Hi!
I'm very interested in learning more about pranayama. Hope you can give me some advice on more resources.
First some background. By default, when I'm scared, stressed or doing intense exercise, I stop breathing. I've been doing vinyasa and some yin classes, and obviously teachers have reminded me frequently to keep on breathing, because when I stop breathing I'm certainly not making it easier on myself.
I notice that just learning to breath continuously during exercise has already helped me so much, that I'm very eager to learn more about how I could use my breathing in my practice and just in life in general. Obviously I'm very much a beginner in terms of yoga breathing, so I'm not looking for super advanced techniques or anything. Rather I'm looking for (a) beginner book/videos that guide me through different breathing exercises, explain how they help the body and what are good moments in a day/during a practice/in life to utilize them.
Any tips?
I started doing pranayama couple of years back. Just after doing it for couple if days, there was a fluid buildup in my left ear. It became infected and I got treated for that. I stopped doing pranayama. At that time, I thought it was because of water going inside the ear or cold which caused fluid buildup and infection.
I tried it about 6 months back and landed in the same problem. It was the same fluid buildup in same ear. Before it could get infected, I got treated and fluid build up was gone.
I tried starting pranayama last week and it’s the same problem now. I got fluid build up, vertigo and muffled hearing. The symptoms were same all the three times.
Now I suspect that I am doing something wrong with Pranayama. All I am doing is to inhale from left nostril, retain and exhale through right. Then reverse the process. The time taken is equal for inhalation, retention and exhalation. After doing pranayama, I could eel relaxed and refreshed. But fluid builds up in my left ear in few days.
Any advice is appreciated.
For all those who have the above problems, you can try indian form of meditation- the pranayama, mainly its 2 activities kapalbhati and anulom vilom. Within days you ll see the benefits. Be careful to carry a handkerchief while performing pranayama to wipe the mucus off from your nose. Its very relaxing technique for the mind and body and it also clears the nose. For beginners also, anulom vilom is a good technique as it helps you to focus better on breath. I started meditating a month ago for 5 minutes daily and i can see huge difference in my cold problems, social anxiety, negative thoughts etc. Will post full results after 6 months.
I've been working on an app to make it easy to do meditation and pranayama exercises (more details here).
I am looking for feedback on the experience of hearing the audio in the app, for the following:
- Breaths of Fire
- Alternate Breathing Technique
Does it work for you? How it can be improved?
Hi guys, when doing alternate nostril pranayama, are we supposed to be trying to fill all the lungs completely no matter if it’s a short count? For example if i breathe in through my left nostril 4 seconds should i breathe in fast to fill the entire lungs up or just breathe gently but barely get any air? This has caused me a great deal of confusion, any help would be greatly appreciated
Hello r/IndiaSpeaks!
I am non-Indian author writing a book for software engineers and I need to mention box breathing. It is a tangent to the overall topic, but will get a page or two. I want to respect the history of the technique and wanted to share my draft for feedback from your community.
>Box breathing (Sama Vritti Pranayama) is an ancient meditation technique technique developed as part of the Ayurvedic, a natural system of medicine, from the Indian subcontinent.
This practice was popularized in the west by the US military as a way to stay calm and focused during combat.
Any and all critical feedback is welcome.
Hi! I've been pouring over the reviews on the website but I still somehow trust reddit reviews more than website reviews.
I am 5'5" and have an XS regular length Pranayama wrap, which I like but don't love. I feel like it's just a little short and the front hits my hips at an unflattering length. I love that dark violet color for the long one but was wondering if anyone had any fit pics of it, or had feedback from trying it on in stores? One review on the site said that it wrinkled really easily in the back, but no one else mentioned it.
I also have a balance pullover I got on sale last year that I am living in this winter because it's so soft! Does anyone have any pics or reviews for the henley version? I would honestly rather just get a pullover again but the colors in the henley version are much more interesting to me.
Edit: I bought the long wrap in the violet color and I am in love with it!!
Hello, I am currently on a low dose of Elavil (tricyclic antidepressant) for an off-label usage. My vagus nerve became damaged due to a virus which has messed up my digestion, for which I was prescribed 25mg of Elavil as a treatment to give my vagus nerve a chance to heal a bit.
I've done some research on pranayama and yoga and saw that it too can be very helpful to heal the vagus nerve. I was wondering if anybody knows about interactions between pranayama and anti-depressants. If I do pranayama, will the anti-depressant in my system interfere with the effects of Pranayama on my nervous system?
Are there any books that give you a progressive guide to follow. I meditate daily but wanted to incorporate pranayama breathing exercises into my routine. I have some pranayama books but they just give me a list of breathing exercises and asana's and I feel overwhelmed. Not sure in what order and which ones I should incorporate into my routine?
What’s the most powerful pranayama or kriya? If I had to do one a day only which one would you recommend and why?
Supernatural Residence by Michael Beloved
Ramana (Rah-muh-nuh) Maharshi suggested that those who were successful in raising Kundalini through sushumna nadi central spinal passage into the head of the subtle body while using kapalabhati/bhastrika pranayama and who proceeded to infuse breath energy into organs, zones and cells which are not in the spine of the body, should, by all means, direct the infused energy into the head of the subtle body using the entire neck as a conduit.
He claims that this would accelerate the practice and cause the yogi to experience the self as a supernatural residence in which there is bright spiritual light.
He stated that the abstractness of this is beyond compare which means that only those yogis who developed sharp mystic perception can do this and recognize the location and the quality of energy which abounds there.
Hi guys, when doing alternate nostril pranayama (nadi shodhana) are we supposed to be trying to fill all the lungs completely no matter if it’s a short count? For example if i breathe in through my left nostril 4 seconds should i breathe in fast to fill the entire lungs up or just breathe gently but barely get any air? This has caused me a great deal of confusion, any help would be greatly appreciated
Hi guys, when doing alternate nostril pranayama, are we supposed to be trying to fill all the lungs completely no matter if it’s a short count? For example if i breathe in through my left nostril 4 seconds should i breathe in fast to fill the entire lungs up or just breathe gently but barely get any air? This has caused me a great deal of confusion, any help would be greatly appreciated
