Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 (Director of Yoga Teacher Training at Aura Wellness Center) guides you through Dirga Pranayama, with demonstrations by guest Yong Yang.
Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 (Director of Yoga Teacher Training at Aura Wellness Center) guides you through Dirga Pranayama, with demonstrations by guest Yong Yang.
By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500
Pranayama is the practice of breath control. Pranayama is an extremely important tool, when practiced in Yoga, which can harness one’s anxiety, reduce stress levels, and control energy flow. At the same time, controlling the flow of “prana” (vital energy), throughout one’s body, is important to maintain one’s emotional stability.
Each of us has been breathing since the day we were born. This practice is so basic, and natural, that we often overlook the power of a breath. Learning to practice pranayama cannot only help your emotions, but can also increase your mental strength and your decision-making process. However, when practicing pranayama, it is best to do so with caution. The more advanced and dynamic pranayama techniques should be practiced with the supervision of an experienced Yoga teacher.
Dirgha Pranayama
There are many different types of pranayama techniques. Each technique has its own set of benefits. One pranayama technique that helps relax the mind and body is known as Dirgha Pranayama (also known as: three part, sipping, or complete breath). To prepare for this exercise, sit with a straight back or lay down on your back.
Take long, slow, deep breaths, preferably through the nose, keeping them smooth and relaxed. With each breath – focus on relaxing your belly, with each inhale, and deflating a part of the trunk, with each exhale.
The reason English speaking Yoga practitioners commonly call Dirgha: “three part breath,” is the breathing emphasis on a specific area, which focuses on three compartments in the trunk of the body (the navel, solar plexus, and upper chest). When you inhale, you are prompted by your Yoga teacher to expand in one compartment at a time, starting with the navel, and finishing at the highest point in the lungs (upper chest).
If you are a Yoga teacher, it is easier to ask your new students to relax the stomach, than to expand it. Due to improper breathing, beginners have usually never worked on inhaling or exhaling from the bottom of the lungs, but they will have no difficulty expanding at the top, because they are accustomed to breathing only from the top of the lungs.
When students are prompted to exhale, the sequence of emphasis is in the reverse order (upper chest, solar plexus, and navel). The practitioner works on gently collapsing each compartment – one at a time. When emphasis is placed on the navel, it is drawn in toward the spine.
This completes one cycle of three parts inhale and three parts exhale. If you do not have a local Yoga teacher, it would be wise to observe this technique in videos before attempting it. If you are new to Yoga and pranayama, it is advised that you practice this technique slowly and gently.
Dynamic Yoga techniques are often seen on the cover of a magazine, or in a video. Photographs of “circus tricks” have always impressed people. However, the purpose of Dirgha pranayama is medicinal.
© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
To see our complete selection of Yoga teacher training courses, please feel free to visit the following link.
http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/Teacher-Courses/
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste!
By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500
When the first Yogi practiced pranayama (Yoga breathing) to silence the mind, the results must have seemed magical. At times, calming the mind seems to be a miracle. The mind chatters so much during the course of a day, by creating waves of random and senseless thoughts. Thank heaven for Yogic breathing techniques, which manage to connect the mind and body in complete harmony, and enable us to silence, focus, and calm the mind, in the process.
In the time spent living our day-to-day lives, we all have stress that we must deal with in a rational way. The way we deal with our stress triggers can have a profound impact on our lives. Chronic stress has negative effects on the body, such as high blood pressure, so it must be dealt with in a healthy way. Whether we incorporate pranayama into daily activities, or we practice them during a Yoga session, they can be powerful tools for quieting the mind’s worries and reducing one’s stress levels.
Pranayama Ratio for Rhythm Breathing
One breathing technique many Yoga enthusiasts practice is called, “rhythm breathing.” This is a way to focus on your inhale and exhale ratio. It is a great method for clearing the mind and energizing the body. To perform this exercise, sit or stand, in any comfortable position you choose. Find the rhythm of your natural breathing ratio. This may take some time, and it must be realized that your natural ratio may not be found in a book, because it is unique to your body and mind.
