P R A N A Y A M A
An introduction.
Often when a person passes away (under normal circumstances), in any language / country / religion, we hear “He breathed his last”. Does it not mean that the number of breaths that a person can take in his lifetime is fixed? So if a person is destined to take 1,00,000 breaths the moment he takes that last breath, he would have ended his life.
So what is the significance of the above on the subject quoted? In simple and very basic terms, breath slowly and live longer. You can take the same number of breaths for 50 years or hundred years.
WHAT IS THAT:
The very basis of yoga is for a happy, healthy and a longer life. Patanjali in his Ashta anga Yoga says Pranayama (the fourth limb) as the conscious control of breath. The literal translation will be prana – breath and ayama – stretch, extend. Here prana equated to breath is not just air but it is the life that sustains activates the body and mind.
As long as prana is in normal condition, the cells and tissues remain healthy and perform their functions properly, but the moment its vitality starts decreasing, the cell begins to decay. Prana is the link between individual and cosmic beings. The breath is the thread through which prana travels from the cosmos to the individual and vice versa.
Some other school of thoughts define Pranayama in different manner but the sum-total of the expressions is the same. One of them say Pranayama is the increasing awareness and conscious control of breath and prana.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND.
Now let us come to a little of science behind Pranayama. A normal person breaths about 15 – 20 times per minute. IN this process about half litre of air is drawn into the lungs. This air takes part in the breathing process under reverse osmosis principle. The Oxygen in the inhaled air is exchanged with the more polluted high density air in the lungs transferred from various parts of the body. The time given for the gas to take part in the exchange is less than half a second after which we will start exhaling. So in actual terms even though we inhale half a litre of air the actual gas exchange is only 200-250 ml.
Now imagine the following state visualized in Pranayama. We inhale slowly for about 5 seconds and we can take in about 2.5 litres to 5 litres of air into the lungs. Since the air inhaled is more we have to give time for the alveoli in the lungs to exchange the bad air effectively. So we hold the breath for about 3 seconds. Once we get a feeling for exhaling we slowly and consciously exhale for another 6 seconds. Now we have taken 14 seconds for one breath. This can be done effectively by any healthy individual without any serious health problems. So effectively we have increased the duration of our breath and the number of breaths we take in one minute has been reduced to about 3-4 breaths.
COMPOSITION OF INHALED AND EXHALED AIR.
| | Nitrogen in % | Oxygen in % | CO2 in % | Others in % |
| Inhaled air | 79 | 20 | 0.04 | 0.06 |
| Exhaled air without Pranayama | 79 | 16 | 4 | 0.06 |
| Exhaled air with Pranayama | 79 | 10 | 10 | 0.06 |
THE ACT OF PRANAYAMA:
The most important aspect is the procedure of breathing. We have to sit in a comfortable position preferably in padmasana or vajrasana with the back straight. Calm yourselves and close the eyes. Imagine a bright light on the forehead.
Before starting Pranayama we have to exhale first. Exhale by pushing the abdomen which inturn pushes the diaphgram and empties the lower part of the lungs. Next we have to draw the chest and the shoulders inside to press the middle and upper part of the lungs. Now inhalation is started by pushing the abdomen forward and filling the lower part of the lungs. Next the middle part by expanding the chest and lastly the upper part by expanding the shoulders. Using the abdomen and the shoulders is very important since it gives more space for the lungs to expand and hold more air.
So as explained earlier a breathing in which we consciously inhale, exhale and holding breath can be in simple terms called as Pranayama. In Yogic terms inhalation is called as Puraka holding the breath is called as Kumbhaka and exhalation is called as Rechaka. Kumbhaka can be antara (after inhalation) or bahya (after exhalation).
TYPES OF PRANAYAMA:
Pranayama is of various kinds based on the type of the breathing.
1. nadi shodhana Pranayama – Inhale with left nostril and exhale in the right nostril by pressing the thumb.
2. Bhramari Pranayama - chanting hm sound while exhaling.
3. Ujjayi Pranayama
4. sitkari Pranayama etc etc
As all knowledge goes this also has some conditions to be followed before jumping to practice. The best way will be with a teacher who can first assess the person and prescribe the type of Pranayama.
Results: Increase your lifespan to mean lead a long, healthy and happy life. Always be calm and self poised. Have a radiant face. Increase your concentration and analytical thinking power. Be more productive. Say goodbye to boredom, laziness and tiredness throughout the day. INCREASE QUALITY OF LIFE.
