Understanding energies of pranayama
The essence of pranayama is the conscious, mindful flow of prana through the vehicle of inspiration. It is not just a mere breathing exercise, aimed at improving gaseous exchange in the lungs. It is not just a method to strengthen the muscles of respiration through any respiratory physiotherapy.
The focus is not limited just to the gases (particularly Oxygen) entering our physical bodies and exiting it, (particularly carbon dioxide). As a matter of fact, the inhaled air has not just oxygen, but a large amount of nitrogen, along with carbon dioxide, other gasses, and dust particles etc., all being inhaled through the incoming breath.
Pranayama as a concept is a lot more profound than that.
If pranayama were to be just the intake and expulsion of ‘prana’ in a controlled manner ‘ayama/yama’, then, to give it a thought, why would anyone breathe out and lose prana, which happens to be the main source of life? Wouldn’t everyone always want to take in and retain prana always and never breathe out?
The practice of pranayama is traditionally understood to have four components: puraka, antarakumbhaka, rechaka and shunyaka / bahirakumbhaka.
The common translations of these four are:
· Puraka: Controlled inhalation / In-breath / slow silent and deep in-breath
· Antarakumbhaka: Retention of inhaled air / holding of in-breath / voluntary suspension after inhalation
· Rechaka: Controlled exhalation / Out-breath / slow silent and deep breath out
· Bahirakumbhaka: Retention after exhaled breath / Holding the breath out / voluntary suspension after exhalation.
We must understand why they didn’t call it ‘in-out-hold’ directly and instead used specific terms “puraka/ rechaka/ kumbhaka”. We must get to the depth of intrinsic wisdom of terminology to really understand the greater purpose through this process.
In puraka, it is the mukhyaprana or the mahaprana, the universal energy that comes in and in rechaka the individual prana is given up. The laws of physics tell us, “energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only change from one form to another”.
Similarly in the case of prana, it just transforms from one form to another; through the gross, subtle and casual layers of existence. When we perform puraka, the universal prana comes into us transforming into our individuality and enhancing all our activities.
When we perform rechaka the individual prana is given up to the universe and the individual energy transforms into the universal. This is similar to the way potential energy transforms into kinetic energy and then changes back to potential energy through the movements of a pendulum.
The antarakumbhaka allows the kinetic energy taken in from the universe to become potential within us while the bahirakumbhaka allows the kinetic from within us to become the universal potential energy once more.
During antarakumbhaka the energized universal mahaprana fills us as an individual in a wholesome manner, as during the phase of puraka we have consciously expressed our voluntary willingness to reenergize ourselves with the universal.
In antarakumbhaka as the mahaprana settles into our system, we begin to have a greater understanding of our connectivity with the cosmos, connectiveness between the microcosm and macrocosm, the pindam with the andam.
After having the realization that we as an individual are a ‘poorna’ or complete unit of the cosmic intelligence, we take the opportunity to consciously give up and sacrifice the asmita / false identification with the ego-aham, voluntarily, through the ‘now’ of the rechaka.
That’s why puraka and rechaka exemplify the ‘ham-sa ; so-ham’ ajapa japa, wherein the ‘ham’, the ‘aham’ — ahamkara is being given up in order to create space for the universe, the sah/so to fill our individual entirely.
Each exhalation is an opportunity to sacrifice, to let go of the pettiness of one’s ego to welcome during the next inhalation the vastness of the universal wisdom to enhance our living potential.
This is the deeper reason why the process isn’t just called ‘breathe in’ and ‘breathe out’, and why puraka and rechaka are profound terms used for the process.
Shunyaka (bahirakumbhaka) is the process during which we create a space or vacuum for the universal energy to come in, enhancing one’s mindfulness of prana and further enhancing the experience of such energy. It is that voluntary suspension after inhalation of prana with the breath, and the subsequent conscious focus on it.
The kumbhaka-s may be understood as the stage of potential energy while the puraka and rechaka are stages of kinetic energies. As stated earlier, the transformation of prana in pranayama is best explained by the working of a pendulum.
The kinetic energy (puraka and rechaka) is manifest during the mid phase of the swing while at the peripheral ends, the energy is stored as potential energy (as in the kumbhaka). It is not a state of ‘no-energy’, but energy in its potential form.
We must never forget that Yoga is all about energies, and this is especially true of Hatha Yoga that expresses energy even in its name ‘Ha’ and ‘Tha’.
Pranayama isn’t just expansion as most understand it to be. Something doesn’t just have to be big in order for it to be expanded. Ayama can be in other dimensions too. Just like one digs the bore well deeper to get more water, similarly expansion can be higher, deeper, wider, bigger, longer etc.
A jumper used to the 10 feet mark, now jumps 10 feet 2 inches and this 2 inches is manifest as ayama for him. Someone running 5 km in 45 min can now do so in 30 min with regular practice and this is a mark of his increased efficiency, and an enhancement of his capacity.
That’s why a better word for ayama isn’t expansion/ elongation limited to dimensions, but is ‘enhancement’.
Pranayama is a Yogic endeavor to consciously enhance and experience with awareness the wholesomeness of prana itself.
‘Controlling the breath’ is another term used, which doesn’t go down too well with this idea of pranayama.
Even if we surpass the common connotation of the word ‘control’ to be of a negative implication, still, controlling the breath/ prana isn’t the aim.
Rather, enhancing the quality and quantity of prana and of one’s capabilities to experience it in its fullness, is the ultimate goal.
