Benefits of Pranayama
Pranayama is very helpful for all the people in general and much beneficial for people suffering from nasal congestion, sinus problem and frequent cold problems. It is a key to good health. The system of pranayama is credited with conferring up on its practitioner a calm, balanced, and focused mind, increased vitality, and longevity.
Pranayama awakens the brain and the crebrospinal nerve centers to their limitless potential. When you practice pranayama lying down, blood spreads more easily throughout the lung tissue, just as water spreads out, creating more surface area, when you pore it on the floor, because of gravity the water spreads out; with supine breathing the blood and therefore the oxygen spreads out more easily in all directions. With more surface area available, you are able to use more of the oxygen, which enters the lungs, however large or small the amount.
Deep abdominal breath is far superior to any other type of breathing for four reasons.
1. More air is taken in when inhaling, due to the greater moment of the lungs and the fact that the lower lobs of the lungs have a larger capacity than the upper lobs.2. The diaphragm act like a second heart during deep breathing, its piston like moments expand the base of the lungs, allowing them to suck more venous blood. The increase in the venous circulation improves the general circulation.3. The abdominal organs are massaged by the up and down moments of the diaphragm.4. Deep abdominal breath has a beneficial effect on the solar pluxes, a very important nerve centre.
Physiologists claim that the air breathed in should remain in the lungs for ten to twenty seconds to maximize the gaseous interchange in the lungs. The practitioners devised an exercise in which breath is retained for longer time so that to take the maximum advantage of the air inhaled.Retained breath exercise has the following benefits.1. It supply the optimum supply of oxygen to the body. Even jogging and other aerobic exercise doesn't achieve this, since the breathing is quick and shallow and there is no retention of oxygen.2. The air which has remained in the lungs from previous inhalations, is purified.3. There is increased oxygenation of the blood.4. The retained breath gathers up some of the waste matter of the body and expels it on exhalation.5. The lungs increase their elasticity and capacity and become more powerful. this allows benefits to be enjoyed all the day, not just during the exercise.6. The exercise builds a bigger, more powerful chest and prevent, or helps to correct sagging breasts in women.
Adaptation to high altitudes this study shows that we can train ourselves to be less affected by situations which reduced oxygen is available. The practice of breath retention increases the ability to tolerate build-up of carbon dioxide in body. Interestingly, it is the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, not the level of oxygen, which drives the body's respiratory apparatus. if you can tolerate increased carbon dioxide in your blood, your body will not feel a need to breath as often, and you can get by on less oxygen.