Breathing exercises Ayurveda. The respiratory system and the influence of the three doshas on it. How to practice breathing according to Ayurveda

Ayurveda covers all aspects of human health, including the respiratory system. Each element of Ayurveda (dosha) refers to a specific organ or organ system and affects it.

Kapha is the dosha of water in the body, which accumulates mainly in the lungs and in the stomach of a person. The mucus that forms in the stomach enters the lungs of a person and accumulates there, and from there it can flow to other parts of the body and cause disorders and diseases. Disorders of Kapha dosha most often manifest themselves as acute respiratory infections or colds, inflammation of the lymph nodes, pneumonia or asthma, and other diseases of the respiratory system.

However, the lungs are where Vata doshas are often manifested. It is through the lungs that vital energy enters the human body. If diseases of the respiratory system are accompanied by a breakdown, severe shortness of breath or dehydration, for example, tuberculosis, then this is, first of all, a Vata dosha disorder.

Pitta is a dosha that is often associated with infectious diseases of the respiratory system.

Whatever your constitution (the ratio of the three doshas in the body), poor digestion leads to the accumulation of mucus, and this is a sign of the weakening of Agni (fire) in the body, although it is not evidence of high Kapha. In Ayurvedic medicine, the main treatment for respiratory ailments is to increase the digestive fire.

Poor digestion, prolonged exposure to the cold, changes in weather or seasons, poor mental state, improper breathing practices and insufficient physical exercise or overloading leads to respiratory illness. On the mental level, these diseases are caused by fear, sadness, or attachment.

Treatment methods

Treatment involves an integrated approach, namely, combining pranayamas (breathing exercises) and other yogic practices with a proper diet, as well as the use of herbs.

Herbal treatment

Provides for the local use of herbal extracts, oils and decoctions, including "nasya" - the introduction of oils and decoctions through the nose, gargling with herbal decoctions, lubricating the chest, back and head with pastes or oils, smoking herbs.

One of the recipes for tonic: two parts elecampane and two parts comfrey, one part ginger, one part cinnamon and the same amount of licorice. For Kapha, add calamus or cloves to this composition, and for Vata add ginseng or ashwagandha. For Pitta in the recipe, change elecampane for burdock root.

Emetic therapy

Vamana is a therapy for purifying the body through vomiting, the basis for the treatment of Kapha disorders in Ayurveda. This is a very powerful and effective form of therapy, but it also requires the utmost care. It is not recommended to use such a treatment on your own, it is better to do it in special clinics where Panchakarma methods are used, and under the supervision of a doctor who practices Ayurveda. After the patient is fully trained in this technique, it can be applied independently. For people who are dominated by Kapha, it is helpful to do stomach and lung cleansing procedures on a regular basis. This will not only improve the health of the body, but also prolong life. For those who are not suitable for such therapy, a similar result can be achieved thanks to special diet and expectorant and mucus-dispersing herbs, but the treatment process will be longer.

Pranayama

For long-term treatment of diseases of the pulmonary system, it is imperative to use the yogic system of breathing practices - Pranayama. This respiratory control system is very effective in treating diseases such as asthma and chronic allergies. Learning how to properly control your breathing can increase your energy levels, improve circulation and increase your strength.

Basic principles:

You can not forcibly hold your breath;

The inhalation should be 2 times longer than the exhalation;

It is necessary to perform pranayama only in the correct posture (asana), otherwise the exercise will be ineffective, since the lungs will be compressed and breathing is difficult.

You cannot practice pranayama on your own, without the help of an experienced mentor or doctor, as well as in acute asthma attacks.

Solar Pranayama is used when Kapha is violated. It is performed like inhaling with the right nostril and exhaling through the left, exhaling - hold the breath. If you have a Pitta constitution, or if there is inflammation in the lungs, then you should perform Lunar Pranayama - inhale with the left nostril, and exhale through the right nostril.

If you have a state of Vata, then it is better to perform these two pranayamas in turn, or breathe in and out through both nostrils at the same time (So-Ham pranayama). If you experience dryness, cough (dry) insomnia, it is recommended to perform Lunar Pranayama, while holding your breath while inhaling.

Performing So-Ham pranayama, one should mentally repeat the mantra "So" on inhalation and "Ham" on exhalation. "So" increases inhalation and improves quality vital energy - Prana. The mantra "Ham" deepens the exhalation and removes the excess of the descending energy - Apana. Useful for any human constitution.

Ayurveda and the Breath

Date of recording:

Location

records: Minsk, Belarus

Lecture is given by: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Type and duration

recording rate: Audio, minutes

Russian text

Computer: IBM

Processor: Windows 98

File name: Ayurv and Breath

Translation: Simonenko T.I.

Edited by T.I. Simonenko

Archive phone: 272-91-17

Ayurveda and breathing

This discourse on Ayurveda and Breathing was conducted by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in January 1997 in Santa Monica, California.

Ayurveda and breathing. This is the title of our topic. Life has four characteristics. It exists, develops, expresses itself and fades away. And in order for it to exist, develop, express itself and fade away, it depends on five elements: earth, water, air, ether and fire. In order to make it easier to understand, we can say: the five senses and their objects - sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch. Ayurveda is the study of life. Veda - means 'knowledge', 'desire to know'. Ayus - life. According to Ayurveda, life is not a rigid isolated structure. Existence is not a rigid isolated structure. It is a harmonious flow. Even these five elements that make up the entire Universe are not isolated structures of distinguishable objects. They flow from one another. Each element contains four others. Ayurveda considers life from a holistic point of view, as something whole. The subtlest element is the space of which the mind is made. The grossest element is the earth, of which our bones, bone marrow, skin and skeleton are made up. Further, it is all divided into three doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. I think you are familiar with these names. This is a way of understanding physiology, its characteristics, its reflection in the mind. When disease comes , first it appears in the form of thought, in its most subtle form - sound. Then it manifests itself in the form of light, that is, in the aura. Then this disease manifests itself in the body ... Its simple symptoms appear, in the form of fluids, which can be eliminated. And then it manifests itself in the most rude form, when it is already necessary drug treatment... You must know about aromatherapy, color therapy. With the help of aroma, smell, you can act on the disease or cure it. This is the aspect of very early prevention. Even before the disease appears, you can delay its development with the help of aromatherapy, aroma, smell, through breathing.

