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Before we get into the pranayama practices, it is our duty to issue a caveat in the form of a traditional metaphor as mentioned in Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.15.
The process of pranayama is likened to taming a wild beast, like a tiger.
The prana is the tiger, and the tamer is the practitioner.
No one in their right minds would rush into a cage and try to train a tiger without prior knowledge, guidance AND experience!
But people do not seem to mind jumping in and trying to tame prana without relevant knowledge and experience.
If one has the desire to become a tiger tamer, one must apprentice under an expert tiger tamer to gain the relevant know-how.
The expert will impart the necessarily skills in a systematic manner.
If the trainee-tamer is not ready to handle a tiger but insists on trying, the tiger can easily maim or kill the tamer.
Likewise, trying to forcefully control prana without proper guidance, undertaking advanced pranayama techniques like kumbhaka (breath retention)
without the help of a pranayama expert can lead to very dire consequences.
This is the warning of the yogic sages, and from our own experiences, we can confidently concur.
We know several very advanced yoga asana practitioners who practiced advanced pranayama practices without expert guidance and became completely imbalanced.
Therefore, always practice pranayama under the guidance of a qualified teacher and practice exactly as you have been instructed.
Never forget - pranayama should be pleasant, not lethal.
Pranayama practices are generally classified as "physical" or "spiritual".
The first 6 pranayama techniques below are considered "physical" and the last pranayama technique, Nadi Shodhanam, is considered "spiritual".
These are not the only pranayama techniques but they found the basis on which advanced pranayama techniques are built.
Many advanced practices, especially in Kundalini and Tantra Yoga, incorporate these foundational practices but include other elements like
visualization and mantra.
2:1 Breathing
Some of the most advanced practices are the simplest practices.
Do not be fooled by this pranayama's simplicity, 2:1 breathing will be incorporated in some form in advanced pranayama practicces.
True story: there is a real incident of a 40-year old student of meditation who had been practicing meditation for 15 years.
As part of a study, he was hooked up to a biofeedback machine.
He begins to meditate as he has practiced, but after minutes, the biofeedback machine registers virtually no change.
His level of sympathetic nervous system arousal remains almost as high as before he began to meditate.
This is certainly not something you will expect from an "experienced meditator", perhaps even practicing an "advanced" technique.
The biofeedback technician then tells the "meditator" to allow the exhalations to be twice as long as the inhalations and
almost instantaneously his level of sympathetic nervous system arousal drops; the heart rate drops, and the meditator reaches a deeper level of rest.
Because of its simplicity, 2:1 breathing is often under-rated, and under-practiced.
But this is one of the best techniques to quiet the mind, and prepare for meditation.
Technique
- Assume a strong, steady, stable, seated posture. Keeping the head, neck and truck in a straight line, the shoulders rolled back and relaxed, the chest open, and the pot of the belly floating.
- Focus on the breath; relax the diaphragm and begin to breathe deeply and evenly with no pauses, jerkiness, or breaks between the breaths through the nostrils.
- Once this deep, even breathing pattern has been established, begin to count the duration of the inhalation and exhalation, and making them of equal lengths (inhaling to a count of 3, and exhaling to a count of 3 for a total of 6 counts per breath is a good count to start with). Do manasic counting only! Do not count out loud or move the lips!
- After establishing a smooth deep breathing pattern of 6 counts per breath, reduce the inhalation to 2 counts and lengthen the exhalation to 4 counts, thereby maintaining 6 counts per breath.
As you lengthen the exhalation, remember to use the abdominal muscles to slowly and steadily push out all the air from the lungs, thereby expelling carbon dioxide and other waste gases more exhaustively.
Squeezing in the abdominal muscles also gently pushes the blood back to the heart and lungs, thus lightening the workload of the heart.
- Continue 2:1 breathing for up to 20 minutes.
Practice Tips
As with all yogic practices, proceed slowly and steadily - rushing into higher ratios beyond your capacity is counter-productive and dangerous.
If you find yourself gasping for air at the inhalation, this is a sign that you have gone beyond your limit.
Technically, when you slow down your breathing, the carbon dioxide levels rise and the oxygen levels drops, which tells your brain that you are not getting enough air, causing you to gasp.
So make sure that the exhalations flow smoothly into the inhalations, and the inhalations smoothly into the exhalations - seamless, effortless, pleasant - otherwise you have exceeded your capacity and need to work at a lower ratio.
Slowly increase your ratios after you have comfortably mastered the one you are working on.
Also, this is one pranayama technique that you can practice while lying down or even walking!
Next time you are out for a walk, establish a regular, uniform walking pace; then inhale to 4 steps and exhale to 8 (or whatever ratio is comfortable to you).
If you are really gung-ho, you can try this while jogging; in fact, you will most likely find that this improves your performance!
Why It Works
The Autonomic Nervous System controls the functions of the heart, lungs, intestine, bladder, circulatory, and glandular systems.
This system has 2 sub-systems - the Sympathetic Nervous System and the Parasympathetic Nervous System.
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is involved in the "fight or flight" response -
increasing heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tone in the large skeletal muscles, sweat secretion, pupil dilation... in short, preparing the body for physical work.
Inhalation emphasizes the SNS.
On the other hand, the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) which is involved in relaxation -
decreasing heart rate, blood pressure, skeletal muscle tone - preparing the body for rest or sleep.
Exhalation emphasizes the PNS.
These 2 sub-systems act in antagonism, hereby maintaining balance.
If you get excited, the SNS makes the heart beat faster, and if not for the PNS, the heart will not slow down and you can potentially have a heart attack.
But you don't because the PNS slows the heart down and provides balance.
Kapalabhati
Coming soon
Ujjayi Pranayama
Coming soon
Shitali Pranayama
Coming soon
Shitkari Pranayama
Coming soon
Bhramari Pranayama
Coming soon
Nadi Shodhanam
Coming soon
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