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Pranayam 101
Version 5d – 11/23//2011
24 minutes of Yoga
• h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pruHKYyVrN4
• Or • h"p://&nyurl.com/24Yoga
Prologue
How to get started?
• Slow and steady • CriJque • Observe and criJque • Q&A • Discuss the mind • Make it 2-‐way • IteraJve Improvement
What is Prana?
• The energy that fills every cell of the body and as such, not confined to the body, but extending outside the body too!
• As per Yoga Vasistha -‐ the pole of prana, which extends beyond the body, reaches a distance of approximately twelve inches. The term given for this is "vadasanta“
Terminologies for Pranayam • "Puraka" is loosely translated as "inhala&on", but it literally
means "filling. " This filling process commences twelve inches away from the body. Therefore, mental visualiza&on is involved in the procedure of puraka.
• "Kumbhaka" means "pot. " You might understand this defini&on more clearly if you visualize your body to be a pot which you are filling up un&l it becomes completely full. When this filling is accomplished, like a pot with its cover on top, the breath is held, (shut in, so to speak) like a pot that holds grains.
• rechaka" (a word that sounds similar to the English synonym for vomi&ng, "retching") is usually translated as exhala&on, but is more correctly understood to mean "holding the pot empty. " In other words, the breath is not only expelled, but also held outside.
As per Hatha Yoga pracJJoners • All Pranayam is KUMBHAKA
• These yogis say that when the Pranayam is performed, the holding of the breath outside is the very thing that ac&vates the prana
• This is the reason the various yoga scriptures men&on that the breath should be held "as long as possible”
• There are eight kambakas men&oned in the scriptures: sahita, surya bhedana, bhramari ujjayi, murccha, sitali, bhastrika, and kavali.
• kevali, there is complete suspension of breath, and thus, no inhala&on or exhala&on
Pranayam & Benefits – Pranayam = Prana acJvaJon (Life giving energy)
• Patanjali couple thousand years ago • Maybe psychological • Much of this is based upon Ramdev Guru’s Pranayam DVD
• ScienJfic ExplanaJon – Stress, we breathe incorrectly – Pranayam => we focus on the breathing – Oxyen gets pumped throughout our body, brain and leads to healing
– Health through breathing – Quietens the mind – RejuvenaJon of health
Snaking the pipes / NADIs
• Nāḍi (the Sanskrit for "tube, pipe") are the channels through which, in tradiJonal Indian medicine and spiritual science, the energies of the subtle body are said to flow. They connect at special points of intensity called chakras.
• There are three primary nadis; ida, pingala, and sushuma. • Various condiJons can be diagnosed as problems along the flow
of an individual nadi, and various techniques may be used to free the flow of energy. • The energy flow is to all the chakras of the body
• What did OSHO say? – DefiniJon of Moksha – Takes us to the life source
Chakras – abiliJes and qualiJes • Seven Primary Chakras • Each chakra relates strongly to a specific part of the body, specific
emoJons, mental, and spiritual concerns
• Sahasrara, Agnya, Vishuddhi, Annahata, Manipura, Swadhistana, Muladhara • Each govern our abiliJes, qualiJes and health
• Hundreds of secondary chakras, used during accupuncture. • The secondary chakra points are influenced with acJon and
physicality while the seven primary chakras deal with emoJons and spirituality.
• The primary chakras influence your health greatly, the health concerns related to them are caused by an unbalance in the chakra itself, from an emoJonal or spiritual cause, which then manifests into a physical ailment.
• Chakra Healing .
Name of the Chakra Visual Picture Health and Quality Influences Transpersonal Chakra Located4-5 fingers above the
head. Connection to one's Higher Self.
