Course Name : Bachelor of Physical Education

Year : IInd (Part - I)

Paper Name : Yoga

Paper No. V

Lecture No. 7

Topic no. : Sect - A(2)

Lecture Title : Pranayama : Suryabhedi, Ujjai, Bhastrika

Introduction

Prana is the universal principal of energy for force. It is the vital force. It is all-
pervading. It may be either in a static or dynamic state. It is found in all forms,
the highest to the lowest, from the ant to the elephant, from the unicellular
amoeba to a man, from the elementary forms of plant life to the developed
forms of animal life. It is prana that shines in your eyes. It is through the power
of prana that the ear hears, the eyes see, the skin feels, the tongue tastes, the rose
smells, in a young lady, the melody in the music, the power in the emphatic
words of an orator the charm in the speech of one’s beloved are all due to prana.
Fire burns through prana. The aeroplane moves in the air through prana. Prana
is electron. Prana is force. Prana is magnetism prana is electricity. It is prana
that pumps the blood from the heart into the arteries of blood vessels. It is prana
that is responsible for the processes of digestion, excretion, and secretion.
Prana is expended by thinking, willing, acting, moving, talking, writing etc. A
healthy, strong man has abundance of prana or neeve-force or vitality. The
prana is supplies by food, water, solar energy, etc. The supply of prana is taken
up by the nervous system. The prana is absorbed by breathing. The excess of
prana is stored in the brain and nerve centres. When the seminal energy
sublimated or transforms, it supplies abundance of prana to the system. It is
stored up in the form of ojas. Ojas is nothing but prana.
The yogi stores abundance of prana by a regular practice of pranayam just as a
storage battery can be made to store electricity. That yogi who has stored up a
large supply of prana radiates strength and vitality all round. He is a might
power house. Those who come in close contact with him imbibe prana from
him, and get strength, vigour, vitality and exhilaration of spirits. Just as water
flows from one vessel to another, prana actually flows like a steady current from
a developed yogi towards weak persons. This can be actually seen by the yogi
who has developed his inner yogic vision.
Pranayam is the control of the prana and the vital forces of the body. It is
regulation of the breath. This aim of pranayam is the control of prana. Pranayam
begins with the regulation of the breath for having control over the life-currents
through the control of breath. Breath is the external manifestation of the gross
prana. A correct habit of breathing must be established by the regular practice of
pranayam. In ordinary worldly persons the breathing is irregular.
If you can control the prana you completely control all the forces of the
universe, Mental and physical. The yogi can also control the omnipresent
manifesting power out of which all energies take their origin, whether
magnetism, electricity, gravitation, nerve-currents vital forces or thought
vibration; in fact the total forces of the universe.
If one controls breath or prana, the mind is also controlled. He who has
controlled his mind has also controlled his breath. If one is suspended, the other
is also suspended. If the mind and the prana are both controlled one gets
liberation from the round of births and deaths and attains immortality. There is
an intimate connection between the mind prana and semen are also controlled.
He who has controlled hid seminal force has also controlled his prana and mind.
When you wish to hear a faint sound, the breath gets automatically suspended
for a short time. The cooly who carries heavy bags of rice at the railway station
instinctively fills his lungs with air and practises unconscious retention of the air
pranayam till the bag lifted into his practices long jump and high jump and
various exercises with the parallel bars practices retention of breath
instinctively. This retention of breath augments his vitality strength. It provides
abundance of energy immediately.
Just as a goldsmith removes impurities from gold by heating it in a hot furnace
and by blowing strongly through a blow-pipe so also the yogic student removes
the impurities of the body and the indriyas by blowing his lungs i.e, by
practising pranayam.
The chief aim of pranayam is to unite the prana with the apana and take the
united prana-apana slowly upwards to the head. The effect or fruit of pranayam
is awakening of the sleeping kundalini.
Pranayam, though it concerns the breath only, gives good exercise also to the
various internal organs and the whole body. Pranayam removes all sorts of
diseases, improves health, energises digestion, improves the nerves, removes
passions and awakens kundalini shakti. It bestows good health and a steady
mind. A pranayam practioner can stop his breath. Person can beak stones on his
chest. He does not feel anything because he has controlled his prana. A
pranayam practitioner will have a light body free from diseases,a very fair
complexion,a sweet melodious voice and a pleasant smell from his body.
He who practises pranayam will have good appetite cheerfulness, a handsome
figure, great strength, courage, enthusiasm ,a high standard of heath vigour and
vitality and good concentration of the mind. Thus pranayam is quite suitable for
all.
A yogi measures the span of his life not by the number of years but by the
number of breaths. You take in a certain amount of energy or prana from the
atmosphere along with each breath. Vital capacity is the capacity of a man to
inhale the largest quantity of air the deepest possible exhalation. A man takes
fifteen breaths in a minute. So the total number of breaths amounts to 21,600
per day.
The room in which you practise pranayam must not be damp or ill-ventilated. It
must be dry and airy. You may practice by the side of a river or lake, in the
corner of a garden in the open air when there is no chill or draught of cold air or
on the top or foot of a hill. The practice of pranayam should be performed daily
with the mind firmly fixed on truth. Then the chitta is absorbed in the
sushumna. Consequently the prana becomes steady. It does not fluctuate.
Pranayam requires deep concentration and attention.
There should be no strain at any stage in the practice of pranayam. You should
experience joy and pleasure in doing the same. You should not feel any undue
strain. Always inhale and exhale very very slowly. Do not make the least sound.
Whenever you feel uneasy, depressed, or dejected, practise pranayam.
The practice of kumbjak (retention) in pranayam produces heat and thereby the
kundalini shakti is awakened and passés upwards along the sushmna nadi.
Kumbhak increases the period of life also. Mild kumbhak during the practice of
asans augments the efficacy of asans and gives increased power and vitality.
During the practice of pranayam repeat your ishta mantra japa. That will be pure
yoga.
As there is always some drowsiness when one gets up from bed, it is advisable
to do a few pranayams, 10 to 20 mild kumbhak just to drive off drowsiness and
to make your meditation fit. The mind gets one pointed after the practice of
pranayam.

