All About Yoga Breathing - The Art of Pranayama

'Stress' is another name for life these days. It results in improper breathing or lack of oxygen in the body. The body, when starved of oxygen, becomes a haven for diseases related to heart and other vital organs. Yoga breathing or pranayama refers to a combination of exercises used to achieve breath control. "Prana" symbolizes "life force" and "yama" stands for "control". Pranayama, therefore, is the systematic breathing intended to control breath, and revitalize the body by completely eliminating the diseases.

Breathing Process - The Various Stages

The ancient yogis developed the breathing exercises of nadi shodhana, shitali, kapalabhati, viloma, and ujjayi. It takes some time before you can start observing the benefits of these exercises on your body. Pranayama comes with various difficulty levels and to practice correctly, you need to initially train under a yoga expert. Practicing these exercises in a wrong way can lead to diseases, related to the lungs.

Pranayama exercises work by refining or tuning the following 4 breathing stages:

a) Puraka - the stage of inhalation or oxygen intake

b) Abhyantara kumbhaka - the pause before exhalation or discharge of carbon dioxide

c) Rechaka - the stage of exhalation

d) Bahya kumbhaka - the pause after exhalation

Refining the Breathing Stages Through Pranayama

A fast-paced life, full of stress, results in improper execution of the 4 basic breathing stages. The people practicing yoga are able to control their breath for long intervals of time. They achieve it through regular practice of the following levels of pranayama:

a) Adhama - Essentially, you start with adhama as a beginner. You execute puraka for 12 seconds, followed by execution of kumbhaka for 48 seconds, and of rechaka for 24 seconds.

The ratio of puraka, kumbhaka, and rechaka should stay as 1:4:2 for all levels of pranayama.

b) Madhyama - Perfecting adhama, you proceed to madhyama by executing puraka for 24 seconds, followed by execution of kumbhaka for 96 seconds, and of rechaka for 48 seconds.

c) Uttama - Having perfected madhyama, you move on to the advanced stage of pranayama, also called "Uttama". Here, you execute puraka for 32 seconds, followed by extended kumbhaka for 128 seconds, and extended rechaka for 64 seconds.

Once you master the art of uttama, you can achieve the state of keval kumbhaka. It implies arresting and resting breath for fairly long intervals of time, at will. In this state, the body is rid of all types of diseases.

General Guidelines to Follow, while Practicing Pranayama

You should wear loose clothes to achieve unrestricted air flow through the body. You should be empty stomach for 3 hours before starting pranayama exercises. Sit straight to enable your neck to be aligned with the spinal cord. This aids in proper breathing.

Pranayama should be enjoyed. You should practice, but not exhaust yourself. Start slowly and breathe in a smooth and consistent manner to avoid any jerks while breathing. As soon as your breath becomes a little uneven, stop and allow your breathing to get normal.

Asthma and heart patients should consult a doctor before starting with breathing exercises, or the art and science of pranayama.

yogahelp911.com/pranayama.html Pranayama refers to a combination of exercises used to achieve breath control. Learn more about art of breathing in yoga by visiting yogahelp911.com yogahelp911.com