PRANAYAMA

"Prana" is vital energy in the body responsible for life or life force, and "ayama" means control. Therefore, Pranayama is "Control of Breath".

You 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.

When we are sick, restless, troubled, we say there is more prana outside of the body than inside it. The rubbish that builds up inside the body pushes the prana out, so when we focus on pranayama breathing exercises we are addressing the imbalance and therefore increasing the prana inside the body.

There is a two way flow between mind and breath. When we get angry it is really difficult to breath slowly and deeply and when we do breathe slowly and deeply its is really difficult to feel truly angry.

Yoga Sutra 34, Book 1, tells us;

'Calm is retained by the controlled exhalation or retention of the breath'

It is assumed Patanjali meant that to bring peace of mind, watch and regulate the breath. A great South Indian Saint said 'where the mind goes the prana follows' and we see this in our everyday lives. If your mind is agitated you will be breathing more quickly and heavily, if you are lost in thought you will realise that you are barely breathing at all. This is automatic retention of breathe without your effort, people who go deep into meditation will discover this. If you can learn to regulate the breath you can regulate the mind also. Whenever you feel agitated take a few deep breaths putting your entire mind on the breath. But remember, breath is not prana, it is simply a tool for increasing prana in the body.

TYPES OF PRANA

There are 5 different forms of prana each corresponding to a different part of the body

1. Udana Vayu - governs the throat and speech

2. Prana Vayu - governs the chest and thoracic cavity

3. Samana Vayu - governs the abdomen and digestion

4. Apana Vayu - governs the lower abdomen and elimination/release of waste

5. Vyana Vayu - governs the whole body, movement and flow

Prana and Apana are opposing forces within the body, Apana is the down energy and Prana is the up energy, the aim is to bring these energies together. Pranayama is the work to remove blockages so that prana can flow freely.

Pranayama is made up of four stages:

1. Pooraka - inhalation

2. Rechaka - exhalation

3. Antar Kumbhaka - internal breath retention

4. Bahir Kumbhaka - external breath retention

Patanjali says that the true definition of Pranayama exists only in the space between the inhale and the exhale. He suggests practicing Pranayama with a long quiet exhalation followed by a short pause - it is said that it is in this pause that the magic happens.