Sahasrara / Crown Chakra Linked to Pituary Gland
release of karma, connection into the greater world
Ajna / Third Eye Chakra Linked to Pineal Gland Inner Guidance, Intuitive, Understand Big Picture
Vishuddha / Throat Chakra Linked to Thyroid Gland
Self-expression and communication
Anahata / Heart Chakra Linked to Thymus Passion, Compassion, Devotion and Unconditional Love
Manipura / Solar Plexus Chakra Linked to Islets of Langerhans
(Digestion) Personal power, Will and Autonomy
Swadhisthana / Sacral Chakra Genitourinary system
joy, enthusiasm, grace and accept change
Muladhara / Base or Root Chakra (last bone in spinal cord *coccyx*)
Adrenal medulla sexuality, stability, emotion, Survival instincts
Hundreds of Meridian Chakras - Secondary chakra points that
influence action and physicality
Kundalini • Kundalini awakening -‐ rises from muladhara chakra up a subtle channel at the base of the spine merging with the sahasrara, or crown chakra.
• The awakening of the Kundalini shows itself as "awakening of inner knowledge" and brings with itself pure joy, pure knowledge and pure love.
• With awakening of the Kundalini our consciousness expands and we become more aware of the truth
• A spiritual master who walked this path before is required to guide the aspirant.
Side-‐effects and cauJons
• No side effects • Do it on an empty stomach • Heart / BP / Hernia need to be careful with some exercises
• Do not do on a full stomach
ConsideraJons -‐ What should the mind think?
• Focus on the breathing • Do not think of worldly issues, things to do • When you breathe out think that all your negaJve energies and impuriJes of the body are being released
• When you breathe in think that everything good around us in this world, the spiritual energy is coming into us
• Keep your eyes closed, shut out the world throughout the process
• Internalize, internalize, internalize • OSHO “Try to go to the source of life”
• A good session for me is when the mind is completely blank – lost in nothingness
Pranayam The AcJvaJon of Life Giving Energy
Nine Exercises
Ramdev Guru’s Video h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFkui4Hl5AY
Pranayam Video time Minimum Duration Max Duration
1 Bhastrika Pranayam 7:20 2 minutes 5 minutes 2 KapalBhati Pranayam 12:21 5 minutes (30 times) 15 to 25 minutes
3 Ujjayi Pranayam 1:00 2 times a day Do it 7, 11 to 21 times
4 Bahya Pranayam 25:45 25:45 5 times 11 times (15 seconds each) In winter do it 21 times - total of 5 minutes
5 Anulom-Vilom Pranayam 29:35 10 minutes
12 times one side and 12 times other side
6 Bhrahmri Pranayam 42 5 times – lasting 5 minutes 5 times 7 Udgeeth Pranayam 49:22 5 times
Make a wish while doing it – Invoke the spiritual energy
Ramdev Guru’s Video
DIABETES hDps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYTBsdnIUg8 Agneesar Kriya – 20th minute Accupressure 1 to 2 minutes
Ramdev Guru’s Video Hair loss
h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB0ZGzkTNEc h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQaEipoCA0 Divya kesh oil
Sarvang Asan + Sirshana Kapal BahaR and Anulom Vilom for 10 to 15 minutes Nails rubbing DIABETES hDps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYTBsdnIUg8
Follow the video for the next few
• Summary of ALL h6p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amkJraCgIng
• Detailed explanaJon video by Ramdev Guru (Video starts aper a minute of blank screen)
h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFkui4Hl5AY
Bhastrika –
• Bhastrika BLACKSMITH’S ROAR
• Vigorous breathe in • Vigorous breathe out • Don’t hold your breath • For 2 minutes only
• For a healthy heart and an energized mind
KapalbhaJ (Skull Bath Literal)– CYCLE PUMP 30 Jmes (Never more than 10 min)
• Procedure : Push air forcefully in and out like a cycle pump.
Keep doing it unJl you can no longer let air out. DO NOT breathe in unJl this happens.
• ONLY EXHALE 30 &mes or for 2 minutes • Benefits : Reduce weight, aabha, tej, obesity, consJpaJon,
gastric, acidity, Croesus(liver), hepaJJs B, uterus, diabetes, stomach problems, cholesterol, allergic problems, asthma, snoring, concentraJon, and even cancer and AIDS.