Sukh Purvak

(Easy comfortable pranayam)

Sit in the padmasan or siddhasan pose in your meditation room. Close the right
nostril with the right thumb. Draw in the air very slowly through the left nostril.
Then close the left nostril also with the little and ring fingers of the right hand.
Retain the air as long as you can comfortably keep. Then exhale very very
slowly through the right nostril after removing the thumb.
Then draw in the air through the right nostril. Retain the air as before and exhale
it very very slowly through the left nostril after removing the little and ring
fingers. All these six processes constitute one pranayam. Do 5 pranayams to
start with and increase the number gradually. Youy can do 20 pranayams at a
sitting.
Have a bhav (mental attitude) that all the daivi sampat or divini qualities such as
mercy, love, forgiveness, shanti, joy, etc. And asura sampat devilish qualities
such as lust, anger, greed, etc., are being thrown out along with the expired air.
Repeat OM mentally during purak (inhalation) and rechak (exhalation).
This pranayam removes all diseases, purifies the nadis, steadies the mind in
concentration, improves digestion increases the digestive fire and appetite, help
to maintain brahmacharya and awakens the kundalini shakti. Purification of
nadis all set in rapidly.
For purak, kumbhak and rechak the ratio is 1:4:2. If you inhale for 4 seconds,
retain the air for 16 seconds and then exhale for 8 seconds. You can gradually
increase these to 16, 6 and 32 seconds respectively.

Ujjayi

Adopt the padmasan or the siddhasan pose. Close the mouth. Inhale slowly
through both the nostrils in a smooth uniform manner till the breath seems to fill
the space between the throat and the heart. Retain the breath as long as you can
comfortably and then exhale through the left nostril by closing the right nostril
with your right thumb. Expand the chest when you exhale. During inhalation a
peculiar sound is produced owing to the partial closing of the glottis. The sound
produced during inhalation should be of a mild and uniform pitch. It should be
continuous also. This pranayam can be practised even walking or standing.
Instead of exhaling through the left nostril, you can slowly through both
nostrils, you can exhale slowly through both nostrils.
This pranayam removes the heat in the head. The gastric fire is increased. It
removes phlegm from the throat. Asthma, consumption and all sorts of
pulmonary diseases are cured. Everything is accomplished by ujjayi. The
practitioner is never attacked by diseases of phlegm nerves, dysentery, enlarged
spleen, consumption cough or fever. Perform ujjayi to destroy decay and
prevent death.

Sitali
Protrude the tongue a little away from the lips. Fold the tongue like a tube
lengthwise. Draw in the air through the mouth with the hissing sound. Retain
the breath through both the nostrils. Practise this 6 times. You can do this even
while standing or walking.
This pranayam purifies the blood. It quenches thirst and appeases hunger. It
destroys inflammation of various chronic diseases, fever consumption,
indigestion, bilious disorders, etc. You will find this extremely useful in
summer.