The typical ratio Yoga practitioners are taught to target is one part inhalation to two parts exhalation (1:2). What if you discover you naturally inhale for four seconds and exhale for five seconds (4:5)? Should you stress out over making your breath match a “cookie cutter” ratio? The short answer is: “Absolutely not.” No worries – just enjoy your breath, as if you were a child in a candy store. If you decide you want to lengthen your inhale, just quietly practice Ujjayi on the exhale. Suddenly, your exhale increases to seconds, or many seconds, longer. You can do this form of pranayama any time or during any stressful situation. Try to do this in the morning, and night, to prepare yourself for the stresses of the day, or relieve them from your mind before sleep.
Breath Awareness Technique
Another way to practice Yoga breathing to silence the mind is the “breath awareness” technique. It can be practiced anywhere as a de-stressor. To do this, sit or stand up straight. Close your eyes, or if you are in a public place, choose a soft point to focus your eyes on, such as a tree or picture on the wall. Inhale deeply and concentrate on fully expanding your stomach, filling your lungs with oxygen. As you exhale, gently draw your stomach toward your spine, and imagine pushing out all the negative thoughts that you store in your mind. Repeat as many times as you need, until you feel relaxed and in control.
Practicing these techniques, regularly, creates a healthier body and stronger mind. It is important to get in the habit of practicing deep, relaxing breathing, whenever you are in a tense situation or whenever you feel your heartbeat begin to quicken. You will be much better able to handle stress in the future, silence negative thoughts, and have a secret weapon to get through anything.
© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
To see our complete selection of Yoga teacher training courses, please feel free to visit the following link.
http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/Teacher-Courses/
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste!
By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500
The practice of pranayama affects the human body in very predictable ways. The Sanskrit word, “pranayama” literally means the control of our life energy (prana). Prana is a bright and lively form of energy that is more subtle than air. It can literally be defined as the substratum of energy that is the essence of the universe. The Yogic breathing practice of pranayama controls and cultivates our vital life energy, called “prana,” through concentrated breathing exercises of various rhythms, ratios, and sequences.
Through the steady practice of pranayama, it is possible to propel our life energy, and new oxygen, throughout the entire body. This practice revitalizes all of our organs, including our hearts and brains. It also helps to stabilize our endocrine system for optimal mental health and energy balance. Pranayama affects the human machine as a calculated method for balancing and revitalizing every cell in our bodies. It also helps to control stress and anxiety and all the attendant health issues these problems bring with them.
One of the primary benefits of a regular pranayama practice, for the human machine, is that it circulates newly oxygenated blood throughout the entire body. As the heart pumps more vigorously, fresh oxygen is propelled throughout your entire circulatory system, into every nook and cranny of your physical body.
Better blood circulation, throughout the brain, helps to support optimal cognitive functioning in the areas of memory and concentration. It also helps to lower cortisol and adrenalin levels, which in turn, helps to alleviate anxiety and depression. As the heart and lungs are exercised more vigorously, these critical organs also become stronger and more able to circulate freshly oxygenated blood throughout the entire body. This gives the Yogic pranayama practitioner a deep feeling of calm wellbeing, as well as a reserve of stable energy.
Pranayama is a system of Yogic breathing techniques, whereby the Yogi or Yogini consciously controls the rate, frequency, and ratio of his or her breathing patterns. Pranayama practices are said to purify all of the channels of energy in our physical and subtle bodies. The ultimate effects of regular pranayama practice are quite predictable in regard to one’s quality of life. As Yogic breath increases the quality and quantity levels of prana within our bodies, our energy levels rise.
Thus, our endocrine system is balanced, bringing about a sensation of overflowing with blissful wellbeing. A regular pranayama practice strengthens the heart and lungs, increasing cardiovascular health, and helping to lower blood pressure. If one values only the physical outcome of pranayama, it stands alone as the very best physical exercise in existence. Proper breathing is more important than any other form of exercise, due to the fact that we will only live a few minutes without breathing.
