At the end there is none guru more help full that your inner guru .Just listen to him and if you got some materials to guide yourself well dont get scare just keep practicing carefully but keep the practice .At the end the practice is alone cause alone we walk the path.No guru can do the asanas and pranayamas for you.However if you find the right person please someone that is not full of fear or negatives learn from him and show apreciation fro their teachings
I think you should try pranayama. You have been doing yoga poses now for a while and if you are comfortable with the belly breathing during your asanas then starting basic pranayama should be fine. I feel that Iyengar was talking about those who are just beginning a yoga practise and may be overwhelmed at how long you hold breaths etc.
Dear all, thanks for reponse :). I was particularly referring to the correct technique of practicing pranayama with obeservation of all the 3 Bandhs i.e. Mool bandh, Uddayan bandh & Jalandhar bandh simultaneously alongwith the pranayama practice. This is known as Tribandh pranayama and extremely beneficial in awakening of the Kundalani, albeit if done correctly, hence the query.
Regards,
Shahvir
In regard to the OP’s post (Maximus76)…
Pranayama moves energy into the nadis or channels of the body and a beginner simply doesn’t posses the alignment of the physical body nor the fortitude in the nervous system to pursue pranayama carelessly.
Imagine affixing a party balloon to the end of a fire hose then turning the hose on full blast.
Is not written in stone.You can take pranayama and asana at the same time.Thats what some Krya Yogis do and they dont do asanas so you see .none holds the last word .unless your are agree with everybody .Then your word become absolute.thats my position.lol
I’d like to bump this thread up and add a Q.
I have also read that pranayama should not be rushed into, and that we should begin with pranayama preparation like simply slowing the breath or practicing alternate nostril breathing. My current yoga teacher introduces pranayama by going straight into antar and bahir kumbhaka with bandhas to students whose previous experience with pranayama is only ujjayi in asana practice.
None of my teacher’s students seem negatively affected by starting out with the most advanced technique. No one goes crazy. Everyone shows up fine for class the next day. What I wonder is, has anyone actually observed or heard of any specific side effects to starting with kumbhaka as opposed to practicing some months with other techniques?
Yoga is a good way to keep you healthy.Yogaasans like pranayama will help to cure headache.and pranayama as uttanpadasana, sarvangasana, paschimottanasana, halasana, and shavasana are also beneficial for healthy life.
Aggressive pranayama pounds the nervous system - more so in those lacking alignment. Those effects take some time to manifest in some students, may not as radically effect others, and drive some constitutions to padded rooms. Additionally it would take a trained eye to actually see such things (over time, none the less).
If we look around we can see the effects of our living in our society. We have a collective nervous system that prevents us from being still, even for 2 minutes, and that is the result of what exactly? Long-standing societal living choices. But it would be difficult to point to one thing and say “that is responsible”.
In yoga, to me, it is always best to err on the side of caution. We may “get away with” many things but that doesn’t make it safe for students of yoga. If one student is harmed that is too many. As a teacher it is my job to live yama and niyama as best I can. Therefore what huffing and puffing you choose to do at home is completely up to you. That is your relationship with ahimsa, not mine. In the classroom it is to be to do no harm, none!
gordon
There is so much to say about pranayama…and it is not easy.
Back to classics: Swami Sivananda about The Science of Pranayama:
in the prana and pranayama book from the bihar school of yoga, they recommend building on a practice of preparatory techniques, regularly and for months, before attempting kumbhaka. i`m undecided as to whether this is overly cautious.
Yes maintain alignment and don try difficult techniques.In the beginning we all want to accelerate but accelerating does not meant to getting faster to the point . or trying to get there before others.Keep always the rule of dress me slow that Im going quickly.And another point is not to pay to much attention to the techniques itself because the most important is the feeling of it.By the way thats not my opinion is the wise opinion of an en-lighted master of Kriya yoga.And I know that hes right.So for the ones that made the remark about techniques keep swimming on the technique ocean.That only shows that you haven’t grasp the concept of concentration yet.lol
There are many definitions of “What is Pranayama ?” You can see different definitions from
Patanjali, Gita, sages…
http://www.yoga-age.com/asanas/prana.html#_VPID_52
Why do we breathe ? To remove impurities from the venous blood, impurities caused by cell decay.
But what if we stop the cell decay ? Then breathing becomes unnecesary.
How can we stop the cell decay ? By calmness and sattvic food.
If the cell decay is stopped, then there is no more need for the heart
to work, to pump the impurified blood.
So one can survive breathless and with the heart stopped, if one can arrest
the cell decay. This was demonstrated practically by many yogis.
So what is pranayama ? In my opinion, it is the control of prana, the life force
which controls all functions of the body.
We also breath because oxygen is required to convert food into energy that our body can use.
