Thursday, March 20, 2014

Pranayam


Practically speaking a person can live without all other sensory organs but life is impossible in the absence of Pran. The mind and sensory organs function only because of Pran. Controlling(sadhna) of vital life force is Pranayam. According to an estimate our lungs take in 180-200 cubic inches. When we inhale we take in 30 cubic inches air and exhale the same amount. So around 150 cubic inches of air remains in the lungs all the time. If we take a deep long breath we can inhale and exhale up to 100 cubic inches of air. With pranayam we can make major part of the air present in the lungs active in the breathing cycle. If the residual air in the lungs gets purified the food is digested properly, the body organs become stronger and the body as a whole is cleaned. Whatever food we eat comes in contact with oxygen i.e. inhaled in the process of respiration. The oxidation process yields several important compounds that are useful for the body. The carbon present in the food becomes carbon dioxide. It mixes with nitrogen, and other elements present in the food and is thrown out when we exhale. Phosphorous present in the food comes in contact with oxygen and becomes phosphate, which builds bones in our body. The short, incomplete and the shallow respiration is generally fast and the person with fast rate of breathing does not live long whereas longer(deeper the breath) the breathing cycle and slower the rate of breathing, the longer is the life. It is because of this tortoise leads a long life up to 200 years or even more because they take three to five breaths in a minute whereas Pigeon, pigs and other animals take 34-37 breaths per minute and live for 10-12 years. Humans take 15 breaths in a minute and by practicing pranayam they can increase the life span with good physical and mental health.
In bhastrika pranayam, we sit in any comfortable posture and inhale till diaphragm is full and exhale with full force. It should be done in accordance to individual capacity and his medical condition-in three different modes: slow, medium and fast. While practicing Bhastrika Pranayam we should think that vital life energy is entering inside our body. Pranayam done with auspicious and positive thoughts is very effective.
Kapal means brain and Bhati means light. The Pranayam that brings light, glow, shine on the forehead is called Kapalbhati. Here the emphasis is laid on exhaling with full force. In this Pranayam, we do not try to inhale the air but air enters automatically while exhaling. The stomach contracts and expands automatically and force is exerted on Mooladhar, Manipur chakra and Swadhisthan. It should be practiced at least for five minutes daily and should think that air that we are breathing out is taking away with it all the diseases present in the body. One should remove the negative feelings such as attachment, lust, anger, greed, jealousy, hatred etc and should feel that our body is getting rid of all these diseases and a positive energy is entering then it has positive impact of this pranayam
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