Guest guest Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 According to Yoga, and the latest scientific discoveries prove it, everything in our Universe is a vibration. One of the characteristics of the vibration is the rhythm. The rhythm is manifested in everything – the planets rotate round the Sun, one season changes the other, the day comes after the night. Human bodies also live according to different rigid rhythmic cycles. One of the most important of them is breathing. The ancient yogis worked out a special system of breathing exercises aimed at the perfection of one's breathing skills. This system of yogic breathing techniques is called Pranayama. The most important in Pranayama is the rhythm of breath – the ratio of breathing phases. Traditionally the duration of the inhalation, the retention of breath and the exhalation is measured by mental counting or by counting the heart beats. But for the beginner and even for the advanced practitioner it is very difficult to stick to a rigid rhythm – there's a tendency to slow down silent counting during the retention of breath. As for the heart beats, it is not very pleasant to listen to them. One may use an ordinary clock with the second hand, but another problem appears – if your breathing pattern is, for example eight seconds for inhalation, thirty-two seconds for breath retention and sixteen seconds for exhalation, you'll have to do a lot of calculating to measure the correct beginning of each breathing phase. The computer programme Time for Pranayama lets you engage yourself in the practice of breathing exercises without worrying when to begin the next phase of breathing, no matter how complicated the chosen ratio of breathing phases is – Time for Pranayama will simply tell you what to do at the moment. Time for Pranayama is an attentive teacher who does all the measuring for you. Besides it also makes certain adjustments to the pattern of the breath, as the student of Pranayama progresses in his practice. Pranayama is one of the most important parts of yoga. It means the measuring and control of breath. Having gained control over the breath yogi becomes able to control life force (prana) which lies in the basis of everything in the Universe. All Pranayama techniques can be roughly divided into two categories: hyper-ventilating and hypo-ventilating. Time for Pranayama is designed to help the practitioner master hypo-ventilating breathing techniques where the rhythm of breath and the duration of each of its phases play the most important role. The cycle of breath consists of four phases: the inhalation, the retention of breath after the inhalation, the exhalation and the retention of breath after the exhalation. The most important phase of breathing according to yoga is exhalation. The practitioner should be able to exhale evenly, slowly and quietly. If that's not the case, one should immediately stop the practice – he is not ready for Pranayama yet. The ratio of inhalation, retention and exhalation in traditional yoga is 1:4:2. It means that the retention of breath after the inhalation if four times that of the inhalation, and the duration of the exhalation is twice that of the inhalation. Some schools of yoga speak of the ratio of 1:1:1. Time for Pranayama takes it into account. The progress in mastering yogic breathing technique mostly depends on the regularity of practice. It is better to practise twenty minutes every day than even two hours once a week. The best results are achieved if the practitioner can afford two sittings a day – one in the early morning and one late at night before going to bed. Of course, it is not advised to practice Pranayama before or after the meal – one's stomach should be empty if he wants to use the full capacity of lungs. As far as the postures for Pranayama are concerned, the only requirement is that the practitioner maintains a straight spine and is able to remain motionless during the whole practice. Traditionally yogis practise Pranayama in the Padmasana or the Siddhasana, but sitting on a chair with your spine straight is also possible. Certain safety measures should be observed by the practitioner of Pranayama. The most important of them is – never exceed your limits. All breathing exercises should be done with the feeling of joy and relaxation but not with weariness or exhaustion. If a person is having health problems it is better to consult his physician before embarking on to Pranayama. During the practise carefully observe the sensations which appear in your body. Your body knows perfectly well what is good for it and what is not. Stop your practice if your body signals you to do it. Never hurry up. Increase the duration of the breathing phases slowly. While using Time for Pranayama with the automatic increment switched on frankly answer the question about you state which appears at the end of the session. The programme will automatically calculate the required duration of your breathing phases next time you start session. Complete yogic breath ***************** All types of Pranayama are based on the complete yogic breath. Position: standing, sitting or lying on the back. Time of the day: preferably early morning or late evening. Mood: always practise with the feeling of joy and relaxation. Technique ******** 1. Begin inhalation filling the lower part of the lungs, letting the abdomen come out a little. 