© Copyright 2011 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
To see our complete selection of Yoga teacher training courses, please feel free to visit the following link.
http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/Teacher-Courses/
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul
By Gopi Rao
There are a variety of Yoga pranayama techniques that alleviate stress. Some of the best pranayama techniques are Dirga pranayama and Ujjayi pranayama. These breathing techniques are also some of the more simple Yogic pranayama techniques with which to start practicing. Yogic asanas and breathing techniques are effective and natural ways to release muscular tension and lower stress levels.
Tension and stress accumulates in the body and mind, resulting in muscular tension and a rise in the levels of adrenalin and cortisol. High levels of cortisol and adrenalin are very useful in an emergency, but sustained high levels of these hormones wear the body down and eventually lower the functioning of the immune system. Consistently high levels of cortisol can also lead to lower levels of serotonin, depression and insomnia. It is important to release tension and stress periodically in order to maintain good mental and physical health.
Dirga Pranayama
This pranayama techniques is known as the three-part breath. It enhances deep, belly breathing and a full expansion of the lungs. Sit comfortably on your Yoga mat in a cross-legged position. If you prefer, you may lie down on your mat. Take three long, complete breaths, inhaling and exhaling for an even amount of time. Now, take a third of an inhale and hold the breath at the level of the lower belly or belly button area. Hold for approximately five seconds. Take another third of an inhale and hold the in-breath at the level of the lower rib cage for five seconds. For the third part of the breath, fill your lungs completely and hold at the base of your throat for five seconds. Try to make each inhale equivalent to each other. Exhale evenly and slowly through your nose for a count of fifteen. Repeat within the range of five to ten times. This breath will help to calm your mind, lower you anxiety level and increase your lung capacity.
Ujjayi Pranayama
Ujjayi breathing is known as the ocean-sounding breath. This breathing practice is done by partially closing the glottis or back of the throat as you inhale and exhale through the nose. One of the funniest and more accurate terms that I have heard of this breath is the “Darth Vadar Breath” from Star Wars. When the breath is done correctly, this is exactly how it sounds!
To begin Ujjayi pranayama, take three full and complete breaths through your nose. After the third exhale, gently contract the back of your throat so that there is some resistance to the air flowing in and out of your throat. Practice a few times with your mouth open to make sure you are contracting the back of your throat enough to make an ocean sound or Darth Vadar sound. Then practice Ujjayi breathing with your mouth closed. Take long, deep complete breaths through your nose for a slow count of five, exhale for an equal count of five and continue. You may practice this breathing technique alone, or as you do the asanas. It will help to soothe you, focus your mind and balance your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.
http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste!
By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 250
Good health depends on breathing properly. Improper breathing can cause problems that range from fatigue to high blood pressure, and even heart disease. Improper breathing can also increase the level of anxiety a person feels on a daily basis.
People who experience anxiety attacks can greatly reduce the number, severity, and length of the attacks by practicing Yoga and the breathing techniques (pranayama) that accompany it on a regular basis. As strange as it is to say, our societies have become too busy to even take the time to breathe correctly. Just a short session of Ujjayi pranayama would help most people.
Shallow breathing has become a hallmark of this busy world. Our health at the cellular level depends on a sufficient supply of oxygen. If our body does not receive the necessary oxygen, the body heightens its stress response, and this can also trigger anxiety attacks. Practicing Yoga regularly can help, and incorporating the methods into daily life can keep your attacks under your control or eliminate them.
When practicing Yoga postures (asanas), the muscles and skeletal system are stretch and relaxed. These soothing movements naturally create a sense of calmness in both the body and the mind. While any sort of physical exercise can help with anxiety, Yoga has the added benefit of specifically generating relaxation deep within the muscles while simultaneously toning them.
The breathing techniques of Yoga pranayama are implemented to create balance in the body. When this balance is interrupted due to improper breathing or the stress of everyday life, you tend to feel restless and constricted. This feeling of constriction tends to cause you to stress out more, breathe with more shallow gasps, and feel increasingly restless. It is a downward spiral. Action needs to be taken in order to stop the cycle, and Yoga is a positive habit to indulge in.
