Chapter Three

Pranayama, Breathing

Pranayama Yoga is the science of breath control. If I had to list the most important aspect of Yoga, it would be either Pranayama or Dharana Yoga. The two go hand in hand to lead into Samadhi and beyond. Some aspects of Pranayama seem to come naturally to a student, but it is still wise to make a separate discipline of breathing. For instance, students practicing Dhyana (meditation) find that their breathing automatically drops lower and lower until, with very advanced students, it becomes nothing or near nothing. If a student is not prepared physically and mentally, the breathing-less state can be quite a shock.

We and our Western science know very little about breathing. Scientists received quite a shock during studies of the meditation state. When meditators get deeper and deeper into meditation, the breathing gets lower and lower until it is far lower than even during the deepest part of normal sleep. Most of us, including the scientists, first thought that with such a low breathing rate, the oxygen intake must be very low, and the brain is probably not getting enough oxygen and perhaps that can explain the pleasantness of the meditation state. More studies revealed that the oxygen supply to the brain actually increases during meditation and that there is no reduction of the oxygen content of the blood. It is a quandary to us all since it is backwards to our experience with breathing. Again, perhaps the yogis were correct in assuming that the body can operate upon another source of energy other than the normal oxidation of food with oxygen. We mentioned before how yogis can survive prolonged periods of time without air, so what is happening? Before we tackle this question, let's go back and look at some of the other odd things about our breathing that Yoga can teach us and which we can verify for ourselves.

Yoga tells us that our thought processes are highly dependent upon our breathing. Perhaps, one of the simplest observations (and also very spectacular) is to relate the condition of the mind with which nostril is the most air. Before you throw down the book and say this is getting too crazy for me, try a simple experiment. Using your second finger, place it horizontal below the nose so that both nostrils will breath on it. Breathe normally and notice that one nostril is doing most of the breathing. Now as you keep track of your nostrils you will notice that within two hours the breathing will change from one nostril to the other, and within another two hours will switch back on and on. Thousands of years ago some elephant herder without much to do must have discovered this while the elephants were sleeping.

When you check your breathing, notice your state of mind. If your right nostril is open, chances are that you are fairly wide-awake and alert. If your left nostril is active, you are probably lazy, daydreaming, or wish you could. If you have trouble going to sleep, chances are that your right nostril is open. I don't believe that the ancient yogis knew about the split brain, but it can be used to explain the phenomenon. Physiologists know that the brain halves crisscross in their controls. That is, the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. What you see in the right half portion of your field of vision is decoded in the left brain. Your body motions and functions of the right side of the body also go to the left brain. So in breathing mostly through your right nostril you are connecting up with the left side of the brain. The yogis simply state that breathing mainly through your right nostril causes the brain to become energetic, while breathing through the left nostril causes us to become contemplative, or just plain lazy, if we don't have much control over our mind.

We will discuss contemplative and lazy just a bit, since we're introducing what, to Yoga, are two opposites. When we discussed the split brain we listed all of the nice attributes of both sides. Well, those are the capabilities, and not something we are born with. Both halves have to be developed to get these attributes. If your brain isn't developed, and it's being turned on by your left nostril breathing, since it isn't developed and you are not forcing it, it just idles and lets you be lazy and sleepy. However, for a creative person with a developed right side, wow! That's when he can do some real inventing or deep contemplation about complex problems. Now, back to going to sleep. If the right side of your brain is somewhat developed and occasionally used, when your breathing is through the left nostril what you might find is some wild visualization. Some scientists consider that state a separate state, like half awake and half asleep. (But then maybe they didn't know creative people who might sit for hours like that, and be paid for it too.) As you can see, the recent discovery of the split brain makes a good basis for explaining some of the Yoga techniques and findings.

Okay, what do we do about our breathing through only one side of the nose. The obvious answer is to breathe through both nostrils. This activates both sides of the brain; and if they are both developed, then use them both together. Before we get into how to do that, let's consider what can be done now or tomorrow when you find yourself becoming sleepy and lazy (and yes, breathing through your left nostril). One simple exercise is to lightly close the left nostril and breath deeply in and out through the right nostril five or more times. The deeper the breaths the better. That should give your left hemisphere a jolt and wake you up. Due to the nostril stimulation of the brain, all of the following exercises should be done with the mouth closed and breathing through the nostrils only.