• Tips : heart and high BP paJents, and weak people do it slowly.
• You may need a Jssue • Related to acJvaJon of the muladhara chakra • Brain cells are bathed in prana, and enJre skull feels like it is
"shining. If that does not happen, there is no kapalabhaJ.
21 Jmes Ujjai –TIGERS ROAR / Ocean sound
• Tighten throat, Constrict throat • breathe in sound – feel the breath at your throat • Push your head down, • Release the breathe through the lep nostril (by closingRight) • h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCg-‐ECeKjtg
• Press the accupuncture point
Bahya Pranayam 3 Jmes (11 Jmes max) • Watch the video for clarity • Bahya Pranayam Procedure : Breathe in gently, Breathe air out with some intensity, hear the sound
compress your stomach and lip it towards your chest, bring your chin down to the pit which is at base of throat, squeeze stomach completely and hold for a while. then release chin, breathe in slowly and relax
• Benefits : stomach(udar), hernia, urinal, uterus • Tips : not for heart and high BP paJents • It is marked by suspension or retenJon of the breathing process aper exhalaJon of breath and
applying mahabandha.
• A Mahabandha (a bandha stands for a physical lock to control the flow of prana ) is comprised of three bandhas. Namely
– Jalandhur Bandha ( touching the chin on the pit located near the base of throat); – Uddiyana Bandha ( pulling the stomach in so as to touch the back)) and – Mula bandha (pulling up the peridieum by contracJng the anus and Jghtening of the lower abdomen)
• In Mahabandha ,all these three bandhas are applied together.
Anulom Vilom – 10 minutes / 12 Jmes one side, 12 Jmes other
• Procedure : Hold your right nasal with thumb, breathe in from lep. Now open right nasal and close lep nasal with middle and ring finger and breathe out from right nasal. Now breathe in from right nasal. Now close right nasal and open lep and breathe out and in from lep nasal. and so on.
• Never have both fingers covering your nostrils at the same Jme
• Benefits : heart, high BP, heart blockage, vat-‐cuf-‐pit, arthriJs, carJlage, bent ligaments, sinual fluid reduced, parkinson, paralysis, neural related, depression, migraine pain, asthma, sinus, allergy
• Tips : breathe into lungs not to stomach. no organ in stomach
• While you do this Pranayam visualize that the Divine power and the Divine knowledge is being bestowed upon you in the process. The pracJce of this Pranayam for 5 minutes a day will result in acJvaJon of the Muladhar Chakra (Root Chakra) causing the arousal of Kundalini power (dormant serpenJne power located on the root chakra).
• The arousal of Kundalini power results from the arousal of Sushumna nadi (the central energy meridian) as a consequence of repeated rubbing and churning of the breath in the Ida (lep meridien) and Pingla(right meridian) Nadis . The pracJce of AVP for a period of three to four months can open up thirty to forty percent of the heart arteries’ blockages.
• Supposed to help get to nir-‐vichar, the thoughtless state of mind – that will point us eventually to the life source
Brahmri – 5 Jmes, lasJng 10 minutes (BUMBLE BEE MMMmm)
• Bhrahmri (BUMBLE BEE) Procedure : Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and middle finger on base of nose touching eyes. Using ring finger to close right hand side nostril, and breathe in through the lep. Close the lep now with the ring finger and breathe out through the right nostril while making a deep mmmm sounds. Breathe in through right nostril. And now breathe out through lep nostril while humming like a bee. Mmmmmm
• Focus on the color pa"erns if any inside your thoughtless dark mind
• Benefits : tension, hypertension, high BP, heart, heart blockage, paralysis, migraine pain, confidence, concentraJon
• This Pranayam acJvates the third eye chakra so important for gesng the power of telepathy, clairvoyance.
