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A simple measure!
At a first glance holding your breath seems very
simple: You inhale, hold your breath as long as you
can and then start breathing again. It is also quite a
simple measure. How many minutes/seconds? But it
is at the same time a multifaceted and complex
parameter. It reveals the degree to which you are
psychologically in balance your mental stability
and how finely you are tuned in on your body. The
simplicity of breath holds makes it an excellent
barometer of your stress level, and makes progress
easy to measure.
Sit back now, relax and try a breath hold. What
occurred in your body? What happened in your
mind? How long could you hold your breath? What
did you feel like afterwards?
Please remember NEVER to hold your breath in
water alone or without professional help.
Try a Mantra!
There is also a mantra that is used and repeated
unconsciously (Ajapa japa) by all living beings this
mantra is Soham the sound of life. In Soham
inhalation follows so and exhalation follows him
. Try closing your eyes and listen for yourself you
can clearly hear it!
Sing of OM
The clearer you can make the sounds, the stronger the
vibrations. And each of them is like a mantra in itself.
Try closing your eyes and focus on the sounds and
your body. Then it is easier to notice what is
happening inside your body. When you connect with
mmm, you can feel it in your whole skull, and
every tiny blood vessel and nerve in your brain
become vitalized. This is why AUM has such a huge
impact on your mental state. It also has the ability to
modify and even transform your whole mind and
thoughts. AUM strengthens your concentration and
makes you feel relaxed, and when you are in such a
state your brain produces more alpha waves giving
you a sense of peace and comfort.
While AUM is the most effective mantra of all,
theres nothing mysterious or occult about it. You
already know AUM. Indeed every human on Earth
knows AUM, for it is composed of universal sounds
that transcend both religious as well as cultural
borders. When was the last time you said; aaaa /
ahhh, oooo / or ohhh mmmm-hmmm?
AUM is vibrations of the universe, and this is
Brahma (creative power). Therefore AUM is
sometimes called pranava it carries or brings the
prana, which is the energy of all living things.
A modern yoga!
If only the physical aspects of hatha yoga are used, it
is called ghatastha yoga (ghata means physical
effort). Modern expressions like fitness yoga and
power yoga that flourish within gym classes are
within the same category, even if they do not derive
from the original exercises rhythm and succession.
In many instances power yoga has a positive effect
on physical health; but if there is no aim to ease the
mind, to gain self-insight and control of your
thoughts, and to experience the divine within you and
within the universe, the deeper meaning of yoga and
possibly life is lost. On the other hand, it can be
argued that the yoga styles that exclusively focus on a
devotion to a God or knowledge (bhakti and jnana
yoga) lack emphasis on the physical aspect. In the
end it all comes down to finding a healthy balance.
Try pranayama
As described above, classic pranayama consists of
three parts: inhalation, exhalation and the interposed
pause (kumbhaka). When you hold your breath with
your lungs full of air, it is denoted antara kumbhaka,
and when the breath is held on empty lungs it is
called bahya kumbhaka. The art of pranayama is to
control the three phases of the breath, especially
exhalation and breath holding.
The core of pranayama is to calm the senses and the
mind by means of the breath, especially by working
towards achieving a balance of the flow of air
between the two nostrils. In fact, almost every other
hour the balance between your nostrils shifts. Close
one nostril at a time and breathe in which nostril
dominates right now?
The Body Locks
Various larger body locks (bandhas), which are
muscle contractions in different areas of the body, are
used in yoga. Likewise smaller body locks (mudras),
are small changes in the limbs or organs such as the
fingers, eyes or the tongue, are applied. A shared
feature of the locks is that they strengthen
concentration and meditation by controlling the flow
of prana.
Bandhas
There are three large body locks in particular that can
be advantageous. They can be used separately, but
when used at the same time, they are referred to
as Maha Bandha, which means Great Lock. Apart
from aiding in concentrating prana and stirring the
sleeping energy in the body, kundalini, the Great
Lock is also applied during breath holds, because it
locks the air in your lungs.
