PRANAYAMA - KAPALBATI, BHASTRIKA, BHRAMARI

     The most important and essential pranayamas are ;

                      ✦ Kapal bati

                      ✦ Bhastrika

                      ✦ Anulom vilom or nadi suddhi

                      ✦ Bhramari

   Anulom vilom is already explained, click here

 In this article other three pranayamas are explained in detail.   

KAPALBATI:

          ✦ Known as forehead shining breath.

          ✦ Makes our breath longer and stronger.

          ✦ Clears our nasal passage

          ✦ In normal breathing , active inhalation and passive exhalation happens.

          ✦ Here opposite of what mentioned above happens that is, passive inhalation and active exhalation

          ✦ Procedure:

                👉 Sit straight with spine erect in sukhasana or in padmasana.

                👉 Keep hands in dhiyan mudra.

                👉 Take a deep breath in. Actively exhale don't worry about inhalation. Our body is wired to keep us alive, so exhalation will automatically happen.

                👉 Practice 3 rounds. Each round should include 50 breaths.

 BHASTRIKA:

          ✦ Known as bellows breath.

          ✦ Provides a balance of body and mind.

          ✦ Clears our nasal passage.

          ✦ It alings our body movement with our breath.

          ✦ By practising this we can able to known how to aling our breath while doing other asanas.

          ✦ Here we have to do active inhalation and active exhalation.

          ✦ Procedure:

                 👉 Sit in sukhasana or in padmasana with spine erect.

                 👉 Keep your hands in dhiyan mudra.

                 👉Then actively inhale and exhale at your possible speed. Inhalation and exhalation should be equal 

                 👉 Stop when you feel dizzy. Relax for some time and then continue.

          ✦ Limitations:

                    👉 Don't practice if you are a heart patient or have BP, 

                    👉 Don't practice if you have hernia, asthma ,TB, any disease related to lungs and stomach.

          ✦ Practice only once in a day for abaout 10 to 15 times.

   BHRAMARI:

          ✦ Known as humming bee breath, because it produces a sound similar to that of bee.

          ✦ Gives relief from anxiety and stress.

          ✦ Gives instant relief from frustration and agitation.

          ✦ It is suitable for persons with hypertension, depression and brain disorders.

          ✦ Procedure:

                  👉 Sit straight with spine erect.

                  👉 Take your thumb and close your ear.

                  👉 Place index finger over fore head just above the eye brows. Keep other 3 fingers gently over the closed eyes.

                  👉 Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth making the humming bee sound.The sound should be similar to 'OM sound'.

           ✦ Practise it 5 to 10 times in a day.

BHRAMARI

           ✦ Limitations:

                   👉 People with heart issues should not do too many rounds without any break.

                   👉 It will be difficult for the people with migrane to do it with eyes closed. so they can do it with oeyes open.

           "All the above mentioned pranayama should be done in an empty stomach"

     [In all pranayama and also in normal breathing, abdomen movement should happen in a correct way. That is abdomen should move out during inhalation and in during exhalation.] 

         The correct sequence of doing pranayama is 

                1) Kapalbati

                2) Bhastrika

                3) Anulom vilom or nadi suddhi

                4) Bhramari.

PRANAYAMA - TRIBANDHA

 Tri - Three ,   Bandha - spiritual lock
     Bandhas are used  for pranic healing by holding and directing the energy within seven chakras. Bandhas also tones, cleanses, energize our organs and our whole body. 
 There are three main bandhas:

       1] Jalandhar bandha - chin lock

       2] Udiyana bandha - abdominal lock

       3] Moolbandha - pelvic lock

          "MAHABANDHA - COMBINATION OF ALL THREE BANDHAS"

                Let us now see all the three bandhas one by one.
      
       JALANDHAR BANDHA:

        ✦ It is known as chin lock.

        ✦ It stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid glands.

        ✦ very good for people with thyroid problems.

        ✦ It massages the carotid sinus on both sides of  neck which keep our heart rate down

         ✦It can be done either with fullness of breath or on the emptiness of the breath.

          ✦ PROCEDURE:

                👉 Sit in the sukhasana or in padmasana if comfortable.

              👉 Spine and shoulders should be erect.Keep your hands in chin mudra.

              👉 Should not drop your neck.

              👉  Inhale and hold your breath.

              👉 Tuck your chin back and touch the chest with your chin. Then feel the lock on the chest.

                    

UDIYANA BANDHA:

       ✦ It is known as abdominal lock.

       ✦ Supports abdomen, waist and our lower back. It also protect spine during other asanas.

       ✦ Tones, massages and cleanses the abdominal organs.

       ✦ This can be only done after the exhalation of the breath.We can't do it by keeping the breath in.

       ✦ PROCEDURE:

           👉 Sit in sukhasana or in padmasana.

          👉  Keep your spine straight.

          👉 Keep your hands in chin mudra.

          👉  Inhale and exhale all the way out

          👉 Suck the abdomen in and bring it upwards towards the diaphragm. Hold it as long as possible. Release and then take breath.

                           

               

  MOOLBANDHA:

        ✦  It is known as pelvic lock.

        ✦ Strengthens our abdominal floor which supports the reproductive organs.

        ✦ It also provides a balanced and strong foundations to other asanas.

        ✦ PROCEDURE:

            👉 Sit in sukhasana or in padmasana.

            👉 Keep your spine erect.

            👉 Keep your hands in chin mudra.

            👉 Take a deep inhale and exhale all the way out.

            👉 During exhalation pull the perineum muscles upwads.

