One of the most misunderstood and most important areas of yoga is pranayama.  Pranayama comes from two root words: 1)Prana- meaning life force or primal energy 2) Yama- meaning control or restraint.  Often pranayama is taught to mean only breathing exercises, but it is so much more than that.  While it is true that pranayama is breathing exercises, the actual goal of the breathing exercises is to develop control over the pranic (life-force) energy of the mind and body.

 

                In some of the ancient yogic texts the first form created from Divinity was prana.  While focusing on the breath the mind becomes conscious of this primal form of all matter.  This leads to the realization of our true identity. This identity is known as the Soul, which in some ancient texts or philosophical systems is called Atman or Purusha. By cultivating awareness of Atman (Soul), we begin to identify with our infinite potential and awareness instead of with the finite or ego-limiting perceptions of ourselves. This is called the process of self-realization. This process takes time and is created through many small self-realizations that we all experience as we grow as a person.  Most people do not realize that so much can be achieved from the breath.

 

On a more practical level, in case your goal is not total self-realization or liberation, the breath still has an important role in your life. Numerous studies have documented a link between the breath and brain wave activity. The vast majority of people breathe using only the upper one-third of their lungs. This causes brain wave activity to increase, which causes our bodies to feel more tense and suffer more from stress that we encounter daily. One way to keep this syndrome from happening is by using a technique called the complete breath, which is also known as diaphramatic breathing. You can easily and at will, with practice, slow the brain wave activity so that the mind is more focused and more relaxed at the same time. Not only is this technique a powerful tool against stress, it will also gently begin to cleanse the nasal passages which could help those that suffer from allergies.  It can be used in any situation and at any time without anyone knowing what you are doing.

 

The technique is quite simple:

 

1.        Place your hand on your navel.  As you inhale, through the nose, feel that you are pulling the breath all the way to bottom of the lungs and filling them from the bottom up.  As this is occurring the navel should be moving out, away from the spine.

2.        Hold the breath for 1-2 seconds.

3.        Exhale, through the nose, pulling the navel in toward the spine.

4.        Immediately move to step one and start the inhalation.

 

This should be initially practiced for only a few minutes, gradually increasing to 5 minutes.  There are numerous variations that produce different effects.  Those are best studied with a qualified Yoga teacher.

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