Hello evey one, there are many sites explaining about yoga, different asanas. In the current stressful life Yoga has evolved as a medicine to destress, create harmony and peace within. Thanks a lot to Baba Ramdev for popularising it.

Are you a yoga lover or practice it? please share your experience. I am trying to pick up some of them . I heard from TV shows that Pranayam is very good for curing many cardiovascular conditions and stress.

LET US start with Pranayam:

How to Do Pranayam

Pranayam (also spelled Pranayama) is an ancient part of Perform Yoga Postures practice, the fourth part of the eight-fold Yoga described in the ""Yoga Sutra of Patanjali". Pranayama is concerned with breathing and posture. Research has shown that that practicing Pranayama can relieve symptoms of asthma[1]. It is also beneficial in treating stress related disorders, such as anxiety and depression[2]. Pranayam supplies oxygen to the entire body, and exercises the lungs, the stomach and its surrounding organs.

There are a total of six types of Pranayam practice:

Bhastrika Pranayama
Anulom Vilom Pranayama
Kapalabhati Pranayama
Bahya Pranayam
Bhramari Pranayama
Udgeeth Pranayam

Bhastrika Pranayam:
Sit in comfortable position, you may sit even on a chair.
Breathe in untill the lungs are full through your nostrils.
Feel the diaphragm move down to allow the lungs to expand and forcing the abdomen out, followed by the mid section of your chest expanding and finally your collar bone rising.
Breath out forcefully and uniformly, again through your nostrils.
Again feel the collar bone dropping, chest deflating and the diaphragm moving up as the lungs collapse allowing the abdomen to be sucked in. This process of exhaling should be much faster than the process of inhaling.
Repeat the process.
When correctly done, your chest will expand when you breathe in and deflate when you breathe out.
Continue doing this for 5 minutes.

Kapalbhati Pranayam:
Sit erect.
Inhale through your nostrils a little and exhale through both nostrils forcefully.
Inhale again a little and follow with another forceful exhalation passively and effortlessly.
Continue these cycles. The frequency should be about 60 strokes/minute.
Continue doing this for 15 minutes. You may take a minutes rest after every five minutes.

Anulom Vilom Pranayam:
Sit comfortably.
Close your eyes.
Close the right nostril with the right thumb.
Inhale slowly through the left nostril and fill your lungs with air.
Close your left nostril with the ring and middle fingers of the right hand and open the right nostril.
Exhale slowly and completely with the right nostril.
Again inhale through the right nostril and fill your lungs.
Close the right nostril by pressing it with the right thumb.
Open the left nostril, breathe out slowly. (This process is one round of Anulom Vilom Pranayam.)
Continue for 15 minutes. You may take a minutes rest after every five minutes of exercise.
4. Bahya Pranayam: Breathe air out, touch chin to chest, squeeze stomach completely and hold for a while. then release chin, breathe in slowly. Duration : 3 times to 5 times normally.

5. Bhramari Pranayam: Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee. Do this three times.

6. Udgeeth Pranayam: Breathe in deeply, and chant 'Om'kar. OOOOOOm ( long O and small m. Do this 3 times.




Understand the Benefits of Pranayama Practice

Depending on the intensity of the ailment a person doing regular Pranayam starts getting good results from day one. However it can take from one week to approximately nine months to get the complete benefits of Pranayam.

Health changes can include:

Respiratory troubles clearing up, in addition to improvements to allergies, migraines, High blood pressure, diseases pertaining to the kidneys, and psychological dysfunction in males and females.
The digestive system improves.
Memory improves.
Pain in the joints vanishes.
The process of aging is retarded. Falling of the hair or premature graying, the appearance of wrinkles on the face or other parts of the body at young age, diminution of eyesight etc. are all minimized.
The face becomes bright, luminous and calm.

Pranayam cures or improves the following chronic diseases:

Diabetes
H.B.P.
Angina
Blockages in Arteries
Obesity
Asthma
Bronchitis
Leucoderma
Depression
Parkinson
Insomnia
Thyroid problems
Arthritis
Cervical Spondalities
Hepatitis
Chronic Renal Failure
Cancer
Cirrhosis of the Liver
Gas
Constipation
Acidity

thanks for this informative post..I really need to start doing Pranayam daily.I know some people who do it regularly and are actually free of ailments.

Some rules for Pranayam


Select a clean and peaceful place for doing Pranayama. If possible, choose a place near a clean pond or river.
As there is a lot of pollution in the cities, some kind of incense can be lit like Guggulu and purified butter, to create a clean environment at that place, igniting a lamp with purified butter only, can also serve the purpose.
Sit either in any of the Asanas, viz. Padmasana, Sidhasana or Vajrasana, which ever you find convenient. The sheet or cloth (cotton or wool etc.) on which you sit must be a non-conductor of electricity.
Breathe only through the nose, because by doing so the air which you take in, is filtered. During daytime when you are not sitting for the performance of Pranayama make it a habit to do respire only through nose and not through mouth. Nasal respiration keeps the temperature of the Nadis (Vessels) –'Ida',Pingala and 'susmana' even. It also prevents foreign and harmful objects from getting into lungs.


Get up to speed on 10 basic yoga poses with how-to video clips and detailed instructions from Rodney Yee.