IMO, you can practice Nadi Shoddhana without bandhas safely, provided you don’t push your limits and end up choked each round. It’s up to you to gauge your capability. Trust your inner guidance.
Nadi Shoddhana cleans away your nadis, awakens your prana, and prepares your mind for meditation. I can’t imagine higher yogas without having practiced it for some years.
Good luck!
[QUOTE=trinley;44834]We also breath because oxygen is required to convert food into energy that our body can use.[/QUOTE]
Of course. It goes without saying. That what breathing is.
However, the important thing is prana-the life force. When you breathe, you draw in life force. This life force transforms the food into energy. You cannot give food to a dead man.
Breathing is the tie between the soul and the body.
So how do yogis convert food to energy without breathing?
[QUOTE=trinley;44934]So how do yogis convert food to energy without breathing?[/QUOTE]
They do not. In the breathless state, the yogi lives without food, just by drawing in the prana.
Actually, there are many people who do not eat at all, without being in the breathless state and without being yogis. Only Moscow has an association of 300 people who do not eat at all. They live only from energy only (sun light). If I remember correctly, they are called “aputrophens” or something like that.
Hi Trinley,
I ordered that book [I]Prana & Pranayama[/I] by Swami Saraswati Satyananda who passed away about a year ago one week ago (5 Dec ,09) .Hope to receive it in the post soon.Maybe iron out soome long-standing kundalini issues.Been experimenting with a variety of pranayamas recently.
I think there’s another more advanced pranayama manual in the Bihar range but after ordering it twice it never came-could be out of print therefore.I have tried mixing some Iyengar pranayamas as taught in BKS. Iyengar’s [I]Light on Pranayama[/I] with spinal breathing with fair results recently.
It’s useful to undertstand the constituent parts of the breath.So if your inhale is slightly too long this will have a causal effect on the exhale and likewise if you add kumbhaka,i.e retention, to the mix too.Long slow deep breaths is what’s it’s about.If you’re somewhat out of breath then you stop and then you can begin another cycle when you’re ready.No harm done.Introduction of Kumbhaka is like stage 2 or 3 of any given pranayam and broadly speaking the exhale will at least become longer as well as the actual duration of the natural breath’s constituent parts.You learn to manipulate the breath but within your own natural and easy limit.Understand the parts and how how one affects the other and then proceed accordingly.Rough rules of thumb yes but certainly definite science and art than can be leaarned over time.
Sometimes you might find a natural retention occurs after the inhale; this is prob. the wiser approach so you are working within your easy comfortable limit & capacity.Nothing wrong with kumbhaka but ultimately you can only make that kiind if judgement call. The dangers with pranayamas is using too pweroful techniques too usddenly or not adequately pacing yourself as the nervous system opens up. As you obviously realise the breath is one of the biggest avenues into unlocking the nervous system and the mind/body matrix and any obstructions that may lie within.
Let’s say nadi shodhana–i would work with lengthening both the actual(1) and relative( say 2 moving from 1:1 —> towards 1:2, i.e 1:1 1/4 is quite fine) duration done over time and then you could addd if you felt inclined or it came naturally to you internal kumbhaka( acouple secs say up to 4 is quite fine enough),that is to say retention after inhalation. But like i say only you can judge what is or may be appropriate.Regular practice is key for best optimal results; you are culturing the nervous system.
Add a little meditation time say at the end or before and then you’ve got some presence of the witness state so you can better monitor effects of practice both during and after. This may be just observing consciousness etc eyes closed after pranayama or use of a deep mantra or whatever.Chidakasha dharana is another one although i’m not that up on that particular meditation technique ,if you want to call it that.
Hope that make some sense.
Incorporate a few practice elements within your easy natural limit and then observe the effects.Less is more, especially if you’re starting out.
If you’re gasping for breath in pranayama this should’nt really happen; in this case just stop and you may continue when your breath has returned to normal. So it’s quality over quantity.A few cyles with interspersion is better than many cycles that have no rhythm or good quality, say you’re panting for e.g.
Eyes closed,see what the third-eye for e.g does.
There is a yoga aasan called “pranayama” such as uttanpadasana, sarvangasana, paschimottanasana, halasana, and shavasana which will definitely beneficial in resolving your depression,stress and sleeping disorders.
Pranayama, means regulating prana. Prana is both an energy entangled with the physical body as well as a vayu (form of ‘air’ element). As the physical body breathes air, the counterpart astral body breathes prana from the cosmic energy abound in the environment. Oxygen is a gasuous substance contained in the air that is breathed and it directly participates in the blood purification system.
Prana however is a subtle energy that energizes the subtle, astral body. Until one can directly access prana and replenish it, it is easier to use breathing of air as a vehicle. Yoga practices are designed to purify prana to support the purification of the astral body. Some practitioners however mistake air-breating with prana-breathing and take the two as synonyms.