Practicing Yoga asanas a couple times per week will prove to be effective for keeping anxiety in check, but there are also subtle Yogic breathing techniques (pranayama) you can practice no matter where you are or what you are doing. Anxiety attacks are not considerate enough to emerge at a time when we are prepared for them. They may pop up at the office, in a traffic jam or during public transit. If you feel an anxiety attack coming on, breathe quietly, but deeply as you would during your Yoga practice.
Fill up your entire lung capacity as you breathe through your nose. Your abdomen, shoulders, and ribs, should all gradually expand. Then exhale, while theses areas of the body slowly collapse. Repeat this slow, steady, and rhythmic process several times with great focus.
It may be difficult to get into the habit of practicing pranayama if, or when, you on the edge of an anxiety attack, but you will notice a distinct difference as soon as you begin.
© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher certification courses, please visit the following link.
http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste!
By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500
Pranayama is an essential part of Yoga teacher training, as well as regular classes for students. Pranayama is a science within the larger science of Yoga. Although Yoga and pranayama have existed for thousands of years, their existence in the Western consciousness is a few hundred years old, at best.
Additionally, Yoga and Pranayama are interconnected. There are also internal and external martial arts systems, which practice forms of pranayama. Yet, most martial arts can track their lineage back to Yoga. The science of pranayama has evolved over thousands of years.
Pranayama is the fourth limb of Patanjali’s Yoga. Within the past few centuries, pranayama has become globally popular, due to its healing properties. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is believed to have been written in the 15th century. The Gheranda-Samhita is said to have been written in the late 17th century. Both of the above-mentioned texts give details concerning a variety of pranayama techniques for healing.
Within the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, instructions are given for Surya Bhedan, Ujjayi, Sitkari, Sitali, Bhastrika, Bhramari, Murchha, and Plavini. Kapalabhati is covered just a little earlier, in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, under the instructions for the Shatkarmas. Yet, the exact origin of pranayama is still unclear.
It is said that Brahman priests developed pranayama for oral transmission of the Vedas. The Vedas are a compilation of prayers and hymns. The Vedas took shape in written form, approximately 4,000 years ago. Long before the Vedas were put in writing, Brahman priests carried the message in their minds.
Considering the size of the Vedas, to recite them from memory, requires a sharp mind and amazing breath control. To this day, pranayama is still practiced during pooja, and while reciting the Vedas. Prayers and hymns are found in every religion. Therefore, anyone, of any religion, could practice pranayama, while saying their daily prayers for deeply spiritual inspiration.
Outside of India, pranayama is not often practiced during prayer. Pranayama’s value for stress reduction, general health, and asana practice, are well known. Many different types of athletes practice pranayama to enhance their physical performance. Expectant mothers practice pranayama in natural child birth and prenatal classes.
Regulation of breath control has many different purposes. Any time is a good time to control one’s breath. No matter how many times we practice breath awareness, one stressful situation can cause us to lose control of our breathing. When we have no control over our breathing, our blood pressure may also follow suit. When breath is out of control, the mind will also be out of balance.
The practice of pranayama is a time-tested method, which continues to progress as we record changes and results. Yoga teachers would do a great service, to future generations, by recording notes regarding results they have observed, due to the regular practice of pranayama techniques and other Yogic methods. For the sake of privacy, it is best not to record names, but notes create a written record of progress.
© Copyright 2011 – Paul Jerard / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
In February, we will be introducing our New Yoga Sutras course with 7 CDs, 336 page workbook, 51 cards, instructions, and a bonus 89 page e-Book.
To see our complete selection of Yoga teacher certification courses, please feel free to visit the following link.
http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/Teacher-Courses/
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul
By Gopi Rao
Let’s learn to reach complete relaxation with pranayama for 2011. There are various objectives of Yogic breathing, which we know as Pranayama. Some people practice pranayama to heal, for happiness, to connect the mind and body, or for the power of great health that results. Pranyama is the unsung hero of Yoga. Very underrated in comparison to asana, pranayam humbily develops mind, body, and spirit.
My Guru, Paulji, states: “If you think you don’t have time to relax, you need to relax right now.” It’s so true that we try to avoid everything good by making excuses about the time. If we are stressed, we think we don’t have enough time for anything. Below are some ideas for complete Yoga relaxation with pranayama.