• It facilitates concentraJon, is an aid to meditaJon. This is also true of ujjayi kumbhaka.
Udgeeth – 5 Jmes (sit in mudra)
• Udgeeth Procedure : Breathe in deeply, and chant 'Om'kar. OOOOOOm ( long O and small m ).
• When done rub your hands Jll it feels warm and take to your eyes and focus on the blank mind
• Benefits : meditaJon
The following is not in Ramdev Guru’s video
My Sequence (first 5 are as per Ramdev Guru’s video)
Pranayam Video time Minimum Duration Max Duration
1 KapalBhati Pranayam 12:21 12:21 5 minutes 10 minutes 2 Bahya Pranayam 25:45 25:45 3 times 11 times (15 seconds each)
In winter do it 21 times - total of 5 minutes
3 Anulom-Vilom Pranayam 29:35 12 times one side and 12 times other side
4 Bhrahmri Pranayam (our technique differs slightly) 42 5 times – lasting 5 minutes 5 times
5 Udgeeth Pranayam 49:22 5 times
6 Ujayi Pranayam (our technique differs)
Set of three
7 Bhastrika Pranayam
8 OM Chanting 3 times
9 Breathing variations
Ujjai –TIGERS ROAR / Ocean sound 9 x3 (5,5,5,1)
• Hand PosiJon 9 Jmes – Follow pa6ern • Second Hand PosiJon – 9 Jmes again • Third Hand PosiJon – 9 Jmes again • Yoga + Pranayam • Helps concentrate on the breathing • Make sure you feel the breathe in the throat • Make sure your mouth is shut
• Impact – The most effecJve Pranayam for thyroid problems is Ujjayi.
• It acts on the throat area and its relaxing and sJmulaJng effects are most probably due to sJmulaJon of ancient reflex pathways within the throat area, which are controlled by the brainstem and hypothalamus. This pracJce also gives us direct access into the pranic and psychic net work, the substructure of metabolic acJvity.
Bhastrika – Blacksmith’s roar – 18 x 3 Followed by Om 3-‐5 Jmes
• Bhastrika BLACKSMITH’S ROAR • Procedure : Boxing – Breathe in when you kick out, breathe out when you kick
in • The breathe should be rhythmic – equally divided • No pause in between • Benefits : heart, lungs, brain, depression, migraine, paralysis, neural system, aabha
• This kicking up and down helps a deep breathing pa6ern • This should generate heat, is almost an aerobic workout • So while kalpalabhaR is strictly a purificatory exercise meant for
the brain cells, bhastrika is a Pranayam exercise intended to cause a stream of prana to flow, and specifically, to cause prana to f low through the sushuana nadi.
• Once done – say OM 3-‐5 Jmes. – Breathe in slowly, followed by loooong OM, stressing on every single
syllable
Breathing VariaJon for empJness
• 20 * 36 * 36
• Repeat 2 more Jmes
• 10 slow breathes • Rest in Shavasana for 5 minutes
QuesJons
Any negaJve effects
• What happens when we stop the pracJce • If we reverse the breathing pa6ern is it harmful
Can I pracJce only a subset
• Yes • Be6er to follow the sequence though • Watch out for any changes to your health pa6ern
So hum
• h6p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38vYfQWa_ek
• Gyan MUdra
Epilogue
Constant pracJce is a must • Fix a Jme of day • Try to pracJce at least 4-‐6 Jmes a week • Give it Jme – the results don’t happen in a day, but be cognizant of any changes
• Do not give up the pracJce unless you find something different that you want to try out
• Keep a watch on your health pa6erns, and if you noJce any aberraJons, cease and desist
• Stay posiJve and use this Jme to meditate, internalize and think of posiJve things
• Consider doing some simple yoga as well (see details on next slide)
• Skip any parJcular one that causes bodily discomfort
Video for doing Yoga Asanas
• If you want to do Yoga – Video starts at 35 seconds
• h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFkui4Hl5AY
Chakras – ImaginaJon/ MeditaJon • Chakra MeditaJon Techniques
