The content below is taken from Captain Ajit Vadakayil's blog:
Pranayama is the regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath with retention. It needs to be practised only after perfection in asana has been attained. Patanjali expressly advises the sadhaka to perform pranayama only after attaining perfection in asana. For the first time, he demonstrates a distinct step in the ascension of the ladder of yoga, whereas he has not specified progression for the other aspects. Normally the flow of breath is unrestrained and irregular. Observing these variations, and conditioning the mind to control the inflow, outflow and retention of the breath in a regular, rhythmic pattern, is pranayama. The word pranayama consists of two components - prana and ayama. Prana is energy, when the self-energising force encompasses the body. Ayama means regulation. Pranayama— where you exhale twice as long as inhale— is more about dumping old experiences rather than mere oxygenation of blood. It is always starts with the left nostril for right handers – for left handers it is vice versa ( no book on pranayama talks about this ) .. Left handed people have their sub-conscious in the left lobe of the brain.Breathe in the new , breathe out the old. Pranayama—inhale and exhale with awareness— long exhales with the sound of MMMMMMM. Humming boosts level of nitric oxide—this in turn ups the oxygen intake by 98%, the biggest secret . Ordinary breath is a mere 4%. It is amazing Nitric oxide was discovered by Indian yogis 11000 years ago. For re-inventing this a Nobel prize was given 2 decades ago.
Nitric oxide is necessary for-
1. Destruction of viruses, parasitic organisms, and malignant cells in the airways and lungs by inactivating their respiratory chain enzymes.
2. Regulation of binding - release of O2 to hemoglobin.
3. Vasodilation of arteries and arterioles (regulation of blood flow or perfusion of tissues).
4. Inhibitory effects of inflammation in blood vessels.
5. Hormonal effects. Nitric oxide influences secretion of hormones from several glands (adrenaline, pancreatic enzymes, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone)
6. Neurotransmission. Memory, sleeping, learning, feeling pain, and many other processes are possible only with NO present (for transmission of neuronal signals).
Obviously, during mouth breathing it is not possible to utilize one's own nitric oxide which is produced in the sinuses. The mouth, was created by nature for eating, drinking, and speaking. At all other times, your trap should be shut.When there is lack of oxygen in your blood , you living to a small percentage of your potential. Endurance exercise can increase oxygen utilization from 10 to 20 times over the resting state. This greatly also increases the generation of free radicals, which can cause cancer. Metabolism, or, more accurately the metabolic rate of the cells, sets the demand for oxygen. At rest, a human consumes about 250 millilitres of oxygen each minute. With exercise this rate can be increased more than 10-fold in a normal healthy individual, but a highly trained athlete may achieve a more than 20-fold increase.. Muscle can do more work, but beyond the aerobic scope they must revert to anaerobic metabolism, which results in waste products, mainly lactic acid. The ability of the eye to dark-adapt (, increase its sensitivity at low light levels) decreases with age, but part of that decrease can be restored by breathing pure oxygen. Various mental processes in old people are also found to be improved by breathing oxygen. Any slowed induction of protein synthesis, as from lower oxygen intake, with age is a factor in the deficits of learning and memory of old people. 