Introduction
To breathe is to live, and without breath there is no life. As you may be aware, the theory of Karma is recognized as a key part of the Indian philosophy. As stated by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras (sutra 2.13), our karmas determine these three attributes of our future birth – future species that we’ll be born into (jāti), our life span (āyus) and the nature life experiences – pleasant or otherwise (bhoga). One of the common beliefs is that the life span is measured in terms of the number of breaths that are allocated to us at the time of birth based on our karma. So, from the first inhalation taken by a newborn at the time of birth to the last exhalation at the time of death, the total number of breaths is predetermined by the previous karma.
Prāṇa, the most important function of the body
Breathing may be considered the most important of all the functions of the body. All the other functions, physical, physiological, mental etc., depend upon it. Man may survive for some time without food, even up to a few months; a shorter time without drinking; but without breathing one’s existence may be measured by a few minutes.
There is a well-known story in the Chandoyga Upanishad (5.1.6-15) which tells of a dispute among all the sense organs, each claiming its superiority over the others. To resolve the dispute, they all went to Prajapati, their father and asked him, “who is the best among us?”
Prajapati told them that each of the organs should leave the body for a year and then determine as to whose absence makes the body feel the worst. Following these guidelines, the organs of speech, touch, taste, smell, sight, and the mind, each went away for a year one at a time and came back. In the meantime, the body suffered the loss of functionality of that particular organ that went out but was otherwise able to survive comfortably. Finally, it was the turn of breath to leave the body. As soon as prana (breath) began to depart, all the other senses came running and pleaded with prana not to leave as they immediately realized that they would not survive without him even for a short time. In fact, they admitted that they are able to function only because of the presence of prana. Thus, Prana (breath) won the dispute easily.
Breathing, both involuntary and voluntary
Not only are we dependent upon breath for survival, but we are largely dependent upon correct habits of breathing for continued vitality and freedom from disease. An intelligent control of our breathing can lengthen our time upon earth by giving us increased vitality and powers of resistance. On the other hand, improper and careless breathing will tend to shorten our days, by decreasing our vitality and making us prone to disease and ill-health.
Breath is one of the involuntary functions in the body that happen without the involvement of conscious thought control. A few other examples of such functions are heartbeat, blood circulation, digestion, sneezing etc. However, breath is one of the very few physiological functions that, in addition to being involuntary, allow certain voluntary control as well. The only other well-known similar function is blinking of the eyes. While breath just happens all the time without our awareness, we do have the ability to control, at least to some extent, several of the attributes of our breathing cycle. For example, we can control the length of each inhalation and exhalation, the force with which we breathe, and the ability to hold the breath for some length of time. The yogis of the past were smart enough to recognize this freedom to modify our breath in multiple ways and found immense benefits of these modifications. As a result, they were able to come up with a large number of practices, collectively known as Prāṇāyāma, that provide many benefits at multiple levels.
Mechanics of breathing
The main organs of respiration are the lungs, nose, bronchial cavity, and the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a big, fat muscle that separates the thoracic area from the abdominal area. When diaphragm moves down, chest and ribcage expand, bringing in air into the lungs. When diaphragm returns to the resting position, air is expelled from lungs. Every incoming breath brings in fresh oxygen into the system. When the oxygen comes in contact with the blood, it combines with the hemoglobin, and is carried to every cell, tissue and organ in the body. The fresh supply of blood energizes every cell of the body. At every cell, the phenomenon of “gas exchange” takes place. The arteries carry pure, oxygenated blood to every cell and the veins carry carbon dioxide and other toxins back to the lungs. The impure blood is carried to the lungs for purification. The CO2 gas is carried out of the system via exhalation.
