Understand Pranayama in Depth

Why Pranayama?

Before we introduce what is Pranayama, let us understand the short and long term benefits of of that spiritual practice. Why it is the next logical step in Yoga Practice. Here they are:

• Well being of the Physical Body
• Joyful thoughts
• A calm and focused mind
• Stress-free life
• Clarity of Purpose and direction

What if we tell you that doing Pranayama would only take 30 minutes a day and no special equipment and can be done at home to produce all the above-mentioned effects!

What is Pranayama?

The definition of Pranayama is that it is the art and science of yogic breathing techniques.

First of all breathing is one of the most important and intricate activities we engage in without realizing that we are doing it. While. the subconscious mind puts this activity on autopilot we still can control it by will. Consequently the science of breath control was developed by sages in the ancient times.

The breath mirrors our emotions

The Yogic Breathing is to put ‘dhyana’ or the conscious mind to our breathing & its patterns. Certainly you must be thinking, what is a breathing pattern? Every emotional state we experience has a corresponding pattern of breathing associated with it. Even the elemental rhythm of our heartbeat intimately connects with the action of our lungs. When we are happy, we have a specific breathing pattern and when we are sad, we exibit another one. The same holds true for all emotional states of ours.

The meaning of Pranayama

If we take a closer look closer to the word Pranayama, we see that it is a Sanskrit word consisting of two halves. The words “Prana” and “Ayama”. They are mostly translated into “mastery of the life force”, or sometimes, “removal of obstacles to free the flow of life force.” In Yoga, the life force, known as prana, refers to the energy that animates, controls, and permeates the world in and around us. Digesting our food, changing our heart rate in response to exercise, and fighting off infections are all highly complex and variable tasks. But each of them happens spontaneously, effortlessly, and automatically through the functions of prana. Similarly, this same force is behind great migrations, the interdependence of species, and the changing of seasons among many others.

Breathing Practice & Benefits

Now, let us understand it in practice. Pranayama is as easy to practice as our next breath. There are many asanas of breathing execises and below listed are few of the essential ones.

Simple Breath Awareness Kapalabhati
Nadi Shodhana
Ujjayi
Bharamri

Finally an experienced teacher will advise you to do certain practices and specific numbers of repetitions. As a result we can participate in the nearly unlimited intelligence of the life force so that we can share in its capacities. Pranayama provides three main benefits to the practitioner.

Physical Benefits
Psychological Benefits
Spiritual Benefits

At Vedic Yoga Academy, we place a lot of importance at Pranayama. We are among the very few Yoga Schools in the world which provide focused Pranayama Teacher Training to the ones seeking deeper understanding. Read more details here.