The holistic approach in Ayurveda includes exercise, breathing and meditation. Breathing is synonymous with life. Our life is breathing or breathing is our life. We can express it purely practically as follows: if someone is not breathing, then this is a sign that there is no life in him. What is the relationship between breath and different doshas in the body? This is very interesting to note. Vata, Pitta and Kapha - These three doshas affect certain parts of the body more than others. So, vata dosha dominates in the lower part of the body: stomach, intestines (flatulence), joint pain, all this is associated with vata. Kapha dosha is in the middle of the body. Cough, perhaps the word 'cough' comes from this word as they are closely related. Kapha affects the midsection of our body. Pitta - on upper part our body, head. Irritability, irascibility is a sign of pitta. So vata, kapha and pitta are dominant in three different parts of the body. In yoga, breathing practices, three-stage pranayama affect these three doshas. In pranayama, in breathing techniques, there are exercises for the lower body, then for the middle body and for the upper body. You must have noticed that when you do the three-stage pranayama, you feel the doshas in your body are balanced. Something in your body is changing, you already feel different, more balanced. Pranayama brings this balance into your body. There are some difficulties in mastering these practices, but the implementation of the practices is not difficult. It is a little difficult to develop a habit, as with any other exercise. When you start doing any exercise, at the beginning you are a little lazy, but as soon as you feel this rhythm, say even jogging ... At first you are a little lazy. But as soon as you start doing it, you notice how good you feel about running.

So, the three doshas are associated with different parts of the body, and certain rhythms underlying breathing patterns correct or balance these parts of the body. Likewise, in our fingers we can find the three doshas and the nerve index. So for example, this finger, the index finger, is kapha. The middle finger is cotton wool. The ring finger is pitta. If you look at someone's fingers, then by the shape of these fingers you can see which doshas prevail in the body. Performing some mudra-pranayamas, very gentle massaging of nerve endings, ujjai breathing, also balance the doshas in the body.

How to ensure the health of your body? Sanskrit. First of all, you need to deal with such an element as ether. It is an element of the mind. If your mind is bound by too many impressions, there are too many thoughts in it, then your strength of resistance decreases. Thus, your body prepares itself for any illness. If the mind is pure, calm, in a pleasant meditative state, then the body's resistance to disease increases significantly. Because he will not allow disease to enter the body. This is the primary remedy to calm your mind. Approach from the most subtle aspect of the universe - ether. Then, we come to the element air, to breath. This is where aromatherapy and everything else is needed. Then, light or colors, you can call it color therapy. Before the disease manifests itself in the body, it can be seen in the person's aura. Have you ever heard of a method for photographing an aura? Several doctors have been researching this issue. Especially when it comes to ulcers, cancer, diabetes, these diseases. They took a photograph of the aura for another six months of the manifestation of these diseases in the human body and found spots. By increasing the level of energy in our body with the help of prana, life energy, breathing, it is possible to cleanse the aura and prevent disease before it manifests. This can be achieved through yoga. The goal of yoga is: (Sanskrit), i.e. preventing misfortune before it occurs.

Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras (this is one of the finest interpretations)

says that there is only one sentence given, as a formula: "What is the purpose of yoga? To prevent unhappiness before it occurs. Burn the seed before it sprouts."

Then comes water. Water element. Water fasting, cleansing the body with water can bring balance to the body. And, of course, various herbs, medicinal herbs. And, finally, medications, surgery, all this goes on at the last stage, when the other no longer helps. Or when we neglect these preliminary measures. Then inevitably you have to use extreme measures.

Our breathing has many secrets that help us. Every emotion that arises in the mind is associated with breathing in a certain rhythm. Each rhythm affects a specific part of the body at the physical level. We just need to watch this. You can feel. The strong relationship between sensations at the level of the body and the mood of the mind is meditation. The realization of this, the study of this is meditation.

How do you feel when you feel happy? How do you feel when you feel happy? Have you ever watched? You feel expansion. Someone is praising you. "Oh, you are divine, you are magnificent!" What happens then? Something in you is expanding. "ABOUT!". Or someone will compliment you. Or you feel happy watching the sun go down. Or you meet someone who is very close to you, very dear. What's happening? You feel expansion. Have you noticed this? We are happy and at the same time there are some sensations, but we do not notice their connection. Very rarely we notice what is happening, how it is connected, because our attention is outside, on this object, and not on sensations. If you observe the sensations when you are happy, there is a feeling of expansion of the mind, consciousness. And if you have observed when you are unhappy, you have noticed that there is a feeling of constriction. Have you seen this? You feel taut like a string. Somewhere inside you feel tired, tense, this is a contraction. Consciousness narrows. This is misery, sorrow. Knowledge means recognizing what is expanding. What is it in our body that expands and contracts. This feeling of happiness and unhappiness that expresses itself and which experiences, evolves, passes through events, what is it? This knowledge, this question leads to the study of consciousness, the study of life, the study of prana, the study of Ayurveda.

You know, in one minute we take seventeen breaths and exhalations, almost 16-17 times. Have you ever considered any of you? Just look at the time and count how many breaths you take in and out? This is the first action in our life and this is the last action in our life. Is not it? What was the first thing we did when we came into this world? We took a deep breath and started crying. The first action - we took a breath, the second - we began to cry. And the last action in our life is we breathe out and make others cry. In between - all life, when we breathe in and out, but do not pay attention to breathing. So, if we pay attention to breathing, we will notice that in one minute we make 16 - 17 breaths in and out, something like this. If you are very upset, there can be up to 20 breaths in and out. If you are very tense and angry, then 25 per minute. And if you are very calm and in a pleasant mood, happy, then 10 times. If you are in meditation, then 2 breaths ... or 3. Deep meditation reduces the breathing movements to this level. You can watch this for yourself. It's simple.

If you observe one-year-old children, how they breathe, you will be amazed at how balanced their breathing is. They use all three levels of the body. Their breathing is very deep. When they inhale, their belly bulges out; as they exhale, it retracts. But the more nervous and tense you become, you begin to do the opposite. As you exhale, your belly rounds, as you inhale, it pulls in. You won't learn this at school or from anyone else. If your mind is very sharp, observant, then a simple observation of people around, children and nature around you can teach you a lot. However, our mind is so busy with many things, there are so many judgments, opinions, so many impressions in our mind that we are not able to observe, comprehend very subtle moments in nature. We need to learn this. Yoga or yoga asanas is what we all did when we were children. You watched a 6 months old baby lie on the back, his legs are raised and he hits each other with them, his head is also raised, almost as you do when you use the simulator. Head and shoulders are raised, hits with hands. Then what does the child do? He turns on his back and assumes the cobra pose of yoga asanas. This is the second pose in asanas. Then the child bends over, turns and assumes the pose of a triangle: he raises one hand and holds the other on the floor. If you observe how the child sleeps, you will see that he sleeps with this wise woman. His thumb and forefinger touch each other. Have you seen this? Then the children do the second mudra, sometimes they sleep with this mudra. When they gain a little strength and start walking, they hold their thumb like this. Children all over the world, be it Africa, Australia, America or Asia, are doing the same thing everywhere. Monkeys do the same. Go to the zoo and watch them doing. They do many asanas, many exercises that help them to keep themselves in shape, healthy. These are the moments that coordinate the body, mind and breath. Ayurveda takes a holistic approach - looking at the body, mind and breath. If you want to add another dimension, then you can call the spirit. Body, mind and spirit.

