Healing Guru

Pranayama, in brief, is the science of breathing. Breath, that signatures the beginning of life, snuffs life as it leaves the body finally. In between, it is the breath that ensures continuity of life. Yet, we hardly get to acknowledge its presence and know very little about it.

Breath is life, whereas Chi or Prana is the life force. Breath is gross and the outer manifestation of Chi/Prana, which is subtle in nature. The process through which Prana is nurtured and strengthened by the regulation of breath is called Pranayama.

Normal breathing does not provide enough oxygen and prana for the organs to function at optimum levels. As a result, the functional capacity of the lungs and other organs starts dipping with time. Pranayama ensures that the organs receive their quota of prana, which keeps them healthy and allows them to function properly.

The process of Pranayama consists of three steps (i) Rechak (Exhalation) (ii) Purak (Inhalation) (iii) Kumbhak (Retention of breath).

Pranayama is not all about deep breathing. Deep breathing is a part of Pranayama. There are innumerable nadis in our energy body. Of these, three – Ida, Pingla and Sushmna nadis – are of great significance. The ida nadi flows through the left nostril, while the pingla nadi flows through the right one. When breath flows through the ida nadi, it has a cooling effect on the body, whereas, pingla nadi has a heating effect.

Sushmna nadi, which is the subtle counterpart of the spinal column holds a very important place in the Pranayama scheme of things. The latent force in all human beings, called the Kundalini, lies dormant at the base of the spine. Pranayama aims at systematically awakening the kundalini so that the hitherto dormant force gets activated and travels up through the sushmna nadi, piercing the charkas on its way up, to set up a divine meeting with the creator of the universe on the sahasrara chakra.