By Ashwini Guru Ji
Our breath is a direct indicator of our state of health, and of how well and long we will go on in this body.Consider this. A dog breathes very fast. A turtle, on the other hand, breathes once or twice in a minute. A dog lives for 14-15 years while a turtle goes on 100-150 years. More is not always good. Breath should be optimum.
BREATH AS AN INDEX OF HEALTH
In the act of breathing, a lot of energy is produced by the cells. Vedas say and modern science agrees that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The opposite of energy in this case being generation of toxins in the body. These toxins are termed as ‘ama’ in Sanskrit. They gradually corrode the cells leading to their wear and tear.
Greying hair, wrinkles, shrivelled-up
skin, fatigue, loss of strength and vigour, dullness of complexion, weak bones and muscles, dulling of senses—these are all products of action of ‘ama’ on the cells of the body.
You might be surprised to know that the secret to 2014 football World Cup victory of Germans also has its root in the practice of optimal breathing as prescribed in Sanatan Kriya. The German team has special monitors on their cleats for their heart rate during practice and as the heart rate goes above the maximum, the player is put off the practice and is given a lighter schedule, hence optimizing the efficiency. Beauty, glow and well-toned body are added benefits.
On the opposite end, a faulty breathing pattern can lead to withering away of the body and mind. You may have observed that under excessive stress and duress, the breath rate shoots up. The breath rate of a person undergoing a heart attack or an asthmatic attack is extremely high… it is because the body is gasping for more breath.
HATHA YOG
Indian history boasts of men with godly bodies, superhuman brains, shining mane and the strength of a thousand elephants, men who went on in a disease-free and glowing body for centuries and yugas, breathing young till the very last. These are not myths or fables; such bodies existed and can be attained even in the present times if one follows the principles as laid down by the rishis of yore. I had the fortune of interacting with one such babaji in the Himalayas a few years back that led me to probe into the secrets of the ancient Indian masters.
Yog is the tool for evolution prescribed by vedic rishis. In essence it means union with self and this union is effectuated by one’s Guru. Various practices have been given over times depending on the state of humankind to achieve this. One such form of yog is Hatha yog, an abbreviation of Ham-Tham Yog where Ham refers to left breath and Tham to the right breath. Svar Yog as an extension of Hatha yog pertains to breath and manipurak chakra.
SCIENCE OF SVAR
When you start any yog sadhna, you are asked to first observe your breath. This is because breath is in fact the doorway between the physical and the etheric. The beauty of the human body is that it is possible to travel to any dimension from here. And breath becomes the tool for this.
A human body has 72000 nadis, all connected directly or indirectly with the manipurak. Ida (Chandranadi), Pingala (Suryanadi) and Sushumna are the primary nadis (also called Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati). These three nadis emanate near mool chakra and move up. The point from which they separate is called mukt triveni. Ida ascends from left, pingala from right and sushumna from center of spine.
They converge at bhumadhya, corresponding to the center of eyebrows. The point at which they converge is called yukt triveni. The breath which moves from left is called ida or chandra svar and the one from right is called pingala or surya svar. When both become balanced, its called sushumna svar.
In a healthy person the svar changes every hour, that is, 24 times in a day. Each svar has its relevance and sphere of influence and accordingly our ancients prescribed specific svars for specific tasks.
When ida svar is active, it is conducive to partake liquids, perform tasks which require less labour, urination, easy journey, listening to /singing devotional songs, peaceful tasks.
When pingala svar is active intensive labour tasks can be performed, it is ideal state of exercise, for defecation, for intake of food, for bathing and for sleeping (therefore one is advised to sleep on left side of body).
Sushumna svar tasks include yog sadhna, dhyan, mantra jaap and other spiritual practices.
ACTIVATING THE SVAR
Sanatan Kriya is a potent tool to balance the various layers of the body. It details specific pranayams for activation of the three svars.
Chandrabhedi Pranayama
Sit comfortably with your back straight and eyes shut. Your ring finger presses your left nostril and your thumb is on your right nostril. You inhale from your left nostril and exhale through your right. Inhale to the count of four and exhale to the count of eight. Start with fourteen cycles and gradually increase.
Suryabhedi Pranayama
Sit comfortably with your back straight and eyes shut. Your ring finger presses your left nostril and your thumb is on your right nostril. You inhale from your right nostril and exhale through your left. Inhale to the count of four and exhale to the count of eight. Start with fourteen cycles and gradually increase.
Nadi Shodhnam Pranayama
Sit straight, preferably in Vajrasana. Put your middle finger between your eyebrows. Your ring finger presses your left nostril and your thumb is on your right nostril. You inhale from your left nostril and exhale through your right. And then inhale through your right nostril and exhale through the left. This is one cycle. As you inhale fill your stomach with air and push it out. There should be a hissing sound coming from your throat. On exhalation your stomach is pulled in. You inhale for the count of four and exhale to the count of twelve. It should be a rhythmic movement without any breath retention. Start with fourteen cycles and gradually increase.
While practicing any pranayama, sit in a well-ventilated room. Pranayama must not be practiced in a breezy or dusty environ. Similarly one should not sit directly under the direct blast of air cooler or fan while doing pranayamas. It is essential that pranayamas be done under the supervision of the Guru.
Pranayama should also not be viewed as a process to increase the intake of oxygen. More oxygen does not necessarily result in good health. The effects of more oxygen and faster metabolism have been explained earlier. The effect of pranayama is increasing the efficiency of body so that more can be gained from less indicating slow ageing.
Ashwini Guru Ji is the energy and inspiration behind various initiatives of Dhyan
Foundation. For more information visit www.dhyanfoundation.com