Advanced Pranayama Practice, and the 5 types of breathing work in “YOGA”.

Many people wonder what is meant by breathwork in yoga and then ask the next question what is Pranayama.

Pranayama and breath work is the same thing in yoga, pranayama is the name for people that study yoga and are immersed in yoga or want to learn about yoga call it.

However, in many classes to make it more verbally friendly to the masses a number of teachers just simply call pranayama breath work.

For this blog post, I will call it pranayama so that it is clear what I am meaning and go through the five different styles of breathing so that you know the best one to try and the health benefits behind each of them.

Let us first take a look at the work “PRANAYAMA” This word simply broken down means Prana = life force.

This makes sense when you think of it logically, if we don’t have breath we don’t have life.

Yama = control or restriction, obviously when you control your natural breathing it is controlled or restricted so another logical assumption to the word.

Just as a starting point on this, we are going to look at Kambhaka which is the sand script word for breath retention.

From here on we will call this Breath retention for clarity as sand script can get confusing to everyone (including me).

Breath retention is done externally and internally and has many benefits to the body.

Benefits include –

• Increased concentrations
• increased circulation
• slowing heart rate
• reduce stress
• reduce anxiety

But a caution to start with –

• Always check with a doctor before commencing a breathing style.
• Pregnant and people with hypertension should avoid this breathing exercise.
• Light headed and dizziness can occur and practice should be stopped immediately.
• Can cause fainting.
• Shouldn’t be practiced before jumping into strenuous or balancing activities or yoga poses
• Should be practiced in small doses to start with.
• Asthma or sinus issues should have a doctor advise on.

How to do this breathing technique…

INTERNAL BREATH RETENTION

• Start by sitting in an easy pose – Cross-legged, back straight, arms on knees, neck elongated, lengthening through the spine, breathing in through the nose and exhaling for the same amount of time the breath was inhaled and exhaled the same count. This will allow the lungs to have a warm-up period.
• Breathing deeply in through the nose, eyes closed and body relaxed.
• Pause and hold your breath for a short while after inhaling.
• Exhale slowly before repeating the exercise.
  • This is our Internal breath retention.

EXTERNAL BREATHE RETENTION.

• Begin in easy pose with the body relaxed, breathing naturally through the nose and exhaling gently, slowly deepening the breathing to warm up the lungs.
• Breathing in deeply through the nose.
• Exhale through both nostrils.
• Pause, and hold your breath for a short while before inhaling once more.
  • This was External Breath retention.

A lack of Co2 in the body can lead to stroke, asthma, sleep apnea, heart attack, and liver disease. In the right amounts though Carbon Dioxide Co2 can help with calming the nervous system, digestion, and clear nasal passages. Done correctly breathing exercises can do wonders for the body.

Enjoy trying the breathing exercises that I will blog on over the next few months, but safety is a major priority in everything we do so please look into your health, check with your doctor and then if everything is good take your time as you slowly introduce your body to this “breathe retention” exercise.

Thanks again for reading…. Next month is Bellows breath…

Namaste – 🦋❤️The light in me sees the light in you..