Pranayama is a series of breathing techniques that are designed to clear the mind and improve the life energy of the body. Through regular practice of Pranayama, it is believed that you can energize your body through the breathing techniques. Considering how important breathing is in terms of providing oxygen to the cells of your body, Pranayama offers a simple technique to help bolster your life energy in a natural way.
History
The term Pranayama is derived from two Sanskrit words, Prana, which means “life force” and Ayama, which means to control through breathing. Pranayama dates to the times of ancient India and the beginnings of yoga around the sixth century BCE. Pranayama is mentioned early on in the yoga texts of Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Bhagavad Gita, and the Yoga Sutras of Ptanjali.
Pranayama is considered fourth of the eight limb path that constitutes the Patanjali. It is designed to prepare the mind and body, so it can proceed to the next four limbs. The Pranayama has developed over the centuries with new interpretations of the techniques, but the basic form is still the same.
How to Do It
The practice of Pranayama begins with simple awareness exercises of your breathing. This provides a starting point to begin the more advanced exercises which will help chart your path. Pranayama consists of four techniques;
- Inhalation
- Internal Retention
- Exhalation
- External Retention
The Ujjayi breathing is the next step after awareness has been realized, followed by the Nadi Shodhana or nostril breathing. After mastering these relatively simple techniques, you can move on to the retention of the breath. Keep in mind that retention does not mean holding your breath, but rather breathing in and out slowly so that it is even and never strained or forced.
Benefits
By practicing Pranayama regularly, your mind and body will derive benefits that will improve your overall wellbeing and state of mind.
- Strengthens Respiratory System
- Reduces Stress
- Curbs Effect of Fight or Flight Response
- Helps Keep You Calm and Centered
- Brings About a Peaceful State of Mind
Pranayama does all these things and more thanks to the focus it provides on breathing which can help improve your overall physical and mental wellbeing.
How Pranayama Differs from Traditional Yoga
Pranayama does not so much differ from traditional yoga practices as it augments them. The breathing exercises may not have the physical benefits of more strenuous forms of yoga, but it does provide advantages that will help you in pursuing the other limbs of the yoga experience.
Pranayama, in addition to calming the body and mind, also helps to strengthen the abdominal muscles, the core of your body. In many yoga classes, it is usually practiced before the main yoga session to relax the body and mind. It also helps to focus your mind inward to help get more out of the yoga experience.
By practicing Pranayama, it can help you get the most out of your yoga efforts. However, on its own it does provide strong advantages that will benefit the mind and body.