Pranayama Tasters:
Each season I will post another pranayama for you to try. If you can, get to a class and ask the teacher to give you more guidance with your breathing exercise. The purpose of doing breathing exercises is not to take great huge breaths, this results in much ineffective huffing and puffing. The idea is to improve the quality of the breath by learning to smoothly control it without tension. This will gradually strengthen the breathing muscles enhancing their flexibility and resilience. Breathing exercises are best done on an empty stomach after opening the body with asana (yoga postures) although they can be interspersed within your asana practice. Your mind and your breath are very intimately linked. You will find great improvements in your state of mind with regular pranayama practice.
Your Late Summer pranayama taster session will be posted up around September.
Your Summer Pranayama Taster Session:
Chandra Bhedana
Chandra is the moon. Bhedana means passing through. In Chandra Bhedana Pranayama inhalation is done through the left nostril and exhale through the right. It is said that energy passes through Ida (Chandra) nadi on the inhalation and through Pingala (Surya) nadi on the exhalation. These channels travel from the base of the spine to the point between the eyebrows.
Find a comfortable seated position. To start Pranayama take a deep breath in and then gently exhale all of the air from the lungs.
Stage 1 - Chandra Bhedana Pranayama
Breathe in though the left nostril and out through the right. Allow the exhalation to be longer than the inhalation
Stage 2 - Chandra Bhedana Pranayama
Breathe in though the left nostril.
Hold after inhalation. The first few times hold for a few seconds. Gradually increase the duration of the time after inhalation. Exhale out through the right nostril. Allow the exhalation to be longer than the inhalation..
Stage 3 - Chandra Bhedana Pranayama
Breathe in though the left nostril.
Exhale out through the right nostril.
Hold after exhalation for a few seconds. Gradually increase this time reflecting upon how the breath and nervous system responds.
Stage 4 - Chandra Bhedana Pranayama
Breathe in though the left nostril. Hold after inhalation. Exhale out through the right nostril. Hold after exhalation for a few seconds.
Your Late Summer Session:
Agni Sara
This is not a pranayama but it is a good technique to learn and will improve your yoga practice:
How to Do It
- Stand with your feet about 6 - 12 inches apart and lean over to rest your hands on your thighs just above your knees. Your knees should be slightly bent, with your head hanging down freely, and your back and abdominal muscles completely relaxed.
- Tighten and draw in and up the lower abdominal muscles below your belly button. This will force air out of your lungs.
- Relax the lower abdominal muscles. This will draw air into your lungs.
While you are doing this focus on a point approximately halfway between your belly button and your genitals. Develop a smooth rhythm. The tension and release shouldn't be jerky. The breath should glide from exhalation to inhalation. The upper abdomen should stay relaxed throughout. Start with around 20 - 30 rounds of practice, and work your way up to 100 -150 rounds. It should take you 2 - 3 months to get to this point.
Cautions
- Be gentle with yourself. This isn't aerobics.
- If you're pregnant, don't do this exercise.
- They say that you shouldn't perform this exercise during your menses.
- If you have blood pressure problems, think twice before doing this exercise. If you decide to do it, it would be a good idea to sit, rather than standing for this exercise. Again, rest you hands on your knees and incline your upper body slightly forward. Optimally, rather than sitting in a chair, sit in lotus, half lotus, or a cross-legged posture.
Your Autumn Pranayama:
Kapalabhati
Breath of Fire
The Cleansing Breath
This practice should not be done right after eating or during menstruation or pregnancy. Those with heart complaints and high blood pressure should also avoid this practice. People with herniated discs (slipped discs) may find that the sharp exhalations irritate their back problems. Seek advice from your yoga teacher if you are concerned this practice may not be for you.
Begin by sitting on a cushion or chair with your heart/chest open and your spine relaxed. Take a few moments to check in with your breathing. Breathe in and out through the nostrils. Take a deep long slow full breath in and out. Then breathe in to half your lungs capacity. Now by drawing your lower belly inwards sharply exhale through the nostrils. It will make a sound of a steam train (no, I'm not that old!). The subsequent inhalation will be completely passive at which point you will pull into the lower abdomen again and exhale strongly. Do this for approximately one minute but stop earlier if the breath feels uncomfortable, catches or you feel dizzy. You will get stronger with practice. After one minute take a very deep breath in and, without any tension, hold briefly. Now exhale with a sense of letting go of all mental and physical tension............rest and breathe normally for ten breaths and then repeat twice more.
Your Winter Pranayama Taster Session:
Nadi Shodhana
Nadi shodhana is alternate nostril breathing suitable for beginning and advanced students. Nadi means channel and refers to the energy pathways through which prana flows. Shodhana means cleansing.
Benefits
Nadi Shodhana calms the mind, soothes anxiety and stress, balances left and right hemispheres and promotes clear thinking.
Begin all pranayama with a deep breath in and out.
- Hold your right hand up and curl your index and middle fingers toward your palm. Place your thumb next to your right nostril and your ring finger and pinky by your left. Close the right nostril by pressing gently against it with your thumb, and inhale through the left nostril. The breath should be slow, steady and full.
- Now close the left nostril by pressing gently against it with your ring finger and pinky, and open your right nostril by relaxing your thumb and exhale fully with a slow and steady breath.
- Inhale through the right nostril, close it, and then exhale through the left nostril.
That is one round.
Begin with 5-10 rounds and add more as you feel ready. Remember to keep your breathing slow, easy and full.
Your Spring Pranayama Taster Session:
Simhasana
Kneel with your bum sitting onto the bottom of your heels. Make the body straight. Keep the head, the neck and the spine in one line. Breathe normally.
Place the balls of their hands on the their respective knees, straighten the arms and keep the back erect and the head straight
Inhale. On the exhale let the tongue come out fully. Spread out the fingers of both hands and tighten them. Stretch the eyes and make them look frightening. Keep the whole body tight. Stay in this tight and strained condition, exhaling, for about six to eight seconds. By this time the exhalation should be over.
This is the Simha Asana.
Start inhaling arid withdrawing- the tongue. Let the body be gradually loosened while inhaling and pulling back the tongue. When the tongue has been fully withdrawn, close the mouth and breathe normally and rest for a few seconds.
Let the whole body relax, while being sealed in the same position.
Do not repeat more than four times in a single sitting. Begin with two repetitions daily during the first week.
The Simha Asana benefits various parts of the body that most other asanas do not. (the face, jaw, mouth, throat and tongue).
It has medicinal value for alleviating throat problems, voice deficiency and tonsillitis. It has also good effect on the respiratory system. It activates the larynx, trachea and all the bronchioles. It provides an invigorative effect on the thyroid cartilages