Yogis practice a breathing exercise, which they call "alternate breathing," to gradually develop equal breathing through both nostrils. The simplest form of the exercise is to first determine which nostril is open. Lightly seal the other nostril after taking a deep breath. Then breathe out through the open nostril, then close that open nostril and open the other and breathe in through that open nostril. Then again seal the other nostril and breathe out. Switch and breathe in through the other nostril and keep going until you have switched at least five times. After five or more times return to the original open nostril. Again breathe out, but rather than switching, breathe in through the same nostril then switch breathing five or more times. So considering the original open nostril, you first breathed out through it five or more times and then breathed in through it five or more times and vice versa for the closed nostril. This exercise should be done at least three times a day, definitely before meditation so that meditation is approached with both nostrils clear. This exercise, like most Yoga exercises, takes a while to have noticeable effects. Within two months definite changes and improvements will he noticed in attentiveness and alertness of the mind.

Yoga talks about another aspect of the brain, breath identity, that is hard for a beginner to verify, since most beginners are not really aware of their own thought processes. This relationship states that a change in thought causes a change in the breath. We have all had the experience of a sudden jolting thought hitting us, and the uncontrolled stoppage or gasping, of breath. The importance of breathing is also noticed during sex. As one nears the climax of sex, the breathing must be just so. A sudden change in the breathing seems to change the intensity of the sexual tensions.

The breath also affects the mind. They are related. To obtain a smooth flow of continuous thought, the breathing must also be smooth and even. After meditating for several months one starts to become aware of the mental processes, and can at that time, experiment more with the effect of breathing on the mind and vice versa. If we can consider out previous model and concept (that the breath flow through the nostril stimulates the brain), then, if the breath changes significantly one would expect the brain to have a change in its stimulus and hence find it easier to change thoughts.

Part of the ability of yogis to concentrate so deeply lies in their ability to slow and smooth out the breath so that no changes occur at all in the breathing. Even the shifting from inhalation to exhalation is performed with the minimum of discontinuity. In some of the advanced mental disciplines, the breath becomes actually imperceptible with breathing rates less than one breath per minute, or in many cases, actual stoppage of the breathing. Because of our poor breathing habits, we are led to believe that we quickly use up the available oxygen after each inhalation. Studies of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation techniques produced evidence that we in fact use only a small percentage of the oxygen after each inhalation and exhalation. So little, in fact, that one can then breathe his breath into another to resuscitate him. Well then, why do we breathe as rapidly and raggedly as we do? The answer is similar to the exercise I gave you of trying to walk very slowly. In trying to move in a slow walk, we find ourselves uncoordinated and unbalanced. Poor muscle control or development makes itself known by jerky, spasmodic movements. Rather than sending a continuous, smooth muscle control signal to the muscles which respond to the feedback signals of the sensors, we essentially try to get the motion we want by firing one signal to the muscles and then waiting to see what happens. Then we send another signal to redirect the muscle back if we overshot, or to redirect the motion. Smooth, even motion requires constant awareness, as well as a nervous system and muscles in excellent shape. Try taking a deep breath, then exhaling as smoothly as you can to complete exhalation. You will probably find yourself becoming jerky, particularly as you slow your rate of exhalation down. To do this requires effort and training. Since we do not normally supply the effort, and have not the training, we breathe jerkily and rapidly. There possibly might be some chemistry involved as well. If we breathe rapidly, we also flush the lungs with ot her gasses besides oxygen. This might be important, if we consider some recent scientific studies on the effect of breathing nitrogen, which is 78% of the air. If a person breathes a mixture of gasses without nitrogen, and with the normal percentage of oxygen, his mental activity increases by almost 10%. Nitrogen gas has since been listed as a neurological blocking agent.

Increasing the percentage of nitrogen in the air we breathe causes drugged sluggishness with reduced comprehension and awareness. What happens if we reduce the amount of air passing through the lungs? Do we reduce the amount of nitrogen absorbed and therefore reduce the drugging effect of the gas? No one knows but it is conceivable that the complex molecular formations within the blood with nitrogen may be reduced and the mental capabilities increased. Most people who have to think deeply report that best thinking is produced in restful situations, where the breathing rate would also be obviously reduced. It is too early to give scientific evidence on the effect of slower controlled breathing. All that we can rely on is the experience of others and trying it out in our own lab with our own breathing.

