of your nostrils, the cartilage just below the nasal bone, using thumb and fingers to release and block each side in turn,
Left hand rests on left thigh with thumb and index finger joined. Index finger represents the individual soul and the thumb, the universal soul. By joining them you are creating a union and a seal, a symbolic gesture used to seal Prana in the body. This is called the Jnana Mudra. A Mudra in yoga is a sealing posture.
If your right hand gets tired, you can support it with your left. So, spine, neck and head in a straight line. Close eyes. Exhale through both nostrils, then close the left nostril lightly and breathe in the right nostril to the count of 5. Close the right nostril and breathe out the left nostril to the count of 5. Breathe in the left, close and breathe out the right. Repeat in right, out left, in left and out right and finish off breathing in the right nostril. This cycle can be repeated several times.
Start by breathing in to the count of 5 and out to the count of 5 which can be increased gradually as you become more proficient. When you inhale and exhale, do so quietly and gently. No strain & the tongue passive. Inhalation is called Puraka and Exhalation – Rechaka. Do not contrict the throat.
With practice when you are no longer thinking about your fingers, concentrate on the air passing through the nostrils.
Nadi Sodhana breathing is good to practice daily, preferably in the early morning or the evening. It balances both sides of brain & helps with headaches. Choose a quiet, clean, airy place. Noise creates restlessness. Not to be done after a heavy meal.
When you are comfortable with this method, you can progress to the same but holding the breath – breath retention between inhalation and exhalation – called Anuloma Viloma. Breath retention in Pranayama is called Kumbhaka. However, a warning, never hold the breath if you have HBP or Heart trouble. Nadi Sodhana is beneficial to both.
Some breathing exercise concentrate on exhaling longer than inhalation. The more stale air you exhale, the more fresh air you can inhale.
BKS Iyengar, a name synonymous with Yoga in the West, says that continuous practice of Pranayama will change the mental outlook of the practitioner and reduce considerably, the craving of the senses for worldly pleasures, such as smoking, drinking and sexual indulgence.
References:
The Book of Yoga – The Sivananda Yoga Centre
Pranayama - Andre van Lysebeth
Light on Yoga – B.K.S. Iyengar