Complete relaxation can be an established daily practice of 10 to 30 minutes. The devotion to this amazing Yoga practice makes one clear headed focused, sharp, energised relaxed happy, and satisfied with everything that life has to offer.
On the positive side, the usages of dynamic pranayam like Kapalabhati and Bhastrika gives one the feeling of absolute bliss. Even the silent pranayamas for a few minutes give a seasoned practitioner instant relief. One who has followed and been taught by Gurus in an Ashram on a daily basis has learned to master pranayama for spontaneous relaxation.
Only a minority of adults in this world breathe with full efficiency and for maximum healthful effect. Young children, unlike adults breathe more effectively but once they are subjected to social pressures and tensions they develop the faulty respiratory habits of their parents, principally shallow high chest breathing.
If great numbers of people have lost the technique of using respiratory muscles and lungs with adequate elasticity, the result can only be destructive to health. The bloodstream is not being fully purified and oxygenated, nor is food being adequately burned the body to provide energy, it also goes a long way to explaining the prevalence of fatigue, headaches and neurasthenia in civilised life.
The Yogic technique of breathing deeply, for great numbers of people has to be relearned, and shallow upper-chest inhalation replaced by diaphragmatic and abdominal breathing of the kind visible in sleeping infants.
Adults need to practice alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana) or victorious breath (Ujjayi) daily. The daily sessions of Yoga breathing increase vital capacity, energise the mind, exercise the lungs and the respiratory muscles, oxygenates and purifies the blood stream, removes phlegm, cleanse the sinuses and the nadis, soothe and tones the chest, improve digestion, massage the abdominal viscera, and calms the mind.
In addition, the regular programme of pranayama brings states of pure relaxation and bliss. The Yogi or Yogini experiences success in establishing healthful breathing habits. Pranayama brings courage calmness, and serenity to the mind. Meditation is mastered easily and concentration on the breath, brings about tranquility within the mind to reach higher stages of consciousness.
HAPPY NEW YEAR and NAMASTE!
© Copyright 2011 – Gopi Rao / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
By Sanjeev Patel, CYT 500
Even breathing is a foundational pranayama technique to learn and practice before students go on to advanced forms of pranayama. Where should we start? Savasana is a good place to learn one of the most important skills in yoga, smooth and even breathing.
When you are relaxed and breathing nasally and abdominally, it is easy to inhale evenly, smoothly merge the inhalation into the exhalation, but if you do so for any length of time the diaphragm will have relaxed completely during the pause and you may find that you are starting your next inhalation with a jerk. The best prevention for that disturbance is to begin your inhalation consciously just as exhalation ends.
Many of the principles underlying even abdominal breathing apply to even diaphragmatic breathing as well. Make sure there are no jerks in your breath. This is more difficult in diaphragmatic breathing than it is in abdominal breathing because the process is more complex and you are constantly monitoring the tension in your abdomen. Until you get accustomed to doing this, it may create slight disruptions during inhalations.
Be careful that you are not creating a pause at the end of inhalation. This is less of a problem in diaphragmatic breathing than it is in abdominal breathing because the additional tension in the abdomen (as well as the focus of mental attention at the junction of the chest and abdomen) keeps the diaphragm in a state of tension well into exhalation. Be even more watchful that you are not creating a pause at the end of exhalation.
As with abdominal breathing, it is important to assist exhalation with the abdominal muscles, causing that part of the cycle to slow, smoothly and naturally into the inhalation. As inhalation proceeds, however, there is an important difference between abdominal and diaphragmatic breathing, during abdominal breathing, the abdominal muscles facilitate even breathing only at the beginning of inhalation, but during diaphragmatic breathing, they remain active throughout inhalation so that their isometric tension can force the diaphragm to spread its costal attachment laterally and enlarge the rib cage.
Breathe through your nose and try not to create noise. If your breathing is noisy, you may have to work with cleansing, diet, allergies and breathing exercises to solve the problem, but this is essential. Noisy breathing will distract your mind as long as it lasts.
