-By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

The Vedic Rishis, sages and saints had paved a perfect path of peace and prosperity for mankind. Among them Patanjali Rishi in his thought and practice of YOGA led us to Ashtanga Yoga or the eight-fold path to be walked on with ease. In the present age, Swami Satyapati Parivrajak has enlightened the common man on Yoga Darshan by his discourses and writings.His book titled "Saral Yoga Se Ishwar Sakshatkar "(Simplified Yoga for God Realization) helps us achieve our aim of Peace : internal and external both. Pranayam ,indeed is a part of the Ashtanga Yoga.

Pranayam cleanses a man or a woman of sins and ills. It gives a tremendous power of concentration, patience, perseverance and perfect health to a practitioner. A practitioner's personality achieves an all round development. Peace prevails thereafter. One moves a step closer towards realization of God and attainment of Moksha, that is, emancipation from the bondage of birth, death and rebirth. As per the Vedic philosophy of life, Moksha is the ultimate goal of a soul or the Jeevatma.

Pran is our life-giving breath and Ayam  means control. In other words Pranayam is control of the speed and sequence of inhalation and exhalation. In this sequence, the air that a person breathes in is called Shvasa and that which is breathed out is Prashvasa. A practitioner of Pranayam controls the process of Shvasa or inhalation and Prashvasa or exhalation as per his or her capacity. With a gradual practice, one may suspend the process of breathing-in and breathing-out for a period of one's own choosing without causing discomfort.

There are certain pre-requisites to embarkation on a practice session. One should go by rules of personal and social ethics called Yama and Niyama. The Yama may be enumerated here : Love and non-violence, Truth , Shunning-Urge to Steal, Celibacy and Non-possessiveness. Niyam comprises points of personal ethics like cleanliness, contentment (not to be mixed up with lack of initiative), austerity or absence from ostentation, continuous self-study and unflinching faith in the Almighty. Of course, a practitioner should learn to sit in the correct posture or Asana in a clean place and in a peaceful environment as far as possible. One should prepare one's self physically and mentally before starting a practice session. Let the stomach  not be loaded with undigested food or drinks and let the bowels be empty. Let greed  , ego, jealousy and other negative thoughts  be kept out of your mind.

Under the guidance of a Guru, make a beginning with a chant of AUM. Please exhale gradually and stop the air from making an entry until you feel uncomfortable. When stoppage of air outside the body makes you uncomfortable, breathe- in . One may do it thrice at the beginning. In the second phase, take the breath in and stop it inside. When you feel uncomfortable, take more air in. Then exhale slowly. At the beginning , practice thrice in the morning and thrice in the evening. One may do it many more times later depending on the stamina, will power and perseverance. Of course, intake of a balanced diet which promotes health plays a vital role in successful practices of Pranayam.

There may be many variations in the method of practice but the ultimate goal remains the same as enunciated earlier. Let us pass on to the Bhramari Pranayam. Let the air go out of both the nostrils making a bee-like nasal sound rhythmically. It clears the respiratory passage and generates energy too. A practitioner may be able to keep common cold at arm's length. After a little gap of time,one may practice Kapal Bhati. You may throw out with force through both the nostrils as much air as possible. Let the air come in again effortlessly and repeat the first action. If unbearable, please stop immediately. We may pass on to Bhasrika Pranayam. You may start doing Kapal Bhati in quick time, commencing with exhaling. One may call it internal jogging. Bhasrika tones up the breathing system tremendously and a practitioner will always earn a "Lungs Clear" certificate from his physician. Last but not the least in the present sequence is Nadi-shodhan. Let us start it by exhaling air from the left nostril while keeping the right one closed with the thumb, stopping the air outside till its absence becomes unbearable, inhaling and stopping the air in the lungs until it is time to release through the right nostril. Let this go on with a rhythm till you have completed the beginners' number, viz. - three in a session. One may go on and on with other variations in process but let us now say : period.

One may ask what the mental activity will be while the process of Pranayam is going on. Well meditate on AUM or say silently the Pranayam mantra.
It is this : Aum Bhuh, Aum Bhuvah, Aum Swah, Aum Janah, Aum Tapah, Aum Satyam. The meditation or the silent chant will prevent the mind from aimless wandering and distraction. Further, it will enhance a Pranayam practitioner's capacity of concentration of mind tremendously. Let us not be oblivious of the cleansing of mind and bad Sanskara that is going on simultaneously. It is indeed benefit plus.

Please remember, dear practitioner,  Pranayam is for bodily, mental and spiritual pleasure and a practitioner should never allow it to degenerate into a burden that may not be easy to carry and difficult to shake off.