When you experience any pleasure, then, if you notice, your breathing is more focused on the tip of the nose. Smell and pleasure are very closely related. Taste, smell and sex are related. Any pleasure when you experience it is associated with a certain rhythm of breathing, which is more concentrated on the tip of the nose. And any experience of pain is associated with the base of the nose, right here at the base of the nose. There are many different points on the body that correspond to different sensations. But this is all a reflection of something that is beyond all this. What is it? Source of Life.

Okay. You have questions? What haven't we discussed yet?

Anyone have any questions?

Question: It is known that 90% of toxins are released through the breath. Does this mean that….

Answer: Yes, 90% of toxins leave the body through breathing. You breathe for 24 hours. Discharge of urine, bowel movements - it only takes a few minutes. And you breathe every minute. When you breathe out, you are throwing out a lot of toxins, carbon and a lot of other toxins are gone through the breath. A continuous process takes place. But we only use the capacity of our lungs by 30%. Breathe in and out. It is not only the breath itself that matters, but also the rhythm of the breath. You know, the mind is like a kite, and breathing is like a string, the mind goes higher, while breathing should be longer. A little more attention should be paid to breathing, and the mind will feel happier, elevated. You can distribute prasadam rather than take prasadam if you can pay attention to breathing, during which every minute a stream of air enters and then exits ...

Question: My question is this: as you learn to breathe, breathe in and out of a certain depth and quality, and they are ultimately imperceptible, you barely hear the breath, do you rather feel it?

Answer: Yes. You can feel the breath and you can also hear it, a soft sound.

Question: So when you are in meditation, can you hear your breath?

Answer: This is preparation for meditation. Before meditation, you do ujjai breathing. After that, in meditation, you simply let go of everything. Easily. Whatever happens, let it happen.

Question: I want to ask two questions. First question: Can you say something in what way or why do mudras affect human physiology or his energy body? How does this happen?

Answer: How does this happen? This is because our body is nothing more than static electricity. The mind is nothing but a pulse of electricity. So? This is how it happens. How do you feel pain when you are pinched? You feel pain because some sensations arise, some impulses pass through the nerve cells, and you feel it. Likewise, when you are doing mudras, you can feel it. Feel the movement of prana, energy, electricity.

Question:You said that when a person is happy, then there is an expansion, and when he is sad or sick, then there is a feeling of constriction. When you feel something and are aware of it, you feel this narrowing and you feel that the outside world is very aggressive, then it is reasonable to stay inside yourself and not show yourself too much to be pushed, or is it better to show yourself and do business ?

Answer: This is similar to when you feel depressed or you have consumed alcohol to get rid of it. At that moment, you forgot about it. But later, when you come to your senses, you still feel that it is still there. So? That's what I'm talking about. Or sleep, take sleeping pills and go to sleep and sleep. Then you wake up, and this feeling emerges after a while. Breathing through them, observing these sensations, meditation, only they can remove them. Of course, sometimes you can go outside and play, walk, run. All this can no doubt give you temporary relief. But you want to get rid of it for good. Constant expansion. … To remove this grain of sadness, which is somewhere, only breathing and meditation will help. I would suggest a combination of both. Do this for a while. Then take a walk. Do something outside.

Question: You said that there is a rhythm, but you have not demonstrated what rhythm. Do you have an instructor who can show you how to breathe correctly?

Answer: I don't believe in piecemeal food. But, of course, you can learn it. You need to set aside about 15 hours for yourself, and you can learn graduated breathing, ujjay breathing, Sudarshen Kriya, breathing in rhythms. This takes time. You need certain conditions to learn and perform these types of breathing. They must be done before eating. Because after eating or with a full stomach, the metabolic rate increases. And during the practice, the opposite happens: the metabolism decreases. So either you will suffer indigestion or you will not get experience. Let's just say it takes some time. We need to take off our tie, coat, feel freer and more grounded ... and then you can do it.

Question: Are you sure that when we are born, we do not know how to breathe? How it happens that we come here, not knowing how to breathe.

Answer: This is what causes the most bewilderment. How it happened that we have lost this innocence, joy. Look, a child, a six-month-old child, a one-year-old child - he is full of joy, light, love, enthusiasm, but when the child goes to school, all this decreases and decreases. And by the time a person starts college, he loses everything. He can hardly laugh with all his heart. Is not it? It's amazing how we lose all human values \u200b\u200bas we get older! How do we become so complex, complex in our thoughts, in our attitudes towards people, in our behavior. The mind becomes so suspicious. It's so funny to watch how the expression of values \u200b\u200bin our lives is distorted. Isn't it amazing? We need to do something. Education is the return of these universal values. Success in life means having a smile that no one can take from you. All these negative emotions a person goes through are a sign of lack of success in life. This is due to a lack of education about life itself. Is not it?

Question: I have a question for you. I have been doing yoga for three to four months. I like it. I learned to relax, to do aura yoga. Then, when I learned to meditate, I didn't succeed. I was unable to sit and meditate. I think it's because I don't really understand what I should be doing. As they say, calm your mind by sitting still. I sit, but my mind continues to work: "What will happen for lunch? What else could happen?" Then I think, "Okay, that's enough." But I continue to do yoga. You could give meditators like me how this can be done very effectively. I have heard stories about it, but I cannot implement it in my life.

Answer: Yes, you can learn it in two to three days. In yoga, more effort is needed. Meditation doesn't take that long. It will take you at least one to two months to learn yoga, sometimes even six months. But the mind works according to completely different laws. Look, the body works according to its own laws, and the mind - completely different. At the level of the body, exertion is the key. The more effort you put in, the more you can develop your muscles. The more effort you put in, the more flexible you can become. Is that so? Whereas for the mind, the key is the absence of any effort.

Question: You say that the sources of energy are food, breath, sleep and meditation, and that meditation gives 8 times more energy than rest during sleep. If breath is the source of prana, why then during meditation the breath is greatly reduced?

Answer:This is why there are two different kinds energy. The breathing rhythm is different when you eat, it is different when you sleep, and it is different when you meditate. You make no effort to slow down your breathing. The metabolism in the body is automatically slowed down. When the metabolism slows down, breathing that matches the metabolism also slows down. What Happens During Meditation? Some toxins are released. When you get out of meditation, while doing some pranayama and breathing again, then these toxins go out of the body. Otherwise, the following happens: many people feel much more tired after meditation. Perhaps you have heard about it or had this experience? Those who constantly meditate are in a state of meditation for one or two hours and then feel even more tired. They have a lack of movement, not enough energy to do any work. This is because toxins in the body have been released, but not removed. This is very slow. Do you see what I'm talking about? These actions are at different levels, but they complement each other.

