Pranayama and scuba diving
Pranayama
Pranayama is a central component of yoga and refers to the conscious control and regulation of the breath. The term is made up of two Sanskrit words: “prana”, which means life energy or breath, and “ayama”, which means control or expansion. Various breathing exercises are used to control, strengthen and balance the life energy in the body. These techniques help to harmonise body and mind, reduce stress and improve concentration.
The term from the Indian yoga movement became known beyond the subcontinent in the western hemisphere through the translation and publication of the writings of the venerable Patanjali from around the 3rd century A.D. in 1850. An intellectual yogi who endeavoured to summarise the wisdom of yoga, which had already been collected over thousands of years, as simply as possible and thus spread yoga as a teaching. These yoga sutras form the basis for Ashtanga yoga, the eightfold path to spiritual and mental liberation, samadhi or nirvana.
The four steps to pranayama
The levels, starting with 1, are translated as the ability to discipline oneself inwardly, e.g. through scriptures, and 2 to behave outwardly in an ethically positive manner, e.g. by avoiding verbal or physical aggression. The next level 3 is the ability to sit quietly for as long as possible and is called ASANA. Over time and through many Western adaptations, this term has mistakenly come to be used for all postures from HATHA body YOGA for which there is no generic term in Sanskrit. KON ASANA, for example, means sitting at an angle.
The 4th stage is PRANAYAMA: consciously influencing physical processes by controlling the inhalation, exhalation and the pauses in between. The variety in this context is so great that one can almost speak of a science in itself. Probably the best written account of this knowledge can be found under the title: “Light on Pranayama” by Guruji B.K:S. Iyengar. Iyengar, who succeeded in the 20th century in developing simple Hatha Yoga into an effective physiotherapeutic form. The use of blocks, cushions and straps, for example, are well-known.
Prana = One of many different life energies from Ayurvedic teachings.
Prana is one of the 10 energies that determine the VATA Dosha and in the Western sense is to be understood as the flow of energy in the spine and the afferent nerve pathways emanating from there. Other VATA energies are, for example, those of speech, excretion and, to a large extent, the heart rhythm. The conversion of the air we breathe into productive oxygen, which is more or less necessary for all cell processes, is crucial for the most positive effect on people.
With a strong VATA energy, the other two doshas (Pitta and Kapha) can be better balanced with 5 other different impulse forces each. In the Western sense, the nervous and hormonal system (VATA) controls all other physiological processes (processing as in the brain = PITTA and substance-forming as in the bones = KAPHA). For this reason, a yoga sect that is only active in the West describes prana energy as the main life energy, although this corresponds more to the Western than the original Indian view. Since YOGA literally means plough (as in agriculture) and acts as the POWER OF CONNECTION, the focus is more on what connects and merges in the original sense than on the dividing force that we know from our European logic, in which we like to think from A to B and on to C.
The 8-fold path of yoga practice
To make the content of the yoga practice of the eightfold path even clearer, here is a brief continuation of the other four stages. When you have yourself under control mentally, try to have a positive effect on the outside world (1+2), can sit still for longer periods (3) and have learnt to control your breath (4 PRANAYAMA), the ability to control your senses follows. If you have practised this, you can use it to influence sounds, smells or visual impressions from the outside to a greater extent to have a personal effect on yourself. This takes you further towards level 6 and gives you the opportunity to expand your ability to concentrate. The finest concentration points on the body or near the field of vision help with this.
This is followed by (7) the ability to meditate autonomously, i.e. without suggestions, through which one can practise the dissolution of egocentricity, as illustrated in the Buddha’s teachings, for example, in order to liberate one’s true self and (8) to achieve the highest possible awareness of one’s own potential. However, this is only a structural yoga orientation.
Four main areas of yoga and differentiation from AYURVEDA
At the time of Mahatma Gandhi, a generation earlier, SWAMI Vivekananda, who was the first yogi to appear in public in the West and was proficient in the English language, categorised yoga into four main areas. The yogis we know from pictures, with long hair and beards, practise above all union with the Supreme through (1) BHAKTI Yoga – prayer and devotion. Of course, it is important for every authentic yogi to practise this, but this is less to be found in the gross physical HATHA Yoga and more in (2) RAJA, the supreme discipline of yoga, the higher meditation. Here, stretching physical exercises (as practised in HATHA yoga, rather in “popular sports”) are only to be seen as a balance to the long sessions. General body yoga (HATHA Yoga) actually belongs to the field of health prophylaxis and therefore to AYURVEDA.
The other possibilities for evolutionary development or liberation in the sense of yoga are (3) JNANA Yoga – the path of realisation, which is made possible through thought work or the study of scriptures, and (4) KARMA Yoga, which offers the possibility of human development through selflessness, e.g. through TEAMWORK or social work.
There is also LAYA yoga, for example, which works purely through chants, mantras etc., whereby Laughing-YOGA is a separate area within this spectrum.
TIP! Common physical exercises from yoga for mental and physical strengthening are more effective if you A) keep your eyes open and B) focus your gaze on a specific point in space and linger.
