(Pranayama as the shortcut to immortality)
Preface “Lead me from ignorance to Truth. Lead me from darkness to Light. Lead me from death to Immortality. Om shanti, shanti, shanti.” Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.iii.
MASTERING PRANAYAMA Part 1: The Foundation
“Still others offer as sacrifice the outgoing breath into the incoming breath, while some offer the incoming breath into the outgoing breath, seizing the movement of the outgoing and incoming breaths, intent upon the mastery of the life force.” Bhagavad Gita IV.
Chapter 1 Pranayama, the Shortcut to Immortality Pranayama, the ancient Science of Life challenges our preconceived notions of death and life and takes us on an incredible journey, where the impossible becomes possible.
Meaning of Pranayama Pranayama is a composite of two Sanskrit words: prana means “vitality,” “the essence” or “the life force” and ayama means “mastery,” “control” or “regulation.” Pranayama is thus the mastery over the life force. Pranayama is also the mastery over the pauses in breath or over the transition between exhalation, inhalation and exhalation.
Through pranayama you can open the blocked energy channel known as sushumna and awaken the dormant energy in the body. This is not possible through mere breathing exercises.
(Prana is not breath — it is the rider, not the horse)
Difference between Breath and Prana One of the most obvious aspects of prana is the breath, but the breath is not prana. Breath or air is known as vayu. An inflated balloon is also filled with air, but it is not living because it has no prana. Prana is something living, full of light and intelligence. If the breath were a horse, then prana would be the rider. It is prana that guides and directs the various functions of the body including respiration.
Adi means “the first.” Prana, as we already know, is life. Thus Adi Prana is the first unit of life. Adi Prana is far subtler and finer than the breath and lies beyond the mind.
This makes the breath unique. It can be used to gain control of the involuntary nervous system and the deeper aspects of the unconscious mind, since the breath gives us access to both, the voluntary as well as the involuntary nervous system.
The kind of extreme stress most people leading an ambitious and competitive lifestyle are exposed to, is like being chased by an aggressive dog. From the visualization exercise it must be clear that chronic emotional stress, in this case the flight mode, can have a massive health impact. Obviously you cannot keep running for days or weeks. Yet, the modern person lives under this kind of stress for months, even years.
Breath elongation is the key to understanding the conscious as well as the unconscious mind. It leads to the breathless state known as Kumbhaka and ultimately to Adi Prana, the nature of life itself. Adi Prana is also known as kundalini shakti.
The yogic path, on the other hand, is a systematic path. It ensures that the practitioner proceeds step by step from grosser levels of the body and senses, past the breath and mind to the very source of all creative energy. This means beginning at the most external and gross level of the senses. Why do you get upset when somebody tells you, that your clothes look shabby? Why do you feel good when others admire your new car? Because you identify with these sensory objects. If you are strongly identified with the objects of the world, do not expect that you will suddenly experience prana itself.
Therefore, breathing techniques and pranayama practices should be practiced under the guidance of highly experienced teachers of an unbroken lineage.
Rather than doing a lot of different techniques, it is advisable to focus on a couple of simple remedial exercises to start with. Follow these two simple guidelines: Avoid teachers that mix practices from different traditions. If you do not find a qualified and experienced teacher, then practice and master diaphragmatic breathing.
(Unlearning wrong breathing before pranayama can begin)
Chapter 2 Are you breathing right? No one ever asked you this question before and you never thought about it. Unfortunately it is true: most of us do not know how to breathe right. Lesson one is unlearning wrong breathing habits.
The 7 Step Program includes: establishing natural and effortless diaphragmatic breathing establishing the even or equal breath, that is, the length of exhalation is equal to the length of inhalation establishing silent breathing establishing smooth breathing, that is, no jerky breathing
Are you breathing right?
You should plan to spend four weeks consciously learning how to breathe diaphragmatically before you turn your attention to the other breathing exercises and pranayama.
As you inhale the abdomen rises; as you exhale the abdomen falls (Fig. 2.3b). If you are breathing diaphragmatically you will feel little or no movement of the upper chest.
Jerky breath: This may be caused by rapid speech, stress or wrong breathing habits. These can be unlearned by observation and conscious effort to breathe smoothly during equal diaphragmatic breathing. Noisy breath: As you listen carefully to the breath, you will notice that when exhalation and inhalation is absolutely silent then the breath becomes fine and subtle. To an external observer it may even appear that you are no longer breathing.
Without Neti Pot Jalaneti can also be done without a neti
Cup the palm of your right hand, while you hold the glass in the left hand. Pour a little salt water into the right hand and immediately put down the glass. Now bend your head forward, close the left nostril with the left index finger and “inhale” the water through the right nostril (Fig. 2.8).
The lukewarm salt water will flow into the mouth cavity. You can easily spit it out. Using your left index finger, close your left nostril again and blow rapidly 3–4
4 times out of the right nostril. This should release some mucus stuck in the right nostril. Now cup the palm of your left hand, while you hold the glass in the right hand. Pour a little salt water into the left hand and immediately put down the glass. Bend your head forward, close the right nostril with the right index finger and “inhale” the water through the left nostril.
Among fats and oils, sesame oil and ghee are sattvic. Always use filtered oils, also called Native or Native Virgin oil. Do not use refined and processed oils. Processed and refined oils fall into the category of tamasic foods.
If you are doing four practices a day, do a morning practice before breakfast, midday practice before lunch, evening practice before a light and early evening meal and then a fourth practice before going to bed at night.
When a very old person dies, one says: “You do not have to feel sad because she led a very rich and fulfilling life.” On the other hand, when someone dies young, one says: “It is tragic, he was so young, he had so much to live for.” A long and fulfilling life means you are able to live out your desires and samskaras but at some point of time the body gets tired. You, Pure Consciousness, have associated with the nashvar, “the perishable.” You forget that you have attached yourself to the perishable. You do not remember that you are Pure Consciousness, that you are not going to die, that you will come back again and enjoy this all over again, as long as you have the desire.
(Direct experience of the eternal dissolves the fear of death)
When you know your eternal nature through direct experience, then you know that you are not really dying. You become fearless. Fearlessness means you are no longer attached to this plane of existence, the “nashvar,” because you know through direct experience that you, Pure Consciousness, are eternal and imperishable.
This brings us to the question: How can one regulate the primitive urge of self-preservation? No doubt, this is the most difficult of all the four primitive urges to regulate, since we completely suppress the fear of death. Approach the primitive urge of self-preservation with respect. Take up at least one of the following exercises: Make a list of all your fears, such as fear of loneliness and fear of aging. Make your last will and testament. Contemplate on what you would do with your life if you were to die in a year. Do something every day that gets you out of your comfort zone, like talking to a stranger or asking someone to do you a favor.
As you become more aware of your lifestyle and the primitive urges, you will realize that discipline is not so difficult after all. In fact, awareness and discipline will help you really enjoy your life.
Q&A Question: I practice a yogic technique called Yoga Nidra to go directly to deep sleep. Since I do not need to dream anymore, I need only 2–3 hours of rest everyday. Please comment. Answer: Dreaming less is possible only when a systematic method of practice over a long period of time leads to dhyana and the meditator has conscious access to the unconscious mind. The adept brings the unconscious mind forward into waking consciousness and there is less stuff to deal with in the dream state. Through some yogic practices one can learn to go directly to deep sleep, however, there is a difference between a technique and a state.