pranayama

Pranayama

Pranayama is the conscious direction and mastery of the flow of prana, or vital life current, and is also the collective name given to all breathing techniques in the practices of Yoga.

See the scroll definitions on Prana and Breath for further reading.

Some are beginner practices and some are advanced practices.

Natural breathing, abdominal breathing, thoracic and clavicular breathing, and full yogic breath (which uses all three of the latter techniques) are yogic beginner-level pranayama practices.

One can be a beginner in these for a lifetime, and when practised regularly they provide a wonderful stepping stone to more advanced breathing techniques such as:

• Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing)

• Kapalabhati (breath of fire)

• Ujjayi (victorious breath)

and more.

When I teach breathing practices I separate breath-work from pranayama.

This is to clarify where the former is a foundation practice and the latter an advanced practice requiring extensive preparation from the practitioner. Much deeper knowledge is also required from the teacher.

What makes a practice advanced is when the practitioner intends to practise the techniques daily or regularly. In such cases, further preparation is necessary.

If practising advanced techniques occasionally, for exploration and for a few minutes only, it is possible to engage in them safely with the help of an experienced teacher. For regular or longer practice however, gradual preparation is necessary.

Pranayama begins with breathing better and gradually deepens into the subtle energy activities of gathering, moving and absorbing prana from the surroundings and from and through one’s own system of life.

Each technique fosters the clearing and strengthening of particular channels of energy in the body that vitalise organs and systems, blood and nerves, and goes on to purify the subtle energy body (Nadis).

When the central nadis are cleared through pranayama there is safe passage for Kundalini awakening.

Pranayama is considered a direct path to self-realisation in the Raja Yogic / Hatha Yogic spiritual traditions. This level of pranayama is a stage of mastery of prana and Hatha yogic practice.

Ultimately, in deep states of meditation, the yogi master can sustain life without breath and the body is sustained on prana and by the power of God consciousness alone.

This prolonged breathless state is considered one of the highest levels of yogic mastery.

Other definitions

YM definition

Pranayama — the rhythm of life current
Breath movement patterns with specific energetic resonance for spiritual evolution.

Further readings in scrolls:

Breath

Breath-Work,

Prana

YM Breath-Work