I’m spending my last month in Lonavla, a little town inbetween Mumbai and Pune, attending a Pranayama course. Pranayama is basically a variety of breathing techniques to expand / extend the breath or at a deeper level, to re-channel the body’s vital energy (prana or chi). The yoga institute, Kaivalyadhama (it took me a few weeks to pronounce it properly), is supposedly the oldest in the world. It prides itself on the research, study, teaching and application of yoga according to the traditional texts, but with an underlying scientific outlook.
Our main teacher, Tiwari-ji, is reputedly one of the best and has been teaching for more than forty years. With white hair and a kind, humble demeanour, he is the quintessential favourite grandfather. I love the way he dresses – long-sleeved white / cream shirt & loose pants under a dark blue / gold-brown Mao-collared vest. Very smart.
With Pranayama, one can control the body’s vital energy through control of the breath. Normal breathing is a semi-voluntary action. In Pranayama however, every breath is conscious and controlled. The mind controls the breath and amongst other things, our emotions. When our emotions are under control, we are more aware. This foundation of inner consciousness is a preparation for meditation. Over time, with regular Pranayama practice, bodily processes and their natural rhythm are also maintained, preventing disease and keeping us in good health.
Before the body’s vital energy can be re-channelled, the body has to be appropriately cleansed to remove blockages. Diet is important, basically lacto-vegetarian. Fruits, vegetables, no fried food, chilli (ouch!), onions or garlic. They serve ‘herbal tea’ which is essentially milk boiled with spices. It’s a perfect masala chai substitute if you throw in a teabag. Milk and ghee are recommended as this lubricates the body. The nutritionist polices us at dinnertime if we’re only supposed to eat kichory (semi-stodgy rice cooked with dhal and spices) instead of regular food. I’m definitely not telling her that I have my chocolate in my room.
Kriyas (cleansing practices) are encouraged. A simpler kriya, Jal Neti, involves using a neti pot (tiny teapot with a long spout) to pour warm, salty water through one nostril and allowing it to come out from the other. The Neti kriyas help clear blocked nasal passages.
Other kriyas can be a bit more extreme. In order to do these, you have to have an ‘accepting’ mind as some can go against what you think your body should be doing. The first time I performed Sutra Neti, I had to thread a rubber tube (linguine-width) through my nostril and down my throat. Then I had to stick my fingers to the back of my mouth (trying not to gag in the process), catch hold of the tube and pull it out through my mouth. The last step is to pull the tube back and forth a few times to clear any blockages. Removal is pulling it out from the mouth. I was successful on my second attempt. The first try failed because I put the tube too far down my throat. It sounds pretty grim but it’s not as bad as it sounds.
If you think that’s bad, the kriyas which are meant to cleanse the respiratory track and stomach passages are little more ‘invasive’. Swallowing about 1.4 litres of warm salty water and then expelling it right back out? I have major problems with voluntary throwing-up so most of the water remained inside. Good thing I could manage the next kriya which is sticking a thicker rubber tube (more like penne) down your throat until it reaches your stomach. This will help to clear out the stomach. This kriya was not that difficult once I got it past the back of your throat. Then I just had to resist gagging from the smell of rubber.
The most daunting kriya is swallowing twenty-one feet of thin muslin cloth, churn the abdominal muscles and then pulling it out? I could only manage 2 feet before I got sick of the feel and taste of cloth in my mouth.
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| 21 ft to go! |
The cloth has to be swallowed and pulled out within fifteen minutes because that’s when the body will start digestion. Tiwari-ji shared his experience of swallowing the cloth. He tried for 6 months before he could do it. His teacher even tried soaking the cloth in milk as well as honey first.
Some of these kriyas are very advanced and no one is obliged to attempt them. Most of my coursemates are very keen though. So there’s lots of gagging and retching going on every morning. Our stomachs must be stronger now because we can handle all the kriya talk during meals.
The digestive system is cleansed through Shankh Prakshalan. You drink 2 glasses of warm salty water then perform postures to stimulate the peristalsis process. Keep drinking water and doing postures until you need to go to the bathroom. It’s good for people with constipation or digestive problems.
We started with twelve people and towards the end, there were only 2 people left in the room. Everyone else was in the toilet.
Pranayama practices also include strengthening the pelvic and abdominal muscles. This is very important to build a strong foundation in order to send the pranic energy up the main energy channel.
The practices involve varying the rate and depth of the breath, breathing through one or both nostrils, breathing in through the mouth or breathing with sound (like a bee or Darth Vader). Exhales are always twice as long as inhales so that is automatically more relaxing. Each practice has its own effects and purposes, for example - cooling, energising, cleansing and balancing.
Pranayama is a very powerful practice and a step from the physical yoga towards the higher, more internal practices. Because it involves breath retention, it has to be taught from a knowledgeable teacher. And we have the best in Tiwariji who is patient and nurturing.
My pranayama practice has only just started but I definitely feel good – calmer, fresher and stronger. The test will be maintaining this practice when I get back to real life. So, don’t be shocked if I’m humming like a bee when you next see me ;o)
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