Aerobic exercise is defined as a low-moderately intense activity where oxygen meets the energy demands of the activity. Pranayama is generally translated (and oversimplified) into “breath work.” Let us take a moment to dissect the later etymologically: Prana: May be translated as Life Force, or Energy, similar to the East Asian concept of Chi, or perhaps that which Wilhelm Reich would later in the West identify as Orgone Energy and what George Lucus would call “The Force” in the fantasy Star Wars franchise. While Yama sometimes translated as Restraint at other times discipline. Take the two together and you get something like control over the Life-force.
If you talk to a specialist in Anaerobic Exercise (high intensity, short duration), they may try to convince you that this is “all you need” as is the case with most specialists (so immersed in a short sighted view unable to take in the vast landscape). “All you need is Yoga” and “Just do Cardio” are cultish memes that do little to express the “whole”-istic approach needed to address the complexity of the Human animal. Not an alternative approach, as is implied by our modern use of the word “holistic,” but rather an approach that looks at the whole of a being and pulls from tradition, intuition and empiricism respectively. Cardio by itself will not address many other needs of our body, including mobility, bone density, stability, cognitive reaction time and others, but we wouldn’t want to build a house with only a hammer. High Intentity Interval Training (HIIT), a piece of the Crossfit model, promises to accomplish both while succeeding for some and ultimately being unsustainable for others.
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Perhaps even less than performing distance running myself, I highly dislike watching most runners pass by while I train outdoors. The varieties of bad form are comprehensive as an exhausted populous lumbers by chasing after the carrot of a healthy lifestyle.
With Pranayama we have an opportunity to look at some of what Western practices of cardio/aerobic exercise attempt to accomplish without the added complication of more complex body mechanics. Though pranayama is not synonymous with aerobic exercise, I propose that their practices are compatible and may at appropriate times be interchangeable.
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Let’s look at the 4 parts to the breath
-Exhalation
-Retention after exhale (Bahya Kumbhaka)
-Inhalation
-Retention after inhale (Antara Kumbhaka)
This 4 part division parallels the 4 parts of lifting/strength training that we will look at in a future post:
-Eccentric (lowering portion of a lift; ie., think of going toward the floor in a push-up)
-Pause at the bottom
-Concentric (the active portion of a lift; push up to straight arms)
-Pause at the top of the lift
To this end we will use 4 numbers to express the tempo of breathing. An x will serve to represent a movement/breath that is done as quick as possible; While 0 will indicate no pause:
4040 = indicates breathing out for 4 counts, no pause when full, in for 4 and no pause when empty
Which is a perfect place to begin.
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Breathing Practice #1
8 cycles of 4040 (you can use your Thumb to each finger to count)
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Breathing Practice #2
Kapalabhati (breath of fire) is an exhale dominant movement where the focus is pushing air out on an exhalation allowing the inhale to happen naturally as though one where snapping an elastic band. This might be written as X000, where one is forcefully pushing out with no intention of holding any portion of the breath.
Beginners may find this challenging to start with and thus X010 may be a good preliminary exercise where you are taking a second to inhale each cycle to replenish, eventually (over a period of days/weeks/months) allowing the inhale to become quick and automatic.
Note the two variations in the video.
Begin with 10 cycles and attempt to increase in increments of 10
Breathing Practice #3
Wim Hof
Dominant forceful inhalation. Passive Exhale.
Beginners: Start with 10 cycles, hold after last passive exhale 5-10 seconds
Intermediate: 20 cycles, hold after passive exhale 30-60 seconds
Advanced: 30 cycles, consider testing the limit of your hold
Breathing Practice #4
Bhastrika. Striking Breath. Forceful inhale and exhale. Consider linking with cow and cat/spinal flexion and extension.
Begin with 10 cycles and attempt to increase in increments of 10
Breathing Practice #5
Viloma Pranayama: Divided or Interrupted Breathing.
Eg:
Inhale for 1 second, Pause for 1 second (fill for 8 breaths)
Exhale for 1 second, pause for 1 second (empty for 8 breaths)
can be done with different ratios of measurement
Breathing Practice #6
Nadi Shodhana: Alternate Nostril Breathing.
using the right hand,
the thumb will be used to close the right nostril:
inhale through the left side,
switch nostrils:
the ring finger and pinky together will be used to close the left nostril
exhale through the right nostril
inhale through right nostril
switching nostrils always after an inhale / before an exhale
Below you will find a full 44 minute Pranayama Practice: 25 mins of Breathing and 20 mins of meditation:
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