Why does pranayama cause such weakness?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi, I recently got The Little Book of Yoga Breathing Pranayama Made Easy and in it there is one very simple exercise in which you exhale fully and then once the lungs are empty you inhale again fully. you keep doing this rather quicky as soon as the lungs are either full or empty move on to the next breath. This is done with the mouth open.

Well, within a minute I get very weak, it’s like I’m starving. If you’ve ever been so hungry you feel so weak you can hardly move that’s what it feels like and I begin to sweat a LOT. This all begins within a minute. I haven’t had the willpower to go very far with it.

Although after it I do feel greatly benefited with more energy and clarity of though. But I have to eat and eat and eat if I do it on an even somewhat empty stomach.

does anyone know why this is? Does it happen to anyone else?

Thanks

#2

Hello,

Bellows-like pranayamas are not for beginners. You should commence with a gentle nadi shodhana without bandhas, on an easy puraka-kumbaka-rechaka ratio.

Besides, there might be pranayamas not suit to your constitution. It is up to your experience or your master when you find him/her, to determine what pranamayamas are for you.

Good luck

1 Like
#3

Thank you, what else do you recommend to a pranayama beginner, those alternate nostril exorcises always closes by nasal passages with a minute preventing me from doing them.

#4

Neti.

#5

A Yoga Danda, a kind of sitting-posture crutch.
Put it below your right armpit and your left nostril will open up, and viceversa.

http://www.innereyeyoga.co.uk/danda_view.html

It works wonders!

#6

Pranayama is incredibly misunderstood . often abused, and unsafe in the hands of the unknowing, undirected, unaligned.

Students begin a yoga practice with yama and niyama (classically). However the practice these days frequently begins with asana. Either way, asana can be utilized to open up and prepare the body for pranayama. There are two basic preparations. The first is to teach the student to align their bodies so that the energy of prana flows safely in the appropriate channels. The second is to provide opening in the pneumatic system of respiration. This latter component can often be realized through appropriate backbends, opening in the shoulder and hip flexors (and a proper diet to inhibit congestion).

Until the student has alignment is it often best to approach pranayama in the supine pranayama position using gentle pranayama. The ones that I feel are qualifiers (and therefore teach) are Ujjayi, Viloma I, and radiant breath. Beginning students do this following an appropriate asana practice for perhaps 4-5 minutes. As they continue to grow their practice that timing can be increased gradually. If they do not, it is not.

With the particular pranayama you mention is is incredibly common to mistake oxygen deprivation for enlightenment. Getting dizzy and seeing stars and lights is not likely to be Samadhi. However the breath is not without effect and for you it fatigues and accelerates metabolic function. Why? I would not venture to guess.

1 Like
#7

for first time pranayama is a difficult task for everyone.You will feel weakness.It will be normal if you practice it regularly.It will be one of your best exercise.

#8

Pranayama is very misunderstood as previous poster Inner Athlete mentioned. I’ve been to seminars with well known Instructors (and won’t name names) who have taught very advanced Yoga breathing techniques to complete beginners!, which are not recommended for beginners or can even be dangerous. You should no more teach advanced breathing to beginners than you should teach the most advanced Asanas to beginners.

[B]When I studied with Paul Oldfield, renowned Yoga expert from UK , he advised me never to teach advanced breathing techniques to beginners - as it can be dangerous to people not used to them or conditioned to do them, even something as simple as they could pass out and hit head of something, etc. Paul Oldfield is a true master of Pranayama and his breath control all gained from Yoga has to be seen to be believed, here are few videos of him, watch them all if time; there is a reason you don’t see anyone else doing what he is doing in the videos, they simply do not have the breath control he has! I’ve asked Paul to do a book or DVD specifically on Yoga, especially on breathing techniques; and he is considering it. I have personally witnessed him blow out a candle back turned to it from distance of just under 3ft, and that was indoors (no wind carrying it etc); I was so stunned I asked him to do it again and he did. [/B]

  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpQQpIOCp_A
  2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0bcIWvE-3g
  3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCpPEnwQe3Q
#9

All of this information you have all given me has made me realise that pranayama is a much more complex subject then I thought it was, and something not to be taken lightly.

Can someone tell me a good book (or even a dvd) that will teach me to do and advance in pranayama responsibly?

I know I know, go to class and get a good teacher is what you going to say but I can’t do that, I would freak out (intense social phobia).

Again thank you all for the advice.

#10

[QUOTE=childofthetao;65775]Can someone tell me a good book (or even a dvd) that will teach me to do and advance in pranayama responsibly?
[/QUOTE]

How about a website?

http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sob/index.htm

#11

pranayama
wrong with our practice may cause such weakness

thanks RK for The Science of Breath

#12

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;65720]
With the particular pranayama you mention is is incredibly common to mistake oxygen deprivation for enlightenment.[/QUOTE]

You mean the open mouth quick full breathing? How can one experience oxygen deprivation doing that? Wouldn’t you be getting extra amounts of it?

And thanks ray_killeen for that book, very interesting indeed.

