Pranayama breathing exercises & health benefits

The Sanskrit term ‘pranayama’ translates into ‘regulation of life force energy’ (prana), explains Dr. Apar Avinash Saoji (Ph.D. Yoga and Psychophysiology). Pranayama is a breath-control technique. In Sanskrit, prana means life, and Ayama means way. Pranayama can help you regulate your system, change your mood, and ensure longevity. These pranayamas are an easy but very effective tool for comfort.

Pranayama is a process
of breath regulation and considered to be an essential component of Yoga.
Pranayama, when performed daily, can influence the physiological systems.
Pranayama plays an intermediate link between the mental and physical
disciplines, and provide physical well being while keeping your mind and body
calm, lucid, and steady.

Pranayama is the
composition of two words, Prana, a vital life force manifested in the body as
breath and Ayama is an action/exercise that helps control your prana through
your breath.

Pranayama is a state
of being aware of your breath and is the most essential as well as the subtlest
part of it.

Breath is a continuous
process of inhaling and exhaling where inhaling nourishes your body with oxygen
and calms our mind, whereas exhalation cleanses and removes impurities out of
the body.

In short, Pranayama is
an act of controlling life by modifying prana within the body.

 Pranayam has three
components:

1. Pooraka which means
Inhalation

2. Rechaka means
Exhalation

3. Kumbhaka means
Retention

Kumbhaka is of two
types, Antar Kumbhaka is holding the breath after inhaling, and Bahya Kumbhaka
holding the breath after expiration.[1.2].

There are many types of Pranayama. One can practice different
types of pranayama based on their classification:

– Ujjaiyi Pranayama

– Bhramri Pranayama

– Bhastrika
Pranayama 

– Kapalbhati Pranayama

– Sheetkari
Pranayama 

– Sheetli Pranayama

– Palawani Pranayama

– Moorchha Pranayama

Some of the most
commonly performed pranayamas are: 

1. Bhastrika pranayama

Bhastrika pranayama is
an energetic breathing technique that involves heavy breathing through
nostrils. Bhastrika is a dynamic yogic breathing technique, created by ancient
yogis to provide ample oxygen to every cell of the body and mind. Heavy
postures usually follow the Bhastrika pranayama to heat the body.

There are three types
of Bhastrika pranayamas based on the frequency & rate of breathing.

a. Fast Pace Bhastrika

Active young people
should practice this pranayama in teevre gati or fast pace to realize the
maximum benefit.

Your abdominal muscles
move at a swift pace, and you’ll hear a sharp hissing sound.

b. Medium Pace
Bhastrika

People with chronic
medical conditions such as back pain, migraine, or arthritis should perform
this practice in Madhyam Gati or an average breathing rate.

In this exercise, one
can focus more on the in-and-out movement of air as you breathe, and try to
keep the body more aligned with your breath. You’ll hear a slow hissing sound.

c. Slow Pace Bhastrika

People with heart
disease, blood pressure, or the elderly with a weak respiratory system should
practice this pranayama in samanya gati, i.e., slow pace.

Perform this in a very
slow in-and-out breathing movement followed by slow abdomen movement.

The pace of this pranayama
holds great importance as it varies according to different age and body types.

2) Anulom-Vilom: 

Anulom Vilom pranayama
is the most common yogic breathing practice that requires inhalation and
exhalation through alternate nostrils. The process involves breathing or
inhaling through the left nostril by closing the right nostril with the right
thumb. After that repeating the same procedure with the right nostril where the person should exhale by using the right index finger to close the left nostril.
The alternate inhalation and exhalation performed two times make for one cycle
of Anulom-Vilom.

Improvement of
autonomic modulation of the heart, a positive effect on the autonomic nervous
system, & efficacy in treating nervous and cardiovascular disorders result
from practicing Anulom Vilom pranayama daily for 10 minutes.[2].

The complete experience of yoga in its entirety is more of a lifestyle than a workout. A big portion of the yogic path involves Pranayama practice. It includes a series of deep breathing exercises and other methods that aim to control inhalations and exhalations, and at times contain breath retention. There are various sorts of pranayama exercises. Some are supposed to calm the nervous system down while others are supposed to energize the nervous system. The normal practice of pranayama provides a large number of physical, psychological, and psychological health benefits. Here are research-based, scientifically-proven advantages of taking up a routine pranayama practice:

– Helps improve hypertension: Studies show that certain pranayama techniques can help alleviate hypertension symptoms by normalizing heart rate and higher blood pressure.

