Benefits of Pranayama
Did you know that you can improve your life thanks to the benefits of Pranayama? How? Well you just need to breathe. When we talk about the care of the body and mind, the first thing that comes to mind is a healthy diet and physical activity. Unfortunately, we never mention the most important nourishment for body and mind: breathing. Breathing is the most vital process of the body. It affects the performance of the brain and the activities of every cell. Humans breathe about 15 times a minute and 21,600 times a day. Yet being an involuntary process, we hardly pay attention to it. As most people breathe using only a small part of their lung capacity, this natural process generally remains superficial. Breathing is an indispensable process for survival and the way we breathe is of paramount importance for a long life and good physical/mental health. Irregular and improper breathing disrupts the rhythms of the brain. All this can cause imbalances, diseases and disorders of different kinds. Slow, deep and rhythmic breathing stimulates clear and calm mental states. A correct way of breathing can lead us to achieve great benefits for mind and body and Yoga gives us the best tool to achieve that: the practice of Pranayama. The science of Pranayama provides regular breathing patterns. Through breath control it restores healthy and appropriate rhythms to mind and body. Practicing the breathing techniques regularly, we will get all the benefits of pranayama, improving our mental and physical health.
What is Pranayama
Pranayama is the science of extending and controlling prana. The word Pranayama is compose from two roots "prana" and "ayama". The word prana, means life force or life energy. This energy exists in all things, in every living and nonliving being, and is more subtle than oxygen. It exists in sunlight, water, food and air, so it can be absorbed by living beings to keep them alive. Pranayama techniques, allow through breathing to “control" prana, influencing and directing its flow in the energetic channels (nadis) of the energetic body (pranamaya kosha). The word ayama means extension/expansion. Knowing the meaning of these two roots, we can understand that the word pranayama means extension/expansion of prana.
The stages of pranayama
If we bring attention to the natural phases of the breath, we will notice that it is composed of four phases: Inhalation, full-lung pause, exhalation, empty-lung pause.
In pranayama techniques, these four phases are consciously use and they are call:
-Puraka (inhalation)
-Antar kumbhaka (internal retention of breath)
-Rechaka (exhalation)
-Bhair kumbhaka (external retention of breath)
When we are new to the practice of pranayama, we should learn first how to perfect the inhalation and exhalation phases. Is important to learn first how to inhale and exhale in a conscious and controlled way. Those two phases will rebalance the nervous system and strengthen the lungs. In this way we will prepare the lungs for the internal and external breath retention phases. Breath retention is the most important part of pranayama. These phases help to calm the mind and establish control over the flow of prana. However we can already achieve a lot of benefits of pranayama in the first two phases.
Tips to get all The Benefits of Pranayama:
Knowing how to practice the techniques is as important as knowing the techniques. Practicing in a correct way is key to get all the benefits of pranayama. The best time of the day to practice Pranayama breathing techniques would be in the early morning. Try always to take a shower, bath or at least washing your hands, feet and face before the practice. If you are unable to practice in the morning, another good time is after sunset. Practice on an empty stomach. If you practice the techniques in the morning, it would be good to do it before having breakfast. If you prefer the evening, the advice is to don’t eat for at least three or four hours beforehand. There aren't specific contraindications about food. However when we are on a full stomach, it presses on the lungs and diaphragm, which is not an ideal condition. Depending on the time of day, different types of Pranayama can be practiced. Some techniques help us activate the body and awaken the mind. Other techniques help us relax the body and calm the mind, and still others help us restore balance to both. Always try to practice in a clean, tidy, ventilated place with a good temperature. Practicing in too low a temperature or in the sun is not recommended. You can practice in a comfortable sitting cross legged position. If that position is not comfortable you can choose other options: legs stretched out resting your back against the wall or sitting on a chair. Choose the most comfortable option, the important thing is to maintain a correct posture: a line from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Most Pranayama techniques require breathing through the nostrils, unless the technique requires you to inhale or exhale through the mouth. Recommendation is anyway to clean the nostrils of mucus . You can do that through Shatkriya (cleaning duties) such as Jala Neti or Kapalabhati. Are you ready to get all the benefits of Pranayama?