2. Continue inhalation filling the middle part of the lungs, expanding the ribs, slightly drawing in the abdomen. 3. Fill the upper part of the lungs, slightly raising the collar bone. That's the end of inhalation. 4. Begin exhalation by letting the air out of the lower part of the lungs, drawing in the abdomen. 5. Empty the middle part of the lungs, contracting the ribs. 6. Lower the collar bone. That's the end of exhalation. Notes and precautions ***************** 1. Every breathing exercise begins with deep exhalation and finishes with inhalation. 2. Never fill your lungs to their maximum capacity. If you do it your body will become stiff but you should remain relaxed during the whole practice. 3. The inhalation and exhalation, though we speak of three steps of each, should be a continuous, smooth, wave-like movement. Do not isolate each step from the other ones. 4. Listen to the gentle sound of your breath during the practice. Its volume should not change. 5. The ratio of inhalation and exhalation is 1 to 2. It means that if, for example, the inhalation is 5 seconds, the exhalation is two times longer — that is 10 seconds. Time for Pranayama can help you with that. 6. As far as the length of the practice is concerned the practitioner should rely on his own feelings. Keep on practicing as long as you feel comfortable and relaxed. The thing that really matters is the regularity of practice – every day try to devote at least twenty minutes to the breathing exercises. 7. Remember that the purpose of all breathing techniques is to acquire a new breathing pattern. It takes time. Never hurry and never expect immediate results. Alternate nostril breathing ******************** Anuloma Viloma Pranayama (Initial stage) Position: one of the meditative poses. Time: early morning or late evening Duration for the beginners: 14 rounds Ratio of inhalation and exhalation – 1:2 Technique ******** 1. Press your right index and middle fingers against the palm. 2. Close the right nostril with your right thumb. Breathe in through the left nostril. 3. Close the left nostril with your right ring finger, and at the same open your right nostril, and breathe out through this nostril. 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3. Only inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left one. That's one round. Retained breath exercises ******************** Anuloma Viloma Pranayama (Advanced stage) Position: one of the meditative poses. Time: early morning or late evening Duration for the beginners: 6 – 20 rounds Ratio of inhalation, retention and exhalation: begin with 1:2:2 (4 seconds : 8 seconds : 8 seconds). Steadily but slowly move to 1:4:2 (8:32:16). Technique ******** 1. Press your right index and middle fingers against the palm. 2. Close the right nostril with your right thumb. Breathe in through the left nostril. 3. Close the left nostril with right ring finger. Now both your nostrils are closed. Hold your breath. 4. Open your right nostril, and breathe out through this nostril. 5. Repeat steps 2 - 4. Only inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left one. That's one round. Ujjayi Pranayama ************** Position: one of the meditative poses. Time: early morning or late evening Duration for the beginners: 5 – 20 rounds Technique ******** In this technique you always inhale through both nostrils and exhale through the left nostril. 1. Breathe in deeply through both nostrils. During inhalation partially close your glottis and produce a low-pitched steady sound. 2. Hold your breath for the period which is for times longer than the inhalation. 3. Close your right nostril with the right thumb and exhale through the left nostril. The duration of exhalation is twice that of inhalation. Surya Bheda Pranayama ******************* Position: one of the meditative poses. Time: early morning or late evening Duration for the beginners: 5 – 20 rounds Technique ******** In this technique you always inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril. 1. Close your left nostril and breathe in deeply through the right nostril. 2. Close both nostrils and hold your breath for the period which is for times longer than the inhalation. 3. Keeping your right nostril closed with the right thumb, exhale slowly through the left nostril. The duration of exhalation is twice that of inhalation. Kevali Kumbhaka ************** Kevali Kumbhaka means complete cessation of movement of air and muscles. In fact all yogic breathing exercises are aimed at attaining this state. Time for Pranayama offers a new technique which consists of steadily increasing the length of inhalation and exhalation during one sitting session. One second is added to inhalation and exhalation every tenth round. The software can be downloaded at http://geocities.com/yoga_breathing/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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