Skip to main content

Breath retention


John Kaldawi learned that the whole system is controlled by becoming aware of the nature of the breath and by restraining it.  When the breath is restrained, nervous impulses are stopped in different parts of the body and the brain wave patterns are harnessed.

Furthermore, John Kaldawi learned that in pranayama, the duration of breath retention has to be increased.  The longer the breath is held, the greater the gap between the nervous impulses and their responses in the brain.  When breath retention is held for a prolonged period, mental agitation is curtailed.

JohnKaldawi also learned that technically speaking, and according to Patinjali, pranayama is actually only retention, "...pranayama is the cessation of the movement of inhalation and exhalation".  Inhalation and exhalation are methods of inducing retention.  Retention is most important because it allows a longer period for the assimilation of prana, just as it allows more time for the exchange of gases in the cells, i.e., oxygen and carbon dioxide.  Through the breath prana and consciousness are essentially linked.  They can be separated by scientific means starting with the yogic technique of learning to retain the breath.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John Kaldawi opinions about Compassion

John Kaldawi was inspired by the virtues of Compassion which is the complete flowering of true love in human beings. Love is our intrinsic quality, we are born with it, it is just a matter of being aware of it.   Awareness makes our love stronger and makes it a virtue and brings out the Compassion within us.   Doing more research, John learned that Compassion is the ability to identify and understand the emotional state of another person.   It has the element of reducing the suffering of another associated with the feeling to help.   If someone try to hurt us, instead of having negative feeling towards them, we assume instead that they had a good reason for doing what they did given their particular circumstances. John Kaldawi also learned that Compassion is a process of connecting by identifying and feeling one with another person.   This identification with others through compassion can lead to increased motivation to do something in an effort to...
Post a Comment
Read more

History of Yoga - Part 2

John Kaldawi learned that in ancient times, yoga techniques were kept secret and were never written down or exposed to public view.  They were passed from teacher or guru to disciple by word of mouth.  In this way there was a clear understanding of their meaning and aim.  Through personal experience, realized yogis and sages were able to guide aspirants along the correct path, removing any confusion, misunderstanding and excessive intellectual contemplation. Sage Patanjali's treatise on raja yoga, the yoga Sutras, codified the first definitive, unified and comprehensive system of yoga.  Often called the eight-fold path, it is comprised of yama, self-restraints, niyama, self-observances, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, disassociation of consciousness from the outside environment, dharana, concentration, dyana, meditation and samadhi, identification with pure consciousness. Doing more research, John Kaldawi learned that in the 6th century BC, Lord Buddha's in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Animal postures, Yogasanas and Prana

John Kaldawi learned that in ancient times and through observation, the rishis understood how animals live in harmony with their environment and with their own bodies.   They understood, through experience, the efforts of a particular posture and how the hormonal secretions could be stimulated and controlled by it.   For example, by stimulating the rabbit or hare in shashankasana they could influence the flow of adrenaline responsible for the 'fight or flight' mechanism.   Through imitating animal postures, the rishis found they could maintain health and meet challenges of nature for themselves. Furthermore, John Kaldawi learned that Prana, vital energy, which corresponds to 'ki' or 'chi' in Chinese medicine, pervades the whole body, following flow patterns, called nadis, which are responsible for maintaining all individual cellular activity.   Stiffness of the body is due to blocked prana and a subsequent accumulation of toxins.   When prana begins to ...
Post a Comment
Read more