It’s been 8 months now. I haven’t felt
sick. The one who used to get cough and cold every month when there is some
change in the weather.
The one who could not sit for one hour at a stretch to do work, now he is sitting for hours without
even getting up from the place. The one whose mind was a mess, a real mess.
Now, it has settled and he can sit for hours without having a smartphone
and other accessories just by looking at my surroundings.
Yes, that’s me. This is my own
experience and do you know how did I achieve all this?
Gym?
Noah!
Then,
Drugs?
Obviously not.
Let me give the answer before your
imagination gets wilder :P
Yoga. The answer is simple.
Yoga has the power to change the way
you live completely. Up to the point, where you can be happy for no reason.
But in this series of blogs, I will
light on one of the eight limbs of Ashtanga yoga. That is Pranayama and its
types. Because Yoga, as a whole, is so vast topic to cover.
And Pranayama is the farm where I have reap results. During my low time, I have done
so much of Pranayama which kept me emotionally balanced. And Suryanamaskar, which known as a complete yoga package. I have a habit to do at least one Suryanamaskar daily.
So in this post, I will tell you what
is yoga. And where Pranayama lies in the Ocean of Yoga.
What is Yoga?
Yoga means union. You may have heard or
read this so many times whenever you have read about yoga. I am sure you must
have got confused about the “union” thing!
Because I was too. I was like what the
hell this union is! Yoga is just turning and twisting the body for better
health.
But I was wrong. Yoga is not just
turning and twisting the body. It is much more than that.
“Yoga Sutra” by Maharishi
Patanjali is one of the well-known text or I will say the source of all books
on modern yoga. It comprises 196 Indian Sutras (Aphorisms) which explains
the theory of yoga.
Yoga Sutras by Patanjali is a 2000
years old text on yoga. It is not just an ordinary book but Bhagvat Gita for
Yoga Practitioners.
In“Yoga-Sutra”, Patanjali light on
Ashtang Yoga Marg. Which means Eight Limbs of Yoga Path. (Ashta – Eight, Anga –
Limbs).
From our childhood, we are living in a
certain way. We think in a certain way. We do something in a certain way. That
is why we have developed some habits and tendencies. And these habits have
becomes so strong that sometimes even if we do not want to do something, we end
up doing that. And this is mostly about the wrong things. So therefore
according to me “Ashtang Yoga” is a great path to walk on. Because first, it
teaches you self discipline. Because if you can control your mind and body
wilfully then only you can take the responsibility of your life and elevate
your life to a higher dimension.
The eight limbs consist of
8 steps which ideally should be approached in the sequence as they are given.
They are:
1. Yamas – Set of rules to
make your social life healthy and frictionless.
2. Niyamas – Set of disciplines to purify your mind.
3. Asana – Getting command over a sitting position so that you can sit in that position
for hours to Dhyana and
Dharana to achieve Samadhi.
4. Pranayama – Methods to clear your energy level blockages.
5. Pratyahara – Pratyahara is the study and self-discipline to withdraw the mind and senses from external or materialistic objects.
6. Dharana - Dharana is the practice of concentration on any object or word.
7. Dhyana – If you achieve Dharana then you are in meditation or Dhyana. That means if you can hold an object for hours in your concentration you are in meditation.
8. Samadhi - The next step of meditation is Samadhi. Which is the ultimate goal of all these above eight steps. Which is also called Enlightenment.
These 8 steps will take you on a
journey from outer to inner. Yama, Niyama, and Asana deal with
physical or mental level purification.
Pranayama is the conjunction between
the physical and the subtle levels of our existence. As pranayama mostly deals
with the breath. Breath is the physical form of Prana which is also called
energy force. We will be discussing pranayama in more detail in the upcoming
posts.
And the remaining Pratyahara, Dharana,
Dhyana & Samadhi completely deal with the subtle levels of our existence.
Final Words
So we will be discussing different
methods of “Pranayama” in upcoming posts.
The question that must be arising in
your mind is that why I am not discussing the Yama, Niyama or other aspects
of Ashtanga Yoga. Because, honestly, I do not want to be a theory guy. I feel that
if one has experienced a thing then only he can explain it well. So I have
experienced the results of Pranayama that is why I feel like sharing with you.
This is my pure intention with this blog.
So see you in the next blog. The blog
will be on the importance of Pranayama and how it can cure all your mental and
physical illnesses.
See you soon.
Ta da!
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