More On Yoga: Pranayama

June 19, 2006

In order to achieve the best results, there must be a conscious effort to control prana while performing yogic asanas.

So what is prana?

Prana is breath in Sanskrit. Interestingly, prana also refers to the spirit of life. However, in pranayama, prana refers to breath and the latter part of the word ayama refers to extending breath by its control. However, the fact that breath and life are closely inter-related is noteworthy. A person breathes only until he/she is alive.

In Indian literature, Pranayama is the fourth part of Patanjali’s eight-fold Yoga, well-described in his work Yogasutra considered to have been written in the second century BC. Asanas or postures are described in the third part of the Yogasutra.

Pranayama involves conscious inhalation, retention of breath and exhalation. As a breath control technique, pranayama could imply inhaling and exhaling rapidly by taking shallow breaths or inhaling and exhaling slowly by taking deep breaths or refraining from breathing altogether.

Pranayama as a single exercise must be performed in a sitting posture. There are several postures from which to choose.