Question:I am interested in the question of what is the best for children when they can start meditating. It is interesting that I have been doing TM myself for many years. I know that young children start with meditation in motion and then ... But what about meditation, with breathing. At what age, from what years in childhood can you start practicing it?

Answer:From about 8 - 10 years old you can teach them a certain breathing, we call it “Happy Breathing”. As for children, we just need to cleanse the universal human values \u200b\u200bthat they possess, to nurture them.

Question:Do you have fluid fasting or something similar?

Answer:Fasting, yeah! This is good for our body. Gives rest to the digestive system. However, you need to get out of it very carefully. If you are of the pitta type, then fasting is not good for you, i.e. too long fasting. For people like kapha and vata, fasting is indicated, the more the better. But at the same time it is necessary to consume a large amount of liquid: water, juices and other liquids. It is very important.

Question: I am personally heterosexual. I would like to know what you think about homosexuality or bisexuality. I myself am from Europe, I live in America and I know that many of my friends from America have tried both. Does it affect disclosure, humanity, spiritual growth, if you are one or the other.

Answer: It is not an external shape or object. After all, this is a sensation or pleasure that you feel inside. That's what's important. The outside is only a mirror that gives pleasure to what you are from the inside. Do you see what I'm talking about? This is the movement of prana, energy, do you understand? Because all the tendencies that exist within us, when we like or dislike something, they are not constant. They change all the time. I've seen a lot of heterosexuals. They were attracted to their gender. It shocked them: “What happened to me? Have I been okay all these years? “And many people who considered themselves homosexuals suddenly also noticed in themselves attraction to people of the opposite sex. They contacted me with this problem. My point is that you do not need to label yourself as someone or something. Instead of giving so much importance to the piece of flesh on the outside, turn around and look inward at the spirit that is the source of joy. You know, the joy of sex lasts for minutes, and the joy of the sensation of being is a thousand times greater. It is a steady joy, a flow of energy within you, which makes you suddenly realize that you are not just a body, you are not just a man or a woman, you are not just a piece of flesh, but you are light, you are spirit. And when you get rid of this identification, you will see how much joy there is in life, unshakable joy, constant joy. You know, those people who always hang out in bars, who go to the movies. If you look at their faces, you will not find much satisfaction there. Is not it? They are not in a state of bliss. Of course, sex is a part of our life. We do not deny it. Okay, go through it. But what do I want to say? When you experience sex and walk through it in your life, you can turn more towards the spiritual side. In this case, you support the development of life in this direction. There is a very good balance, do not deny, but at the same time do not get too carried away. And this happens automatically. Just pay attention to prana, breathing.

Question: What is the best way to achieve this level of bliss?

Answer: How best to achieve? One is to do meditation, and the other is to serve the people around you. Engage in active service. You know, there is a technique that leads you to depression. Sit down and think all the time: “What will happen to me? What will happen to me? " She acts quickly enough. Very soon you will become depressed. Seeing God within yourself is meditation. Seeing God in the people around you is love or service. They go hand in hand.

Question: I tried it myself. And I usually breathe five or six times a minute. I thought that something was wrong with me. As a hypnotherapist, I use hypnosis every day. Is this part of meditation. I breathe as I do this. Is it almost the same thing or ...?

Answer: Of course, it reinforces what you already have. But how this relates to hypnosis needs to be considered. As far as I know, hypnosis and meditation are based on two different mechanisms. In hypnosis, oxygen consumption increases. While metabolism decreases during meditation, oxygen consumption decreases accordingly. Research needs to be done on how these two processes differ. If you are meditating, you cannot be hypnotized. That is why people say, "If a person does meditation, he is not hypnotized." Even anesthesia doesn't work for you.

Question: Panditji, could you explain this effect? When a person influences the channels of the mental, emotional and physical plane. I've seen people do it and they don't look happy. It looks like they are physically adjusting somehow. What it is?

Answer: You can see how people who carry out psychological influence are psychics, they often do not have good health. Of course, there may be exceptions. But most of them don't look happy and healthy. Have you noticed this? They often experience deterioration or improvement in their physical condition. I'd say it's best not to get too carried away with these things. Be very simple, meditate and be happy. It's enough. When you want to know everything in life, then life loses its charm, the element of uncertainty is missing. When you know in advance the result of a football match even before it starts, then there is no particular interest in the game, you will not watch it, since you already know the result, there is nothing exciting, exciting. Let there be a little uncertainty in life. And move with it. Of course, you know that nature will provide you with abundance of everything as you walk the path of love. Let's just say: this is the highest. The path of love, meditation, service. Of course, you also do others. From time to time, can you show your hand to an astrologer or palmist, invite a psychologist friend and hear some predictions from them? It does not matter. So what! The Divine is within us, it can control things, it can make changes. Don't just make predictions. Anyone can make predictions. But when we so subtly feel the spirit inside us, then we can make changes in our life and in the life of any person for the better. Okay, okay, okay.

Jai Guru Dev

Similar information.

Prana is the link between body, mind and consciousness. It is a constant movement of awareness. Iran transfers awareness to the object of perception, and this movement of awareness through prana is called attention. The inner movement of prana is the movement of sensation, thought, feeling and emotion. Thus, prana and mind are deeply connected.

The physical manifestation of prana is breath, so breath and mind are also closely related to each other. In Ayurveda, breathing is seen as the physical part of thinking, and thinking as the mental part of breathing. Every thought changes the rhythm of breathing and every breath changes the rhythm of thinking. When a person is happy, dwells in bliss and silence, his breathing is rhythmic. If he is thrown out of balance by fear, anxiety, or nervousness, his breathing becomes irregular and intermittent.

^ Rishi,vedic seers discovered this close relationship between breathing and mental activity and created the art of pranayama. Pranayama- this is pranaa plus ayam.Ayam means "to control" and prana means "breath". By controlling breathing, we can control mental activity.

^ The Secret of Pranayama

The rishis also discovered an important difference between right and left breathing. You may have noticed that at times you can breathe easier through your left nostril and sometimes through your right. This shift occurs approximately every 45 to 90 minutes. Just as the right side of the body is controlled by the left side of the brain and vice versa, breathing predominantly through the left nostril activates the right hemisphere of the brain, while breathing predominantly through the right nostril activates the left hemisphere. The left hemisphere of the brain is associated with masculine energy, and the right hemisphere with feminine energy. The left one is for logical thinking, study, exploration, aggressiveness, competition and judgment. When we judge something, investigate something and so on, the right respiratory cycle prevails in us and the left hemisphere of the brain is involved in active work. Quite the opposite, when the right hemisphere is in action and the left breathing cycle is dominant, we exhibit a feminine energy that is associated with love, compassion, intuition, art, poetry and religion. So when an artist paints a picture or a poet writes a poem, they are using some part of the right hemisphere. And when a scientist works in a laboratory, researching and solving a problem, he is using some part of the left hemisphere at this time.

