It does not much matter whether people consider themselves ready to start a pranayama (breathing extention) practice or not, the practice itself has a built in "entry level" mechanism. How do I know? Two reasons.
One) The practice of pranayama does not stick so easily. Many people start enthusiastically but abandon it right away. In my case for example, even though I studied at a great teacher training program that had one of the best pranayama focused syllabus, it still did not stay with me. It took a few years yet for the practice to sink in and become a part of my daily routine.
I hope you join me in reading, commenting, and telling me what aha! moments you get.
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In lay man words bandhas are internal locks, for example: you "tighten your anus" (although technically is more the area between the genitals and the anus, or the perineum). That would be the root bandha (mula bandha).
For the second bandha, uddyana, you lift the abdominal muscles up and in, you "suck in your belly", send the energy upwards.
And for the third one, jalandhara bandha, you bring your chin to your sternum and lock the passage of saliva, with a relaxed neck. You block the top of the pot that is your torso.
Jalandhara Bandha is KEY to Pranayama
This chapter focuses mostly around the third bandha, Jalandhara Bandha which is the one demonstrated on the cover of the book. Why is that? because this chin-lock is as central to pranayama as mula and uddyhana bandha are to asana practice.
Gregor is somewhat shocked that many schools around the world teach yoga without any regard for these internal locks. For example:
Of course talking here about the bandhas in detail, making a reduction of what the chapter says, would not do the work justice. It is too vast, it needs a quiet time for detailed reading.
I highly recommend you go over the material, it is exceptional and melts in your mouth like honey and ghee. Especially the part on Jalandhara Bandha which relates to pranayama.
I will say however that three things called my attention as very interesting:
1) The importance of extending the inversions during asana practice and learning to breathe slower and longer in them, especially Shalamba Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) as it prepares the neck for Jalandhara Bandha.
Are you beginning to get a sense of the depth of this chapter?
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One) The practice of pranayama does not stick so easily. Many people start enthusiastically but abandon it right away. In my case for example, even though I studied at a great teacher training program that had one of the best pranayama focused syllabus, it still did not stay with me. It took a few years yet for the practice to sink in and become a part of my daily routine.
And two) All the details of a good practice are difficult to understand. There is a lot to learn, and a teacher is necessary, at least for the first couple of sessions, until one understands the nuances of everything that is going on at once.
If you don't believe me, all you would have to do is look at this week's chapter on the book club. It is simply called "Bandhas", but there is nothing simple about it. Wikki defines bandhas as a Sanskrit term meaning binding, bond, arrest, capturing, putting togehter. Of course the is quite a bit more about them within the yoga context.
Take Jalandhara Bandha, (the chin lock) which is key to pranayama, it means "to pull the brain upwards", how about that? As the chin falls down (see the cover of the book below where Gregor is doing it) the spine receives a pull.
Oh, by the way, a word of warning may be in order, there is a bit of technical speak here.
Hey! That could even be a number three... those who can get through the technical speak might understand it better.
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This is a series I have come to call Claudia's Book Club in which we are starting with a very timely book: "Pranayama: The Breath of Yoga".
We happen to be reading the second part of the book in which Gregor is covering all "preparations" for pranayama.
This second part has four chapters: one on proper food intake or Mitahara, asana (previous post), bandhas (this post), and finally kryias (methods of purification).
I hope you join me in reading, commenting, and telling me what aha! moments you get.
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Back to the book:
Gregor is well aware of this quandary (the one where people may start the practice with enthusiasm but drop after a short while). He, however, blames it on bandhas...
"Modern practitioners often fail in pranayama and discontinue their practice because, in most cases, they commence it without a proper working knowledge of the bandhas."
He than gives a very brief intro to what bandhas are:
"Neuromuscular locks that prevent the vayu [energetic currents or winds within the body] from going astray in kumbhaka [breath retention done properly]." (My words in the square parenthesis)What are Bandhas, In English Please?