Like ‘Yog’, Pranayama should also be performed four or five hours after taking food. In the morning Pranayama should be done after finishing daily routine acts like cleansing mouth, emptying of bowels etc., it should also be done before Yogsana. In the beginning Pranayama should be done for five or ten minutes gradually the time may be increased up to about 1/2 or 1 hour. Maintain a specific number of repetitions and do not variate. Maintain a specific rhythm. If it is not possible to clean the bowels by morning, at night take some mild laxative like terminalia chebula (Indian Hardaya) or any other mild laxative (a non habit forming medicinal herb having a laxative effect). Kapala-bhati Pranayama, if done regularly for a few days will help in curing constipation.
Keep your mind calm and composed. However, Pranayama can also calm down the disturbed mind and keep one happy.
Methods of Pranayama may be varied according to the seasons and your own physical make up and mental attitude. Keep this in mind and modulate the method accordingly. Some Pranayama increase the body temperature, whereas, some bring it down. Some Pranayama maintain the temperature at the normal level.
If you feel fatigued in the course of doing Pranayama , rest for sometime and then begin deep breathing, which will remove the fatigue.
Pregnant women, hungry persons, persons suffering from fever and those who are lustful having no control on their passions should not do Pranayama . If you are sick, keep in mind the instructions to be followed by sick persons while during Pranayama.
For prolonged exercises of Pranayama, observance of celibacy is necessary. Besides, food should be simple not containing irritating spices. It should be ‘Sattvika’ – (Plain and simple, non-spicy food). Use of cow’s milk, ghee (clarified butter), fruits and green vegetables can be said to be ideal food. Moderation also is a good rule to observe.
Do not strain yourself while doing ‘Kumbhak’ i.e. retaining the breathed air inside or keeping the air out after exhaling (Breathing in is called ‘puraka’, retaining the breathed air in is called ‘Kumbhak’ and exhaling the air is called ‘Recak').
Pranayama does not mean just breathing in, keeping the breathed air in and exhaling it. It also means establishing control on the entire breathing process, and maintaining mental equilibrium, and concentration of mind.
It is beneficial to chant the mantra (a group of words that carry vibrations and energy) Om (the first cosmic soundless sound), aloud and repeat the same several times before doing Pranayama. Even recital of sacred songs in the praise of almighty God or recital of some sacred hymns may be beneficial. This will calm your mind and make you fit for Pranayama, because a peaceful mind is very essential while doing Pranayama . Mental or loud recitation of Gayatri Mantra (considered as one of the greatest mantra, used in meditation and also for chanting) or any other sacred hymn brings spiritual benefits to the Sadhaka.
See that while doing Pranayama , none of your organs such as mouth, eyes, nose, etc. feels any strain and it should be done gradually without any undue stress or strain. All the organs of the body should be kept in normal condition. While doing Pranayama sit in an erect posture. Keep your spine and neck straight. This is essential for reaping the full benefit of Pranayama .
If possible Pranayama should be done after your usual morning functions like cleansing of mouth, evacuation of bowels, bathing etc. However, if it becomes necessary for you to take bath after Pranayama , keep an interval of about 15 to 20 minutes between Pranayama and bathing. For acquiring proficiency in Pranayama do not depend on books or what is done and preached by others. Seek the guidance of an expert and do Pranayama under his direct supervision.
Different treatise advocating or dealing with the subject of Pranayama describe several methods and each of them has its own importance. However, it is not possible for most people to do all these exercises daily. Hence, with the blessings of our teachers and in view of our experience, we have evolved seven methods of Pranayama , which incorporate into themselves, almost all the peculiarities of Pranayama rendering them scientific and useful from a spiritual point of view. All these seven types of Pranayama can be done, as a routine and in a time bound programme of about 20 minutes. The person who does these exercises daily and regularly can attain following benefits which are briefly described as under:
All the three Doshas (Humors) - Vata , pitta and Kapha get adjusted in proper proportion and abnormalities in them are removed.
Digestive system improves and diseases pertaining to digestive organs are cured.
Diseases pertaining to lungs, heart and brain are also cured.
Obesity, Diabetes, Cholesterol, Constipation, Flatulence, Acidity, Respiratory troubles, Allergy, Migraine, High blood pressure, diseases pertaining to kidneys, sexual disorders of males and females etc. are also cured.
Resistance against diseases is stepped up. Immunity develops.
Hereditary diseases like diabetes and heart disease are can be avoided.
Falling of hair or its premature graying, appearance of wrinkles on face or other parts of the body at young age, diminution of eye sight, forgetfulness, etc. are relieved and process of aging is retarded.
Face becomes bright, luminous and calm.
Energy Chakra are cleansed and enables the practitioner to awaken the Kundalini.
Mind becomes stable and tranquil. A sense of contentment and enthusiasm or zeal develops. Conditions like depression are relieved.
Performance of yogic exercises like meditation will be easy.
All the diseases of the physical and etheric bodies will be cured. Freedom from negative and harmful mental conditions like anger, lasciviousness, greed for money, arrogance etc. will be achieved.
All the physical and mental disorders and abnormalities are cured and toxins eradicated from the body.
Freedom from negative thinking is achieved and the mind develops the habit of positive and constructive thinking.

Thank you for the useful info. IDji. I have tried yoga but its sooo difficult

Yeah ...thanks ID

i know but it works like magic