70% of toxins in your body are released by exhalation— rest by sweat, defecation and urine— surprised? Oxygen drives the basic metabolic processes that permit growth and constant body temperature. The main purpose of respiration is to provide oxygen to the cells at a rate adequate to satisfy their metabolic needs. This involves transport of oxygen from the lung to the tissues by means of the circulation of blood. The precise object of respiration therefore is the supply of oxygen to the mitochondria. Ganges' self-purifying quality leads to oxygen levels 25 times higher than any other river in the world. Ganga, show that it is able to reduce BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) levels much faster than in other rivers. Ganges cleans up suspended wastes twenty times faster than other rivers on the planet. The power of breathing lies in its relationship with your energy source. The mind is intimately connected to your breathing. Deep breathing triggers the lymph, your body’s sewage system which will give your cells more efficiency. It keeps the blood fully oxygenated. Breathe in the ration 1/4/2. .The physical aspect of lack of oxygen in the body is not as important as the mental and spiritual aspect. Lack of oxygen always slows your reaction time. The more oxygen our brains receive the better they function. Glial cells are mediators between the neurons and blood vessels of the brain. Oxygenating the brain can slow down constant die off of brain cells, and can activate areas of the brain which usually idle from lack of blood. The cells you use the least are the first to die off. 35000 brain cells die every day—more when there is lack of blood. But don’t worry, you have a stock of 100 billion brain cells. Arterial blood is slightly more acidic in pH value ( 0.05 ) than the venous blood. Blood is an electrolyte. Blood is a carrier for oxygen and nutrients to the cells, but more fundamentally it is a carrier of electrical current. The movement of blood produces EM waves through changes in the electrical charge (voltage) and current (amperage) of the fluid. Because oxygen is vital to life, the body and brain are extremely sensitive to even very small reductions . This is why exercise must be done at least ONE hour after a meal or oxygen required for digestion is used by muscles leading to indigestion and cramps. Stress, fear and anxiety causes muscles to contract and blood vessels to constrict. When blood cannot be transported freely through the body to provide oxygen, and antibodies and to carry away and dispose toxic wastes, illness sets in. Mind is non material , but it works in partnership with communicator molecules. With every thought mind moves atoms of hydrogen, carbon , oxygen and other particles in the brain . Knowing the connection between breath and consciousness, the ancient yogis devised PRANAYAMA to stabilise energy and consciousness. All that vibrates in this universe is the cosmic personality and prime mover Prana, potent in all living beings and non-living beings --- heat, light, gravity, magnetism, vigor , power , vitality,life, spirit. When a man is contented and happy , he has more Prana inside him. Anxiety vanishes entirely when you are one with the rest of the universe. When your mind is disturbed the fundamental energy Prana leaks . Pranayama just reverses the process. Yoga says that longevity depends on slow deep diaphragmic breathing. A tortoise takes 4 breaths a minute and so lives more than 200 years. People who do Pranayama regularly have quieter nerves , less lethargy , better sleep and lower BP. It prevents accumulation of Uric acid which gives joint pains. Fluctuations of mind are controlled and hence Pranayama prepares you for meditation.
The benefits are:--
1) You raise your consciousness
2) Develop inner peace
3) Rekindle your drooping spirit
4) Detoxification of body and mind
5) Your face glows --balance of mind, body and spirit.
6) Mental clarity and concentration
7) Raise your immunity
8) Reduces biological age.
9) Centring yourself and stoking your inner flame
10) Gratitude and communion with self
11) Awakening at cellular level, improves metabolism, burns fat
12) Expansion of perception
13) Physical exercise , stretching, flexing of spine. Removes stiffness of joints and ligaments.
14) Destress.
15) Good sleep at night.
16) Miraculous delivery from disease -physical and mental.
17) Your skin is cleansed by sunlight and you have less BO. Clears eyesight too.
18) Improves body posture.
19) Drives away phobias.
The HYPERVENTILATION ( Sudarshan Kriya ) patented by Triple Enyme Sri Ravsihankar made evil pharma very happy ,for it made people fall sick.
VEDIC YOGA SUPPORTS ONLY DEEP DIAPHRAGMATIC BELLY BREATHING AND NEVER EVER SHALLOW CHEST HYPERVENTILATION, AS PATENTED BY SUDARSHAN KRIYA / SOHUM . .
YOGA HAS SHUNNED HYPERVENTILATION , AND HAS USED BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA ONLY TO SHIFT THE DOMINANT NOSTRIL ( IDA/ PINGALA ) FOR A FEW SECONDS. . .