The first bandha is the Root Lock that is performed
by contracting the rectum to influence the inner and
outer sphincter. In addition, the perineum area has to
be lifted a bit. This is an important lock, because it
stimulates the lower branch of the
parasympathetic nervous systemthat extends from the
spine in the lower part of the body. Stimulating the
entire soothing nervous system in an optimal and
balanced way.
The second bandha is the Abdominal Lock, and is
performed by drawing the abdomen and navel
towards the spinal column and then lifting it upwards.
Because of a negative pressure within, the abdomen,
diaphragm and all the internal organs are sucked up
between the ribs. A person performing the Abdominal
Lock will thus appear extremely thin. This bandha is
spectacular and drives prana up along the spine. Only
the exercise where the abdominal muscles rotate
massages the internal organs to the same extent,
improving digestion and strengthening the
diaphragm. Even the heart is given a thorough
massage.
The third bandha is the Throat Lock, which is
performed by pressing the chin down towards the
small depression just above the sternum making the
chin and the two collar bones meet, locking the
throat. The throat lock brings prana to a halt and
directs it downwards to unite it with the upwards
flowing prana in the chest area. Besides
concentrating prana and activating dormant body
energy, the Throat Lock is very effective during
breath holds because air flow through the throat is
inhibited and the lungs are cut off.
Mudras
Apart from the bandhas the large body locks a set
of mudra exists small body locks. A mudra, often
used together with the Great Lock, is the Sambhavi
Mudra. In this lock focus and thought is directed
towards the third eye chakra by looking cross-eyed
upwards and inwards to promote relaxation,
concentration and meditation. Another small mudra is
the well-known yoga position where the thumb and
index finger join to form a ring with the palm of your
hand pointing downwards, this is called the Jnana
Mudra. It influences the psyche and symbolizes
wisdom and intuitive knowledge. When the palm of
your hand points upward, the lock is termed Chin
Mudra and symbolizes an expanded consciousness.
These two mudras are useful during meditation.
A philosophical system
Yoga is merely one out of six classical systems that
make up the core of thousands of years old Indian
Hindu philosophy. According to this, the individual
can develop and gain insight into the highest
universal truth through yoga. It is obtained by
rationally understanding the reality that the self
experiences, as well as accepting and understanding
the laws of nature and the forces that shape the
universe.
Antibacterial
In addition, it should also be mentioned that NO has
many other beneficial effects. It has a strong
antibacterial effect, and can kill both bacteria and
viruses. Indeed, studies have shown that NO
successfully eliminates bacteria such
as Salmonella and Shigella as well as other bacteria
that often affect patients with pulmonary diseases
caused by smoking or cystic fibrosis. Thus, the effect
is not limited to an improved oxygenation of blood:
the immune system is also spared and strengthened.
Furthermore, NO also has an amazing property,
which reduces oxygen consumption of the cells
without compromising the overall energy production.
This quite peculiar quality is obviously beneficial to
anyone, but particularly to people who are sick and
need to optimize oxygen utilization in every
conceivable way to become healthy quickly.
Seven chakras
Collectively, the seven chakras symbolize different
planes of consciousness. The higher they are located
in the body, the higher the level of consciousness they
represent. In other words at the bottom you find the
primitive instincts, in the middle there is human
behavior and towards the top are the more intellectual
and divine aspects.
To grow to a higher consciousness and develop as a
human, you have to be able to arouse the force of
your basic instinct to enable prana to rise freely
upward towards the brain. If you wish to avoid it
from running wild, it is important to regulate the
intensity and direction of prana. For this purpose
several body locks are used.
The main role of blood
When you breathe and air enters your lungs, oxygen
is delivered via your blood, to every cell in your
body. Here, oxygen is consumed in the Krebs
cycle (citric acid cycle), which is a cascade of
chemical reactions involving the transformation of
the food you have eaten to energy-rich molecules
called ATP (the cells battery) by means of water and
enzymes. A byproduct of this cycle is carbon dioxide
which blood transports to the lungs where it is
released to the atmosphere upon exhalation. One can
compare the red blood cells to a lot of small buses
that whiz around the body. As soon as they have
delivered their cargo of oxygen to the cells, they
bring carbon dioxide back to the lungs. It is very
important that the relationship between these two
gases are in equilibrium.
