A few pranayama questions

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

If anyone can answer the ones they think they know about, it’d be greatly appreciated. :slight_smile:

  1. I know the room has to be ventilated, but what about in the winter? Do I still have to keep the windows open or can I close them?

  2. Do I have to do pranayama with my eyes closed?

  3. Do I have to do pranayama in silence? It’s hard to find a time when the house is quiet.

  4. Are some pranayamas restricted during the summer?

  5. I’ve read conflicting answers to this but are any pranyamas restricted during a woman’s menstruation? Specifically, can I do Anuloma Viloma during my period?

  6. Is it ok if I count the seconds in my head while doing Anuloma Viloma or does my mind have to be silent?

#2

My views:

  1. Air- breathing and prana-governance go hand-in-and only initially. So, for the early practice, ventilation may be useful, but later, circulation of air is good enough.
  2. & 3, need answer together; initially it is better to close eyes to do pranayama. That would keep the fresh external images out of the mind?s picture. But that?s just a beginning. An important point to consider is eyes don?t see and ears cannot hear by themselves. The audio-visual images become images only in the brain. Yoga practice enables you to sense through the inner subtle senses, so that the external sense organs can be voluntarily deactivated, letting you freedom from noise in the house.
    4 Certain rapid breathing exercises may run the throat dry. Secondly, breathing exercises raise body temperature. Both these may require some caution in summer.
  3. Any forced kumbhaka and rechaka should be considerably reduced during that time not to tax the short-term body changes
  4. Counting too is an aid necessary in the initial stages and should become slowly redundant with success in practice.
#3

Thank you Suhas Tambe!

#4

The windows do not need to be opened, period. The room is the room. Obviously it is best for human well being to reduce or eliminate toxins in one’s environment.

When pranayama is being utilized to calm the nervous system then it is best for the eyes to be closed, the body to be still, and the surrounding din to be at a minimum.

I’m not aware of a seasonal restriction for pranayama. Then again there are many, many pranayam and we’ve not covered the intention of the doer in the thread so it’s impossible to pointedly advise.

The pranayama you mention is okay during your cycle.

Alternate nostril breathing is done based on breath cycles not counting. If you have a need for counting you’ve not outlined it so again I can’t really comment on it. If someone has instructed you in ratio breathing then obviously you would, as a beginning student (first ten years), need to count.

Usually just keeping track of the process is enough occupation for the mind. More is not needed unless there’s a purpose to it and again that’s not been mentioned (yet) here.

gordon

#5

Potential Energy,
I answer each of your questions sequensially as under:

  1. Rooms don’t needed to open, in the winter, case of light category
    pranayamas such as three step breathing and beginners pranaymas with
    lowe intesity. However, Windows can partially be opened in case of
    pricking air running into the room. Moreover, rooms, in the winter, heated
    with non oil based electric heaters tends to reduce oxygen in the room.
  2. Pranayamas should be practiced with the eyes closed in case of the most
    practitioners. However, in case of person experiencing light headedness,
    dizziness, and person with with low hemoglobin, hypoglycemia, Attention
    Deficit Disorder, etc, should keep the eyes opened.
  3. For a beginner, it is easier to contineu pranayamas in a silent place as it is
    easier to concentrate and pursue. Later, he/she can practice pranayamas
    in a place with sound tolerable as per his/her senstivity. But never in noisy
    and contaminated place.
  4. Bhastrika (Bellow Breath), Kapalbhathi (Active Exhalations), Surya Bhedi
    Pranayamas and Ujjai Pranayama (not ujjai breathing, a type of deep
    breathing) should be avoided during the summer.
  5. All afore said four pranayamas are restricted during menstruation. Surya
    Bhedi can be used as remedy for short duration and with not more
    than a ratio of 1:1:2 to alleviate symtoms of crams and pain. Anulom-
    Vilom or Nari-shodhan Pranayamas is one the best during mestruation
    with a ratio of not exceeding 1:1:2.
  6. Though not easy for all, but it is ok to count seconds to maintain a
    particular ratio to make it suit to a need and satisfy a particular purpose.

