Pranayama

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Pranayama ( Sanskrit , m., प्राणायाम, prāṇāyāma ) is the fourth limb of Raja Yoga (or Ashtanga Yoga or Kriya Yoga ) according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and describes the bringing together of body and mind through breathing exercises. The other seven limbs of Raja Yoga are Yama , Niyama , Asana , Pratyahara , Dharana , Dhyana and Samadhi .

“ Prana ” is a name for the life energy (compare also Qi ); "Ayama" can be translated as "control" or "expand". The term “Pranayama” describes the conscious regulation and deepening of breathing through mindfulness and constant practice. Since breathing is the carrier of life energy, Prana can also be translated as “breath” - but in its original usage the term has a wider range of meanings. Constant concentration on the processes of breathing and consciously executed breathing techniques can influence the processes of consciousness . Similar effects are also observed with numerous meditation and relaxation techniques .

Description and context

In pranayama practice, consciously applied techniques replace the normally unconscious breathing patterns over longer periods of practice. There are different techniques, each of which involves working with different muscle groups, especially the diaphragm , as well as chest, abdominal and pelvic floor muscles . In this way, breathing movements can be controlled. As the first result of the practice, the sensitivity for the inner processes of breathing increases - and unconscious, habitual breathing patterns can become conscious. In the human organism there is a close relationship between cognitive and physiological processes. Emotional states can be demonstrated physiologically in the muscle tone , and direct connections between physical and psychological changes and changes in breathing can also be observed. For example, fear leads to shallower and faster breathing, or fright to sudden involuntary inhalation and holding of breath. In most cases, unconscious emotional patterns of the psyche are also linked to certain unconscious breathing patterns - these can lose their compulsive character due to an improved awareness of breathing. In this way, established habitual patterns of the organism can be gently made accessible to conscious change. The practice of breathing can thus be seen as a link between processes of the body and mental processes. In yoga , therefore, the practice of pranayama traditionally has great importance. Pranayama can be described as one of the oldest forms of breathing therapy , the origins go back to the Upanishads .

Abdominal breathing in particular plays an important role in yoga. Physiologically speaking, one can distinguish three types of breathing:

Pranayama exercises

There are over 50 specific pranayama techniques and forms, including:

  • Anuloma Viloma Pranayama - "alternating breathing", also known under the name Nadi Shodhana (" Nadi purification").
  • Kapalabhati Pranayama - "fire breathing" or "shining skull", a purification technique ( Shatkriya ).
  • Bhastrika Pranayama - Kapalabhati with additional breath position, "bellows breathing" ( also called Agni Prasana in Kundalini Yoga ).
  • Bhramari Pranayama - "Humming of the bees" - when you breathe out, you hum.
  • Sama Vritti Pranayama - "even breathing" - all parts of the breathing (inhalation, exhalation and breath holding) are held for the same length.
  • Shitali Pranayama - “Cooling Breathing” - a technique performed through the mouth in which the tongue is curled up.
  • Shitkari Pranayama - "Cooling Breathing" - technique performed through the mouth for people who cannot curl their tongues.
  • Surya Bhedana Pranayama & Chandra Bhedana Pranayama - One-sided inhalation and exhalation, beginning on the right it is identified with the sun ( Surya ) and on the left it begins with the moon ( Chandra ).
  • Ujjayi Pranayama - also known as "narrow breathing" or "oceanic breathing".

Effects

If the various exercises of Pranayama are practiced regularly, the breathing volume is increased and the breath becomes longer and finer (Sanskrit: "dirgha" and "sukshma" ( Yoga Sutras , Chapter II, Sutra 50)). Sometimes there is natural (effortless) breathing (Sanskrit: "Kevala Kumbhaka"). From a physical point of view, such fine, very slow breathing results in an almost turbulence-free, laminar air flow in the airways and bronchi , which optimizes the biochemical gas exchange processes in the lungs . Various medical studies have shown that regular, slow pranayama breathing leads to positive effects, such as: B. reduced oxygen demand , lower pulse and blood pressure , as well as effects on the skin conductance , increased amplitudes of theta waves in the EEG , increased activity of the parasympathetic nervous system , accompanied by a feeling of alertness and energization.

Patanjali already stated in his Yoga Sutras that distractions of the mind are associated with restless breathing (Chapter I, Sutra 31) and that breath control can bring the mind to concentration (Chapter I, Sutra 34). Exhalation, inhalation and pauses in breathing are brought into a certain relationship to one another in pranayama. When carried out sensitively, this leads to a change in the activities of the mind and, with regular practice, can bring about a profound transformation of consciousness and an increasing sensitivity to subtle life activities.

See also

literature

Web links

proof

  1. ↑ Search results for "prana". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Search results for "Ayama". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Ravinder Jerath, John W. Edry, Vernon A. Barnes, Vandna Jerath: Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system. In: Medical Hypotheses. Vol. 67, No. 3, 2006, pp. 566-571, PMID 16624497 , doi : 10.1016 / j.mehy.2006.02.042 .