Nasal functions and energy
The first “port of entry” for the incoming air that we breathe in is the nose. As you know, the nasal passage is filled with hair that act as a “filter” for the incoming air, filtering out all dust particles that are contained in the incoming air. The nasal cavity is lined with mucous membrane rich with blood vessels which enable the nose to warm and humidify incoming air quickly. Cells in the mucous membrane produce mucus and have tiny hairlike projections (cilia). The mucus traps incoming dirt particles, which are then moved by the cilia toward the front of the nose or down the throat to be removed from the airway. This action helps clean the air before it goes to the lungs. Sneezing automatically clears the nasal passages in response to irritation.
What is Prāṇāyāma?
Prāṇāyāma is a compound word in Sanskrit composed of ‘prāṇa’ + ‘āyāma’. Prana is the cosmic/universal life force which is responsible for keeping us ‘alive’. In India, when a person dies, rather than saying, “the person has died”, we say that ‘prāṇa’ has left the person’s body. The word ‘āyāma’ has two different meanings – to stretch/elongate/expand and to control/restrain. Breath is a gross manifestation of this prana. So, the word prāṇāyāma means the ability to expand or stretch our life force (prana) by controlling the breath. Prāṇāyāma techniques involve controlling the breath in a variety of ways. According to Sage Patanjali (sutra 2.50), “Modifications of the breath are either internal, external or stopped; when regulated by space, time and number, the breath becomes long and subtle”. In this context space represents either a specific point of focus within the body, e.g., lower spine, the left/right nostril, or one of the chakra locations; time means the duration of the breath and number means the number of inhalations, exhalations or retentions. Following these guidelines, a large number of breathing techniques have been documented in the Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā, and other ancient texts on Hatha Yoga. Over the years, many new techniques as well as different variations on the classical techniques have emerged and are widely practiced.
Prāṇāyāma is the fourth of the eight limbs of yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) as defined by Sage Patanjali. It provides a vital bridge between the body and the mind. By controlling the breath, one can control the mind. When a person is angry or agitated, his breath is fast, disturbed, and shallow. When a person is calm, his breath is soft and undisturbed. We often hear the phrase, “take a deep breath!” whenever we are upset over something. What yoga teaches us is that not only our emotions control the quality of our breath, but we can control the mind and our emotions by controlling the breath.
Prāṇāyāma in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
The following sutras in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali discuss prāṇāyāma:
(Sutra 2.49) – This having been established (that is, having mastered a comfortable and firm seated posture (asana), prāṇāyāma is defined as the cessation or control of inspiration and expiration.
(Sutra 2.50) – Its fluctuations are internal, external or suppressed; when observed according to time, place and number, and becomes prolonged and subtle.
(Sutra 2.51) – The fourth variety is the one that goes beyond the sphere of internal and external.
The benefits of Prāṇāyāma are discussed in the following two sutras:
(Sutra 2.52) – From that (practice of prāṇāyāma) is dissolved the covering of light (the darkness of ignorance that covers the light of knowledge)
(Sutra 2.53) – and the mind develops the ability for Dharana (concentration). Dharana, dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (total absorption) are the last three limbs of the eight limbs of yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) and represent a progressively deepening inward focus, leading finally to a state of samadhi.
In addition to the above sutras which are described as part of the Ashtanga Yoga, sutra 1.34 in chapter 1 (Samadhi Pada) also mentions about prāṇāyāma with respect to controlling the fluctuations of the mind (chitta vritti nirodhah):
(Sutra 1.34) – Or by the expiration and retention of breath (mind is stabilized).
As you’ll notice from the above sutras, Patanjali only provides underlying concepts of Prāṇāyāma. He does not give instructions about any specific prāṇāyāma techniques. Based on the basic guidelines provided by Patanjali, subsequent yogis were able to develop a large number of practices that one could integrate as a part of their yoga routine. The most well-known of the texts that provide specific techniques of Prāṇāyāma in the Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā. Some of the other texts include the Shiva Samhitā and the Gherand Samhitā.