Human brain cells degenerate and die when you do hyperventilation. This is irreversible. . Hyperventilation leads to spontaneous and asynchronous firing of neurons . .. Brain diseases (or disorders of the central nervous system - CNS) are possible only in conditions of chronic hyperventilation, chest breathing and mouth breathing. . . Most brain diseases are characterized by chronic hyperventilation, there are additional effects due to low CO2 levels in the CNS. . .If excess ventilation cannot be compensated metabolically, it will lead to a rise in blood pH. This rise in blood pH is known as respiratory alkalosis. . .When hyperventilation leads to respiratory alkalosis, it causes dizziness, tingling in the lips, hands or feet, headache, weakness, fainting and seizures. . .In extreme cases it can cause carpopedal spasms (flapping and contraction of the hands and feet). . .Your body relies on carbonic acid to regulate the acidity of the entire bloodstream. By hyperventilating you remove far too much CO2 from your blood. . .The acidity of your bloodstream falls as a result. This has all sorts of nasty effects on your body if it is sustained, not least of which is an interference with nerve transmissions. . .Hypocalcemia, which results from hyperventilation, can cause tingling sensations, spasms of the muscles, and even convulsions. . Hyperventilating DOES store extra oxygen. But you can't necessarily use that extra oxygen, because with low CO2, your blood becomes too alkaline. . .Hemoglobin, in an alkaline environment, doesn't want to release the oxygen bound to it. . .Hyperventilation leads to MARTINI EFFECT and NIRTOGEN NARCOSIS.. Nitrogen narcosis is a neurological impairment caused by excess dissolved blood nitrogen . . Hyperventilation immediately causes a changed state of consciousness albeit a FAKE one . Many old people while doing hyperventilation on their beds have died . ..When a person hyperventilates, lowered level of carbon dioxide causes the pH of the blood to increase, leading to alkalosis. . .Yoga increases GABA levels in the brain . Low GABA levels are associated with depression and Alzheimer’s disease. . .Hyperventilation is NOT yoga. Do NOT do too much kapabathi-- you will get inguinal hernia!Swara Yoga is the science which is about the realization of cosmic consciousness, through the awareness or observation, then control or manipulation of the flow of breath in the nostrils. Shiva answers Parvati's questions ( Vigyan Bhairava Tantra) patiently and fully and goes on the tell her all about swara saying that "for all beings, breath is only the base." These include techniques for managing the planetary effects and the moon's phases and avoiding the negative influence of the planets and astral forces, through altering the breath flow or swara in the nostrils, manipulating and controlling the breath or the breath flow through each nostril. While on the subject of effect of moon on women, some Chutney Marys attacked me –so some ancient secrets will not be revealed and are now lost forever. By swara yoga you can even choose the gender of the baby you want. I guess signs tell us what happens for the best.
We can alter our destiny by being more auspicious, and realising, and eventually attaining the harmony and the Highest Consciousness. Swara yoga is an ancient tantric science which involves the systematic study of the breath flow through the nostrils (or swara) in relation to the prevailing phases of the moon, time of day and direction . Although we think of 'pranayama' when we think of techniques associated with the breath, in Swara yoga, it is the association of the breath in relation to the activities or phases or positions of the sun, moon, planets, seasons, time of day, with the physical and mental conditions of the individual and then taking the appropriate action according to these subtle relations. It was kept as a closed secret by the ancient sages and saints who had intuitively received this knowledge from the Divine. Swara yogi knows that during the flow of left nostril or right nostril when favorable elements rises certain things can be undertaken if you want to be successful. There are three modes of breathing- flow from left nostril, flow from right nostril and flow from both the nostrils. The last mode is generally for a short duration when breathing switches from left to right and vice versa. Mode of breathing can be checked by examining air flow while exhaling. All our actions can be classified into three main categories; physical, mental and spiritual; which are respectively presided by the above three modes of breathing. Breathing through the left nostril ( ida nadi ) stimulates the right hemisphere of brain, and breathing through the right nostril ( pingala nadi ) stimulates the left hemisphere. Breathing through the left nostril is connected with higher intraocular pressure and breathing through the right nostril lowers that pressure Intraocular pressure is created by the continual renewal of fluids within the eye. The intraocular pressure is increased in glaucoma. Breathing through the left nostril stimulates Ida which relates to the moon and the parasympathetic nervous system, breathing through the right