Arun Kumar Gupta
26Pranayam is the dimension (control) of life; all the activities which happen in our body, have direct or indirect relations with Prana. The unbreakable relationship between life and death in human beings is also due to combination of life. As gold gets purified upon burning, similarly, the control of the senses is defective if there is restraint of the vital air. Just as impurities and disorders of gold metals are destroyed by the heat of the fire, in the same way, the defects of the senses and mind are removed by Pranayam. It is said that all the impurities get dried up by the pranayam.
According to the GorakshaShataka, by doing asanas – a yogi can remove”rajoguna”; by performing pranayama – they can get rid of”papanivrtti”, and by practicing pratyahara – it eradicates “mansik vicar”. Pranayama leads to the cure of all sorts of bodily and mental pains that human beings can suffer. The yoga should always restrain the mind from venturing into bad thoughts.
There is a close relationship between the soul and the mind. When the breath stops, the mind automatically gets concentrated.By doing Pranayam, the covering of Tamas in the form of untruth, ignorance, and tribulation that has come over the mind becomes weak. Dharana (concentration) starts happening automatically in the purified mind and from dharana one moves forward towards advanced states of yoga, meditation, and samadhi.
With Yogasanas, we remove the deformities of the suksham body. Pranayam has a special effect on the body as compared to yogasanas. Pranayam not only has a special effect on the suksham body but also on all our organs like -lungs, heart, brain,etc. as these three have a close relationship with each other’s health.Broadly speaking, Pranayam is a method of breathing exercise. Due to this, the lungs become strong, and by improving the system of blood circulation, overall health and longevity are benefited.
According to physiology, both the lungs of a human being are instruments for filling the breath within itself. In which the filled air reaches the whole body and provides Oshajani.e. oxygen and removes the filth (carbonic gas) generated from different components. When this process is done properly, the lungs become strong and the work of blood purification continues.
Often, most people are not used to taking deep breaths, due to which about a quarter of the lungs work. The remaining three-fourth part remains almost inactive. Like the honeycomb of a honey bee, there are usually seven crores thirty lakh sponge-like brackets in the lungs. On taking a simple light breath, Pranavayu circulates in about two crores of these holes only, out of the remaining five crores thirty lakh holes.Due to the non-availability of vital air, they remain inactive. As a result, inertness and excreta i.e. foreign substances start accumulating in them, due to which a person is attacked by diseases like Tuberculosis (TB), cough, bronchitis, etc.
In this way, incomplete functioning of the lungs affects blood purification. The heart becomes weak and as a result, premature death is always present. In this situation, the importance of Pranayam becomes immense for the long life of a person. Prevention of various diseases can be easily done by regulation of Prana-Vayu through Pranayam.
With the knowledge of this science i.e. the science of Prana Vayu, humans can increase their age by taking full advantage of a happy and blissful life by streamlining the health of themselves and others. This is the reason why we should include ‘Pranayama’ as an essential part of our daily routine.Anxiety, worry, anger, despair, fear, etc. can be easily resolved by ‘Pranayama’. Not only this but by increasing the capacity of the brain, memory-power, sharpness, understanding, foresight, subtle observation, perception, intelligence, etc. mental attributes can be achieved by becoming long-lived through ‘Pranayam’ and the real joy of life can be achieved.
By doing Pranayama, the practice of long breathing also starts automatically. The life we have got from God life in it is found by counting breaths. According to one’s deeds, he gets the next birth.As a result of good or bad deeds, a person gets birth, age, and enjoyment in human, animal, bird, insect, etc. species. Pranayama practitioner uses his breaths less; that’s why he also has longevity. Anyway, the less the creatures in this universe take a breath, the longer they are.
In these creatures, according to the speed at which the creature breathes, their age is also seen directly. Turtles are also found up to four hundred years old. In the beginning of a person who practices yoga, the number of breaths are around 8 and by regular practice of pranayama and meditation, the number of breaths comes down to 4. Hence the yogi can attain a longer life than others.
(1) Pranayama should be done at a pure Satvik clean place If possible, practice sitting near the water. In cities where there is more effect of pollution, perfume that places with ghee and guggul before pranayama. If you cannot do much, then light a ghee lamp.
(2) It is appropriate to sit in Siddhasan, Vajrasan, or Padmasan for Pranayama. The seat used for sitting should be a bad conductor of electricity like a blanket or cushion etc.
(3) Breathing should always be taken through the nostrils only. Through this, the breath goes inside after being filtered. Breathing should be done through the nostrils only during the day. Due to this, the temperature of the body is also regulated by Ida, Pingala Nadi and foreign substances stop in the nostrils only.
(4) To do Pranayama like Yogasana, one should have food at least four to five hours before. It is best if you do Pranayam before doing Yogasanas after retiring from the toilet in the morning. In the beginning, practice for 5-10 minutes only and gradually increase it, should be done for half an hour. Always do the fixed number, do not do less or more. If the stomach is not clean after waking up in the morning, then take triphala powder with hot water before going to bed in the evening. By doing Kapalbhati Pranayama for a few days, constipation also goes away automatically.
(5) The mind should be calm and happy while doing pranayam. Likewise, pranayam also makes the mind calm, happy and concentrated.
(6) Adapting pranayama to one’s nature and the season is needed. Some pranayama increases heat in the body and some cause chills which vary as per the temperature of the surroundings.
(7) If you feel tired while doing pranayam, then before doing the second pranayam, take 5-6 normal long breaths and take rest.The sick person should do Pranayam keeping in mind the precautions.
(8) Breathing should not be stopped stubbornly in Pranayam. To do Pranayam, taking the breath in, holding the supplementary breath inside is called ‘Kumbhaka’, throwing the breath out is called ‘Rechak’, and holding the breath outside is called ‘Bahyakumbhaka’.
(9) The meaning of Pranayama is not only purak, kumbhaka, and rechak, but controlling and balancing the movement of breath and prana.One should practice making the mind steady and concentrated.
(10) Before Pranayam, it is appropriate to pronounce ‘Om’ many times in a long sound and to do bhajan-kirtan. By doing this the mind becomes calm and concentrated. To practice Pranayam, the mind needs to be calm and thoughtless. Chanting Gayatri Pranav (Om) while doing Pranayama is spiritually beneficial.
(The writer is President of Arya Samaj Dayanand Marg, City Chowk, Jammu)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