Observe in your mind’s eye, the elliptical nature of the breathing cycle. Smoothly decelerate your rate of inhalation and merge it into exhalation exactly as you would round off an ellipse at the top of a chalkboard. Smoothly accelerate your exhalation under the control of your abdominal muscles as you draw the chalk down the ellipse, smoothly decelerate your exhalation and merge it into the inhalation as you carry your mark around the bottom of the ellipse.
Until you have mastered even breathing do not try to lengthen your inhalations and exhalations. A 2 second inhalation and a 2 second exhalation is fine, or a little faster or slower. The longer you try to make the cycle, the more difficult it is to make it even. So be completely natural at first without thinking of trying to accomplish anything. After several months of practice you can slowly work up to making your breaths longer, so long as you are still not jerking, pausing or making noise.
If you are taking fewer than six breaths per minute, you will be adding a thoracic component to diaphragmatic breathing, which means that you are activating the external intercostal muscles concentrically, especially toward the end of inhalation. You will also be pressing more insistently with the abdominal muscles to lengthen the exhalation. And if you carry this to an extreme, going slowly, you will finally approach breathing your vital capacity with each cycle of exhalation and inhalation. This is the complete breath.
Hari Om Tat Sat
© Copyright 2010 – Sanjeev Patel / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
Sanjeev Patel is a certified Yoga teacher and an exclusive author for Aura Wellness Center.
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste!
By Dr. Rita Khanna
The process of inhaling Pranashakti (Energy associated with Prana) and exhaling it out is called Pranayama. This Pranashakti can be achieved through the control of respiration. There are certain functions of the human body, which are both voluntary and involuntary.
For example: The action of the heart, the movements of the stomach and the intestines are involuntarily – influenced by emotions – and are normally beyond voluntary control. We cannot stop or modify them at will. The excretion of urine and feces, on the other hand, is partly voluntary and partly involuntary. One gets the urge for passing urine or stool, but we can still control it through willpower.
In the same way, the act of respiration, and the process of thinking and emotion, is also both voluntary and involuntary. It is the movement of lungs that produces the breath, and it is the Prana that moves the lungs. By diligently practicing the nerves and the muscles that control the process of breathing, it can be controlled at will. So Pranayama means not control of breath, but the control of the energy or force that controls the breath.
LUNG VOLUMES AND CAPACITIES
• The tidal volume (TV), about 500 ml, is the amount of air inspired during normal relaxed breathing.
• The inspiratory reserve volume (IRV), about 3,100 ml, is the additional air that can be forcibly inhaled, after the inspiration of a normal tidal volume.
• The expiratory reserve volume (ERV), about 1,200 ml, is the additional air that can be forcibly exhaled, after the expiration of a normal tidal volume.
• Residual volume (RV), about 1,200 ml, is the volume of air still remaining in the lungs, after the expiratory reserve volume is exhaled.
SUMMING SPECIFIC LUNG VOLUMES AND THE LUNG CAPACITIES:
• The total lung capacity (TLC), about 6,000 ml, is the maximum amount of air that can fill the lungs (TLC = TV + IRV + ERV + RV).
• The vital capacity (VC), about 4,800 ml, is the total amount or air that can be expired after fully inhaling (VC = TV + IRV + ERV = approximately 80% TLC).
• The inspiratory capacity (IC), about 3,600 ml, is the maximum amount of air that can be inspired (IC = TV + IRV).
• The functional residual capacity (FRC), about 2,400 ml, is the amount of air remaining in the lungs, after a normal expiration (FRC = RV + ERV).
• Some of the air in the lungs does not participate in gas exchange (150ml). Such air is located in the anatomical dead space, within bronchi and bronchioles—that is, outside the alveoli.
• The instrument that is used to measure the volume of air, inspired and expired by the lungs is called spirometer.
MUSCLES INVOLVED IN BREATHING
The main muscle of respiration is the diaphragm. Other muscles that aid in respiration include the external intercostals, scalenes, sternomastoids, abdominal muscles, and internal intercostals.
Diaphragm
In quiet, gentle inhalation, the diaphragm contracts, lowering air pressure inside the lungs and drawing air in. When exhaling quietly, the diaphragm relaxes and the pressure reverses, expelling air.