Blood components
Our body contains about 4-5 liters of blood that
is circulated by our heart. A cycle takes approx. 1
minute. Apart from blood being very important for
thermoregulation, it also transports a number of
substances such as dissolved food molecules (sugar,
fat and amino acids), salts, hormones, waste products
and especially red and white blood cells. The white
blood cells (also called leucocytes) are an important
part of our immune system and aid in keeping the
body healthy. The red blood cells, erythrocytes,
contain the hemoglobin (Hb) molecule that binds
oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Red blood cells are formed in the bone marrow of
large bones throughout life. Approx. 2 million to 3
million of them are formed every second, and just as
many are broken down every second in the liver. The
kidney produces a natural compound, erythropoietin,
better known by the acronym EPO, which increases
the formation of red blood cells. If one acquires a
blood test and centrifuges the blood, it will divide
into 3 layers. At the top the yellowish plasma, in the
middle a narrow white band consisting of white
blood cells, and at the bottom the red blood cells
aggregate. The fraction of red blood cells is also
called the hematocrit value (Hct) and it should
comprise about 45%.
Increasing your hematocrit
If you inject EPO into your blood stream, the
hematocrit value will increase significantly (up to
approx. 60%), and this is exactly how some athletes
try to improve their performance in their pursuit of
prestige and money. Besides from being deeply
unethical, it is also dangerous because blood can
become so thick that it can be difficult to maintain a
flow through the bodys many fine blood vessels.
Another form of cheating is blood doping. In this
technique a portion of the athletes blood is retrieved
and the hemoglobin is separated from the blood and
frozen. Just prior to a competition these red blood
cells are then injected back into the bloodstream. The
effect is equal to EPO injection and the same
applies to the risks involved.
Blood acidity
Life depends on maintaining the environment in each
living cell within certain parameters. A good example
of this is our body temperature and the acidity of our
blood, which should be maintained around a pH
value of 7.4 (an acceptable level is 7.35 to 7.45). Our
breathing is crucial to this balance. By varying our
breath under different circumstances, the
concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) and thus the
amount of hydrogen ions (H+), which determines the
blood pH, can be regulated. If breathing alone cannot
maintain stability, the kidney is able to take up or
release H+ and thereby re-establish the balance. If pH
moves much above or below approx. 7.4, it can
seriously affect our bodily functions.
It is not the blood alone that has to maintain a certain
pH balance. It is also crucial for the rest of the bodys
tissue and bones. This pH or acid-base balance is,
to a great extent, dictated by the food you consume.
Within modern medicine this topic has achieved very
little attention, since the emphasis in nutrition is on
the energy in protein, fat and carbohydrates (kcal).
However, the positive effect of base-forming foods
such as vegetables, fruits and nuts is receiving more
attention. In contrast, sugar, fat and protein are acid-
forming.
Oxygen reserves in our muscles
Besides the amount of oxygen that is bound to our
red blood cells and the oxygen we have in our lungs,
we also have an oxygen reserve in our muscles called
myoglobin. Aquatic mammals such as seals and
whales that often perform prolonged and deep
foraging dives have high concentrations of
myoglobin. Along with a high concentration of red
blood cells, erythrocytes, these animals can hold their
breath for nearly one hour. In addition, these aquatic
mammals also exhibit a pronounced diving response
that also has been retained in terrestrial mammals
including human beings.
The diving response is initiated when the body and
particularly the face contacts water and is amplified
when the body dives deeper and deeper into water.
The diving response includes a number of
mechanisms that all contribute to prolonging the
period of time the body can survive without extra
oxygen. In other words one can say that the diving
response economizes with the oxygen at hand.
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