Pranayama is control of Breath . "Prana" is Breath or vital energy in the body. On subtle levels prana represents the pranic energy responsible for life or life force, and "ayama" means control. So Pranayama is "Control of Breath". One can control the rhythms of pranic energy with pranayama and achieve healthy body and mind. Patanjali in his text of Yoga Sutras mentioned pranayama as means of attaining higher states of awareness; he mentions the holding of breath as important practice of reaching Samadhi. Hatha Yoga also talks about 8 types of pranayama which will make the body and mind healthy. Five types of prana are responsible for various pranic activities in the body, they are Prana, Apana, Vyan, Udana & Samana. Out of these Prana and Apana are most important. Prana is upward flowing and Apana is downward flowing. Practice of Pranayama achieves the balance in the activities of these pranas, which results in healthy body and mind.
Breathing is a vital process which starts at the time of
birth and stops at the death. The important Oxygen is provided to all the
parts, organs and cells of the body. The maximum time a person can survive
without oxygen is about 4 minutes. All the metabolic processes require oxygen.
Oxygen is life, a vital force. This vital energy is called Prana.
The process of controlling the Prana is called Pranayama. So
pranayama is the science related to vital force supplying energy and
controlling the body mind complex. Breathing is the process of taking in this
vital energy and removing the waste products out of our body and mind.
Generally breathing includes inhalation and exhalation but pranayama includes
retention of breath (known as 'Kumbhaka' in Sanskrit) as well. This is a very
important process. The air can be retained in the lungs or out of the lungs.
The ancient texts say that retention of air, increases the level of prana
(energy) in the body, also it regulates the flow of pranic energy through out
the body. So pranayama helps remove all the ailments and also can stop the
aging process of the body.
All the processes and organs like heart, brain, digestive
organs, endocrine glands in the body have rhythms. Also the breathing has
specific rhythms. Pranayama is Rhythmic breathing, bringing the breath in
natural rhythm by controlling the process of inhalation, exhalation and
retention.
In process of breathing, one uses diaphragm, intercostals
muscles in the chest. The diaphragmatic breathing is called vertical breathing
and is considered a more efficient way to inhale air than inhaling while
expanding the chest which is called horizontal breathing...
In pranayama, one should utilize the diaphragm efficiently to get more oxygen without making more efforts. The diaphragm is attached to the organs like heart and lings, also the liver, spleen, pancreas and stomach from the bottom side. Efficient movement of the diaphragm makes the functioning of these organs more efficient.
In pranayama, one should utilize the diaphragm efficiently to get more oxygen without making more efforts. The diaphragm is attached to the organs like heart and lings, also the liver, spleen, pancreas and stomach from the bottom side. Efficient movement of the diaphragm makes the functioning of these organs more efficient.
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