Inhale, exhale... and once again

Pranayama is the practice of controlling the breath, which is the source of our prana, or vital life force. Most people do not breathe correctly. The majority of the population do not breathe enough to fulfil the needs of the body and brain.

Numerous studies on pranayama have established that the practices reduce stress and hypertension, normalize blood pressure (both high and low), alleviate hearth disease, increase vitality and lung capacity, and balance the relationship between the brain hemispheres.

Breathing affect almost all the functions of the body, including the heart. Investigations have been carried out on yogis who could stop their heart at will.It was found when the heart stopped, the breath stopped along with the thinking process, but the yogis continued to live.

There is an interesting relation between the breathing , and the river of thoughts. Thoughts are energy, energy moves, this is its nature;

prana is energy too.. and my common sense tells me thoughts cannot be stopped but only restrained as I learnt to do in my yoga practice ( yoga citta vritti nirhoda) but there is a point when advance pranayama practicioners are able to stop the breathing for hours (Kevala Kumbhaka); it will stop automatically just by concentrating the mind on a chosen object or idea in deep meditation.

when the breath stops at the same time thoughts stop as well and the practicioner does not die, he will gain"understanding" There are different words and interpretation for this " phenomena " mentioned is the ancient book of yoga (see Patanjali Yoga sutras Chapter 2- Sutra 49 -50- 51- 52) , only if you experience it you will know . That s what they called Samadhi , or a first stage of it (this is the real aim of yoga. Physical and mental wellness is just a brilliant side effect of yoga); words are only tools with a lot of limitations, it cannot really be described.

Our breathing system is like a dynamo. We inhale in order to take in more praṇa to maintain the battery at a certain level. If we don’t talk, there is no need to breathe in so much. Also, if we move our limbs we must put in more energy. If we keep the body still, we conserve energy; but still the mind moves and consumes a little energy, so we still have to breathe in. If we do not even think, there is no wastage at all and breathing is unnecessary. Kuṁbhaka is automatically achieved.

So, first we learn to control the physical body through asanas , then the movement of the breath trought pranayama , then the senses and finally the mind.

#Yoga #Healthy