Pranayama Breathing Techniques
You can do a sinus cleaning exercise, found in many books, or use a Neti Pot.
A rectum water cleansing breath is only necessary if you are to become a serious Pranyama Yogi for which you need a qualified Guru.
For the purposes of using Prana, the following are sufficient.
I give 4 or 5 main pranyama techniques, some or all which, you may know all ready. All the other techniques are not really necessary.
Haung Sau (Ham Sa) or Patanjali's Breath
Sit comfortable and WATCH the breath. That's right, just watch it. Don't try and alter it in anyway. You can do this while lying in bed and just go to sleep with it. This breath, while being watched, should be done until you learn to jump into the meeting place of the ingoing and the outgoing breath. Patanjali says Where the ingoing breath meets the outgoing breath, there you shall find me
. The ME here means the Paramatman. This breath is a real mind capturer. FOLLOW THE BREATH and do not hold it in or out.
Pranic Breath
This is the simple Kriya without any of the concentrated effort, but this breath can be done for long periods — make sure you do not engage any of the Kriya techniques within it though. Breath in to the count of twelve, doing the full triple breath, hold it in for 3 counts. Then let it out for 12 counts and hold it out for 3 counts. Repeat.
Your counts can be exteneded as far as you are capable with comfort, until perhaps you have tripled the second counts, say to 36 seconds in and hold for 9 — out for 36 and hold for 9.
Puruka, Rechaka Khumbaka or 2–4–8 Breath
This is the breath that can take one in to Samadhi, so do it exactly as I say. You may have read other versions of it. Do this one. It consists of three counts — 2, 4, and 8. To begin with, and when you are comfortable, you double them as, 4, 8 and 16 and so on until you can do them for an incredible amount of time. Do not force this one has you can tear lung tissue and bleed from the throat or lungs. This is not necessarily that dangerous, but better not to have it happen at all.
One important thing, when the breath is fully inhaled in this breath you must use the locked breath
. This is done by using this procedure to get the idea of it. When you have the idea then you can discontinue using this practise method.
Take a full breath. Now fold the arms over the chest and then sort of drop your rib cage onto itself. You will feel a sort of locking feeling, as though you could hold your breath forever. When you have this feeling about locking, then sit comfortable and take a gulped in breath to the count of 2 — hold it in for 4 (locked) then release it through pursed lips to the count of 8.
Practise this for a spell while you are comfortable — then extend the count, always double. You will soon find your limit — then later as the years roll by, your limit could be limitless.
The Dog Pant
This breath is to do at the beginning of every pranyama practise as it rids the lungs and body of excess toxins. Spread legs slightly apart, then bend the knees a little and place your hands on your knees. This is important — you must GASP out every last bit of air in your lungs and then stick tongue out and pant like a dog. You will feel the stomach muscles being used terrifically. A dog when running pants very shallow and very fast. That is why dogs have that terrific upswing to the tummy.
You will find you will get out of rhythm with the panting. That is the time to come up for breath and then repeat three times. This breath also will be extended as you practise.
The Dog Pant can also help shape your stomach just like how a dog's stomach is well shaped.
The Stomach Cleanser
With my exercises in breathing I give this cleanser of the intestinal tract at the same time, as it takes a terrifically strong control of the breathless state in order to do it well.
Bend knees quite a bit, place hands on knees and while leaning forward with the BREATH OUT suck in your stomach. Having no breath there your sucking action works like a vacuum and your stomach muscles collapse in on themselves leaving a great concaved dished appearance to your stomach.
Remove trousers to do this one.
Now when it has been sucked in, FLOP YOUR STOMACH OUT WITH A GREAT PUSH and still keeping the breath out.
That is the first part.
The second part is to learn slightly on one knee and repeat. You will see that the concave is now on one side and the larger muscle on the that side of the stomach begins to distend. Now stop. Take a breath and start again, this time leaning on the other knee, and you will see the other muscle stick out.
The third part is to now learn to separate those muscles while you take in the stomach for the first time, and by rocking from one knee to the other you will see those muscles roll around one another like a washing machine.
The fourth part keeping breath out and sucking stomach in, concentrate and through WILL roll the bottom part of the stomach up into the upper cavity and then bring it forward as a ball and suck in again at the bottom and repeat as often as you can keep the breath out.
I have given you a lot here, so take it easy and go slowly and let your Will and muscles do the work. Remember, WILL is the SELF in action.
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