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?The simpler the technique, the less you will want to practice it. The mind is such that you want difficult things, challenges? If you can just be aware of your breath for a one full hour, it is an achievement.?
Bharat Thakur
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Pranayama
(Breath Regulation and Control)
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Pranayama is the art of wishful awareness of the entire breathing system. It is a form of meditation. To control the mind, one needs to work on the breath. No other science has studied respiration as deeply as Yoga. Pranayama is a technique to control breathing which is the link between the mind and the body. Pranayama helps control the mind and increase awareness oneself without distraction from the thoughts that constantly bombard our minds. It calms the mind by concentrating on one?s breathing and ultimately going beyond the breath. Yogis have devised thousands of varieties of prananyama, which affect different aspects of the brain and the body. Some yogic techniques work to cool the body while others increase the body temperature. This temperature change alters the endocrinal (hormonal) secretion rate.
The number of breaths per minute in a sitting position- 12 to 16; while sleeping ? 30 to 35; when angry ? 45 to 60; and 2-3 breaths when relaxed. The philosophy of Yoga is that a human being?s age is related to the total number of breaths he takes in his lifetime. When a person practices breathing techniques of pranayama, he changes his breathing pattern for the whole day. The number of breaths per minute in all the situations discussed above gets lesser and lesser every day and thus increasing his age and slowly, the person starts becoming more peaceful and relaxed. The oneness between his physical and mental body gets heightened.
There are 3 parts of pranayama: purak (controlled inhalation), rechak (controlled exhalation) and kumbhak (retention).
Kumbhak is the most important aspect of pranayama and it is further
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