The secret of pranayama is the secret of controlling the male and female energies operating in our nervous system. When we breathe in through the left nostril in pranayama, alternating nostrils, we charge the right side of the brain, and when we breathe in through the right nostril, we charge the left side of the brain. When yogis perform breathing alternating between nostrils, their masculine and feminine energies precisely balance each other. When these energies are balanced, then neutral energy awakens, and the yogi experiences pure awareness, which is called Brahman.

When we do pranayama, the nadi(subtle channels of the nervous system), the mind becomes controllable, and we can go beyond the feminine and masculine energy into pure, non-discriminating, passive awareness.

This is the basis of pranayama. There are many different pranayamas - for warming or cooling the body, for awakening a greater masculine or female energy etc.

^ SIX BREATHING EXERCISES

Pranayama alternating nostrils

A simple yet effective breathing exercise is Alternating Nostril Pranayama.

1. Perform this exercise while sitting comfortably on the floor with your legs crossed and your back straight. If this position is uncomfortable for you, sit straight on the front of the chair with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent at right angles.

2. Pinch the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Inhale deeply, belly, not chest.

3. After inhaling, hold your breath for a short time.

4. Exhale through the right nostril, pinching the left with the little and ring fingers of the right hand.

5. Repeat the first three steps, this time starting by inhaling through the right nostril (holding the left with your pinky and ring fingers).

This breathing exercise can be done for 5 to 10 minutes.

NOTE: Despite its apparent simplicity, this pranayama, like the others described in this book, is best taught under the guidance of an experienced teacher.

^ Sitali pranayama (cooling breath)

Roll your tongue into a tube. Inhale slowly through the folded tongue, swallow and then exhale in the usual way through the nose, keeping the mouth closed. You will feel how the incoming air cools the saliva, tongue and membranes of the oral mucosa.

This breathing is beneficial to calm the increased pitta. It lowers the temperature of the mouth, makes saliva cool, helps suppress thirst, and improves digestion, absorption and assimilation of food. Sitali is effective for high blood pressure, burning of the tongue or throat, and cramps (burning) in the eyes. It cools the entire body.

If you cannot roll your tongue into a tube, then there is another way to perform Sitali is to slightly clench your teeth and press your tongue against them. In this case, you breathe in air through your teeth. Since some people feel pain when they draw in cold air through their teeth, pressing the tongue against their teeth will warm them and prevent this discomfort.

^ Bhastrika pranayama (breath of fire)

This breathing exercise increases the vital capacity of the lungs, relieves allergies and asthma, and helps keep the lungs strong and healthy. It also warms the entire body.

Inhale passively (through the nose), and exhale actively and with little effort. Start slowly, gradually increasing your speed. Imagine a steam locomotive moving slowly and picking up speed. Do a cycle of 30 breaths, then rest for a minute. You can do up to five cycles in the morning and five in the evening.

^ Bhramari pranayama (humming breath)

If you find it difficult to make a humming sound as you inhale, just inhale deeply with your belly and hum as you exhale.

While doing Bhramari, lightly touch the tip of your tongue to the soft palate near the back of the larynx. Make sure your teeth are not clenched.

Bhramari makes the voice more melodic. The buzzing vibrates the nervous system - a kind of sound therapy for the brain. In addition, it is beneficial for the thyroid, parathyroid and thymus glands. Do ten breaths at a time.

14 When expressing surprise, this sound occurs naturally with inhalation through the nose. It also spontaneously occurs on inhalation with fear or sudden pain, but it is usually inhaled through the mouth. You will get this sound if you try to pronounce the letter "n" while inhaling with your mouth closed. On exhalation, for this purpose, you can pronounce the letter "m". (Approx. Ed.)

^ Ujjayi pranayama (breath of victory)

Sit in Vajrasana or Lotus position with your hands on your knees, palms up. Keep your chest, neck, and head in a straight line to keep your spine straight. Slightly press your chin to your chest, pulling your head back and simultaneously lowering it to chest... Bring your awareness to the throat area.

Further actions may cause you some difficulties. Be careful. Without actually swallowing, start a swallowing motion to lift the larynx up. At the same time, tighten the epiglottis, as if silently "pronouncing" the letter "and", and inhale slowly, deeply into the stomach. Inhaled air will make a gentle hissing sound.

After inhaling, swallow and hold your breath for a short time, then exhale slowly, contracting the epiglottis again - as if humming, but at the same time making not a humming, but a hissing sound. 15

Ujjaya is a great pleasure to do. The mind calms down, the intercostal muscles relax and there is actually a feeling of victory. Ujjayi has a beneficial effect on all three doshas and helps to restore their original balanced combination - prakriti. This pranayama promotes longevity. Do twelve breaths at a time.

15 This hissing sound is not at all difficult to produce on both inhalation and exhalation, but it is more difficult to explain how to do it. We can say that this is the same sound as in Bhramari, but made in a whisper. (Ed.)

^ Surya bhedi pranayama (breathing of the right nostril)

To breathe through the right nostril only, plug the left nostril with cotton or press down lightly with the little and ring fingers of your right hand. Inhale and exhale through the right nostril. Do ten breaths at a time. This pranayama activates the masculine, active aspect in the body and mind and improves digestion.

^ Chapter 7. Meditation and discipline of the mind

Meditation is the art of creating harmony in body, mind and consciousness. A life filled with meditation is full of bliss and beauty. A life without meditation is stress, anxiety and delusion.

In ancient times, meditation was often considered a way of life. Indeed, meditation is not something separate from everyday life... First, the practice of meditation requires regular practice and therefore forms part of daily life. Secondly, if you have already practiced some type of meditation and mastered it, the experience gained remains with you and manifests itself in every aspect of life.

Whatever method of meditation you use, whatever system you follow according to your teacher's instructions, please continue to do so.

^ What is and what is not meditation?

Meditation is not concentration. With concentration, the mind narrows, and the narrow mind is the limited mind. A limited, focused and focused mind is needed to look at objects, solve problems, learn a language, operate machines, etc. We need it. But not in meditation.

When we focus, we build a wall of resistance and lose energy in trying to control the mind. Some people meditate in this way for an hour, and when they finish, they feel tired, because they spent that hour in a continuous struggle, denying everything in the world, saying "no" to all thoughts and perceptions and trying to focus their mind.

