Search Results for: pranayama

April 14, 2021 By Mubasheera Chaiwala Leave a Comment

Pranayama To Detoxify The Body, Mind And Vital Organs

Pranayama is the yogic practice of breath control. It means the ability to expand our health by controlling the breath. There are various ways and positions to practice yogic breathing.

The combination of pranayama and meditation has positive effects in curing various problems like acidity, stress, anxiety, skin diseases, improved blood circulation, and managing lifestyle disorders such as thyroid, PCOS, controlling blood sugar and blood pressure.

We breathe daily, right? So what is pranayama? Why Pranayama?

Pranayama is slow, deep breathing, in a rhythm. The breathing that we do normally is not in rhythm and is non-harmonic. It is in pranayama that gets our mind and organs in sync. There are various pranayama practices which you can do daily.

1. Kapalbhati Pranayama
This is a famous pranayama practice also known as The Skull Shining Breathing Technique. Kapalbhati has physiological effects on cardiovascular, digestive and nervous systems.

Benefits of Kapalbhati Pranayama:

It Generates heat in the system to help dissolve toxins and waste matter.
Daily practice helps in adding luster to your face and you get glowing skin
Improves digestion and can help alleviate gastrointestinal problems like acidity, indigestion and flatulence.
Improves the function of kidneys and liver as it provides a gentle massage to the organs.
If practiced daily helps in reducing belly fat.
Kapalbhati helps reduce stress in the eyes, thus reduces dark circles around the eyes.
It triggers your abdominal region, so it’s beneficial for diabetic patients.
It improves the blood circulation problem in whole body parts.

2. Anulom Vilom
Also known as Alternate nostril breathing, it has various benefits for the body internally and externally. Oxygen is pure and required by the body for every single process to take place and therefore, it is vital for us to breath right and Anulom Vilom serves the purpose. It is the best way of balancing the Tri Dosas (Tri means “three” and the meaning of dosas is impurities) in our body i.e. Vaat, Pitta and Kaffa. All three are the cause of all diseases. So, it is important to balance them. Our body gets ill when Tri Dosas are not in harmony.

Benefits of Anulom vilom Pranayama

It can provide some relief from mental health problems like Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Tension, etc.
Improves the working of the lungs, beneficial for most respiratory problems like (Bronchitis, Asthma), etc.
Best breathing technique for boosting your memory – makes your brain sharper, increases concentration and gathers focus.
Improves your immune system, so it can cure general issues like cough & cold.
Alternate nostril breathing is an ideal breathing technique for maintaining your heart healthy.

3. Sheetali Pranayama
The meaning of the word “Sheetali” is cooling down. This pranayama practice is a process to cool your body down. It gives the feeling of coldness by decreasing the body temperature, thereby having a positive impact on our nervous system and endocrine glands. Extremely helpful during the summer season.

Benefits of Sheetali Pranayama

It is useful in managing disorders related to tongue, mouth and throat.
It is very beneficial in treating diseases of the spleen.
Helpful in fever by cooling the system down.
Controls and manages high blood pressure.
It purifies the blood.
Improves sleep quality and is best for fighting Insomnia.
It calms the mind, as it is an effective stress buster. Once our mind is calm, we can easily deal with negative emotions like anger and anxiety.
Effective in hyperacidity. Excellent for people who have GERD and face issues with acidity and indigestion.

There is another breathing practice similar to Sheetali, known as Sheetkari pranayama.

Both are similar, the only difference is the way of breathing. In Sheetali, we breathe in by folding the tongue and breathe out from the nose. In Sheetkari, we inhale through the teeth and exhale from the nose.

Benefits of Sheetkari Pranayama

Effective against dental problems like bad breath, bleeding gums and pyorrhea.
Balances body temperature.
Calms the mind, reduces emotional excitation and mental tension.
Can help you manage depression, anxiety and panic attacks.

As a yoga instructor, I get these questions a lot of time: What is the best time to do pranayama? Generally, morning is the best time for a breathing exercise as it helps us activate our organs. Plus, on an empty stomach, we achieve optimum benefits. To know why morning yoga is beneficial, you can have a look at my previous article: https://goqii.com/blog/benefits-of-practicing-morning-yoga-at-home.

We hope this article helps you! For more on yoga, check out Healthy Reads or practice these techniques with our experts on GOQii Play. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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March 31, 2021 By Megha Mahajan Leave a Comment

Can Pranayama Techniques Cool Your Body During Summer?

Are you using lots of water, cool drinks, air-conditioning or beach parties to beat the heat this summer? Would you be interested to know about an easy and inexpensive way to chill instead? If yes, then read this article to learn three different breathing techniques to cool down your body. Yes! You read it right. All you need to do is breathe! Here’s how Pranayama techniques can cool your body during summer!

Pranayama Techniques To Cool Your Body

1. Increased Rate & Depth of Breathing
Preferably lie down in Shavasana and practice deep diaphragmatic breathing, allowing the belly to rise with each inhalation. Make sure to increase your breathing rate too. A modified version of doing it is panting like a dog. Just open your mouth and stick out your tongue as far as it can go, then start panting. Make sure that your stomach goes in or contracts immediately with each exhalation.