The chakras should be in harmony with each other, not too closed or too open for the opJmum balance in our lives, there are various meditaJon techniques in use that help to balance our chakras. Some people like to use crystals in conjuncJon with the chakras, placing parJcular crystals on specific points to enhance or heal. This can be either using crystals of the same colour as the chakra to recharge it or using stones like clear quartz to purify the point. Chakra MeditaJon Techniques The Space Suit One of the first exercises to try is to put on a 'space suit'. This is a way of forming a protecJve layer around you, forJfying your aura to reflect negaJve energies. To do this, relax and imagine that you can 'see'/feel your aura moving and pulsing around you, try and form this into shapes likes walls, shields, overalls. Some like to imagine it more as donning a suit of armour or pulling on a pair of overalls. Chakra MeditaJon Techniques Energy Apples Concentrate on whatever chakra you wish to energise, try to imagine a small pulse that grows in mass and colour. Now sweep your hand over the area scooping some of the mass in your hand. Concentrate on this mass using both hands to shape it into a ball whilst visualising your desires (you should feel the increase of energy in your fingerJps). Some people then like to 'eat' this energy as though it were an apple, others like to sweep it back over the chakra they borrowed it from and feel it being reabsorbed, others again like to make a wish and blow on it feeling it disappear into the world. Chakra MeditaJon Techniques The Body Lie on the ground in a relaxed posiJon and let thoughts of everyday life dissolve. Try and tune into your aura encasing you in swirling strands of energy, then concentrate on the red chakra, feel it grow and open up colouring your enJre aura with its reddish haze. Then move onto your orange chakra, feeling it open up unJl the red in your aura is replaced by orange, conJnue through each of your chakras unJl you come to the white chakra this is also known as the many coloured lotus, imagine this opening up and pouring white light into your aura making you feel completely purified and re-‐energised
Backpocket
Murccha • A very challenging kumbhaka prac&ce is "murccha", which literally means "fain&ng. "
Here you are instructed to hold the breath un&l you faint. If you approach murccha with the courageous aetude of "yes, I am prepared to hold the breath un&l I pass out, " it's possible for you to discover that power in you which makes you stop and breathe. You can only discover it if you are really and truly prepared to hold the breath un&l you pass out. You are not a"emp&ng suicide. You are just looking to discover prana. You hold the breath, and suddenly, just before passing out, something beyond the 'me' steps in, takes your hand away from the nose, and makes you take a breath of air.
• Don't cheat yourself by calling this a reflex ac&on. What exactly is it that makes you stop? It's not fear. Fear is something which you would have to introduce. We are talking about something which comes of its own accord. If you are prepared to hold the breath un&l you faint, un&l tomorrow morning if necessary, then you will witness something which springs up and stops you. What exactly is that?
• Perhaps you can see the similarity of this ques&on and the ques&on that's been asked about sleep. That is, in the waking state, I am aware of... this world, and in the deep sleep state I am not aware of anything. In medita&on, it is possible to see that there is a threshold. How do I slip from here to there? If I can see that for one split second, that's medita&on, and there is samadhi . In the same way, what exactly is that which stops me from holding the breath? If that stage can be reached without passing out, you have come face to face with the power they call "prana. "
Surya-‐bhedana
• The intent of prac&cing the next one, Surya-‐bhedana, is very apparent by a transla&on of the Sanskrit. "Surya" means "the solar force" and "bhedana" "to pierce", literally meaning, "to break open the shell of the solar fire. " The texts give the instruc&on to inhale through one nostril, and then hold the breath un&l perspira&on is dropping from the body.