[QUOTE=PotentialEnergy;77950]If anyone can answer the ones they think they know about, it’d be greatly appreciated. :slight_smile: 1. I know the room has to be ventilated, but what about in the winter? Do I still have to keep the windows open or can I close them? 2. Do I have to do pranayama with my eyes closed? 3. Do I have to do pranayama in silence? It’s hard to find a time when the house is quiet. 4. Are some pranayamas restricted during the summer? 5. I’ve read conflicting answers to this but are any pranyamas restricted during a woman’s menstruation? Specifically, can I do Anuloma Viloma during my period? 6. Is it ok if I count the seconds in my head while doing Anuloma Viloma or does my mind have to be silent?[/QUOTE]

#6

Thanks Gordon! :slight_smile:

[QUOTE=HealthAndYoga;78084]
3. For a beginner, it is easier to contineu pranayamas in a silent place as it is
easier to concentrate and pursue. Later, he/she can practice pranayamas
in a place with sound tolerable as per his/her senstivity. But never in noisy
and contaminated place.
[/QUOTE]

Hi HealthAndYoga. Thank you for your useful answers! :slight_smile:

I did 30 minute Anuloma Viloma while my parents watched TV in high volume this whole week. Does this mean all that was useless? It’s hard to find a time in my house when it’s completely silent.

#7

Potential Energy,
First of all, regarding your last post, I believe 5 to 10 minutes of Anulom-Vilom Pranayama is enough to enhance desired benefits. Secondly, practicing the pranayama in a room with high volum T.V., if or must be distraction your attention/concentration and thus mind, will not help you to enhance as much benefits as you can get in average or low or tolerable volume T.V. running in the room. But, it does never means that practicing the pranayama in such it will not yeild any benefit to you. It is like that you will not get the best but may get good results.

#8

Not that I was asked directly but…

There are two issues with this pranayama in the environment you outline. The first is the magnetic field of the television and its effects. The second is the noise and its intrusion into the senses.

This particular pranayam, by design, is for calming the nervous system, soothing, relaxing. It is a yin pranayam. And while it can certainly be done in such an environment and of course there would be “benefit” it could not be the benefits of calming the CNS. It’s like trying to make ice in a sauna.

If this is the absolute only place to do the practice and the choice is between this environment or not at all, certainly do it. If not, find another venue.

#9

potential,

All your questions have been answered, but keep in mind that pranayama affects the nervous system over the long-term. It’s not like…“I need to calm down, and so now I will do pranayama, but I can’t cause it’s too loud.” It’s more like brushing your teeth: you just keep doing it because you have to. We can’t always have peace and quiet, so don’t ever let it stop you from doing the exercise.
siva,

P.S. When I trained at the Sivananda Ashram, we did pranayama while karma yogis were extending the very deck we were sitting on. Skill saws and hammering: “What’s the problem?” I do pranayama sometimes while watching/listening to the News. Also, I’ve been doing pranayama for 16 years, and I still count, so keep it up.

#10

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;78133] It’s like trying to make ice in a sauna.
[/QUOTE]

Hmm that’s a good analogy.

[QUOTE=siva;78134]P.S. When I trained at the Sivananda Ashram, we did pranayama while karma yogis were extending the very deck we were sitting on. Skill saws and hammering: “What’s the problem?” I do pranayama sometimes while watching/listening to the News. Also, I’ve been doing pranayama for 16 years, and I still count, so keep it up.[/QUOTE]

Hi Siva. This was honestly reassuring. Thank you.

#11

For Indians only :- :smiley:

Also I feel we should stop doing our Pranayama & other practices during Deepavali…because we might start inhaling that nasty stuff emitted from crackers…:smiley:

#12

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