NITHYA YOGA VIJNANA DINDIMA

Basic pranayamas for Nithya Yoga classes

Guidelines

Thus being established in asana and having control (of the body), taking a balanced diet; pranayama should be practiced according to the instructions of the guru (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2:1)

Pranayama techniques are to be done with a focused mind (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 3:127)

Don't get caught in the thoughts, be in the present moment. Mind body and prana work together.

Breathe through the nose unless otherwise specified.
Practice without straining. Progress gradually.
Practice on an empty stomach, or at least 4 hours after a meal.
Wear clothes which are not restrictive to allow for comfort and unrestricted movement

Pranayamas described in this book are yogic breathing, nadi shodhana, ujjayi, kapalbhati, bhastrika, sheetali, seetkari, and bhramari pranayama.

Yogic breathing

Yogic breathing is an efficient way of breathing as it expands the lung capacity. It is a combination of three types of breathing - abdominal, chest and clavicular. It brings awareness of how inefficient typical breathing is and how use of the abdomen and chest muscles enable deeper breaths. Practice abdominal, chest and clavicular breathing separately until you are familiar with the feeling. Then go on to Yogic breathing.

Benefits

Relaxes the body and calms the mind
Brings increased energy and vitality
Retrains the body to take deep, nourishing breaths.

Contraindications Chest or abdomen injury Recent surgery

Abdominal breathing

Lie on your back with eyes closed. Place one hand lightly on the navel to feel the movement of the abdomen with the breath.
Breathe out slowly and completely, feeling the abdomen drawing inwards towards the spine. . The diaphragm is relaxing back to its position in the chest cavity. Hold a couple of seconds at the end of the exhale.
Then, inhale slowly and completely without strain, feeling the abdomen rise. The diaphragm is pulled down into the abdominal area, enlarging the chest cavity and allowing the lungs to expand. At the same time, the diaphragm pushes down on the abdominal organs making the abdomen bulge out as the organs are compressed in the abdominal cavity. Hold a couple of seconds at maximal inhale.
Exhale slowly through the nose, bringing awareness to the abdomen, feeling the abdomen going down into the body. .

This is one cycle. Repeat the cycle 6 times with full awareness on the abdomen.

Chest breathing

Sit in a comfortable position or sit in sukhasana, easy pose (cross leg) . Place hand lightly on the lower ribs.
Inhale slowly and as deeply as you can without discomfort, using middle and lower chest only.

Feel the lower and middle ribs move outwards and upwards. Brace the abdomen so it does not assist in the breathing. Hold the breath a couple of seconds.

Notice that you cannot take a really deep breath using chest alone.
Exhale as deeply and slowly as you comfortably can, feeling the ribs go down and back.
Do this 5 times.

Clavicular breathing

Place one hand lightly on top of clavicle, the collar bone.
Inhale and exhale using a short almost sniffing breath and without using the abdomen or chest to assist with the breath.
Notice how shallow the breath is. Feel the clavicle area move.

Instructions for yogic breathing

1. When you are familiar with the feeling of the three breaths above, continue to yogic breathing. .
2. Take a slow, complete exhale without strain. Inhale and feel first the expansion of the abdomen, then the ribs expanding outwards and upwards and lastly the clavicle area expanding.
3. Hold a couple of seconds then exhale slowly and completely, feeling the air leave the body in the opposite sequence, clavicle first, then ribs and lastly the navel drawing inwards.
4. Repeat 5 times, then sit with closed eyes and observe what is happening inside you.

Nadi Shodhana

Shodhana means purification and nadi means energy channels. This is a good first technique to be taught to beginners. This pranayama is also a good preparatory technique for meditation.

Sit In baddha padmasana and inhale through the left nostril and hold the breath to capacity, and then exhale through the right nostril. Inhale through right nostril and hold to full capacity then exhale through the left nostril slowly and not forcibly. (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2:7-9)

One who practices in this way, through the right and left nostrils, alternately purifies all his nadis wi*thin three months* (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2:10)

Benefits

Activates and harmonizes ida and pingala nadi. Brings the body, prana and mental activity into balance. Regular practice helps to calm the mind and reduce anxiety.
Improves overall health.

Instructions

Sit in baddha padmasana or sukhasana (cross-legged) or vajrasana, hands in chin mudra.
Close the eyes. This breathing is slow and with steady smooth rhythm.

Beginner's familiarization technique:

Close right nostril with right thumb and inhale and exhale through the left nostril. Do 10 times. .

Fold the forefinger and middle finger of the hand. Place the little finger and ring finger on left nostril and close this nostril off completely. Breathe in and out through right nostril. Do 10 times.

Let the ratio of inhale and exhale duration through one nostril be of the same duration ie 1:1 eg 4 counts inhale, 4 counts exhale. Count mentally as you practice. Gradually extend the count to 6.

Focus awareness on the breath. It is not to be done mechanically without awareness. .

● When you can comfortably perform the above in smooth manner, with equalization of inhale and exhale count, proceed to next step below.

In this step, progress to alternate nostril breathing. Do for 12 cycles and 3 rounds. .

Gradually extend to 10-20 minutes.

Work toward an inhale to exhale ratio of 1:2. eg count to 6 on inhale and to 12 on exhale.

The kumbhaka below is done only if you have no health concerns at all. Otherwise, do the normal nadi shodhana without the kumbhaka or breath retention.

For the next step, add the breath retention with ratio of 1:1:1. eg Inhale to count of 5, hold for 5 counts, exhale to count of 5.

Gradually build up to 1:2:2 ratio.

Pranayama must be practiced gradually without any strain when increasing the duration of the breath or the retention time. .

For more in-depth work, seek the guidance of an experienced teacher.