Pranayama Yoga - Breathing for Life

The words pranayama and yoga are often seen together, giving the misconception that pranayama is a style of yoga in itself. Pranayama is actually the word used to refer to a breathing technique that can be used in conjunction with many different styles of yoga.

The practice of pranayama involves gaining control of your breathing so that you can control the energy flow through your body. It is believed that if your breathing patterns are disturbed, the energy flow through your body will become disrupted as well, causing physical and emotional imbalances.

Those who are participating in vigorous exercise routines or who are simply under stress may begin to breathe unevenly. These uneven breathing patterns can lead to your organs not getting the amount of oxygen they need to function properly. Your lungs are designed to allow you to inhale deeply, taking in oxygen, and to exhale fully, ridding the body of toxic carbon dioxide. Not breathing correctly will make it difficult for you to properly rid your body of carbon dioxide.

Proper breathing is touted as an incredibly important part of any yogic practice for just this reason. Proper breathing habits and patterns will ensure that the body can function properly. This is why you sometimes hear the phrase, "Take a deep breath and count to 10," when people are angry. The phrase was originally intended to help a person regain control and balance.

Too many people assume that the counting from one to ten is what is helping them to release their negative emotions and calm down. In reality, it is the deep breathing that accompanies the counting that is actually allowing you to change your behavior. The practice, as a whole, encourages individuals to stop and think before taking action so that they can make rational decisions instead of taking anger-ridden action.

Breathing is at the core of all yoga practices. The self discipline associated with proper breathing will help you to transition from a person who simply practices the asanas into a person who really experiences them. Maintaining correct posture as you practice your yoga techniques will allow your lungs to fill properly and to their fullest capacity, letting your body receive and circulate the oxygen it needs. Not only will proper breathing benefit your organs, but it will help you to maintain higher levels of energy as well.

Yoga breathing has a series of stages. Each stage is necessary in order for you to move through your asanas. The stages of pranayama breathing work in conjunction with each other - no one stage is complete without the one before or after it. Inhaling and exhaling are key.

There are 4 stages to consider. Puraka, the first stage, is an inhalation. Kumbhaka, the second stage, is a state in which you hold the inhalation from the first stage. The third stage, rechaka, involves exhaling very slowly. The fourth stage involves holding your breath for a brief moment before starting the cycle again.

Each of the stages of pranayama breathing are designed to assist you in cleansing the body, ridding yourself of the toxins that are blocking healthy energy flow. Proper breathing through pranayama will allow you to experience the true release yoga has the ability of sharing.