Why does it work?
We sweat a lot during the summers. The evaporation of sweat cools down our body. In the same ways, with an increased rate and depth of breathing, we exhale a lot more water vapour. It enhances the cooling effect of the body. Now you know why dogs don’t sweat? They stick out their tongue and release the heat. More breaths and less movement ensures the double advantage of cooling your pace.

2. Sheetali Pranayama
Stick your tongue out and roll it like a straw. Inhale air through this straw as if you were sipping in a cool beverage on a hot summer day. Exhale through the nose. Sheetkari pranayama is a modified version of Sheetali, which can be done if you are unable to roll your tongue. Here you have to open your mouth with clenched teeth to inhale through them and exhale through the nose.

Why does it work?
When we breathe in through the nose, the air gets warmed up on its path to the lungs to match the internal body temperature. While we breathe in through the mouth, this doesn’t happen. On the contrary, the air gets moistened when we inhale through the mouth, enhancing its cooling effects.

3. Left Nostril Breathing
Use your right-hand fingers to block the right nostril and breathe through the left nostril. An easier way to activate the left nostril breathing is to insert a cotton plug in the right ear.

Why does it work?
Our body temperature is maintained by the movement of air through the right and left channels. The right channel is associated with sun, heat and activity. Whereas the left channel is associated with the moon, cool and rest. It is like the accelerator and brake pedals of a car. Applying the brakes gently slows down and cools off the overheated car engines. Similarly, when we deliberately breathe in through the left nostril, the brakes get applied to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to produce a cooling and calming effect on the body.

And there it is! We hope these 3 pranayama techniques will help you cool your body during these hot summer days. Try them and let us know your experience in the comments below. For more summer tips, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

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February 15, 2019 By GOQii 6 Comments

Pranayama: 6 Variations & Their Benefits

Pranayam and Its Benefits Pranayam is one of the most common Yoga Asanas that people perform because it is easy and provides numerous benefits.

Pranayama is defined as stretching, lengthening or modifying the breath. Despite being an involuntary process, breathing can be voluntarily controlled and manipulated. Controlled breathing helps you have a better grip on your mind and your body.

To perform Pranayama, ou can chosoe any meditative pose. If a meditative pose is difficult, you can opt for Sukhasana where the head, neck and spine are in a straight line. Focus on your breathing, try to feel each breath that you inhale and exhale from your nostrils. After you have done this, relax and spend some time to observe your entire body. Awareness should be present throughout the session.

Pranayam and its benefits to stay fit
Terminologies You Should Know:

Purak –Breathing in
Rechak –Breathing Out
Kumbhak – Holding the breath.

There are various kinds of Pranayama. Here are a few of them.

1. Bhastrika Pranayam: ‘Bhastra’ is the Bellows Pump used to pump fire. ‘Bhastrika’ originates from this term. People with high blood pressure must not perform Bhastrika. They can, however, perform a modified version. In Bhastrika Paranayama, one must breath in and breath out rapidly and forcefully. At the same time, they must flap the stomach in and out. When you breathe in, your stomach will expand and when you breathe out, your stomach will contract.

Benefits : Gases exchange at a very fast pace. Oxygen intake increases as the body throws out more Carbon Dioxide. There’s an increase in the Metabolic Rate as well.

2. Anulom – Vilom: Also known as Alternate Nostril Breathing, follows a slow and deep rhythmic breathing pattern. To perform this variation, close the left nostril and breathe in through the right nostril. Hold your breath for 3-5 seconds. Close the right nostril and breathe in through the left nostril. Hold it for 3-5 seconds to increase the absorption of oxygen.

Benefits: Useful for people suffering from Sinusitis. This Pranayama relaxes the mind and the entire nervous system. It improves lung capacity, strengthens the heart and improves blood circulation.

3. Sheetali Pranayama: This Pranayama is also called Cooling Breathing. Before performing Sheetali Pranayama, one must ensure that the atmosphere is clean. Roll the tongue and take a slow and deep breathe through the mouth. You will experience a cooling sensation on the surface of your tongue. Close the mouth and breathe out through the nostrils.

Benefits: It is very beneficial for people suffering from digestive disorders and acidity. This Pranayama also relaxes the mind.

4. Bhramari: can be done towards the end of the session. Bhramari relaxes the mind and helps in blood circulation and circulation of Cerebrospinal fluid. Bhramari is also called Humming Bee Breath. Sitting in a meditation pose, breathe in through the nostrils (deep breath) and breathe out slowly, thereby, producing the humming sound like a Humming Bee. Inhalation and exhalation time will be the same.

5. Suryabhedan: Surya is referred to the right nostril and Bhedan is piercing. Breathing in through the right nostril and breathing out through the left nostril is called Suryabhedan. This energizing Pranayama stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, cleanses the skull and in the Hathapradipika, it is mentioned that the heat generated by this Pranayama will destroy the worms in the stomach.

