How to obtain harmony, energy, calm and self-control with an easy practice of breathing.
The Sanskrit word “Sukha” suggests something that
deals with the pleasure, joy or happiness. The correct
translation of Sukha pranayama could be: control (ayama) of the
breath of life (prana) in a pleasant or even easy way (sukha),
but, actually, the terms pleasant or easy “breathing” are used.
I state beforehand that these exercises have to be practiced
without an excessive strain, but softly. To practice pranayama
during yoga’s sessions, in general, we choose a position of
meditation as the lotus position (padma-asana) or the posture of
the perfect yogin (siddha-asana); in case of difficulty, anyway,
rather then not practicing, you can normally sit down, even on a
chair.
Anyway, it’s very important having the vertebral column, neck
and head well aligned, and once you obtained the best position,
you have to keep motionless until the end of the practice.
A complete respiratory act consists of three phases: the
breathing in (puraka), the retention (kumbhaka) and the
breathing out (recaka). The retention can be after at the end of
the breathing in (antara-kumbhaka) or at the conclusion of
breathing out (bahya-kumbhaka).
Before to start the out-and-out exercise, you should practice a
little with these aspects. You have to find an ideal and easy
duration for the three phases and adopt it as unit of
measurement. You can do that by mentally counting, for example:
I breathe in for 6 seconds, I hold my breath for 6 seconds, I
breathe out for 6 seconds and I hold again - empty lungs - for 6
seconds.
Sukha-pranayama consists in 4 precise phases of the same
duration (for example 9 breathings for each type) and each one
of them can develop a quality: in the first phase we tend to
develop only the breathing in and the breathing out, balancing
them (for example: I breathe in 6, breathe out 6) and this is
the phase that is commonly called sukha, it develops harmony and
equilibrium.
In the second phase, called loma, we breathe in, we hold our
breath (full throated) and then we breathe out (breathe in 6,
hold 6 and breathe out 6). The Sanskrit word loma “can” mean
positive, assimilating, convex, heating, etc. This phase, thanks
to the retention (full throated), allows us to absorb energy.
The third phase viloma consists in: I breathe in 6 (if this is
the ideal duration), I breathe out 6 and I hold the breath
(empty throated) 6. Viloma is negative, oxidant, concave,
refreshing, etc. In fact, this breathing is very calming.
In the last phase catur (catur is the number 4 in Sanskrit) the
“square” breathing, in which the four phases (breathing in,
retention full lungs, breathing out, retention empty lungs) are
perfectly balanced in relation to the unity of measurement,
evolves. Here, self-control develops itself.
Finally, I state that each one of these 4 phases, in case of
necessity, could be separately used to evolve the correspondent
quality. In this case the number of breathings could be decided
in relation to the aim we want to achieve.
Anyway, it would be better do not cause
unpleasant unbalance; take advice from an expert master. And it
would be better as well, at the end of the practice, relax
oneself for some minutes on the floor in a state of complete
abandon, helping the natural and spontaneous breathing.
by Amadio Bianchi