Rules for Pranayama

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Pranayama
·    Use breath to support movement rather than oppose it.
·    Not disturbing the flow of the breath or the focus of the mind
·    Mental steadiness is the goal
·    Breath is the link between body and mind 
·    Therapeutic nature: affects the “doshas”

Prana
·    Life force: exists in and makes up all living things
·    Beyond sense conception, energy, not air
·    Prana expresses itself through the functions of the body and mind, it is the reason we keep breathing when we are asleep
·    When prana is blocked in a portion of the body, that portion ceases to function properly.
·    We change the movements of body breath, mind and FOOD in order to restore prana to normal unimpeded levels. This is because food has prana as it was living. 
·    Ayurveda & Prana
o  Prana vata is responsible for the subsets of vata. It causes the movement responsible for breathing
·    Prana in Yoga
o  Prana vayu: breath

Pranayama
·    Ayama-“to lengthen or to extend”
·    Pranayama “ to lengthen or extend the breath”
·    Reducing the total number of breaths allows us to live longer (pradipika)
·    Pranyama involves the minimal movement of the body so that one can focus on the breath
·    Remove mental disturbances and prepare the mind for meditation
o  Right posture
o  Active regulation of the breath
o  Proper mental focus
·    Mental and physical disturbances alter the pattern of breathing
o  Durga
o  Sukshma
·    Passive Observation: inhalation, exhalation and the pauses between them
·    Awareness of the breath alone will tend to make it longer and smoother
·    What is pranayama? Combination of…
o  Physical factors
§ Position of the body: erect shusumna
§ Four parts of breathing
·    Puraka (I)
o  Limited to what you need
o  Energetic when extended
·    Recaka (e)
o  Extended reduces rajas (movement)
o  Promotes deeper and fuller inhalation
o  Relaxation promoted
·    Bahya kumbacka (s)
·    Antar-kumbacka (r)
o  Methodology (mouth, nose, etc)
o  Mental factors
§ Focus of the mind (desha) “place”
o  Temporal Factors
§ Duration of each of the components of the breathing cycle (kala)
§ Total number of respirations (samkhya)…duration of pramnayama session
·    Nadis: channels through which prana flows. Obstruction of these nadis results in disease
o  Ida 
o  Pingala
o  shushumna
·    Agni (fire): transforms prana in food into “dhatus” (body tissues)
·    Bandhas & mudras (locks /seals)
o  Mula
o  Uddiyana
o  Jalandara
o  Jivha (tip of tongue rolled back to hard palate)

Enhance the functioning of the agni. Prevent prana from moving upward and apana from moving downward, so that both are retained and balanced

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