Concentration excludes everything, but meditation, on the contrary, includes everything. Meditation is open, non-discriminating awareness. In meditation, everything has a right to exist. Meditation says yes to everything in the world, while concentration denies everything.

Concentration is effort. But wherever there is effort, there is one who makes it. The ego makes the effort. Therefore, concentration feeds the ego - the more concentration, the more ego.

In meditation there is no effort and no one who makes it. And therefore meditation is freedom. You just sit quietly and listen to everything, be it the chirping of a bird, the cry of a child, or the rustle of leaves. Every sound is desirable, let it reach you. When you listen to the sound, you become the center, and the sound turns out to be something external, rushing towards you to meet you.

Listening to any sound without judgment and criticism, without sympathy and antipathy, you become the center, and all sounds rush to you in order to dissolve in you. Surrender to the sound. Let it pass through you. Don't resist.

And then something magical happens. You become empty. You become silent pure being.

When a light breeze touches you, let it penetrate you. No effort, no resistance. Remember that peace and quiet are not the opposite of sound. Every sound dissolves into silence. This silence is you, and the sound comes to meet you and dissolve into you.

Look at any object - tree, flower, or wall. Let there be no choice, no judgment - just impartial observation.

Awareness is an act of listening, an act of looking. It does not require any effort, no concentration. With awareness, in meditation, concentration occurs naturally. It is given as a gift. But by concentrating of your choice, you miss meditation.

In an expanded, empty state of consciousness, thinking stops, breathing becomes calm, and the person simply exists as pure awareness. This state is filled with joy, beauty and love. Individual consciousness merges with the Cosmic Consciousness and goes beyond the limits of time and thinking.

In this state, it doesn't matter whether your eyes are open or closed. It comes uninvited like a breeze, because this state is your true nature: love, bliss, beauty and awareness. It has no fear, no depression, no anxiety, no worry, no stress. The person becomes an impartial witness to anxiety, worry and stress. In this state, healing takes place.

Meditation is closely related to discipline. Discipline means learning, and one who learns is called a student. We need to learn the art of discipline. Discipline means ordering. Thought has its proper place, desire has its own, work has its own, and responsibilities have theirs. Discipline brings harmony to life. Therefore, discipline and meditation are inseparable. There is no meditation without discipline, and there can be no discipline without meditation. In fact, they are one whole. A meditating mind is a disciplined mind.

The so-called concentrated mind is the governing mind. The preoccupied mind rules. But a free, alert and aware mind is filled with bliss. It is a disciplined mind. Discipline is the flavor of life. Without this scent, life does not become a holiday.

Sit with your back straight when meditating. If you can, sit in the Lotus (or Half-Lotus, if that's more comfortable for you). If you are uncomfortable, you can sit in a chair, but also keep your spine straight.

With persistent practice, you will be able to extend your time in the Lotus position to one, two, or even three hours. One who properly sits in the lotus position for three hours every day will soon attain enlightenment.

Sitting in the Lotus position helps to open the spiritual heart. Breathing becomes calm, thinking automatically slows down and stops. Going beyond thinking means going beyond suffering, because it is thinking that generates suffering.

^ EMPTY BOWL MEDITATION

Sit quietly and comfortably, place your hands on your knees, open your palms and turn them upward, like empty bowls. Open your mouth slightly and touch your tongue to the palate behind your front teeth.

Pay attention to your breathing. Allow your lungs to breathe without any effort on your part. Just watch your breath move.

When inhaling, air touches the nasal passages. Be aware of this. When you exhale, air passes through the nostrils again. The incoming air is cool, the outgoing air is warm. Get in your nose, put the spotlight on it! Stay in the nostril and observe your breathing: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Let the lungs do their job. You just sit and watch.

After about five minutes, begin to follow the breath: when the lungs breathe in, move with the air into the throat, trachea, lungs, to the heart and diaphragm. Sink deep down, behind the navel, where the natural stop will occur. Breathing stops for a split second. Stay at this stopping point, and then, as the lungs exhale, follow the reverse breath. Move up from the navel to the diaphragm, heart, lungs, trachea and throat, back into the nose, and finally out of the body.

When you exhale, air exits the body about nine inches (approximately 23 cm) from the tip of the nose and makes a second stop. Stop for a moment at this place.

Both breathing stops are very important. The first of these occurs behind the navel, the second in the space outside the body. When awareness is there, time stops because time is the movement of the breath. When the breath stops, the mind stops, because the mind is the movement of the breath. When the mind is stopped, you simply exist, without a body, without a mind and without breathing.

You become like an empty bowl, and when you become an empty bowl, divine lips can touch you. God comes to you to pour out his love. You do not need to seek God, for God himself is seeking you. God is looking for an empty cup to fill with his love. But all the bowls are filled with desire, ambition, business, competition, success and failure.

Just sit quietly and stop. This stop is the door. Enter this door and jump into the inner abyss. You will feel that you are surrounded by incredible peace and serenity.

Practice this meditation for 15 minutes in the morning and evening. As the days, weeks and months go by, you will find that the time spent in stops increases until eventually the inner and outer stops merge and everything happens within you.

NOTE: If you find it more comfortable, you can practice this meditation while lying down.

^ SO-HUM MEDITATION

During So-Hum meditation, they sit quietly and watch their breathing, as in the Empty Bowl meditation, but add sound to this ^ Coon inhalation and sound Humon exhalation (this is done silently - sounds are not pronounced aloud).

When sound, breath and awareness combine, they become light. We know that any atom emits quanta of waves - light and heat energy. The moment we become aware of So-Hum, paying attention to our breathing, the breath becomes a quantum wave and emits light. This light of life can be seen with the third eye.

Breathing in is reviving, breathing out is dying. When a child is born, the inspiration of life is expressed in his first breath. When someone dies, he is said to have expired. The breath is out. l 6

^ Hummeans "I" or individual ego. Comeans "He is Divine." Therefore, with the natural flow of this meditation, together with So, the energy of life enters us, and with Hum, ego, a limited individuality, comes out. This is the meaning of So-Hum meditation. Breathing in So, you breathe life in. By breathing out Hum, you are breathing out ego and limitation.

Correctly performed So-Hum meditation leads to the union of the individual with the universal Cosmic Consciousness. You will go beyond thinking, beyond space and time, cause and effect. All restrictions will disappear.

Your consciousness will empty itself, and once empty, it will begin to expand. It will be accompanied by joy and peace.

16 The English text uses the words inspiration and expiration, meaning not only inhalationand exhalation,but also inspirationand expiration,and, thus, more accurately convey the meaning of what was said. In Russian, the words could be used inspirationand mockery,but the first word is not used to denote inhalation, and the second is not used at all (although they say, for example, the mare died). (Approx. Ed.)