Bhastrika
In Sanskrit bhastrika means bellows. Rapid succession of forcible expulsions is
a characteristic feature of bhastrika. Just as blacksmith blows his bellows
rapidly, so also you will have to move your breath rapidly.
Sit in padmasan. Keep the body, neck and head erect. Close the mouth now
inhale and exhale quickly ten times like the bellows of a blacksmith. Constantly
dilate and contract the chest. Forcibly and quickly inhale and exhale ten times
and then make a deep inhalation through do with comfort and then exhale
completely. This is one round of bhastrika. You can do this 4 times. After some
practice, you can gradually increase the number of expulsions to 20. You can do
10 rounds in a sitting. You will not feel any fatigue, if you take a little rest after
each round. Take a few normal breaths after each round. Then you will be fresh
for the next round.
The number of expulsions for each round are determined by the strength and
capacity of the practitioner. You must not go to [Link] regularly
every day and gradually increase the number of rounds.
There is another variety of bhastrika where in only one nostrail is used for
breathing purposes.
Bhastrika is a powerful exercise. It relieves inflammation of the throat,
increases the gastric fire, destroys phelegm, remove diseases of the nose and
chest and cures asthma and consumption. It removes all diseases which arises
from an excess of wind, bile and phlegm. It gives warmth to the body. It purifies
the nadis considerably. It is the most beneficial of all kumbhaks. It awakens
kundalini shakti quickly. For health and strength, practise bhastrika.

Suryabhedi
Suryabhedi pranayam has been praised in the Hatha Yoga Pra dipika as the
pranayam that cleanses the skull, destroys wind related diseases and removes
worms (microorganisms like bacteria and viruses). Diseases such as hiccups,
arthritis, asthma, Parkinson’s, memory loss, stroke, paralysis, anxiety,
depression, cold hands and feet and negative emotions, nervousness, fear, anger,
suspicion, jealousy etc are attributed to an imbalance in vayu (wind) element.
Close your left nostril by applying gentle but firm pressure on the left side of
your nose with the help of the little and ring finger of your right hand. Inhale
steadily through the right nadi (right nostril) then slowly exhale through the left
nadi (left nostril) while closing your right nostril with your thumb. Repeat
several times. Another variation is to hold the breath per capacity upon
inhalation through right nostril, followed by exhalation through the left nostril.
According to the Gherand Samhita, practicing Suryabheda pranayam helps
awaken Kundalini energy and destroys feebleness and death.
Suryabehdi pranayam increases heat in the body; hence one should avoid doing
too much in the summer time. Foods that bring warmth to the body should be
consumed if one is afflicted with an imbalanced wind element. Hence
consuming foods that are inherently and temperature warm or hot can help
 restore balance in people with wind imbalance related disorders. Examples: Hot
cereals, warm teas, warm milk, nuts, honey, sweet fruits, ginger, cloves,
peppers, sesame oils, almond oils, olive oils. Self massage with these oils is
also highly beneficial.

Preparation of Suryabehdi

• Sit on your favourite Asana (Padma asana, Vajra asana or Sukh asana) in a
well ventilated room free from any distractions. Keep the waist, back, neck
and spine erect. For beginners, you can sit on a chair or sit cross legged on
the yoga mat/ carpet keeping your back, neck and spine erect. Inhaling and
exhaling should be slow and it should not make noise. Keep the breathing
exercise easy and enjoy it. Do not tax your body. Any time you feel
discomfort, discontinue and take rest.
• For closing the right nostril, it should be pressed with thumb of right hand.
For closing the left right nostril, it should be pressed with ring finger of right
hand. Keep the other hand on your knee.
• Alternate method. For closing the right nostril, it should be pressed with
thumb of right hand. For closing the left right nostril, it should be pressed
with ring finger of right hand.
• Initially your hands will get tired easily, so you can use either of the hands.
One hand gets tired, use other hand.

Benefits of Surya Bhedi pranayama

1. Surya Bheda Pranayama activates the body and the bodily functions.
2. It increases the digestive fire.
3. It destroys all diseases that are caused by insufficiency of oxygen in the
blood.
4. The Hatha Yoga Pra-deepika says that Surya Bheda Pranayama cleanses the
frontal sin uses, destroys disorders of wind and destroys intestinal worms.
5. In the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika, it is also said that one can perform Uddhiyana
Bandha by pulling in the abdomen at the end of Kumbhaka or holding of
breath. This will force the prana to enter the central pranic channel
called Sushumna Nadi. This leads to awakening of the Kundalini Shakti.
6.
With this we come to an end to todays lecture. I hope this must have enhanced
your knowledge about this important [Link] you very much. Have a good
day.