Yogic Pranayama Explanation

March 20, 2010 · Filed Under Yoga · Comment 

Panayama literally means “restraint of the breath” and is the foundation of many yoga and relaxation techniques. In combination with anti-tension activities, it serves to control the body’s energy and helps one achieve a healthy mind and body. A lot of relaxation techniques use this principle of “control of life force,” and it can often be a great alternative to getting medical treatment.

There are controlled breathing techniques that can be used to relax a woman in labor, if she wishes to not receive drugs. They are known as Lamaze techniques, and are meant to control the breath of the user by focusing on a particular object while the subject breathes and counts to 3. What women find is that not only do they have less pain, but they also have easier births as the muscles relax which allows the baby to emerge more easily.

When used in conjunction with relaxation techniques, such as yoga, it allows the mind and body to connect bringing about greater awareness and an increased ability to tap into portions of the brain not used during normal daily routines. Training the body and mind, which tend to function independently, to cooperate for the improvement of the whole being, is an important and vital endeavor.

Using Pranayama during yoga exercises can bring the mind and spirit into a very quiet concentration and open the path to greater enlightenment. One’s awareness and concentration can come to pinpoint focus using Pranayama, creating harmony in the whole being; but Buddhists advise that techniques should be practiced carefully and more advanced techniques should be entered into with caution. With proper training and guidance, though, one can achieve great relief with very little effort. Besides Pranayama, there are other, perhaps more convenient, ways to achieve relaxation; one example is Satori Shiatsu Massage Chair, which many people buy to experience similar benefits.

A lot of people have found that, when they use this particular technique, they can solve a lot of their potential problems, including:

- conditions that cause stress and anxiety

• relief of asthma symptoms

- better mental aptitude

• and a decrease in toxic stress

This technique can bring such benefits as:

• steadying the mind

- gaining more willpower

• improving judgment

- become more aware of the world

• and extending life

While breathing is an automated action our bodies perform, it has the biggest potential to affect our general wellbeing. Breathing allows you to process food into nutrients that we require, and gets oxygen to the organs that need it. However, it can also affect our well-being, as breathing too much can make us tense and get stressed, and keeping your breathing relaxed will make you calm. Each exhalation, in fact, actually detoxifies our bodies of harmful carbon dioxide that can poison our systems and cause impaired judgment.

Combining the right kind of Pranayama with yoga or meditation can bring the body into a highly receptive state for successful medical treatments. And above all, when daily anxiety, frustrations, and stress become too much to bear, using simple Pranayama techniques can bring one into a much more centered and relaxed state of mind, which can bring about a more productive day. Breathing is our primary source of life; we would do well to never take breathing for granted, and learn those techniques that can bring the benefits of controlling our breath efficiently.