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THE BREATH OF LIFE
by Sri Swami Satchidananda
PRANA: THE VITAL FORCE
When you breathe, in addition to the oxygen, you also take in a lot of prana.
The oxygen gets diffused in the lungs and then gets into the bloodstream.
but the prana goes throughout the body. It enters into every area-physical,
vital, and mental. Every cell of your body vibrates with new life.
Prana is our very life. It is the vital force that pervades the entire cosmos.
You get prana from food, from the sun, and from the air you breathe. You
can Live for many weeks without food, days without water, minutes without
air, but not even for a fraction of a second without prana.
In Sanskrit, if you deify the prana you can call it Parashakti, the Cosmic
Power. Wherever you see power, you see the action of prana. Even the movements
in an atom are due to the prana within it. The light, and heat in a flame
are prana. Electricity is prana. Your motorcar moves with prana-gasoline
is a liquid form of prana. To raise your hand you need prana. Your breathing
is prana. Your digestion is prana. Even to think you need prana, because
it is the subtle prana that moves the mind.
All movement everywhere is caused by prana, the cosmic energy. The entire
nature is moving constantly. That is the nature of the nature-constant
movement and transformation. And it is the prana that causes all the movement.
So why should we want to control it?
PRANAYAMA: CONTROLLING THE COSMIC POWER |
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In pranayama we are trying to handle and control the cosmic Shakti. Pranayama
is composed of two words: "prana" and "ayama." "Ayama"
means regulation, control, or mastery. We begin by regulating the prana
that moves our own bodies and minds. When we gain mastery over the prana,
we have mastery over the inner nature, too, because it is the prana that
creates all the movements in an individual-physical and mental. We try
to control the inner nature, because it is the nature's movement that
causes a lot of disturbance in the system and makes it impossible for
the Light within to shine in its true, original way.
When we can control the prana inside, we can control the prana outside, too.
They are one and the same force on different levels. The body is a microcosm,
and the universe outside is a macrocosm. So by the regular practice of
pranayama, we are able not only to control and direct the prana that functions
within us, but the universal prana as well.
YOGIC BREATHING
With proper pranayama you begin to use the entire lungs. You take in much more
than your normal quota of oxygen and prana. It can be measured in laboratory
tests. In a normal breath, you inhale five hundred cubic centimeters of
air, and then breathe out the same. After your exhalation, the lungs are
almost empty. Still there is resi(Jual air in the lungs. After you breathe
out your normal five hundred cubic centimeters, if you pull your tummy
in slightly, you can exhale some more air, which has been measured as
sixteen hundred cubic centimeters.
Now you begin to inhale. You first inhale the air that you squeezed out-sixteen
hundred cubic centimeters. Then you inhale your normal five hundred. And
then afterwards, you can inhale some additional air. If you inhale more
deeply, you can take in another sixteen hundred cubic centimeters. So
after a complete squeezing out on the exhalation, you can inhale thirty-seven
hundred cubic centimeters. So instead of your usual five hundred cubic
centimeters, you can take in thirty-seven hundred cubic centimeters -
more than seven times as much as in a normal breath. In every breath you
can take in seven times more air, more oxygen, and more prana if you do
the pranayama regularly.
Imagine the advantage. The quality of the blood improves, and the richness of
the blood is the basis of the entire body's health. Your blood gets more
oxygenated. Oxygen is life. It is a great panacea, a fine medicine for
all kinds of poisons. When you have that much vitality, no virus can even
think of coming near you. As soon as it comes near, you burn it out. That
is the beauty of pranayama.
BENEFITS OF PRANAYAMA
The main purposes of pranayama are to purify the system and to calm and regulate
the mind. Pranayama purifies the nervous system and eliminates toxins
from the body and blood. It helps in the curing of asthma, consumption,
and other respiratory disorders. With proper breathing you can eliminate
the excess mucous which causes most hayfever and sinus discomfort. You
can exhilarate the blood circulation and stimulate the entire body quickly.
Pranayama produces lightness of body, alertness of mind, good appetite,
proper digestion, and sound sleep.
Pranayama helps you to attain radiant health, but that is only a secondary benefit,
a by-product, of the practice of pranayama. The main aim is to control
the mind through the prana. If you can control the mind, you are the master.
The prana-here as the movement of the breath-and the movement of the mind
go together. If you regulate the prana, you have regulated, through the
movement of the breath, that same pranic movement in the mind. Should
you ever feel upset, tense, or worried, do some slow deep breathing with
full attention on the breath, and you will easily bring the mind to a
calm state.
According to the Yoga Sutras, the Light within is covered by a veil of mental darkness.
The benefit of pranayama is that it removes this veil, and the mind becomes
clear and fit for concentration. So pranayama is a beautiful preparation
for meditation. Before meditation, do three rounds of Bastrika, the bellows
breath. It will exhilarate the entire body, drive off drowsiness, remove
tension, and bring harmonious movement in all the cells. After this, do
some alternate nostril breathing, or some slow deep breathing through
both nostrils at the same time. Follow the breath with the mind. Feel
how it comes in, how far it goes, and how it returns. Calm, slow, and
steady breathing will also keep the mind very calm.
To derive the maximum benefit, go slowly in developing your practice. Be
patient. Pranayama should never be done in a hurry, nor should you try
to advance too quickly, because you are dealing with vital energy. The
yoga scriptures personify prana as a deadly cobra. So remember, you are
playing with a cobra. If you play well and make the cobra dance, you will
accrue many benefits, as did the snake charmers in India. They used their
snakes for their livelihood. But if they didn't play properly, they would
be killed. In the same way, with prana, you should be very careful. Do
everything gently, avoid even the slightest strain, and never hurry.
Only a strong person can realize God. If you want to build up your body and
mind, save your prana-the vital energy. Learn how to regulate and store
vitality and be careful not to waste it in your life. And to get extra
prana, practice pranayama regularly.
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The Gibraltar Integral Yoga Centre, 33 Town Range, Gibraltar, Charity No.96 - Tel/Fax: +350 41 389 - Email:yoga@gibraltar.gi |
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