 – Helps enhance digestive system: When you pair pranayama with belly breathing, you activate the diaphragm — the dome-shaped muscle that sits beneath your lungs and over your digestive and inner organs. The act of breathing this manner causes the diaphragm to rise and fall, and this move makes a gentle massage for those organs.

– Boosts the immune system: The exact same diaphragmatic movement also helps to stimulate the movement of lymph or fluid with white blood cells. Studies also show that breath retention may also improve immune function.

 – Can assist with weight loss: Pranayama may be an exceptional addition to your healthy habits repertoire if you are trying simple hacks for weight control.

— Strengthens the respiratory system: Pranayama can improve lung health and ability since you are using more of your lungs, and you are really giving them a workout each time you practice. Pranayama has been shown to have beneficial effects on asthma and COPD (chronic destructive pulmonary disease) patients.

 – Increase GABA: One study found that after only a single yoga exercise session,  people had a boost in a neurotransmitter called GABA, which can help to relax us, particularly when we are most anxious. Following one yoga asana session, which includes positions, prāṇāyāma, meditation, and chanting, subjects experienced a 27% increase in GABA levels.

— Lower chronic stress and mood imbalances: Studies show that specific pranayama techniques like Ujjayi breathing may reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

— May improve PTSD (post-traumatic anxiety disorder) symptoms: A study that analyzed the effects of prāṇāyāma for post-traumatic anxiety disorder and depression in survivors of the 2004 South-East Asia Tsunami discovered that the results were important, concluding that yoga breath-based interventions might help alleviate psychological distress following mass disasters.

 – Improve sleep disorders: Slow, deep pranayama exercises have been shown to improve sleep quality and decrease sleeplessness when practiced regularly and consistently before bed and during the day. Pranayama is an exceptional addition to a sleep meditation (Yoga Nidra) practice.

 – Enhances parasympathetic nervous system function, calms the fight or flight reaction, & reduces stress hormones: Slow breathing pranayama cycles seem to stimulate the Vagus nerve, among the main nerves involved in the relaxation response. Increased relaxation reaction leads to increased internal calm and the release of hormones, which can counter the negative effects of stress hormones

1. 1. First study: Effect of short-term practice of Pranayama breathing exercises on cognition, anxiety, general well being, and heart rate variability.[4]

In the study, two
groups were created by randomizing ninety-six medical students.

Group 1 – was advised
to perform Bhastrika and Anulom Vilom Pranayam

and Group 2- was asked
to perform Suryanamaskar 

The duration of the
treatment was for six weeks. Parameters like heart rate variability, general
well being, cognition, and anxiety were recorded at baseline and after six weeks
of treatment.

The study shows that
the practice of slow breathing type of pranayama for six weeks may increase
high frequency (HF) components of heart rate variability, improve cognition,
increases the parasympathetic activity, improves anxiety and general well
being. Whereas, there was no significant effect observed in the group
performing yoga asana in the above parameters except for the improvements in the
general well being.

 2. The second study: The immediate effect
of the slow pace bhastrika pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate.5.

The study was done on
39 individuals suffering from high blood pressure and heart rate. The patients
were advised to perform slow pace bhastrika pranayama for 5 minutes. The other
group with ten patients was administered with hyoscine-N-butyl bromide 20 mg
along with slow pace bhastrika pranayama for the same duration.

 After 5 minutes of
practicing slow pace bhastrika pranayama, parameters like the blood pressure
and heart rate were recorded. Similarly, the other group receiving
hyoscine-N-butyl bromide 20 mg was also assessed for the same parameters
immediately after half an hour of its oral intake. 

The results reported
showed that slow bhastrika pranayamic breathing for 5 minutes, can help
decrease both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly with a
slight fall in heart rate. Whereas, there was no significant effect found on
both blood pressure and heart rate in volunteers who performed the same
breathing exercise following oral intake of hyoscine-N-butyl bromide.

Practicing Pranayama
is a regulated way of breathing that has proved to provide various benefits. It
can not only balance the energy within the body but also stabilizes mood and
trains the lungs and improves the capacity of the respiratory system. It helps
you experience mindfulness by directly working on the nervous system, which in
turn controls and governs numerous essential functions of the body like the
heart rate, respiration, blood flow, regulating hormone levels in the body and
improving blood pressure.