Arjun Jaisawal

Kathmandu:

Until recently Prana-yama — an art and science of Yogic breathing - was almost completely unknown to the common man. During the last three decades, however, this situation has changed; and subjects such as Yoga, pranayama, meditation, and even Kundalini, are being discussed all over the world. It has been proved beyond doubt that Pranayama is a very important means for preventing and curing many ailments.

Pranayama is the fourth part of the eight-fold Yoga described in the Yogasutra of Patanjali. This is the most authoritative book on yoga. It was written or according to many experts on the subject, in the second century before Christ. The eight limbs of yoga mentioned in Patanjali’s system are: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.

Pranayama is the ‘soul’ of yoga. ‘Prana’ means bio-energy and not just breath and ‘ayama’ means control or discipline. It means control of bio-energy. It is this force that gives energy to the human body and sustains it. Yogis (sages and seers) learnt this essential force from nature to be harnessed in a scientific manner.

Yogis noticed the deep connection between breathing and mental equilibrium. It seemed as though the state of mind controlled the quality of breathing - mind agitated means the breath becoming rapid and shallow and a quiet serene mind means deep and slow breathing. Notice the dog, an easily excitable animal. It has a very rapid breathing. On the extreme end of this scale, in an elephant or a tortoise, the epitomes of serenity, one fails to notice even its breath.

Longevity and breathing seem to be interwoven. For example, the elephants breathe deep and seem to live for 100 years whereas the dogs or, the rabbits have a shallow, rapid breathing and live for 10-12 years only. Rapid breathing affects blood circulation and heart becomes weak resulting into short life.

Pranayama has the capacity of freeing the mind from untruthfulness, ignorance and all other painful and unpleasant experiences of the body and mind; and when the mind becomes clean, it becomes easy for the Sadhaka to concentrate on the desired object and it becomes possible for him/ her to progress further in the direction of meditation. Through Yogasanas, we remove the distortions and disabilities of our physical body and bring it into discipline.

However, Pranayama influences the subtle and the physical bodies in a greater measure than Yogasanas do and that too in a perceptible manner.

Physiology teaches us that the air (prana) we breathe in fills our lungs, spreads in

the entire body, providing it with essential food and oxygen. Not only that the veins collect the related elements from the body, take them to the heart and then to the lungs, which throw the useless material, like carbon-dioxide out of the body through the act of exhalation. If this action of the respiratory system is done regularly and efficiently, lungs become stronger and blood becomes pure.

However, most of the people do not have the habit of breathing deeply. As a result, only one-fourth of lungs is brought into action and three-fourth of the lungs remains idle. This is the reason several diseases like tuberculosis, respiratory disorder and several ailments, like cough, bronchitis etc contaminate them.

Several diseases can be averted by regular practice of Pranayama. Mental disturbances, like excitement, anxiety, fear, anger, disappointment, loss of sex (lasciviousness) and other mental aberrations can be calmed down by regular practice of Pranayama. Besides this, Pranayama practice improves the function of brain cells, as a result of which memory and the faculty of discrimination and observation improve, making it easy for the Sadhaka to perform concentration and meditation.

Pranayama is not as complex as it is made out to be and neither is it something that can be trifled with. The ancient Sanskrit texts state that Pranayama if properly done can cure all diseases, but wrongly done will only invite the same diseases! It is thus of utmost importance to learn Pranayama from a true teacher.