Yoga/Paranayama Query

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi, i am new to here and i had a few questions which have been really bothering me in the last week. Bassically i do the swami ramdevs two pranayamas which are the kapalbhati and the anulom vilom, i have been doing these for the past two weeks and i feel fresh and in peace, no other bad side effects happening to me

The problem is that i was researching about pranayama/yoga and come across many sites where it says you must need a guru, otherwise it could be really dangerous such as cause heart problems aswell as brain. This has made me thought about it so much, because i really want to do it, but i keep thinking wud this effect my heart in the long run?..on the other hand i also get thoughts that millions and mliions of people are doing these pranayamas by watching tv (ramdev babba) and my dad has been doing for the past 2 years, hes actually become more healthy and hes skin is very healthy actually glows and looks like hes got teenager skin.

so i wanted to know if its safe to carry on these two pranayama’s?..cause ive also read that the two i have practiced are very safe to do, its the others which can be dangerous without guidance, and i would like to know which ones are those?..cause ive seen ramdev babba doing stuff which i think a normal person without a teacher would not be able to do. Also doing kapalbhati and anulum vilom, would it effect the heart in the long run in any bad way?..or will it just make it better.

Please do write to this because i cant get this out of my mind, until i get someone to tell me that its alright and nuthing will happened, since deep down i think this will not effect anything it will just bring benefits but i just want to be sure. Also tell me if you know what type of pranayamas they refer to in needing proper guidance from gurus

Thanks

#2

Hello DML,

How intnese is your practice? Are you doing these exercises with retention? How many rounds? Is it every day?

The first rule of pranayama practice is to have a comprehensive hatha foundation. For that you want a teacher. Pranayama without purification and strength can lead to problems. Not in every case. You and your father might be just fine, but you need to be aware.

I immediately fell in love with pranayama when I started my hatha training. I was pretty intense about it: 3 rounds kapalabhati with retention, 10 rounds analoma viloma with retention, pretty much every day along with meditation and asanas. Then after about 2 to 3 years, I began to experience episodes of severe cramping and involuntary contorsions in my sleep. Awakeneed suddenly, I would be heaved off the bed, thrown against the wall or to the floor, struggling to counter it and avoid being doubled over and twisted into a knot. In each case at the height of my panic (I mean terror), something inside said “breathe.” And as soon as I did, it quickly passed. This happened several times over a period of four years or more and I feel very lucky that I had the training to deal with it. It hasn’t happened again in 5 or 6 years.

So practice on, continue to educate yourself, with a teacher or on your own, but do your hatha with equal intensity, if not more.

Peace,
Emil

#3

All of our choices come with consequence and responsibilities. Sometimes those consequences and responsibilities are smoothly accepted while other times they are strongly resisted.

The duality of a yoga practice mandates that we learn to accept that which comes from our choices. So it is completely appropriate to weigh the “what ifs” of this and that. However once you’ve done the weighing then choose and move without reservation. Regret is merely tossing another negative on top of a negative.

It is possible to do harm with pranayama in the unprepared body. It is possible to do harm driving a motor vehicle too, yet millions of people do that every single day with no thought of harm whatsoever.

Personally I do not find Kapalabhati to be a gentle, safe pranayama. Its shallow nature is oxygen depriving and oxygen deprivation can become addictive just like other highs.

You may of course continue your practice “as is” and have no ill effects ever. The opposite is also true, you may do this and disorient your nervous system. As a yoga teacher I prefer to err on the side of caution even though the temptation to levitate, have lean muscle, be thin, look “good”, reach samadhi (quickly), and be mentally high as a kite are very powerful lures.

Good teachers walk the continuum of safety versus effect. There are some practices that are incredibly effective but highly dangerous. There are others that are incredibly ineffective but safe as a baby’s craddle. I do not find either of these positions to be balanced on that continuum.

#4

InnerAthlete,

“Its shallow nature is oxygen depriving.”???

Can you elaborate on this? How is it shallow and how does it deprive one of oxygen?

Emil

#5

i do yoga twice a day, which are as morning and eveningss. i do around 15 to 20 mins of anulog vilon with ofcourse a break every 5 mins, so i do around 3 to 4 rounds of anulom vilom and same with kapalbhati, around 20 mins with a break every 5 minuites.

i really do want to carry on with it, just that the stuff i read on the internet just made me relise this may cause danger?, hence im asking…but if swami ramdev strongly reccomends it to everyone then im sure it cant be that dangerous, since millions of people do yoga without a teacher especially the two pranayamas i mention.

InnerAthelete i wanted to ask you why you consider kapalbhati unsafe, since i heared its very good for weight loss etc would you please explain…also for siva i wanted to know what is hatha if you can please explain

One of my reasons for doing yoga/pranayama is due to my skin condition, i got eczema/dry skin and ive heared alot of people say by doing yoga you can heal your skin and by doing it for a long period your skin can actually start glowing, making the skin more tight, looking healthy etc…ive noticed this myself from my dad doing it, he use to be quite dark skin, but by him doin yoga he has become more light, skin looks very tight and it glows very much…so i wanted to also ask a yoga expert what benefits can it bring to your skin. Please reply back to let me know

Thank you very much

#6

[quote=DML_87;12497]i do yoga twice a day, which are as morning and eveningss. i do around 15 to 20 mins of anulog vilon with ofcourse a break every 5 mins, so i do around 3 to 4 rounds of anulom vilom and same with kapalbhati, around 20 mins with a break every 5 minuites.

i really do want to carry on with it, just that the stuff i read on the internet just made me relise this may cause danger?, hence im asking…but if swami ramdev strongly reccomends it to everyone then im sure it cant be that dangerous, since millions of people do yoga without a teacher especially the two pranayamas i mention.

