“Shivananda Companion to Yoga” has a sequence where kapalabhati and anulom vilom in the beginning before asanas.
any comments ?
[QUOTE=Layman;80937]“Shivananda Companion to Yoga” has a sequence where kapalabhati and anulom vilom in the beginning before asanas.
any comments ?[/QUOTE]
Yes it’s true because it helpful for control over the birth so after doing the kapalabhati and anulom vilom do the regular exercises.
In my own experience, I find pranayama before asanas to serve as a kind of ‘fueling up’ for the journey so I have what it takes to make it through the asanas.
Cleaning out the tubes and filling up the gas tank
Cheers
Generally, yogic lore recommends that you try it out for yourself to see what works best for you. You might find that different times of the day, pranayama feels better either before or after asana. With kapalabhati, though, I would definitely say before asana and avoid practicing it late in the evening.
If pranayama restores your energy its up to you if you want to restore after asanas to feel refreshed or do it before to have more energy for doing asanas. The latter might possibly make you more tired but stronger body quicker.
[QUOTE=Layman;80937]“Shivananda Companion to Yoga” has a sequence where kapalabhati and anulom vilom in the beginning before asanas.
any comments ?[/QUOTE]
I would not read too much into that.
That is only the teaching sequence for the “Open Class”. And that is the way it is taught at the Teachers Training courses. But ask any experienced Sivananda Teacher about personal practice and they will tell you to follow the Patanjali sequence-
Asana -Pranayama-Pratyhara-Dharana
[QUOTE=reaswaran;81049]But ask any experienced Sivananda Teacher about personal practice and they will tell you to follow the Patanjali sequence-
[/QUOTE]
It’s important to understand, that in general, patanjali is not speaking about daily practice, but lifetime practice.
The patanjali sequence is what I would call “developmental,” in that over the course of a lifetime practice, you will move progressively from a practice that is more strongly asana, to one of more pranayama, and then meditation. That’s the natural course, but that’s not to say one must follow that sequence in personal, daily practice. There’s a difference.
When it comes to daily practice, there’s no doubt pranayama before asana will deepen your strength and control, you’ll do them with less strain, etc. I personally think it’s vital to do pranayama before asana for many reasons, but most importantly, I would ask, if you leave your pranayama for after your asana practice, how many of you will you skip it?
If you do pranayama before asana, you will not skip it, and if you have to skip anything, it’s better to have done your pranayama and skipped the asana, then to do your asana and skip pranayama.
Do your pranayama before asana, whenever possible.
An “experienced” Sivananda teacher,
siva
[QUOTE=siva;81123]
Do your pranayama before asana, whenever possible.
An “experienced” Sivananda teacher,
siva[/QUOTE]
When one is serious about meditation, the practice of pranayama is essential because pranayama leads to pratyhara and no serious dharana is possible without that. That is how the sequence is designed. The teaching sequence taught at the TTC is meant for daily practice in the open classes and this is so because of the time constraint of 90 minutes.
A serious aspirant would devote more than double that time every day and it is to this level of aspirant that Patanjali has addressed his sequence.
I quote from Swami Venkateshananda - a close associate of Swami Sivananda and who among other texts, is the author of an excellent treatise on the Yoga Sutras.
"
A suggested sequence for practice is asana, pranayama, mudra, and then meditation. It is unwise to do the asanas after pranayama or meditation. "
Thanks everyone for the kind replies.
Someone like me who is doing yoga for physical benefits, is it necessary to do pranayama ? Please advise.
It is more important than the asana for you
Imho
Cheers
This link may help
Peace to you
[QUOTE=Fixed;80958]Cleaning out the tubes and filling up the gas tank
Cheers[/QUOTE]
I love this.
Op, be mindful of jumping back and forth from heating to cooling, cooling to heating. Most pranayama is considered to be cooling.
Pranayama is the convention of breath control. It gives you better control over your body and mind and so many benefits of pranayama. It is the key part of yoga and exercise for physical and mental wellness get more information click on this given link Pranayama and the Benefits of Pranayama
The main purpose of Pranayama before asana is to be aware of our breath, the balance of energy within the body and it’s also a preparatory practice for the deeper stages of meditation. Pranayama begins the process of balancing the flow of energy through the Nadis (the three major channels of the subtle body). With this process the mind becomes still, the fluctuations of thought disappear, and consciousness expands.
Pranayama is a set of breathing exercises that are performed prior to physical activity in order to better prepare the body for the activity. Pranayama has a number of benefits, including increasing blood flow and efficiency to the organs, concentration of the mind, and building a strong foundation that can be sustained throughout your practice.
Pranayama is an essential element of yoga that helps to calm the mind and body. Pranayama is the Sanskrit word for breath control. There are various types of pranayama, which include: Kriya Pranayama, Surya Bhedi, Nadi Shodha, Bhastrika, and Ujjayi to name a few. In order to practice pranayama effectively it is important to understand your own physical and mental limits before starting.
In yoga practice, pranayama is often done as a preliminary exercise before performing asana. The purpose of pranayama before asana practice is to help in focusing the mind on the breath and calming the body. When practicing pranayama prior to asana you are required to sit up straight without moving your body back or forth or from side to side. You are also not allowed to use any support when practicing pranayama in this position such as a wall or pillow behind you. If you are unable to sit up straight on your own while doing pranayama then you need to adjust your posture accordingly or move on to another activity entirely.