External Intercostals
The external intercostals are in between the ribs. During active inhalation, they expand the rib cage laterally, anteriorly, and posteriorly.
Scalenes/Sternomastoids
These are the shrugging muscles. They serve to lift the sternum and the upper ribs during active inhalation.
Abdominal Wall
In active exhalation, the muscles of the abdominal wall–rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and transverse abdominis–contract, raising abdominal pressure. This, in turn, raises the diaphragm, raising pressure in the lungs and expelling air.
Internal Intercostals
The internal intercostals are deep to the external intercostals. Like their counterparts, they draw the ribs in, expelling air during active exhalation.
VERTICAL BREATHING (DIAPHRAGM BREATHING)
The vertical breathing is called diaphragmatic breathing and is considered a more efficient way to inhale air. It is also called Yogic breathing. Yogic breathing is more a vertical breathing than horizontal breathing. By this vertical breathing, all the alveoli (the functional units of lungs), of both lungs, open out evenly. Due to the even expansion of all the alveoli, a vast expanse of alveolar membrane is available for exchange of gases.
There are totally about 700 million alveoli in the two lungs of an adult human being. This effect is more obvious in the apical, central and basal alveoli. This surface is about 50 square meters in extent, which is 20 times the entire body surface. The larger the surface, available for the process of diffusion, the better would be the process of breathing.
HORIZONTAL BREATHING
In horizontal breathing, the alveoli, toward the periphery, expand more than optimum, while the centrally placed alveoli do not open out properly. This affords a lesser, and uneven surface, for diffusion of gases. If some alveoli remain unopened, they get stuck. There is a collection of secretion in them, and they are prone to disease formation. Moreover, if the peripheral alveoli open wider than is preferable, they lose their elasticity.
The interalveolar walls (the wall, which unites, as well as separates, two contiguous pulmonary alveoli) may be broken, damaging the capillaries and leading to diseases like emphysema or pulmonale. (Capillaries are the smallest of blood vessels. They serve to distribute oxygenated blood from arteries to the tissues of the body and then feed deoxygenated blood from the tissues back into the veins).
PRANAYAMAS
Anulom-viloma (alternate nostrils), Ujjayi, Sheetali, and Sheetkari Pranayamas promote vertical breathing. In all these Pranayamas, we have seen that inspiration is done slowly and deeply, as much as possible. When we take the breath in, the lungs are expanded considerably and walls of the alveoli are stretched maximum. Therefore the alveoli in the upper pulmonary part are filled with air completely.
This has a beneficial effect on the gaseous exchange, which then works efficiently throughout the day. When we breathe out slowly, through one nostril only, (as in Ujjayi or Anulom-viloma) or through both the nostrils, by contracting the glottis partially at the same time, (another variety of Ujjayi) the exhalatory force is reduced, and the air is allowed to escape slowly. This helps in prolonging the exhalation and reducing the force of the outgoing air.
To feel the pressure of the inspired air in the lungs, and to experience the stillness of the mind during retention, or emptiness of the lungs while exhaling, one should do Pranayamas, with concentration and awareness. In short, during the practice of Pranayama, one tackles all the respiratory reflexes, on account of our volitional control on the respiration.
AUM SHANTI
If you feel inspired by this article, feel free to publish it in your Newsletter or on your Website. Our humble request is to please include the Resource as follows: -
Courtesy: Dr. Rita Khanna’s Yogashaastra Studio.
A popular studio that helps you find natural solutions for complete health.
Mobile: + 919849772485
Ph:-91-40-65173344
Dr. Rita Khanna
Dr. Rita Khanna is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy. She was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (India).
She believes firmly that Yoga is a scientific process, which helps us to lead a healthy and disease-free life. She is also actively involved in practicing alternative medicines like Naturopathy. Over the years, she has been successfully practicing these therapies and providing succour to several chronic and terminally ill patients through Yoga, Diet and Naturopathy. She is also imparting Yoga Teachers Training.
At present, Dr. Rita Khanna is running a Yoga Studio in Secunderabad (Hyderabad, India).