Pranayama or Regulation of the Vital Energy
The
Yoga system has evolved a technique by which the Prana is made to assist in the
practice of Yoga, and this is called Pranayama.
Just as there is one Dhyana-Asana, there is one method of Pranayama, by which
to purify the Nadis or nerve-channels and to regulate the Prana in Yoga.
The Prana has to be purged of all dross in the form of Rajas as well as
Tamas.
The Prana is characterized by the property of Rajas or restlessness. One cannot
make it keep quiet even with effort. The body which is of the nature of
Tamas is made to move by the Rajas of the Prana. The Prana incites the
senses to activity. Because of Pranas Rajasic nature, it does not allow
either the body or the mind to remain in peace. Such a distractedness is
definitely not desirable, and Yoga requires stability and fixity in Sattva.
With the practice of Asanas, there should be effort towards the regulation of
the Prana. So,Asana and Pranayama go together. The Prana can act but cannot
think. The Prana is not merely the breath. The breathing
process,-inhalation, exhalation and retention-does not constitute the
Prana by itself, but is an indication that the Prana is working.
We cannot see the Prana; it is not any physical object. But we can infer its
existence by the processes of respiration. Air is taken in and thrown out
by a particular action of the Prana. Some hold that there are many Pranas and
others think it is one. The Prana is really a single energy, but appears to be
diverse when viewed from the standpoints of its different functions.
Prana and Apana
When we breathe out, the Prana operates in one of its functional forms. When we
breathe in, the Apana functions. The ingoing breath is the effect of the
activity of the Apana. The centre of the Prana is in the heart, that of the
Apana in the anus.
Samana, Udana and Vyana
There is a third kind of function called Samana, the equalising force. Its
centre is the navel. It digests food by creating fire in the body and it
also equalises the remaining functions in the system. The fourth function
of the Prana is called Udana. Its seat is in the throat. It prompts speech
and, on death, separates the system of the Prana from the body. The fifth function
is called Vyana, a force which pervades the whole body and maintains the
continuity of the circulation of blood throughout the system. This
fivefold function of the Prana is its principal form.
Naga, Kurma, Krikara, Devadatta and Dhananjaya
Prana has also many other functions such as belching, opening and closing of
the eyelids, causing hunger, yawning and nourishing the body. When it does
these five secondary functions, it goes by the names of Naga, Kurma, Krikara,
Devadatta and Dhananjaya, respectively. The essence of the Prana is activity.
It is the Prana that makes the heart beat, the lungs function and the stomach
secrete juices. Hence, neither breathing nor lung-function ceases till death.
The Prana never goes to sleep, just as the heart never stops beating. The
Prana is regarded as the watchman of the body.
- The Prana runs in various channels of the bodily system. It is intensely
busy. Its agitated functions disturb the mind and do not allow it to get
concentrated on anything. The Rajas of the Prana also stimulates the
senses, and indirectly desire. Any attempt to stop its activity would be tantamount
to killing the body.
- One has to employ a careful means of lessening its activity, of making
it move slowly rather than with heaves and jerks. When we run a long distance,
climb steps, or get angry, the Prana loses its harmony and remains in a
stimulated condition. It gets into a state of tension and makes the person
restless.
- So the student of Yoga should not engage himself in excessive
physical activity causing fatigue.
- Steady should be the posture of sitting, free from emotions of
mind, and slow should be the practice of Pranayama. The breathing should be
mild, so that it does not produce any sound.
- One should not sit for Pranayama in an unhappy condition of mind,
because a grieved mind creates unrhythmic breathing.
- No Pranayama should be practiced when one is hungry or tired or
is in a state of emotional disturbance.
- When everything is calm, then one may start the Pranayama. Be
seated in the pose of Dhyanasana.
- In the beginning stages of Pranayama, there should be no
retention of the breath, but only deep inhalation and exhalation. The
Prana has first to be brought to accept the conditions that are going to
be imposed on it, and hence any attempt to practice retention
should be avoided.
- In place of the quick breathing that we do daily, a slow
breathing should be substituted, and instead of the usually shallow
breathing, deep breathing should be practiced, gradually.
- Vexed minds breathe with an unsymmetrical flow. Submerged worries
are likely to disturb Pranayama. One should be careful to see that the
mind is amenable to the practice.
- In breathing for health, the chest should be forward during
inhalation. We feel a joy when we take a long breath with the chest
expanded to the full. Deep intakes of fresh air daily are essential for
the maintenance of sound health.
- An open air life for not less than two hours a day should be
compulsory.
- Pranayama is a method not only of harmonizing the breath but also
the senses and the mind. Be - seated in a well-ventilated room and take in a
deep breath. Then, exhale slowly. This practice should continue for sometime,
say, a month. Afterwards, the egular Pranayama with proportion in
respiration may be commenced.
The technical kind of breathing which, in Yoga,
generally goes by the name of Pranayama is done in two stages:
Exhale with a
slow and deep breath. Close the right nostril with the right thumb. Inhale slowly
through the left nostril. Close the left nostril with the right ring finger and
removing the right thumb from the right nostril, exhale very slowly
through the right nostril. Then, reverse the process commencing with
inhalation through the right nostril. This is the intermediary stage of Pranayama
without retention of breath and with only alternate inhalation and exhalation.
This practice may be continued for another one month. In the third month,
the perfected Pranayama
Pranayama may be started: Inhale, as before, through the left nostril; retain
the breath until you repeat your Ishta Mantra once; and then exhale slowly. The
proportion of inhalation, retention and exhalation is supposed to be
1:4:2. If you take one second to inhale, you take 4 seconds to retain, and
two seconds to exhale.
Generally, the counting of this proportion is done by what is called a Matra,
which is, roughly, about 3 seconds, or the time taken to chant OM thrice,
neither very quickly nor very slowly. You inhale for one Matra, retain for four
Matras, and exhale for two Matras. There should be no haste in increasing
the time of retention. Whether you are comfortable during retention or not
is the test for the duration of retention. There should be no feeling of
suffocation in retention.
The length of time of Pranayama depends on individual condition of the body,
the type of Sadhana one does and the kind of life one leads. Pranayama is
not the goal of Yoga but only a means to it.
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