What is Pranayam?
Pranayam I believe are the easy but highly effective
breathing exercises to keep us healthy and active. Pranayam should be performed daily subjected to health conditions or as advised by the doctors.
Pranayam or in general any yoga should be performed under the guidance of
skilled yoga teacher and after consultation with doctor.
When to perform Pranayam?
Pranayam can be performed in morning as well as in the
evening. One should not eat anything at least for the last 4-5 hours. But I
personally feel morning is the best time to practice yoga. Evening time should
be adopted only when you don’t get enough time in morning.
In what postures Pranayam should be performed?
There are several postures in which you can practice yoga.
You should maintain back, neck and head as much straight as possible. The ideal
postures are Sukhasana and Padmasana. As suggested by Yoga Guru Ramdev if
somebody is not able to sit in these aasanas, chairs can be used to sit
straight. It’s not mandatory to perform all the seven Pranayam. Another
important thing about Pranayam is that it shouldn't be performed if you feel
dizzy or tired while performing. You should stop immediately as soon as you
start feeling uncomfortable.
"OM" is the most powerful word in hinduism. Enchanting this word keeps flowing for divine energy into the mind and body and it makes the soul pure.
The method of practicing
I have added videos from YouTube to help you with how to
practice Pranayam. These were the best videos I could search over the internet.
They are in Hindi so I have tried to explain the steps below. I will still
suggest performing these under the guidance of yoga teacher. There are few
common breathing basics which should be kept in mind unless specified
otherwise:
1.
Breathing in/out should be done through nose. Mouth shouldn’t be used for inhale/exhale.
2.
The air should be hold in lungs only. Stomach shouldn’t
be used for holding the air.
3.
Posture is very important. Without correct
posture the Pranayam may be ineffective.
Bhastrika Pranayam
Place yourself in appropriate aasana. Then take deep breaths and fill your lungs
with air. Do remember the air should be filled in lungs only. It should not be
filled in stomach. As there is nothing in stomach to process breathing air.
Once done with breathing in exhale completely. There should not be any pause in
the process. Keep relaxed throughout the process. Stop the practice when you
feel tired, dizzy or uncomfortable. Start again after some time. This practice
should be done for minimum of 2 minutes and maximum of 5 minutes. The main purpose of this Pranayam is to clean
your body from toxins.
Kapalbhati Pranayam
This Pranayam is considered to be most effective body
cleansing technique. You should sit in
the correct posture. And start exhaling with medium force. You shouldn’t concentrate
on inhale that should be automatic. Just concentrate on exhale. Take a break
when you feel any uncomfortable. Repeat this
for 15-30times. Then relax for a minute or so and start again. Initially it
should be practiced for 1-2 minutes gradually increasing it to 5 minutes with
maximum 10 minutes. This technique makes body impure of various toxins. It
helps to keep stomach, lungs, mind and heart healthy.
Anulom Viloma Pranayam
Anulom Vilom is extremely useful for high BP patients. It
has so many other benefits as well. For this Pranayam technique you should sit
in right posture. Close your right nostril with the right thumb. Put your first
finger on the forehead and breathe in deeply through left nostril. Then close the left nostril with the second
and third finger and exhale through the right nostril. Now inhale through the
right nostril and repeat the step. Take a break when you feel uncomfortable. Start
again. Practice this for 5-10 minutes. The maximum time is 15 minutes.
Bhramari Pranayam
Brahmari Pranayam is done for cleansing of mind. This is
done to take all the thoughts out of mind and make the mind relax. To do this, sit in the right posture. Close both your ears with your thumbs. Put
your first fingers on forehead. Place three fingers on around your eyes in such
a way that second finger is covering the eye.
Apply gentle push on eye using the second finger. Breathe deeply through your nostrils. Now
exhale through your nostrils making sound like “Om”. It should sound like honeybee. Practice this
for 5-15 times. You will feel relaxed.
Udgeet Pranayam
Udgeet should be done in a very relaxing manner. Both inhale
and exhale should be very smooth. Sit in proper aasana. Breathe in and say “OM”.
It should be a prolonged one and should be continuing for time period of one
exhale. Repeat this for 10-15 times. You will feel the divine energy flowing
in. This is awesome.
Once all the pranayams are done. Sit and relax for some time.
Do Gentle breathing. And you are done.
There are enormous benefits when you practice Pranayam.
These practices can never do any harm unless performed incorrectly.
P.S. Please perform Pranayam under the guidance of a skilled
yoga teacher at least for first few days. A consultation with your doctor is
advisable.
===== OM =====
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