Pranayama

Pranayama is the yogic art of conscious breath guidance. The word joins prana (the breath of life, the life energy) with ayama (to guide, to extend). What is meant are breathing and concentration exercises with which one leads the breath calmly and consciously – and thereby at the same time gathers mind and energy. At the Kyborg Institute pranayama counts as a simple, grounded foundation for more calm and vitality.

Back to abdominal breathing

The most important first step is, for us, abdominal breathing. Relaxed small children breathe by nature deeply and evenly into the abdomen; at rest they scarcely raise and lower the chest. Over the years – and with increasing tension – many people accustom themselves to the shallower, more strenuous chest breathing. D. Harald Alke describes this in Die Stufen des Pranayama as a sign of a generally grown tension.

The way back is simple:

• Breathe calmly and evenly into the abdomen – the abdominal wall rises and falls gently.
• Raise the chest as little as possible.
• A few minutes daily are enough to find the natural breathing again.

Pranayama and the life energy

In the yogic view, the breath is the carrier of prana – the subtle life energy. Whoever leads the breath consciously therefore works at the same time with their energy. Pranayama thus belongs closely to the great terms of yoga and stands in connection with the Kundalini, the life force that works through the chakras.

Foundation for meditation and training

Breathing exercises are, from our point of view, the best preparation for further-reaching paths: they calm the mind and create the gathering on which meditation, autogenic training and mental training build. In Energytraining the breathing exercises form a supporting element – “without the right breathing you will not achieve much”.

Gentle, calm breathing exercises do most people good and can be used anywhere. More intensive techniques such as the “breath of fire” are, however, better practised under guidance. Pranayama is an exercise for well-being and gathering – no healing procedure: in the case of illnesses, during pregnancy or with complaints, please clarify medically beforehand.

From practice

How suited to everyday life breathing and concentration work is, is shown by an episode from the history of the institute: D. Harald Alke taught these techniques for seven years at the Akademie Schloss Montabaur – in the leadership training of the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken. To the academy director’s question of what he could offer, he answered tersely: “Breathing and concentration.” He has described the individual stages in detail in his book Die Stufen des Pranayama.

Related terms

• Prana – the life energy that the breath carries
• Life energy – the subtle basic term behind it
• Yoga – the path of practice to which pranayama belongs
• Meditation · Autogenic training · Mental training – what the breathing exercises prepare for

Autor: D. Harald Alke