News
Yoga Magazine
Oct 2004
Big breath.
Pranayama is one of the eight limbs of yoga so why do so few of
us practice it? Melissa Freedman dispels a few myths about breathing.
People
often ask me what I teach and when I say well asana, pranayama
and meditation among other things, they always ask, 'what is pranayama?'
and 'why is it good for you?' and 'what is all the fuss about?'.
After
a history of asthma and sinus problems, I discovered pranayama
practices primarily in Sivananda yoga books and later on was
blessed to have some teachers open to bringing breath work into
their classes.
I also discovered after years of smoking that somehow I
would always hold my breath and was unable to breath properly,
breathing mainly into the top part of my chest and not even
into my thoracic spine, let alone my belly. After some comments
by other yoga practitioners I decided it was time to do more
research and that was when I decided to do some pranayama training
in Bangalore, India.
At this same time, Yoga Project was being
formed and we were deciding what to teach, to whom and what would
be important to our students. I knew that many of my students
had suffered with breathing disorders and stress-related breathing
issues and that if I could learn more about pranayama and breathing
I would be a help to them.
I went off to Bangalore and was taught pranayama for an hour and
half a day, six days a week for four months by my Indian teacher.
When I began thoracic breathing my chest didn't move and I became
frustrated. I began to think I had wasted my time and there was
no point. However, after a number of days my chest began to expand
like a balloon, my voice became clearer and I felt more relaxed.
The pranayamas we were taught were initially bastrikas, alternate
nostril breathing and then kumbhakas using the bandhas. The process
of learning new pranayamas was developed over a long period of
time.
Two months later I was
teaching the new students pranayama and was able to use the benefit
of my own experience, my sinus problems cleared up and I no longer
felt the effects of my asthma. I felt calm inside after the initial
anger of the storm I had first felt when encountering this deep
spiritual practice. All my students in London and those on retreats
benefit from this practice I have had the privilege to learn.
What
is pranayama?
Pranayama is the practice of controlling the vital life force,
usually through the control of breath (the fourth of
the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga). This can often be taught in
stages as is introduced later on to most yoga practitioners.
These classes are taught between 30 minutes to an hour and a
half.
Why do pranayama?
The synchronisation of the breath with the appropriate body movements
is of paramount importance; the body is
attuned to the mind through the breath. Correct breathing enriches
the blood, stimulates the circulation, and feeds lifeforce
to the blood, tissues and organs.
What is all the fuss about?
Pranayama is proved to be one of the hardest, highest and most
profound forms of yoga. Its results lead to a
more fulfilled, spiritual practice and help contain the enormous
energies often exerted from a strong asana, physical, practice.
Most long term yoga teachers have proven the results of a deep
pranayama practice in their ability to contain negative energies
and use breath as the fuel for their movement in all their classes.
I have found my personal pranayama practice a real breath
of life, adding fuel and energy to my physical practice as well as helping
my students become more focused and aligned within themselves.
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