Pranayama & its benifits

What does Pranayama Mean? 
The word Pranayama is a combination of two Sanskrit words: 
Prana’ meaning life force Ayama’ meaning to restrain or to draw out, 
The combined form – Pranayama – is roughly translated as breath control.
It is a practice in yoga that involves the regulation of your breathing through specific techniques and exercise. The purpose is to relax the mind and body through a combination of inhaling, exhaling, and retaining of breath.Pranayama is the method of breath control. Proper breathing and awareness of the breath is very important. Swami Yogananda says, "Breath is the cord that ties the soul to the body". Your breathing directly affects the mental states. Breathing exercises help to control bodily functions. A regular, deep breath enables one to feel calm and an irregular breath can make you feel anxious. Yoga Breathing helps to re- charge the cells in the body and re- energizes the brain cells; thus, the body is rejuvenated.

Pranayama is known as a Hatha Yoga practice to control and expand the vital energy (prana). In traditional texts such as Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Gherand Samhita, there are many different types of pranayama and their benefits are immense. Each technique of pranayama is used specifically to bring about a specific change and benefits in the body-mind complex.

Practicing Pranayama is beneficial for a number of reasons:

1. Focusing on your breathing helps in managing stress.
2. Improves blood circulation, 
3. Helps with a number of medical ailments such as anxiety, depression, hypertension, headaches, and gastric problems.
4. Some research suggests that it can help with improved cardiovascular function.
5. Provides deep relaxation for the mind and body.
6. Increases respiratory function

Things to keep in mind before practicing Pranayama: 

Though most forms of yoga are safe to practice across the board, it is advised that people who want to practice different Pranayamas should at least have some prior experience doing yoga. And it is best if Pranayama is practiced under the supervision of a guru.

Certain breathing exercises are not advised for the following people; 

1. Those who suffer from hypertension or low blood pressure.
2. Those recovering from a recent heart attack, 
3. Those with chronic heart conditions,
4. Pregnant women,Women who are menstruating, 
5. Those with bronchitis or severe breathing issues

Broadly speaking all the different pranayama techniques are categorized under four different categories-

Types of Yoga

All yoga styles create a feeling of lightness, ease and relaxation. But to get the most benefit and the most enjoyment, you need to find a yoga style and a teacher that suits you. For example, if you're already doing lots of strength training your best choice is likely to be a yoga style that focuses more on flexibility. That way, you can balance your fitness routine

Yoga is a mind and body practice with a 5,000-year history in ancient Indian philosophy. Various styles of yoga combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation.

Modern yoga has evolved with a focus on exercise, strength, flexibility, and breathing. It can help boost physical and mental well-being.

There are many styles of yoga, and no style is more authentic or superior to another. The key is to choose a class appropriate for your fitness level.

Types and styles of yoga may include:

Ashtanga yoga: This type of yoga uses ancient yoga teachings. However, it became popular during the 1970s. Ashtanga applies six established sequences of postures that rapidly link every movement to breath.

Bikram yoga: Also known as "hot" yoga, Bikram occurs in artificially heated rooms at temperatures of nearly 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity. It consists of 26 poses and a sequence of two breathing exercises.

Hatha yoga: This is a generic term for any type of yoga that teaches physical postures. "Hatha" classes usually serve as a gentle introduction to the basic yoga postures.

Iyengar yoga: This type focuses on finding the correct alignment in each pose using a range of props, such as blocks, blankets, straps, chairs, and bolsters.

Jivamukti yoga: Jivamukti means "liberation while living." This type emerged in 1984 and incorporates spiritual teachings and practices that focus on the fast-paced flow between poses rather than the poses themselves.

This focus is called vinyasa. Each class has a theme, which is explored through yoga scripture, chanting, meditation, asana, pranayama, and music. Jivamukti yoga can be physically intense.

Kripalu yoga: This type teaches practitioners to know, accept, and learn from the body. A student of Kripalu learns to find their own level of practice by looking inward. The classes usually begin with breathing exercises and gentle stretches, followed by a series of individual poses and final relaxation.

Kundalini yoga: Kundalini means "coiled, like a snake." Kundalini yoga is a system of meditation that aims to release pent-up energy.

A class typically begins with chanting and ends with singing. In between, it features asana, pranayama, and meditation customized to create a specific outcome.

Power yoga: In the late 1980s, practitioners developed this active and athletic type of yoga, based on the traditional ashtanga system.