6. Shitkari Pranayam: Also called the Hissing Breath, this Pranayama is performed by touching the teeth of the upper and lower jaw together and breathing in. You will experience a cooling sensation on the sides of the mouth and tongue. This is also a tranquilizing Pranayama. Regular practice of this will improve digestion and reduce acidity. It is a good practice for people suffering from insomnia. It is especially useful during Summer as it reduces the body’s temperature. While practicing this Pranayama, one must make sure that the atmosphere is clean.

Disclaimer: Please consult your GOQii Doctor before you start Pranayama.

Which Asana would you like to read about next? Let us know in the comments below!

October 19, 2021 By Dr. Viral Thakkar 1 Comment

All About Your Kidneys – The Natural Cleansers

Can you imagine your house not being cleaned for a day? Imagine no sweeping or mopping, and no sweeper collecting the garbage. The house would start smelling, it will get intense, and eventually there will be decay. Just like our house, the body needs to be cleaned. This essential and unparalleled job is done by a 10-13cm organ – the kidneys. The kidneys help in:

Removing waste and extra fluid from the body (Urine).
Maintaining a healthy balance of salts, water and minerals like sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium in the blood. It removes acid too!
They also make hormones that help control blood pressure, make red blood cells and keep bones strong and healthy.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Kidney is the powerhouse of the body, supplying reserve energy to any organ running low on Qi. Its partner organ is the bladder.

The Kidney’s Job Profile

Each of the kidney is made up of about a million filtering units called nephrons. Each nephron includes a filter called the glomerulus and a tubule. The nephrons work through a two-step process:

The glomerulus filters the blood and the tubule returns needed substances to the blood and removes wastes.

A blood vessel runs alongside the tubule. As the filtered fluid moves along the tubule, the blood vessel reabsorbs almost all of the water along with minerals and nutrients your body needs. The tubule helps remove excess acid from the blood. The remaining fluid and wastes in the tubule become urine.

The blood circulates through the kidneys many times a day. In a single day, kidneys filter about 150 quarts of blood. Most of the water and other substances that filter through the glomeruli are returned to the blood by the tubules. Only 1 to 2 quarts become urine.

Each kidney performs the process of reabsorption with great precision. Out of 180 liters of fluid that enters the tubules, 99% of fluid is selectively reabsorbed and only the remaining 1% of fluid is excreted in the form of urine.

By this intelligent and precise process, all essential substances and 178 liters of fluid are reabsorbed in the tubules, whereas 1-2 liters of fluids, waste products, and other harmful substances are excreted.

Urine formed by the kidneys flow to the ureters, and passes through the urinary bladder and is finally excreted out through the urethra.

Did you know that every minute, 1200 ml of blood enters the kidneys for purification, which is 20% of the total blood pumped by the heart? So in one day, 1700 liters of blood is purified!

Here is How You Can Take Care of Your Kidneys

Drink up! Kidneys balance the electrolytes and fluid levels and hence its essential to drink liquids which are non-alcoholic and not caffeinated. Juices, coconut water, water, smoothies, etc. are your friends
Check the colour of your urine. It should be the colour of a straw. Any darker means you need to drink up.
Too much oily and fatty food is a big no! It puts pressure on the kidneys. Greens are your friends!
Ensure you have a normal blood pressure. It can silently impact your kidneys.
Alcohol and smoking is a BIG no. There are no two ways about it! Just stop it
Got diabetes? If you do, work with your doctor to keep your blood sugar levels in check. If they’re not under control, that can cause problems for your kidneys over time. Along with hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes is one of the biggest concerns for kidney health.
Use your meds correctly. Take them as your doctor recommends, or follow the instructions on the package. Be wary of medicines that can cause kidney damage when you take them for a long time, including over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen and prescriptions such as lithium and HIV medications. (Street drugs like cocaine can cause kidney disease too).
Check your weight & exercise regularly.
Be positive, not just for your kidneys but for your overall health. People who tend to hold negative thoughts especially envious feelings with hatred tend to get kidney disorder as compared to a positive person, as every emotion is linked with an organ.

Yoga and Pranayama are your friends for life!

Nothing beats regular exercise especially yoga and pranayama. These not only help the kidney, but the complete body. Yoga asanas assist in managing water retention in the body which enables sound sleep schedules and hence better rest. It is also one of the best ways to maintain balance in the body. Few asanas facilitate internal cleansing and flush out the toxins. Pranayam is known to relieve stress.

To ensure that the kidneys perform their JD up to the mark, make sure you make your body do the following:

Setu Bandhasana stimulates the abdominal organs, helps bring high blood pressure under control and relieves the body of stress.
Bhujangasana stretches and strengthens the abdominal organs. It also raises the immunity level of the body.
Ardha Matsyendrasana stimulates the kidneys and liver; improves the body’s immunity level.
Paschimottanasana stimulates the kidney, improves digestion, and relieves menstrual discomfort.
Naukasana improves digestion and alleviates stress. It strengthens and stimulates the abdominal organs.

We hope this article helps you. To know more about improving kidney health, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach for some tips by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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