In lay man words bandhas are internal locks, for example: you "tighten your anus" (although technically is more the area between the genitals and the anus, or the perineum). That would be the root bandha (mula bandha).
For the second bandha, uddyana, you lift the abdominal muscles up and in, you "suck in your belly", send the energy upwards.
And for the third one, jalandhara bandha, you bring your chin to your sternum and lock the passage of saliva, with a relaxed neck. You block the top of the pot that is your torso.
Jalandhara Bandha is KEY to Pranayama
This chapter focuses mostly around the third bandha, Jalandhara Bandha which is the one demonstrated on the cover of the book. Why is that? because this chin-lock is as central to pranayama as mula and uddyhana bandha are to asana practice.
Gregor is somewhat shocked that many schools around the world teach yoga without any regard for these internal locks. For example:
"It is essential that asana practitioners acquire an understanding of Mula and Uddyana Bandha before venturing into asana practice as it is more difficult to cultivate the bandhas once one is used to faulty bandha-less asana practice. The same is true for Jalandhara Bandha in regard to pranayama." -Page 149
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| Beautiful photograph of advanced practitioner Petri engaging all three bandhas |
I highly recommend you go over the material, it is exceptional and melts in your mouth like honey and ghee. Especially the part on Jalandhara Bandha which relates to pranayama.
I will say however that three things called my attention as very interesting:
1) The importance of extending the inversions during asana practice and learning to breathe slower and longer in them, especially Shalamba Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) as it prepares the neck for Jalandhara Bandha.
"According to this tradition [Krishnamahcarya] Sarvangasana and Halasana [shoulder-stand and headstand] need to be preactised prior to practicing pranayama, because these postures teach the right position for Jalandhara Bandha, which is not to place the chin into the jugualr notch but down on the sternum at exactly the place where it is located in Sarvangasana." Page 1522) On locking the throat, and I did not know this:
"Be sure to understand that simply placing the chin on the chest does not constitute jalandhara bandha... This fact is perilously left out in the teaching of many modern schools.... to activate Jalandhara Bandha means to swallow as if one is swallowing saliva, and , once the throat muscles grip, to maintain that grip for the remainder of the breath retention" (from pages 153 and 154)3) The importance of learning this lock before proceeding with retentions of breath longer than 10 seconds:
"One should not attempt internal Kumbhaka of more than about 10 seconds without proficiency in Jalandhara Bandha. Initial sessions of internal Kumbhaka must be devoted to checking again and again that Jalandhara Bandha is applied properly so that the prana [life force, kundalini energy] does not force itself into the head and air into the ears and cause damage". Page 162
Are you beginning to get a sense of the depth of this chapter?
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CLAUDIA'S BOOK CLUB:
"PRANAYAMA THE BREATH OF YOGA"
Chapter One: How Many Breaths Do You Do Per Minute?
Chapter Two: Part I: Who Is An Expert In Yoga?
Chapter Two: Part II: How To Get Your Body To Be 16 Years Old Again
Chapter Three: Meditation is Useless Unless Both Nostrils Are Active
Chapter Five: How Do I Know If I Am Ready For Pranayama?
Chapter Eight: Pulling Your Brain Updwards. On Bandhas and Pranayama
Chapter Nine: Why Gross Purification Is Critical To Yoga
Chapter Ten: The Breathing Exercise That Gets Rid Of Our Fears
Chapter Eleven: How Not To Be An Idiod In Pranayama. Nerve Purification
Chapter Twelve: Bhastrika Pranayama - Life Force on Steroids
Chapter Thirteen: What The World Needs Now Is More Left Nostril Breathing
Here is a link to the book in Amazon. Join me in reading!
I love the practice of pranayama! You have done an excellent job of delating why the study needs to be led and monitored by an experienced practitioner. One on one or in small groups. Thank you for your "book club". Be well
ReplyDeleteThank you Kyczy
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