Complete Guide to Meditation - With Meanings Explained
by Alevoor Rajagopal
zone3
Let us set about understanding ‘ pranayama ’ and meditation
after we drew down our expectations from them. Some people expect the
impossible from these. The uninformed anticipations like diabetes cure or
‘kevela kumbhaka’* (do not worry what it is, at this stage) helping to
defy death, bring disrespect to this simple, pristine health practice. It
is not a path to salvation or god.
1. Pranayama and meditation help in bettering your
breathing , hypertension and respiration ailments .
2. Pranayama invigorates internal organs to function as they are
designed to. Example: lungs and heart .
3. Pranayama along with meditation helps gain control
over mind and thus able to concentrate more.
4. Important of all, it calms down arousing thoughts and
frustrations.
The tendency to call pranayama a technique should be refrained at. The
word technique dilutes the practice to something, like a ready made
formula that when applied, results in a quick fix solution. Yet it is
known to have resulted in helping patients suffering ailments like
asthma and palpitations . But it is not an out of the box,
all-in-one remedy.
What is Pranayama ?
It is a conjoin of two words prana and ayama. Prana stands for
breath and ayama for dimension. This is not the same dimension as
in measurement. So, pranayama is a conscious and definite way of breathing
for expected results. The breathing cycle in pranayama can be
divided into three steps.
1. Puraka
2. Kumbhaka
a. Antar-kumbhaka
b. Bahya-kumbhaka
3. Rechaka
Inhalation or puraka of breath is slow enough to feel the air
filling your lungs and alveoli to their entirety. In the normal
course we do not feel this as our breaths are shallow. Here in practicing
pranayama , we make an attempt to fill in completely & deeply
and see lungs expand to maximum. We watch the inhalation to be peaceful
from beginning till we are full.
Exhalation or rechaka is again equally slow as the inhalation is
and we should watch that it is complete. With this we feel the empty
lungs contracting to minimum.
Retention or kumbhaka has two varieties such as internal retention or
the ‘antar-kumbhaka’ and the external retention or ‘bahya-kumbhaka’. The
former is important as it gives our alveoli time sufficient enough to
exchange the oxygen the puraka has brought in and the excretes like
carbon dioxide and moisture back to breath. Notice, without the breath
being retained at least for a while inside our lungs , we will not
be making justice to our own selves.
The normal volume of air handled per cycle of breathing is
measured and is around 200 – 300 ml. But with the watchful and conscious
pranayama , it is found to increase up to 500 ml in healthy
adults.
Method of pranayama practice
The excerpts of methodology explained in good books and perfected over
the centuries by proponents are here for you. Here is a tip to you before
you are begun with the practice. Pranayama is something to start
with a firm faith in it. Do not take it just for the heck of a dekko
(trial). Here we go!
Practice to chant ‘OM’. The sound of OM can be divided tripartite.
1. ‘ä’ (should sound like the first syllable in the word audit)
2. ‘oo’ (this is the sound as in the word shoot)
3. ‘m’ (the simple, mouth closed sound)
When and how long one should chant this? The chant OM may last for 10
to 12 seconds depending on time you take to inhale or exhale fully. You
can prolong this further, looking at your comfort level. Mind you, do not
unnecessarily stretch time till you suffocated. Comfort level is important
here. You are not doing hatha yoga with this.
Divide the stretch of time equally amongst the three components of
OM.
Get the feel by placing your palm on your diaphragm when you start
chanting ä and move up to mid chest during oo, finally touch the top of
your lung when chanting m.
Repeat the same thing, but in reverse order when exhaling
(rechaka).
You can hold your breath approximately for the same duration as the
inhalation and exhalation (i.e; incase of antar-kumbhaka).
This is the most important time physiologically as well as mentally. This
is when the actual exchange of the oxygen and waste gases occurs.
Observe this meticulously in a silent environment.
You can practice this in sets of twelve and increasing the number of
sets to comfortably more than three, with increase in experience. If you
are doing more than one set, I would suggest you to use your nostrils
alternately for inhalation and exhalation . Further for
increasing concentration, you can try closing your eyes during the course
of pranayama .
In the silence of your surrounding, under guided breathing you
realize your heart beat has eased up even from the normal rate,
giving it the much desired rest. The heart pumps blood slowly but rich
with oxygen. This is studied to be beneficial even psychosomatically. The
relaxation of the muscles leads to lesser energy consumption calming the
brain.
Now, what do you make of meditation ? I tend more to think it is
just the other face of the same coin as pranayama is, wherein you
guide your mind and breathing and control certain metabolic activities. If
there is any difference, then it can be just in what you chant. Thank
you.
* kevala kumbhaka – only kumbhaka. There is no puraka or rechaka.
Katha Upanishad (I. iii. 3 to 6)
The soul is like a traveler who has set on a journey of life in the
chariot of the body, driven by the intellect (buddhi) with the mind for
the reins and the sense organs being the horses. The objects of experience
form the way to be traversed. The soul, senses, and mind together form the
enjoyments of pleasure and pain, i.e., the individual. If the mind is not
properly controlled, then the senses go out of hand like untrained horses.
But if the mind is properly controlled then the senses obey the orders of
the master, i.e., the individual, like well trained horses. Indeed, such
an individual reaches the highest goal of life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
(c)2005 TAO Consultant, Inc. All rights reserved. Website. Chesa Keane has taught meditation and self-help for more than 30 years.
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