Why Pranayama?

Prana means energy, life force energy, and yama means tuning. So the word ‘Pranayama’ really means the art, the practice, and the state where our understanding is in tune, aligned, with the natural law. The natural law being that all manifest reality is intelligent energy.

The nature of the world, of shape and form, is energetic; it is vibrating. Everything that appears static is actually energy vibrating. For energy to vibrate in the context of a chair where it retains its “chair-ness” or a rock where it retains its “rock-ness,” there has to be intelligence. That is what the yogis refer to as prana, often also called shakti, the divine feminine energy. So it would be wrong to translate pranayama simply as breath control.

In the yogic tradition, the doorway to this prana is through the breath. For without having access to this energy within your body, you cannot refine your nervous system or fully understand the vitality and health which transcends body image. When yoga is limited just to the value of the body, it really has no value. Only in a deeper dimension of yoga does the importance of the various pranayama practices naturally become available to you.

The potential for prana is infinite, but working with the breath is just the beginning of pranayama. It is the entry point to correcting your perception and refining your nervous system. Then it can start to have access to more and more energy and allow the great Kundalini to rise and move through you without the body resisting the free flow of prana as it awakens to your own infinite potential.

Cultivating breath control to access the subtler dimensions of prana allows you to go deeper and gain access to the experience of ‘no mind’. As you achieve this, you also gain a greater mastery over the mind. If you don’t have access to the state of no mind, there is no way you can master it. When the dominant awareness is only within the mind, it is very difficult to focus and separate oneself from the barrage of thoughts that constantly flow through the mind. The pranayama practices are of incredible value in aiding you to achieve this no mind state. It is through the practice and understanding of pranayama that the light starts to pierce through the darkness of ignorance.

Pranayama includes four aspects:

Pooraka (inhalation)

Rechaka (exhalation)

Anthar Kumbhaka (internal breath retention/pause)

Bahir Kumbhaka (external breath retention/pause)

What are some of the benefits?

Remove Toxins

When we take deep breaths, the upward and downward movement of the diaphragm helps remove the toxins from the body, promoting better blood flow.

Improve Communication

Breathwork reduces stress while increasing our ability to communicate. It creates feelings of openness, love, peace and gratitude. Connect with yourself and others in a deeper way.

Release Trauma

Breathwork helps release trauma. It clears mental, physical and emotional issues, releasing anxiety, depression, fear, grief and anger. As we clear out what we have been carrying, our light shines through more and more.

Feel Good

When you breathe deeply, the body releases endorphins, the feel-good hormones of the body and a natural pain killer created by the body itself.

Visit the Pranayama Lab on Sattva Connect now to learn more about specific pranayama practices and how they can upgrade your experience of life. Sattva Connect is the only online platform coming to you direct from the birthplace of yoga. Practice yoga as it was intended!