We should now attack another myth. That myth is that we control the oxygen content in our body by the rate we breathe. This is only partially true at best. Other obvious factors are involved, such as: the actual used lung capacity, the efficiency of the lungs, the internal oxidation-reduction reactions and the blood flow rate. The last is probably the most dominant control within the body. The critical area of the body is first the brain and second the internal organs. The body will go to great lengths to keep a constant rate of oxygen flow to the brain, even at the risk of severely limited oxygen supply to the other parts of the body. Shock is a good illustration of this point. The body becomes so involved in supplying the correct amount of oxygen to the brain, that in cases of injury, pain, etc., the system can actually deprive the rest of the body of sufficient oxygen and blood to keep alive. The myth that we can hyperventilate and oversupply the brain with oxygen is false. We pass out after hyperventilation from other causes than brain hyperoxygenation. One can learn to hyperventilate without any effects. Most Yoga students learn this fairly rapidly. Similarly, slowing the breathing rate down does not produce a lessening of the flow of blood to the brain. The first that would suffer is the muscle oxidation-reduction reactions, which would of course result in rapid fatigue and failure of the muscles. If you are going to do long distance running, you must supply more oxygen to the muscles to develop the energy needed. Although, we must remember that this does not necessarily require more rapid breathing. Many long distance runners develop a controlled breathing rate that is not much in excess of normal breathing rates, but it is a full inhalation and exhalation with improved efficiency.

Perhaps one of the most important breathing controls in Yoga is breath retention. As one learns to deal with more and more subtle aspects of the mind, changes in breathing become more and more distracting, so ultimately a yogi deals with no breathing. Here again the mind controls the breath and the breath controls the mind. Some schools of Yoga, like Jnana or Bhakti disciplines, find breath retention when a certain high subtle mental state is attained. In other words, by succeeding in getting the mind into a high enough state, the breathing rate automatically goes to cessation. In

Jnana and Bhakti Yogas, the higher mental states are concerned with God-awareness. Most Americans consider any subject related to God as an anachronism or a superstitious, metaphysical concept to be avoided at all costs. We will therefore reserve a section for that subject at the end of the book for those daring ones who have managed to wade through all of the other weirdo, far out notions which we are just starting to get into.

Breath retention is a very difficult discipline to obtain. Our first barrier is fear. We have an inbred fear of suffocation and our minds can really kick up a storm when our breathing stops. Slowing the breathing down is bad enough, but when suddenly the breath stops completely and silence descends, our thought and emotions can storm through like a howling banshee. If you think holding your breath with lungs full of air is bad, try holding your breath after exhaling completely. Panic! Panic!

In any of the Yoga exercises, one should never force himself beyond what he considers his normal capability. Forcing oneself can lead to injury. One should always take into account his own physical limitations and if uncertain, he should contact his physician.

Should you decide to undertake Yoga without the advice of your physician, I would strongly suggest that you find a competent teacher if at all possible. A good teacher can minimize your effort and give you assistance to assure your success. As mentioned earlier, you may be completely unable to experience higher states of the mind without a teacher who has experienced these states himself and is able to introduce them to you. Most teachers will give you honest answers as to what they are and are not qualified to teach. They are also able to tell you when you are ready and qualified to try more difficult exercises. For instance, if you decide to forget the beginning chapters and try to master Kundalini Yoga without first mastering the preceding disciplines, you are indeed foolish and wasting your time and effort, as well as possibly retarding your progress and certainly endangering your body and mind.

Individual exercises (pranayams) are designed to do one or more of the following: strengthen the breathing muscles, increase the lung capacity, clear the lungs, increase the lung efficiency, develop mental control over breathing, and learn mind-breathing relationships. (Some Yoga schools argue that Pranayama also effects the hormone system, or activates Chakra centers, but pranayams by themselves are not known to do such things, although when coupled with Dharana, Dhyana, etc., these and other controls are known to take place. These will he discussed later under pertinent subjects.) We will not fully discuss pranayams, since many excellent Hatha Yoga books contain details and efforts here would be redundant (see bibliography). We will, however, discuss some of the basic pranayams or exercises to help you get started.