Sivananda: This is a system based on a five-point philosophy. This philosophy maintains that proper breathing, relaxation, diet, exercise, and positive thinking work together to form a healthy yogic lifestyle. Typically uses the same 12 basic asanas, bookended by sun salutations and savasana poses.

Viniyoga: Viniyoga can adapt to any person, regardless of physical ability. Viniyoga teachers require in-depth training and tend to be experts on anatomy and yoga therapy.

Yin: This is a quiet, meditative yoga practice, also called taoist yoga. Yin yoga allows the release of tension in key joints, including:

• the ankles
• knees
• · hips
• the whole back
• neck
• shoulders

Yin poses are passive, meaning that gravity shoulders most of the force and effort.

Prenatal yoga: Prenatal yoga uses postures that practitioners have designed for people who are pregnant. It can support people in getting back into shape after pregnancy as well as supporting health iduring pregnancy.

Restorative yoga: This is a relaxing method of yoga. A person spends a restorative yoga class in four or five simple poses, using props like blankets and bolsters to sink into deep relaxation without exerting any effort in holding the pose 

How Yoga Benefit us!!!

The word ‘yoga’ is derived from Sanskrit and means ‘to join’/to unite’. Yoga exercises have a physical effect and bring a balance between body, soul and mind. Yoga helps us to deal with our problems, worries and everyday demands. It also influences us to understand ourselves, the purpose of life and develops our relationship with God. Yoga leads a spiritual path to knowledge and eternal bliss in the union of eternal self with universal self. Yoga is that supreme and infinite principle. Yoga is that ray of life that is universal cognizant that is awake.

The ultimate goal of yoga is, however, to help the individual to transcend the self and attain enlightenment. As the Bhagavad-Gita says, “A person is said to have achieved yoga, the union with the Self, when the perfectly disciplined mind gets freedom from all desires, and becomes absorbed in the Self alone.”

The main aims of yoga in our daily life Develops our Physical health Develops our mental health Develops our social health Develops our spiritual health helps in our self-realization,  

Advantages of Yoga are as follows: 

• Improves brain function
• Lower stress levels 
• Alters gene expression
• Increases flexibility
• Lowers blood pressure 
• Improves lung capacity, 
• Relieves anxiety, 
• Relieves chronic back pain, 
• Lowers blood sugar in diabetics, 
• Improves sense of balance, 
• Stronger bones, 
• Healthy weight,
• Lowers risk of heart diseases

The main aims of yoga in our daily life:

• Develops our Physical health
• Develops our mental health 
• Develops our social health 
• Develops our spiritual health 
• helps in our self-realization

Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self - Bhagwat Gita

Yoga is well known for its postures and poses, but they were not a key part of original yoga traditions in India. Fitness was not a primary goal. Practitioners and followers of yogic tradition focused instead on other practices, such as expanding spiritual energy using breathing methods and mental focus.

Yoga in Daily Life is a system of practice consisting of eight levels of development in the areas of physical, mental, social and spiritual health.When the body is physically healthy, the mind is clear, focused and stress is under control. The main goals of “Yoga in Daily Life” are Physical Health, Mental Health, Social Health, Spiritual Health, Self-Realization or realization of the Divine within us. These goals are attained by Love and help for all living beings,Respect for life, protection of nature and the environment,A peaceful state of mind, Full vegetarian diet, Pure thoughts and positive lifestyle, Physical, mental and spiritual practices, Tolerance for all nations, cultures and religions. Yogic techniques are known to improve one’s overall performance. Pranayama is an important, yet little known part of Yoga.

Before we get into the benefits of Yoga, it is essential to understand what exactly Yoga really is. Yoga is not a religion, it’s a way of living that aims towards a healthy mind in a healthy body. Man is a physical, mental and spiritual being; Yoga helps in developing the balance between all the three as stated in  Ayurveda in India. Other forms of exercise, like aerobics, only assure physical well being. These exercises have very little to do with the improvement of spiritual or astral body.

The founder of Yoga, Patanjali stated, "Sthiram sukham asanam." It implies that a posture that appears to be firm and agreeable is your asana. You may be astounded to know that an asana is just a preliminary step into the act of yoga. It is a way that encourages you to achieve the greater good. Yoga focusses on idealizing concordance between your mind, body, and soul. When you adjust yourself so everything functions brilliantly within you, you will draw out the best of your capabilities.