PRANAYAMA BENEFITS : THE AMAZING IMPORTANCE OF BREATH IN THE UPANISHADS

PRANAYAMA BENEFITS

Pranayama is the yogic package of focusing on control of breath.

in sanskrit, prana means vital life force and Yama means to take control

it is a means to uplift your prana shakti or life energies

THE IMPORTANCE OF BREATH IN THE UPANISHAD

In the early upanishads, breath is the highest deity in the body because it is incorruptible and indestructible to desires and attachments

your desires motivates your actions and in the process you use your organs take up the action and perception

if your desires are impure, you use all your senses for the wrong use

for example – when you do not speak the truth, you corrupt your speech

when you watch images which are not healthy to see, you corrupt your eyes and so on with the other senses as well

but in case of breath, it is different. you breathe autonomously not because you want to breath or don’t want to breath

you breath without any motivation, just to stay alive and the act of breathing is not under your control

LET’S HEAR A STORY IN MYTHOLOGY RELATING TO PRANAYAMA BENEFITS

according to The story …

both gods and demons were struggling to gain control of the triple worlds, namely the earth, the mid region and the heaven

the gods wanted to defeat the demons by performing a sacrifice in which they have an expertise

they wanted to perform the sacrifice with uDGITA ( a specific Saman -a prayer ) which was sung loudly for purification

first – they approached the speech ( vak ) and requested it to sing the saman for them

now the speech had a quality of selfishness as a weakness

therefore whatever enjoyment was there in singing, it Passed it to the gods and whatever good came out of the singing, it kept to itself

the demons saw the vulnerability of the speech and therefore pierced it with evil.

from then on, speech learnt to speak evil, untruth and falsehood and became impure

same thing happened with the nose – the demons could influence it and the nose learnt to smell foul things

with the eyes ( chakshu ) – it became susceptible to see evil things

with ears – it started hearing evil things

the gods tried to do the same with the thoughts but again the demons intervened. as a result, the mind also became impure and began thinking evil thoughts

finally, the gods approached the breath and requested it to chant the UDGITA

As we had heard earlier that breath is incorruptible

you may use your sense organs willfully because of your desires but in case of breath, you breath involuntarily without any particular desire

therefore when the gods requested the breath to chant the UDGITA for them, the breath started to sing.

the demons tried to corrupt it but the Breath struck them and shattered them

thus the god who failed in all their efforts finally gained victory and succeeded in driving the demons out

it was in BREATH that they found sanctuary and protection from the evil

MORAL OF THE STORY

is that your mind and body are susceptible to evil thoughts and actions

if you engage in selfish and desire driven actions, you will be vulnerable to evil and you may even let evil gain control over your mind and body and this will keep you chained to the cycle of birth and death

therefore in our survival of life, you must keep yourself free from selfishness and perform your duties selflessly without desiring their fruits

when you Are consumed with evils and undesirable thoughts, you should stabilize your mind with the help of BREATHING

through the practice of pRANAYAMA, breath control, you can keep your mind and body pure and free from evil actions and thoughts

so such stories establish the roots of yoga, pranayama, meditation and breath Control Which can be traced back to the upanishads

https://reflectwithsmitha.com/everything-happens-for-the-best-story-of-king-and-minister/

LET’S KNOW MORE ABOUT PRANAYAMA BENEFITS

there are 5 types of prana. out of which 2 are pRANA and aPANA which are the most important.

prana is Upward flowing and apana is Downward flowing

pranayama has three phases namely

inhalation / puraka

retention / kumbhaka

exhalation / rechaka

popular PRANAYAMAS are

1. bhastrika pranayama:

forceful inhalation and exhalation through stomach. it is used to boost energy

2. kapalbhati pranayama:

its the most famous pranayama. sudden jerk of exhalation with belly movement.

helps in rejuvenation and regeneration and detoxification of cells

3. anulom vilom / nadi shodan pranayama:

alternate nostril breathing

centers your mind by joining the left and the right side of your brain

You Can Do Anulom Vilom Pranayam while You Are sitting and Reading Or doing any sitting activity

it helps Reduce Your Breathing Speed And Bringing Awareness To The Present Moment, Of The Precious Air That Goes In And Out

4. bhraamari pranayama:

making humming sound while exhalation through closed mouth.

calms the mind and controls racing thoughts

5. and then followed by OM meditation ( UDGITA PRANAYAMA)

PRANAYAMA BENEFITS

1. Improves auditory, sensory and motor skills

2. improves lung capacity

3. increases mindfulness

4. lowers stress and aggression among students

5. lowers anxiety levels and negative feelings

POINTS TO rEMEMBER

consistency and Persistency is the key.

You have to diligently do it EVERYDAY to reap it’s benefits.

even if it is for a little time, you have to take that extra effort to go ahead and do it.

PRECAUTION TO BE TAKEN

Even though yoga and pranayama are easier to follow and practice by any common person without any side effects but still consulting a physician would be better if you are suffering from any specific physical ailment

HERE’S TO CONCLUDE WITH A DISCLAIMER

i am no yoga practitioner or expert in this field

but over the years i have read and learnt pranayama from others and inculcated it in my life and has benefitted from it a lot both mentally and physically

so this is just from a layman’s point of view blog

i want to create an awareness in people’s lives regarding the impact that pranayama can have in people’s lives and lead a happier and a healthy life

so that’s all for now friends

hope you found this content beneficial

until next time, keep smiling

stay happy … stay blessed .. ALWAYS

SMITHA