Beginning exercises include becoming aware of your breathing. We take our breathing for granted and don't really observe it. Just sit and watch your breathing. Don't try to force it, although it's a natural tendency. Try to detach yourself from your breathing and just observe it. This is a much more difficult exercise than it sounds. You will have mastered it when you can suddenly switch your mind to your breathing without changing your breathing. Watching yourself breathe is pleasant and produces a calming effect in itself. You can't be worrying about tomorrow or regretting some past action if you're absorbed in your breathing. Watching your breathing forces you to be in the here-and-now, or to be "centered." The world outside just disappears and you are alone in the present with your own breathing. You will find that as you watch, you will relax, and your breathing will naturally slow down. The trick is to watch it happen and not to force it. We will pursue this exercise further when we discuss Dhyana or meditation.

The next exercise is to control your exhalation. Take a deep breath and exhale as slowly and evenly as possible to completely empty the lungs. Should you find yourself getting dizzy or uncomfortable, let your breathing return to normal and relax before trying again. You will notice particular trouble as you near the exhaustion of your lungs. You are required to use your stomach Muscles to help force the remaining air out. Keep at it, for those same stomach muscles will be needed later in more difficult controls. You will have mastered this exercise when you can exhale at least five times with no jerks or unevenness In your exhalation, don't worry about pushing the time of exhalation beyond ten seconds, just work on evenness of flow. Increased time will be obtained through later exercises.

Next, try inhalation and exhalation with control; try getting it smooth. Again, don't try to extend your time of exhalation or inhalation beyond ten seconds. Do try, as you progress, to get equal time in both exhalation and inhalation. Then try to get the transition from one to the other as smooth as possible. If you get this exercise under control, a feather would be undisturbed two inches from your nose as you breathe. Now you are starting to get some breath control.

The next exercise introduces breath retention with your control. We will work with breath inhalation, retention and exhalation for time ratios of 1:4:2. That is: inhale for 2 seconds, hold for 8 seconds (4 x 2) and exhale for 4 seconds (2 x 2). As you work up in time it might become: inhale 4 seconds, hold 16 seconds (4 x 4), exhale 8 second (2 x 4). Be content when you can get your breathing rate down to one breathing round per minute or one breath per minute.

If you wish to do this in the traditional style, keep time by using OM as a basic unit of time, and Count OM's. For instance, inhale for 1 OM, 2 OM; hold for 1 OM, 2 OM, 3 OM, 4 OM, 5 OM, 6 OM, 7 OM, 8 OM; and exhale for 1 0M, 2 OM, 3 OM, 4 OM. To increase time, go to 3, 12, and 6 OM' s, then on to 4, 16, and 8 OM's, etc. You will he surprised how short a time it will take you to get your breathing rate down to one breath a minute, and to keep going quite comfortably. Content yourself with five minute exercise sessions, and no more than four times a day. That will be enough for a beginner. (Do not try this exercise during a medical exam. You might be declared dead!)

An exercise to increase your lung capacity is to take as deep a breath as you can hold it about five seconds, then take in more air and hold it up to five seconds, then another and another breath. Exhale and let your breathing return to normal before repeating. You will find you can keep taking in more air until your lungs are stretched to their utmost. About ten rounds of this a day should be sufficient.

To help clear your lungs, try the third exercise of controlled exhalation and inhalation. This time, rather than working for slower breathing rates, work up to as rapid a rate as you can. Keep your exhalation and inhalation as complete as possible and as even as you can. You will start to sound like a steam locomotive starting to pick up speed as you do it correctly. Start out slow and gradually build up speed until you feel you have lost control, and the breathing ceases to be full breaths or becomes jerky or uneven. Most Yoga schools call this bellows breathing as it sounds like a blacksmith's bellows. Be content with twenty breaths per session, and no more than six sessions a day as a beginner. In all of the above cases, stop if you are getting dizzy or uncomfortable. Let your breathing return to normal before restarting.

A discussion of breath retention during exhaled breath is given in the chapter on Kundalini Yoga. More advanced practices can be obtained from other books, or by waiting for the later books in this series.

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