^ TWO-DIRECTIONAL ATTENTION (WITNESS)

In Vedic science, witnessing is called samyag darshan.It means looking out and in at the same time.

When we look at a tree, star, mountain or flower, something comes out of the eyes, touches the object, and comes back. That which comes out of the eyes to touch the object of perception, we call attention. According to Ayurveda, attention is the transfer of the vibration of awareness outgoing prana to the object. Thus, attention is a combination of awareness and prana (movement).

During samyag darshan, while one arrow of attention goes out and touches the object, the second arrow of attention goes inward, to the center of the heart and observes the observer. While you are looking at an external object, at the same time you are looking at the one who is looking, observe the observer. If you observe an observer, that observer disappears. Simply observing - without the observer - is called witnessing. Witnessing creates a closer connection with the object of perception and you can understand it better.

^ Chapter 8. Ayurvedic dietary recommendations.

The purpose of this chapter is to help you choose the best diet for balance, harmony, and health. Most health conscious people today already understand that good food plays an important role in healing and maintaining health, while poor nutrition usually leads to poor health and low vitality.

Ayurvedic tradition includes knowledge about what food is suitable for a particular person to maintain his balance of doshas, \u200b\u200bhow to properly prepare food, what food combinations should be avoided, what eating habits should be developed and what should be eliminated. These topics, with the exception of detailed cooking guidelines, will be discussed in this chapter. (Interested readers can find cooking guidelines in the book "Ayurveda. Healing food "Ushi Lad and Vasanta Lada 17.)

17 The book is being prepared for publication in Russian. (Ed.)

^ FOOD FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONSTITUTION

What you eat should fit your constitution. Ideally, you should know exactly your constitution and understand how it relates to the qualities of food, in particular how food will affect the balance of the doshas. To do this, you need to take into account the taste of food, its qualities such as heaviness and lightness, moisture and dryness, liquid and hardness, know whether this food is cooling or warming, and know its effect after digestion.

If you have a desire to master this knowledge, you can study more deeply the theory of Ayurveda (see the section "Further reading"). Otherwise, you can trust the recommendations below, in which these factors are already taken into account.

Foods marked “no” can stimulate the corresponding dosha, while food marked “yes” balances it. When planning your diet, choose foods that improve balance, and avoid foods that increase the doshas that are currently energized or increased in your body, and if not, the doshas that are prevalent in your constitution.

"No" means that in most cases you should avoid using it, but if you still want it, then you need to be moderate or take steps to compensate for its effects. For example, apples, if eaten raw, are very irritating to vata. But if you bake them and eat them warm with a little ghee and warming spices like cardamom or cinnamon, then in moderation, this dish is fine for vata individuals.

Consider the season. For example, summer is the season of pitta, and at this time it is not at all beneficial, especially for people with a predominant constitution of pitta, there is too much hot spicy food, which greatly increases pitta. Similarly, in the fall, when the air is dry and cold and the atmosphere is saturated with cotton wool, everyone, especially people with a vata constitution, should avoid dried fruits, salads, cold dishes and other foods that irritate vata. In winter and early spring, during the heavy, cold and humid season of kapha, you should not eat cold foods and drinks, ice cream, cheese, yogurt, melons and other foods that increase kapha.

Individuals with a dual constitution (that is, a constitution in which the ratio of the two dominant doshas is roughly equal) need to take into account some additional considerations. They are quite simple and are that, for example, a vata-pitta individual should avoid food that increases vata in the fall and winter (while avoiding an excessive increase in pitta), and in the summer, minimize the consumption of foods that irritate pitta (by observing so that the cotton wool is also not excited). In other words, it can be expressed as follows: in the fall, food that balances vata should be preferred, and in summer, food that soothes pitta.

Below I will provide general guidelines for formulating a diet to balance the doshas.

Cotton wool

50% of grain products are whole grain cereals, some bread

20% protein - eggs, high quality dairy, poultry, fish, seafood, meat, tofu, red and black lentils

PITTA

50% of grain products are whole grains wheat bread, crushed grain products (corn flakes, etc.), oatmeal, cooked grain

20% protein - legumes (excluding lentils), tofu, tempeh, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, fresh milk, chicken and turkey (white meat only), shrimp, rabbit, venison

20 - 30% vegetables and, if desired, 10% fresh fruit

Kapha

30 - 40% of grain products - dry rye crispbread, dry grain semi-finished products, cooked grain.

20% protein - chicken, turkey, soft or hard-boiled eggs, small amounts of goat milk, most legumes (including chickpeas, aduki, beans, red lentils, black and white beans, mung beans, split peas, black-eyed peas)

40-50% fresh vegetables, if desired 10% dried or fresh fruit. It is useful to eat salads every day.

^ SIX FLAVORS

The taste of food is of great importance because it has a direct effect on the doshas. According to Ayurveda, each food product (as well as each plant) has a specific flavor. When used in the right amounts, the flavors balance the body's systems.

The papillae on the tongue form six groups, corresponding to the six tastes that Ayurveda distinguishes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. These six basic tastes come from five elements:

Earth + Water \u003d Sweet

Earth + Fire \u003d Sour

Water + Fire \u003d Salty

Fire + Air \u003d Sharp

Air + Ether \u003d Bitter

Air + Earth \u003d Astringent

Different groups of taste buds on the tongue perceive different tastes and send appropriate signals to the brain, from where commands come that affect not only digestion, but also all cells, tissues, organs and systems of the body.

Sweet

The sweet taste is found in foods like rice, sugar, milk, wheat, dates, maple syrup. Foods with a sweet taste are generally moisturizing, cooling and heavy in quality. Sweet taste enlivens. When consumed in moderation, it is good for the body and promotes the growth of all seven dhatus (plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow and nerve tissue, reproductive tissue). Correct use this taste gives strength and longevity. It sharpens the senses, improves appearance, voice, contributes to the good condition of the skin and hair. The sweet taste reduces thirst, relieves heartburn and invigorates. It promotes stability.

Despite these positive qualities, excessive consumption of sweets can cause many diseases. Sugary foods increase kapha and can cause colds, coughs, congestion, heaviness, loss of appetite, laziness, and obesity. In addition, it can provoke lymph congestion, tumors, dropsy, diabetes and fibrocystic breast disease.

Sour

Foods like citrus fruits, sour cream, yogurt, vinegar, cheese, and fermented foods have sour tastes. By nature, acidic foods are usually liquid, light, warming, and moist. When used in moderation, they refresh, whet appetite, increase salivation, improve digestion, energize the body, nourish the heart and give lightness to the mind.