            👉 Keep them engaged as long as possible. Then release and take breath.

                    

   MAHABANDHA:

       ✦ Do all the 3 bandhas at the same time.

       ✦ Engage moolbandha first, udiyana bandha second and jalandhar bandha at last.

       ✦ Release the bandhas in reverse, that is jalandhar bandha first, udiyana bandha second and moolbandha at last.       

       " All these bandhas should be done in empty stomach"

[THESE BANDHAS CANNOT BE DONE PERFECTLY AT THE BEGINING; BUT PRACTICING IT DAILY MAKES IT PEFECT.]

PRANAYAMA - NADI SUDDHI

   NADI- ENERGY CHANNELS,SUDDHI-CLEANSING 
    Nadi suddhi also known as alternate breathing or anuloma vilom. The word nadi suddhi literally means cleansing the nadi's. There are 72,000 nadi's in our body, which are the branches of two basic nadi's the pingala and the eda. 36,000 nadi's from the pingala and 36,000 nadi's from the eda. This is the energy physiology of a human being. When we say nadi suddhi we are speaking about fundamentally cleaning the pingala and the eda, so that energy system will work in balance.

  PROCEDURE:
             ✦ Sit with the crossed legged posture on the floor. If not possible to sit on the floor, sit on the chair with ankle crossed. Relax your body.
             ✦ Spine should be erect comfortably, eyes closed.
             ✦ Left hand should be in chin mudra on the left thigh.
             ✦ Right hand should be in vishnu mudra.[Middle and index finger is folded,the ring and little finger is held straight and side by side touching , thumb should be in abducted position].We are going to use only right hand. 

CHIN MUDRA

VISHNU MUDRA AND NADI SUDDHI

            ✦ Now block your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through left nostril .Close the left nostril with the ring finger and then release the thumb,exhale through the right nostril and again inhale through the same. Block the right nostril with thumb.Repeat the same through left nostril.
            ✦ Continue doing this atleast for four minutes.

 DO AND DON'T:
             ✦ Be focused on your breath.
             ✦ Breathe fully in and fully out as slowly and as gently as it is possible for you.
             ✦ We should not make any sound when you exhale or inhale. Nadi suddhi should happen by itself.
             ✦ Don't tilt your head.
             ✦ Ensure not to press too hard on the lower part of the nostril.
             ✦ Don't do shallow breathing and also don't hold your breath. The breathing should be fully in and fully out.

  BENEFITS:
         ✦ Reduce the stress and anxiety.
         ✦ Balance your emotions.
         ✦ Increases your lung capacity.
         ✦ Relax your mind and body.
         ✦ Improves the cardiovascular health.
         ✦ Clears and releases toxins from our body.
         ✦ Rejunuvates nervous system.

 DO NADI SUDDHI  ATLEAST ONCE IN A DAY IN THE MORNING OR EVENING TO GET AMAZING BENEFITS.

PRANAYAMA- MEANING, BENEFITS,TYPES

 PRAN- Life force      AYAM- Regulate
                    This is a sanskrit word which describes a yoga breathing exercise that have the ability to increase the energy, release your stress, improve your mental activity and improve physical health as well. This is the fastest way to calm down.

 WHAT DOES PRANA MEAN?
                 *   Prana is a universal life force. It is the energy which distinguish the living from dead. A dead person is a body without prana and living person is a body with prana.
                 *   Prana moves in our body through different channels and different centers. Those energy centers are known as CHAKRAS. We have 7 chakras in our body.
                 *  Thousands of channels through which this energy flows is known as NADI'S.

CHAKRAS

        SOURCES 0F PRANA:
                       1)FOOD: Veg food and fresh food has more prana than stale food and meat. This is the reason  why vegetarian diet is more prefered by the saints and yogi's. So we have to take more amount of veg and fresh food in our diet.

                       2)SLEEP: Before going bed we are tired, but after waking up we feel energised.
                      3)STATE OF MIND:Better mood is also a source of prana.
  4)BREATH:Direct and instant source of prana.

           We all know that prana flows in the energy channels,

            ●  If the energy channel is smooth then you will be calm ,energised, enthusiastic and positive minded.
            ●  If the energy channel is blocked then prana doesn't flow and show jerk, which make you sad,worried,uncertain,fear and negative minded .                                               

        BENEFITS OF PRANAYAMA:
           ✦ Calm mind
           ✦ Reduce worries and anxiety
           ✦ Improves our focus and attention
           ✦ Boosts immune system
           ✦ Energized body and mind
           ✦ Slow down aging process

      There exists a relationship between emotion and breath, so the emotions can be controlled by our breath. Breath can be controlled by pranayama.
    ONE SINGLE BREATH SHOULD INCLUDE;
     ✦  PURAKA- Prolonged inhalation
     ✦  KUMBAKA- Retention of breath
     ✦  RECHAKA- Prolonged exhalation
     ✦  SHUNYAKA- Suspension of breath (post exhalation)
     One should start practising the above 4 steps in order slowly.
      Pranayama teaches us how to live our life by controlling our emotions.

    TYPES OF PRANAYAMA:

                          There are many types, here only important ones are listed;
                        1)Quiet breathing
                        2)Deep breathing
                        3)Fast breathimg
                        4)Tribandha pranayama
                        5)Nadi shuddi pranayama (or) Anulom vilom
                        6)Surya bhedan pranayama
                        7)Bhramri
                        8)Kapal bhati

                        9)Bhastrika, etc.,

             Procedure of doing all types of pranayama  are disscused in next article

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