InnerAthelete i wanted to ask you why you consider kapalbhati unsafe, since i heared its very good for weight loss etc would you please explain…also for siva i wanted to know what is hatha if you can please explain

One of my reasons for doing yoga/pranayama is due to my skin condition, i got eczema/dry skin and ive heared alot of people say by doing yoga you can heal your skin and by doing it for a long period your skin can actually start glowing, making the skin more tight, looking healthy etc…ive noticed this myself from my dad doing it, he use to be quite dark skin, but by him doin yoga he has become more light, skin looks very tight and it glows very much…so i wanted to also ask a yoga expert what benefits can it bring to your skin. Please reply back to let me know

Thank you very much[/quote]

Dear DML,
yoga is not about believing or not.
You need good hatha foundation to practice pranayama safely.
That is my experience. Take advice from Pandara and find yogateacher, they can help you with your practice.
The blessings of yoga are give for transformation.
Sending you love and light
Louise Molenkamp

#7

Dear DML,

“Hatha” is asana practice. Postures.

You might also be interested to know that “ha” and “tha” refer to the two sides of the body: “hatha yoga” literally meaning union between two sides of the body. During analoma viloma, one establishes a balanced alternating cylce between ha and tha, which is natural to the body.

Most of the waste produced by our bodies is expelled through exhalation. Kapalabhati, also known as “shining skull,” is technically a kriya, a cleansing practice as much as it is pranayama. With it, one eliminates carbon dioxide from the body and oxygenates the blood, just one result of which is quite noticeable in the skin. Yes, it glows. Hence its meaning, “shining skull?”

DMA, I am not aware of Swami Ramdev or the pranayama he suggests, however I hesitate to think he “strongly recommends it to everyone” not practicing hatha.

During pranayama we charge the body with prana, the vital life force. However, if there are obstructions and blockage to the flow of prana (and kundalini), it can have debilitating effects on the nervous system. It’s like increasing the amperage in your home without upgrading the wiring and switches. Hatha yoga is a means of removing these obstructions so increased prana can flow through its proper channels.

You are not likely to have problems with a gentle pranayama practice, however if you intend to continue over the years or if you intensify your practice, then you want to prepare and cleanse your body with hatha and kriya yoga not only to avoid that possibility, but to experience more deeply, with more control, all of the amazing benefits of pranayama.

Om Namah Sivaya,
Peace,
Emil

#8

[QUOTE=DML_87;12487]Hi, i am new to here and i had a few questions which have been really bothering me in the last week. Bassically i do the swami ramdevs two pranayamas which are the kapalbhati and the anulom vilom, i have been doing these for the past two weeks and i feel fresh and in peace, no other bad side effects happening to me

The problem is that i was researching about pranayama/yoga and come across many sites where it says you must need a guru, otherwise it could be really dangerous such as cause heart problems aswell as brain. This has made me thought about it so much, because i really want to do it, but i keep thinking wud this effect my heart in the long run?..on the other hand i also get thoughts that millions and mliions of people are doing these pranayamas by watching tv (ramdev babba) and my dad has been doing for the past 2 years, hes actually become more healthy and hes skin is very healthy actually glows and looks like hes got teenager skin.

I am doing exactly the same thing like you, even following Swami Ramdev
videos.

There are levels in pranayama. Bhastrika, kapalabhati, and anuloma-viloma are relatively simple and can be practised without a guru. I practise them by myself for years and feel great. Teacher: Swami Ramdev, youtube.

Other pranayama are more advanced and need a guru. For the time being, I am also learning Ujjaay breath. It is not too difficult.

Going any further probably would take a guru. I did not go any further and do not really know.

#9

I am glad that His Holiness, Pandara The Great, The Wise, The Smiling Peace, the Pillar of Heaven has given me absolution from the need of performing this discipline. Apparently it is a dangerous one. :smiley:

#10

Dear Hubert,

Please, it is “Her Holiness”…Pandara being the female consort of the Amitabha Buddha. :wink: Now, you may breath again…

#11

Thank you for the corrections, Master.

I will perform some breathing at once. :slight_smile:

#12

Hello DML,

You can practice Anuloma Viloma safely, but do not overstrain. If you feel that you can’t perform Kumbhaka or Rechaka for longer than you pretended, step back to the previous quantities (2/8/4, 8/32/16, etc…).

Anuloma Viloma is “safe”, but when practiced properly, gently and slowly increasing. It purifies your nadi system preparing you for more advanced pranayamas. I’ve practiced it for five years without the guidance of a guru/teacher and reaped unimaginable fruits.

As to Kapalabhati, i don’t have enough information neither experience to tell you about, but looks like it is not fit for people with an aggravated pitta dosha (see ayurveda). I’m a pitta typed guy and developped piles everytime i practiced Kapalabhati. I gave it up, and no longer have had piles. I’ve heard stories about more pitta people having problems with it too.
So my only recommendation is to be carefull, and ascertain what your prakruti (dosha constituion) is. Kapalabhati is said to be good for removing excess mucus (kapha) in the skull, i don’t consider it a mandatory pranayama for progressing in yoga.

Good luck!

#13

Here you have a good video of Swami Ramdev performing pranayama:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-386913693756370208