When sour tastes are abused, it can cause thirst, acidity, heartburn, indigestion, peptic ulcer disease, and tooth sensitivity. Due to its fermenting action, when consumed in excessive amounts, it can be toxic to the blood and cause skin conditions, including dermatitis, acne, eczema, furunculosis and psoriasis. Its hot quality can acidify the body and cause burning sensation in the throat, chest, heart, bladder, and urethra.

Salty

Examples of substances with a salty taste are sea salt, rock salt, seaweed. In terms of its qualities, the salty taste is warming, heavy and moisturizing. When consumed in moderation, it reduces vata and increases pitta and kapha. The element of water gives it a laxative effect, and thanks to the element of fire it reduces spasms and pain in the colon. In moderation, it promotes growth and maintains fluid and electrolyte balance, stimulates salivation, and aids digestion and absorption, as well as waste removal.

Too much salt in the diet can aggravate pitta and kapha, make the blood thick and viscous, cause swelling, high blood pressure, and worsen skin conditions. Hot flashes, fainting, wrinkling, and baldness can also be caused by excessive salt intake. A number of other disorders, including focal hair loss, ulcers, hemorrhagic diseases, skin rashes and hyperacidity, can result from overuse of salty taste.

Acute

The pungent taste is present in different types pepper (black, cayenne, chili), onions, radishes, garlic, mustard, ginger. By its nature, it is lightweight, drying and warming. When consumed in moderation, it improves digestion and absorption, and cleans the mouth. It removes congestion in the nasopharynx by stimulating the formation of tears and nasal discharge. The pungent taste promotes blood circulation, breaks down blood clots, helps remove waste and has an antiseptic effect. It gives clarity to perception.

On the other hand, overuse of spicy tastes in your daily diet can cause negative reactions. It can cause wasting, weaken sexual and reproductive strength and lead to infertility in both women and men. It can cause choking, burning sensation, fainting, and extreme fatigue, accompanied by fever and thirst. Overuse of pungent tastes arouses pitta and can cause diarrhea, heartburn and nausea. Since the pungent taste contains the element of air, it is able to stimulate vata, causing dizziness, tremors in the limbs, insomnia and pain in the legs. In addition, excessive consumption of spicy foods can result in stomach ulcers, asthma, colitis, and skin diseases.

Bitter

Bitter taste is possessed by coffee, aloe, rhubarb, medicinal plants such as curled sorrel, fenugreek, turmeric, dandelion root, sandalwood. Bitter taste is usually lacking in the diet of inhabitants of northern latitudes. It is cold, light and dry by nature, increases vata and decreases pitta and kapha. Although the bitter taste itself is not very pleasant, it restores the sense of taste by enhancing the sensation of other tastes. It has a bactericidal effect, removes toxins, helps to get rid of burning and itching sensations, fainting and intractable skin diseases. The bitter taste reduces fever and makes the skin and muscles firm. In small quantities, it promotes digestion, suppresses gas formation in the intestines. Exerting a drying effect on the body, it reduces the amount of fat, bone marrow, urine and feces.

Overuse of a bitter taste can cause exhaustion of all the dhatus of the body, extreme dryness, exhaustion and fatigue. Dizziness and loss of consciousness are sometimes observed.

Prana is the link between body, mind and consciousness. It is a constant movement of awareness. Prana transfers awareness to the object of perception, and this movement of awareness through prana is called attention ... The inner movement of prana is the movement of sensation, thought, feeling and emotion. Thus, prana and mind are deeply connected.

The physical manifestation of prana - breath therefore breath and mind are also closely related. In Ayurveda, breathing is seen as the physical part of thinking, and thinking as the mental part of breathing. Every thought changes the rhythm of breathing and every breath changes the rhythm of thinking. When a person is happy, dwells in bliss and silence, his breathing is rhythmic. If he is thrown out of balance by fear, anxiety, or nervousness, his breathing becomes irregular and intermittent.

The Rishis, the Vedic seers, discovered this close relationship between breathing and mental activity and created the art of pranayama. Pranayama is prana plus ayam. Ayam means "to govern" and prana means "breath." By controlling breathing, we can control mental activity.

Six breathing exercises

Pranayama "Alternating nostrils"

Simple and at the same time effective breathing exercise - this is pranayama "Alternating Nostrils".

2. Pinch the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Breathe in deeply, belly, not chest.

3. After inhaling, hold your breath for a while.

4. Exhale through the right nostril, pinching the left with the little finger and ring finger of the right hand.

5. Repeat the first three steps, this time starting by inhaling through the right nostril (holding the left with your pinky and ring fingers).

This breathing exercise can be done for 5-10 minutes.

Sitali pranayama (cooling breath)

Roll your tongue into a tube. Inhale slowly through the rolled tongue, swallow and then exhale in the usual way through the nose, keeping the mouth closed. You will feel how the incoming air cools the saliva, tongue and membranes of the oral mucosa.

Bhastrika pranayama (breath of fire)

it breathing exercise increases lung capacity, relieves allergies and asthma, and helps keep the lungs strong and healthy. It also warms the entire body.

Bhramari pranayama (humming breath)

While inhaling, tense the epiglottis so that a humming sound is produced. On exhalation, the sound should be low and long. Traditionally, it is said that a higher sound when inhaling is like the hum of a bee, and a deeper sound of exhalation is similar to the hum of a bumblebee. (When expressing surprise, this sound occurs naturally with inhalation through the nose. in this case, they are usually inhaled through the mouth. This sound will be obtained if you try to pronounce the letter "n" while inhaling with your mouth closed. On exhalation, you can pronounce the letter "m" for this purpose).

If you find it difficult to make a humming sound as you inhale, just inhale deeply with your belly and hum as you exhale.

While doing Bhramari, lightly touch the tip of your tongue to the soft palate near the back of the larynx. Make sure your teeth are not clenched.

Ujjayi pranayama (breath of victory)

Sit in Vajrasana or Lotus position with your hands on your knees, palms up. Keep your chest, neck, and head in a straight line to keep your spine straight. Slightly press your chin against your chest, pulling your head back and at the same time lowering it to your chest. Bring your awareness to the throat area.

Further actions may cause you some difficulties. Be careful. Without actually swallowing, start a swallowing motion to lift the larynx up. At the same time, tense the epiglottis, as if silently "pronouncing" the letter "and", and inhale slowly, deeply into the stomach. Inhaled air will make a gentle hissing sound.

After inhaling, swallow and hold your breath for a short time, then exhale slowly, again contracting the epiglottis - as if humming, but at the same time emitting not a humming, but a hissing sound (this hissing sound is not at all difficult to produce, both inhaling and exhaling, but it is more difficult to explain How to do it. We can say that this is the same sound as in Brahmari, but made in a whisper).