Prāṇāyāma in Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā
In the Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā (a free online translation and commentary is available here), chapter two covers the topic of Shatkarma (six cleansing techniques) and Prāṇāyāma in detail. There are many shlokas which describe the philosophy and techniques of prāṇāyāma. Below are given a few of the representative shlokas related to prāṇāyāma:
(Shloka 2.1) – Thus being established in asana and having control of the body, taking balanced diet, prāṇāyāma should be practiced according to the instructions of the guru.
(Shloka 2.5) – When all the nadis and chakras have been purified, then the yogi is able to retain prana.
The following prāṇāyāma practices, including kumbhaka (breath retention) are mentioned:
- Nadi Shodhan (alternate nostril breathing)
- Kapalabhati
- Eight kumbhaka (breath retention) techniques: suryabhedi (piercing/activating the sun or the pingala nadi by inhaling through the right nostril), Ujjayi breath, Seetkari (inhale through the teeth making a slight hissing sound, Sheetali prāṇāyāma (cooling breath), Bhastrika (bellows breath), Bhramari (humming bee breath), Moorchha (swooning breath), Plavini (gulping breath)
In addition to the practices listed in the Pradīpikā, over the years, many more prāṇāyāma techniques have been introduced and are commonly practiced.
In the yoga classes that I teach, we practice a large number of prāṇāyāma techniques. However, not everyone can do all or most of these prāṇāyāmas on a regular basis. As such, to derive maximum benefit from our practice without spending too much time, I have come up with these six practices that I consider basic and should form a part of one’s daily yoga routine:
- Kapalabhati
- Bhastrika (bellows breath)
- Ujjayi prāṇāyāma
- Nadi Sanchalana (Rapid breathing)
- Bhramari (humming bee)
- Nadi Shuddhi (Alternate nostril breathing)
You may visit my blog here to get detailed instructions on these six practices. From time to time, I offer short, 14-day intensives, wherein the primary focus is the practice of prāṇāyāma. A list of all the prāṇāyāma practices that I teach in these courses is available on my blog here.
Benefits of Prāṇāyāma
The act of breathing provides exercise for the internal organs and muscles in various parts of the body. With the help of the prāṇāyāma practices, the exercise for the muscles gets enhanced, providing greater benefits.
The breathing that happens all the time is quite shallow and irrigates only the upper part of the lungs. Through the practice of prāṇāyāma techniques, we can learn how to breathe long and deep breaths that can irrigate the lowest part of the lungs. These deep breaths can oxygenate even the blood that normally stays stagnant at the lower part of the lungs due to the shallow nature of natural breathing. Thus, more blood can now carry fresh, oxygenated blood to various parts/cells body, energizing and reinvigorating the whole body.
Prana is the vital life energy. Individual prana is a part of the cosmic prana, the cosmic energy principle. Just like oxygen is distributed throughout the body by blood, prana is circulated to every part of the body via subtle carriers of energy called “nadis”. As per some of our ancient texts, there is a network of 72,000 nadis in our body. Every movement of the body or the thoughts utilizes this pranic energy.
The main sources of prana are the air that we breathe and the food that we intake. To enhance the quality of prana, we need to improve the quality of the food intake as well as improve the quality of breathing.
Below is a list of some of the commonly mentioned benefits of prāṇāyāma:
- Diaphragmatic breathing can help with hypertension, anxiety and stress
- Improves circulation of bodily fluids within the kidneys, stomach, liver, spleen, intestines, skin etc
- Improves the functioning of the lungs
- Helps achieve correct position, shape and tension in the kidneys
- Stimulate peristaltic and segmenting movements of intestines
- Re-engineer (rewire) brain’s neural network to control emotions better
- Helps maintain flow of pure blood
- Sweat glands stimulated
- Purifies the nadis (channels of subtle energy), protects organs and cells, energizes the system
- Improves digestion, vigor, vitality, perception and memory
- Helps achieve a state of ‘pratyahara’ (sense withdrawal), which helps in dharana (concentration) and meditation
Please visit my blog for more information on individual prāṇāyāma practices which includes the benefits and contraindications for each practice.
Recent Comments