RaJos explained • Some yoga books give a quite specific ra&o for the amount of &me one spends on the inhala&on, reten&on, and exhala&on. These books say to inhale for a a count of four, hold for a count of sixteen, and exhale for a count of eight . However, it's best not to start out trying to emulate this model. You should begin prac&cing without worrying about any of that. The four-‐ sixteen-‐eight ra&o was given by the yogis, because it is a very close approxima&on of the rhythm which is most natural. Aker prac&cing the exercise for some&me, you will probably find that you were already doing the four-‐sixteen-‐eight ra&on without even being aware of it.
Sitali Kumbhaka • A transla&on of 'sitali kumbhaka', "cooling", reveals the benefit
is to cool the body. It will also temporarily relieve thirst. Sitali kumbhaka will be easier to learn if you stand in front of a mirror. S&ck out your tongue, and roll the tongue into a tube. If you are confused as to what to do, find someone who can demonstrate what the curled tongue is supposed to look like, or find a picture in a Hatha yoga book, and looking into the mirror, imitate it. once you get the hang of curling the tongue, you will be able to form the tube with your tongue without having to think about what to do. At this point, breathe through the "tube" which you make by curling the tongue, and as you breathe through the tongue, concentrate on the solar-‐plexus. It should be easier to concentrate on the solar plexus doing sitali than doing other kumbhakas, because one tends to feel pressure in the neck when breathing through the nose. With sitali, the pathway feels more open, so that the sense of blockage from tension in the neck is diminished.
An exercise to try • There is another exercise that you should try before proceeding. Here are the rules of the game. Sit up straight,
but again, comfortably and relaxed. You are going to use the fingers of the right hand to close the nostrils: The thumb will close the right nostril, and the ring and li"le fingers will close the lek nostril. The other two fingers usually are rested on the palm (some people prefer to rest them on the space between the eyebrows). Even while the nostrils are kept open during this exercise it will be best not to en&rely remove the fingers from the wings of the nostrils. In other words, as you perform this prac&ce, breathing in and out the lek and right nostrils variously in a changing pa"ern, you will do so without taking the hand away from the nose. So, if the right arm gets fa&gued, use your lek arm.
• To begin, inhale through the lek nostril, and as you fill up, the abdomen will expand outwards. Exhale through the right nostril, and as you exhale, pull the abdomen back as far as it will go. Inhale through the right nostril, expanding the abdomen outwards, filling up. Exhale through the lek nostril, again pulling the abdomen back as far as it will go. Now, as you con&nue in this fashion, inhale through the lek nostril, and as you hold the breath, concentrate on the solar plexus. Hold the breath as long as is comfortable. Some yoga books give a quite specific ra&o for the amount of &me one spends on the inhala&on, reten&on, and exhala&on. These books say to inhale for a a count of four, hold for a count of sixteen, and exhale for a count of eight . However, it's best not to start out trying to emulate this model. You should begin prac&cing without worrying about any of that. The four-‐ sixteen-‐eight ra&o was given by the yogis, because it is a very close approxima&on of the rhythm which is most natural. Aker prac&cing the exercise for some&me, you will probably find that you were already doing the four-‐sixteen-‐eight ra&on without even being aware of it.
• Now add one more step to this exercise. Aker you have pulled in the abdomen, and have exhaled completely, let go of the abdomen, and hold the lungs empty! Try not to create any unnecessary tension. There will be some tension as you hold the lungs empty. Don't worry about that. There is no danger of harming yourself as long as you are the only person that is holding your nostrils. If you let someone else hold your nostrils, then, of course, there is some danger!
• Be a"en&ve to what happens as you proceed. It's best that I not tell you where to fix the a"en&on, because a sugges&on of that kind will make you unnecessarily tense. What's more, if I tell you something like "fix you a"en&on between your eyebrows", or give you a how to visualize the prana, or where to visualize it, that will immediately occupy your a"en&on and immediately interfere with your ability to hold the lungs empty, as well as your ability to watch what happens as you do so. Be like a child, and watch!
The Ajna chakra showing the two petals, the itara-linga
(the upraised conical object in the triangle), and the
Pranava or Aum.