#13

[QUOTE=childofthetao;65702]

Well, within a minute I get very weak, it’s like I’m starving. If you’ve ever been so hungry you feel so weak you can hardly move that’s what it feels like and I begin to sweat a LOT. This all begins within a minute. I haven’t had the willpower to go very far with it.

Although after it I do feel greatly benefited with more energy and clarity of though. But I have to eat and eat and eat if I do it on an even somewhat empty stomach.

does anyone know why this is? Does it happen to anyone else?

Thanks[/QUOTE]

i do not like to think of pranyama as “beginner” and “advanced”…there is no such a gradation in yogic texts…

the body or the mind might has some mental or energy knots. when you are trying to move the prana with the powerful pranayamas…the results can be unpredictable, but not necessarily bad. maybe you have some other things (yama/niyama, asana, reading or self study ) to do before you can benefit from this pranayam.

the pranayama you described is a very good one…but you might want to postpone it for later and for now - rip the benefits of dirgha pranayam, nadi shodhan (you are welcome to do it mentally if you nose is blocked), ujayi breath (victorious breath ),…also breath in to the right lung, breath in to the left lung, lower chest , upper chest, etc… be creative!

Breathing exercises are wonderful tool of hatha yoga! I hope you find the one to enjoy!

#14

Can someone please take a look at THE YOGI NERVE VITALIZING BREATH in the middle of this page please: http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sob/sob11.htm

I’m not sure at what stage you’re supposed to breathe. Should the breath be held while pushing the hands back and forth and then exhaled after? Or inhaled as the arms come in and then exhale as the arms go out?

#15

I actually bought the same book a couple of years ago and to be honest, I didn’t find that it provided accurate enough instructions on how to do the exercises, especially if it is your first introduction to them. I think that learning these in a proper yoga or pranayama class is most beneficial, as you can actually see how the exercises are done, and ask questions if you need to!

However, Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar is quite detailed; also I have found that some of the exercises are demonstrated very well on Youtube, believe it or not!

#16

[QUOTE=childofthetao;65879]Can someone please take a look at THE YOGI NERVE VITALIZING BREATH in the middle of this page please: http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sob/sob11.htm

I’m not sure at what stage you’re supposed to breathe. Should the breath be held while pushing the hands back and forth and then exhaled after? Or inhaled as the arms come in and then exhale as the arms go out?[/QUOTE]

inhale…hold the breath…while holding pull and push few times like you pulling rubber resistance band… exhale…

interesting site… i’ve done all this breaths abut 15 years ago for my asthma and pneumonia… since never ever seen these techniques anywhere…

#17

Pranayama is one of the most important breathing exercises that is practiced to control your emotions and also to relax yourself. Many people practice pranayama before meditation but the results are different.

Why is it difficult to concentrate when we practice pranayama?

If you don’t know what is pranayama then it is the combination of two words, “Pran” means God and “ayam” means breath. This is the most common form of yoga and also it is known as the best breathing exercise.

There are a lot of benefits of pranayama, but the one who practices pranayama and has no concentration power, will not get any benefit. So, we must be aware of this.

It is said that if you do pranayama with concentration power then you will get more energy, you will become calm, you will feel fresh and your mind will become concentrated.

If you want to know why pranayama causes such weakness then here are the reasons:

  1. Pranayama makes you tired

  2. It causes insomnia

  3. It slows down your mind

  4. It causes dizziness

  5. It makes you tired

So, if you are a person who is very active and you want to stay fit, then you must avoid this pranayama. If you are a beginner then start with the simple forms of pranayama.

Here is the list of pranayama forms:

  1. Alternate nostril breathing

  2. Ujjayi

  3. Alternate nostril breathing

  4. Bhastrika

  5. Anulom-vilom

  6. Kapalbhati

  7. Kumbhaka

  8. Nadi shodhan

  9. Viparita karani

  10. Yogic breathing

It is said that pranayama is the best breathing exercise and if you have a lot of concentration power, then you will be able to get better results. So, if you want to stay fit and healthy then you must avoid pranayama. It will make you lazy and you will be unable to perform your duties. So, try to avoid it.

If you want to learn pranayama & Breathwork Teacher Training then I would suggest you to join Arhanta yoga.

Become a certified and confident breathwork & pranayama teacher with our comprehensive online training. Learn from expert teacher Ram Jain (ERYT 500) with his 22+ years of teaching experience. After successful completion of the course, you will receive an accredited certificate that allows you to start teaching breathwork & pranayama all over the world.

#18

Yes, very commonly nowadays people will do strong breathing practices like Bhastrika (bellows breath) and strong yogic breathing (a form of hyperventilation) without proper understanding of what is happening in their systems. These techniques can be very potent to unblock and open up the nervous and energy system. But it should not be done when one is already feeling weak because in a way you "burn" prana with it leaving one even more weak and with a messed up energy system. I learned a lot about this from pranayama teacher Michaēl Bijker. He offers this breathwork and pranayama teacher training course which I would highly recommend if you want to deepen your practice.
All the best with it! Namaste

Johny Utah
Certified yogalap Breathwork instructor