Breathing Exercise

Pranayama

Prana is the Sanskrit word for breath. Many relaxation techniques work with and through the breath, and there are many variations of this techinique. What I teach here is not original, but I hope it is helpful.

Basics

• The eyes can be open or closed as is appropriate to the surrounding situation.
• Keep your hand and arms relaxed.
• Using the right hand, place the thumb on the right nostril to very gently close it. Complete an in breath through the left nostril
• as you are about to breathe out, release the right nostril, and close the left nostril very gently with the middle two fingers of the same right hand.
• Begin and complete the out breath through the right nostril.
• Complete the in breath through the same right nostril.
• Back to 2 above

Rules

• Be gentle. You are not trying to squash or even close the nostril, just to increase resistance to the breath passing through. When you start it may not be sensible at all to close either nostril fully. With time, this will change.
• The hand movement is just a swivelling of the wrist.
• Breathe comfortably. Be as slow and smooth as is comfortable.
• Do not place the first finger in the forehead. This is recommended for some other forms of pranayama, but is definitely not recomended here. It feels like a comfortable resting place for the finger, a point of 'swivel' It acts only as a distraction which will weaken the effect.
• Do not ever force a breathe out or in. If a nostril is blocked:
  • On the out breath for that nostril, apply a gentle but sprightly circular movement of the nostril with the thumb or fingers which close it on the out breathe.
  • On the in breath for that nostril, leave the other nostril as open as is necessary to leave your breathing smoth and comfortable.
• Try to be regular.
• Change arms (and vice-versa the nostrils) as often as is necessary to stay comfortable.

Questions

• When?
  • Any time, any place. It is not something you would normally want to do in public, but hey hoe ...
  • It can be particularly useful, and amusing, for example if you are driving, and stuck in traffic or at traffic lights. Courage, chaps.
  • It does not make sense to try this either when exercising, or immediately after when the breath is still disturbed.
• How long?
  • Five to ten minutes - but no particular rules.
  • How exactly do I keep my hands? The hand used is open, not flat. To get the right idea, put your arm out in front of you, palm up. Make a fist. Relax the fist, and let the fingers fall a slight distance apart. Gently touch the middle two fingers together. They do not press against each other, and remain naturally curved. That's it.

This just works. It can be exhilarating at first, but the real benefits come when you stick at it. After a period of time of regular pranayama, your entire breathe will become much more refined and smooth.