8 Reasons
to Practice Yogic Breathing (Pranayama)
Yogic breathing or Pranayama refers to ‘Prana’ (energy, breath
or life force) and ‘ayama’ or expansion of this energy and awareness. This
implies that pranayama aids in the expansion of one’s consciousness beyond
previous limits of the conditioned mind. It allows us to think outside of the
box.
We know that breathing is the primary function required to
sustain life, yet we somehow seem to miss this in the whirlwind storm of daily
traffic, family life, health issues and so forth. How often do we stop to
notice the patterns and flow of breath during our working day?
Classical Hatha Yoga has been codified and divided into 8 distinct limbs and pranayama
has been considered by many to be the crucial limb which helps bind this yogic
wheel. It greatly improves circulation and therefore physical, mental and
emotional well being. Let’s fall in to this ancient code to see our 8 reasons
revealed like a magical formula.
1 Social and 2 Personal Ethics – are developed through yogic
practice. All that we think and feel relates to our breathing. We see this to
be true when we observe breathing patterns under different circumstances. When
angry, sad, depressed, anxious or fearful; all of these will manifest slightly
different breathing patterns which demonstrate the underlying mental and
emotional imbalances by way of a concurrent physical imbalance as opposed to a
complete, smooth and seemingly effortless breath. When our breath is calm and deep our mind
becomes clear, enabling us to see our deepest recesses and choose right conduct,
such as ‘non violence’ and ‘contentment’ over violence (like ‘aggressive horn blowing’)
and constant craving for sensory pleausres.
3 Postures – when we practice yogic breathing regularly it greatly enhances
our core awareness, increasing strength and mobility in the
physical core (pelvic floor, abdomen and spine) which naturally correspond to
our mental and emotional core counterparts. If we walk/sit tall, we feel alert
and confident. When the spine is well
aligned and balanced, deep and natural breathing return to us and this allows
the brain to receive a plentiful supply of oxygen to keep the body happy in
life’s symbiotic dance.
4. The fourth limb is pranayama itself. Let’s assume the old
saying ‘take a breath and count to 10’ and see how much weight this carries. Of
course the saying comes from the experience that pausing during breathing
creates; what the Quantum Physicist calls SpaceTime.
When stressed we feel compressed and unable to fathom how to cope and meet
demands. Then after a few minutes of breathing and pausing we see the world
with renewed perspective as the conscious breathing brings us in to the present moment.
We know that we can only do one thing at a time and see clearly which task is
most pressing, dealing with it calmly. By maintaining this awareness of
regulated breathing we are able to preserve focus for extended periods of time,
often way beyond our previous norm.
5. Sense Withdrawal is the 5th limb and this is
where sustained awareness of breathing
enables us to further withdraw our attention away from our 5 senses and the
disturbances of the buzzing world back in to our core so that we can remain centred
at all times. By preserving our nervous energy which we so
easily lose through our 5 senses, we maintain sufficient energy to see that we are the ‘eye’ of the storm, our own
centre of gravity, attracting to us all that we need when we really need it.
6. Concentration follows as the next limb. It is a given that
if we maintain a constant flow of breath for extended periods of time we will develop a
laser-beam-like-mind. To put this another way, when we start to
practice breathing techniques, we often see that our body, breath, senses and
mind are all erratic and dispersed and that although we think we are sharp, our
ability to hold the thread of attention is actually quite poor. To succeed at
anything in this life, we need to concentrate and maintain our focus of
intention with attention.
Meditation and Absorption are the 7th and 8th
benefits of regular yogic breathing practice. To meditate is where ‘you
disappear in to the music’ and to prolong this ability to meditate eventually
leads one to final freedom or Absorption.
The
practitioner becomes fear free, ever joyful and sees themself as one with all
existence.
Breathe
A breath
at a time.
Breath
after breath
And moment
by moment
Enjoy.
Matt Gluck – Pranasana Yoga – 7th January 2015
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