stimulates Pingala, relating to the sun and sympathetic nervous system. Ida nadi is associated with the rest and restorative system of the body, whereas the pingala nadi is associated with the fight and flight response. Pranayama starts with the left nostril always. The benefits of left nostril breathing are numerous including sharper, clearer focus of the mind, and a deep, full relaxation or sleep. In the Yogic tradition, left nostril breathing has been used to break vices and habits, which usually take 21 days . If you watch your breath you will find that it is usually flowing more in one nostril than the other. Again, if the left nostril has a greater flow of air, then ida nadi is predominant. When the flow is greater in the right nostril, then pingala is predominant. If the flow is equal, then sushumna is ruling. When the right nostril is flowing, then vital energy is more active, allowing the individual to do physical work, digest food and so on. The mind is extroverted and the body generates more heat. When the left nostril (ida) is flowing, mental energy is dominant, the mind is introverted, any kind of mental work; thinking concentration, etc., may be undertaken. Ida nadi also flows mainly during sleep. The primary aim of hatha yoga is to bring about a balance of flow between the prana in ida and pingala, (ha = sun, tha = moon). To do this the body is purified by the six techniques known as the shatkarmas. As per swara yoga, in a day the flow of air through the left nostril should predominate for about twelve hours and through the right nostril for the other twelve hours. If pingala flows, the body will be restless; if ida flows, the mind will tend to think too much. In human physiology, the two nadis correspond roughly to the two halves of the autonomic nervous system - the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Pingala coincides with the sympathetic nerves, responsible for the stimulation and acceleration of activities concerned with the external environment and the deceleration of the organs which tend to utilize a lot of energy internally. The sympathetic nerves speed up the heart, dilate the blood vessels, increase the respiration rate, and intensify the efficiency of the eyes, ears, etc. The parasympathetic nerves directly oppose the sympathetic nerves, for they reduce the heartbeat, constrict the blood vessels, and slow the respiration so that the individual becomes introverted. The flow of prana in ida and pingala is completely involuntary and unconscious until yogic practices control it. A Swara yogi realizes cosmic consciousness through control and manipulation of breath. The ancient 7000 year old Sanskrit texts mention 72,000 subtle channels through which prana flows, the dominant flow of prana occurs within the ida and pingala nadis, two channels that course upwards on either side of the spine from their origin within the kanda or ‘bulb’ in the sacral plexus. The ida and pingala nadis relate to the activities of the parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system, respectively. Surya Bhedana when breathing in through the right nostril and Chandra bhedana when breathing in through the left nostril. Breathing in takes air down to the lungs which will produce suction in the eustachian tube. Scientists have postulated that external forces set the biological clock by stimulating the pineal gland, which is affected by dark/light cycles. These rhythms which were previously known to the ancient Rishis, so man is actually only rediscovering himself in relation to the cosmos. By the practice of Swara yoga one can become the master of the nadis and elements, so as to adjust himself with the universal forces which is the source of everything that gives birth to the experience of both material and spiritual life with heightened awareness. As per Swara Yoga , different modes of breathing leads to different types of actions; physical, mental and spiritual. Swarodaya Yoga’ has three types of breathing systems – For a right hander Ida (Inhaling and exhaling from left nostril ), Pingala (inhaling and exhaling from right side of the nostril) and Sushmana (inhaling and exhaling from both sides of the nostrils). We mostly breathe in and out from either Ida or Pingla but sometimes we breathe from both the nostrils. The Sushumna mode is generally for a short duration when breathing switches from left to right and vice versa. Mode of breathing can be checked by examining air flow while exhaling. Compliance to the dictums of ‘Swar Shaastras’ is more efficacious than omens, and a suitable time selected through astrology based on moon and planet phases. it was used to go beyond the limitations of the mind.
One must change mode of breathing suitably at the time of initiating specific desired activity. Example: When the left nostril is running (for righthanders ) , intitiation of mantras and consecration of deities in temples is done. When the right nostril is running certain deadly and destructive vashikaran mantras of Atharva Veda and psychic works are done. I will only say so much. Swara yoga aims at directly awakening the highest human potential. . Swara Yoga is a path which leads to awakening of the entire being.
