Faith in life

Power of breathing

Prana represents the energy responsible for life force, and ‘ayama’ means control. So, pranayama loosely means breath control. It is important to know the methods of pranayama before practising it, says Yogacharya Surakshit Goswami.

Breathing is so simple and obvious, we often take it for granted, ignoring the power it has on our body, mind and spirit. It’s the primary source of ‘prana’ or life energy. When this power gets blocked, our body falls prey to diseases. Five types of prana, located at different places in our body, are responsible for keeping it healthy. They are prana, apana, vyan, udana and samana.

Correct practice of pranayama achieves a balance in the activities of these pranas, and helps uproot diseases. It is very important to understand the methods of pranayama before actually practising it.

• Spread a sheet on the floor while practising pranayama, and keep your back, neck and head straight.
• Practise pranayama on an empty stomach in the morning. Else, at least 5 hours after lunch.
• Eat 'satvik' or light food.
• The index and middle fingers are not used for Pranayama Mudra. Press your nostrils, using your thumb, ring finger and little finger.
• Breathing process chiefly involves two activities, inhaling (purak), and exhaling (rechaka). Holding of breath is called kumbhak. In yoga, exhaling is a must before inhaling.
• It is important to hold your breath in pranayama, but during illnesses, it can be practised without holding the breath.
• Mulbandh, Uddiyan Bandh and Jalandhar Bandh are important in pranayama. Rectum is held upward in Mulbandh. Uddiyan Bandh is holding stomach inward after exhaling and Jalandhar Bandh is putting pressure on neck muscles and bending chin forward.
• In pranayama, breath is held back as long as it is required and released slowly. The normal ratio between purak, kumbhak and rechak is 1:4:2.