PRANAYAMA -- CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

PRANAYAMA AND OXYGENATION -- AJIT VADAKAYIL

Pranayama— where you exhale twice as long as inhale— IS MORE ABOUT DUMPING OLD EXPERIENCES, RATHER THAN MERE OXYGENATION OF BLOOD.

It is always starts with the left nostril for right handers – for left handers it is vice versa ( no book on pranayama talks about this ) .. Left handed people have their sub-conscious in the left lobe of the brain.

Breathe in the new , breathe out the old. Pranayama—inhale and exhale with awareness— long exhales with the sound of mmmm. Humming boosts level of nitric oxide—this in turn ups the oxygen intake by 98%, the biggest secret . Ordinary breath is a mere 4%.

It is amazing Nitric oxide was discovered by Indian yogis 11000 years ago.  For re-inventing this a Nobel prize was given 2 decades ago.

Nitric oxide is necessary for-

1. Destruction of viruses, parasitic organisms, and malignant cells in the airways and lungs by inactivating their respiratory chain enzymes.

2. Regulation of binding - release of O2 to hemoglobin.

3. Vasodilation of arteries and arterioles (regulation of blood flow or perfusion of tissues).

4. Inhibitory effects of inflammation in blood vessels.

5. Hormonal effects. Nitric oxide influences secretion of hormones from several glands (adrenaline, pancreatic enzymes, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone)

6. Neurotransmission. Memory, sleeping, learning, feeling pain, and many other processes are possible only with NO present (for transmission of neuronal signals).

Obviously, during mouth breathing it is not possible to utilize one's own nitric oxide which is produced in the sinuses. The mouth, was created by Nature for eating, drinking, and speaking. At all other times, your trap should be shut.

When there is lack of oxygen in your blood , you living to a small percentage of your potential.

Endurance exercise can increase oxygen utilization from 10 to 20 times over the resting state. This greatly also  increases the generation of free radicals, which can cause cancer.

Metabolism, or, more accurately the metabolic rate of the cells, sets the demand for oxygen. At rest, a human consumes about 250 millilitres of oxygen each minute. With exercise this rate can be increased more than 10-fold in a normal healthy individual, but a highly trained athlete may achieve a more than 20-fold increase..

Muscle can do more work, but beyond the aerobic scope they must revert to anaerobic metabolism, which results in waste products, mainly lactic acid.

Here is a simple test—fill up a bathtub with slightly hot water— take a deep breath— and lie down with your head under water — you will be up in less than 30 seconds—

Try this and get convinced -- It is about the capacity red cells in your blood to absorbing more oxygen from the air breathed into the lungs

David Blain held his breath for 17 minutes and 4 seconds in a Oprah Winfey’s show. What nobody advertised was that Blaine was allowed to inhale pure oxygen for up to 30 minutes, although he inhaled for only 23 minutes. A Guinness World Records judge was on hand to certify his feat— but not the oxygen inhalation. And just before this he lived inside a glass house filled with ice cold water for many days — like our Himalayan rishis — to put his body into the hibernatory mode. Hibernation basically reduces the amount of oxygen the cells need to survive – to buy time to survive during extremely cold weather , lack of food etc.

The ability of the eye to dark-adapt (, increase its sensitivity at low light levels) decreases with age, but part of that decrease can be restored by breathing pure oxygen. Various mental processes in old people are also found to be improved by breathing oxygen. Any slowed induction of protein synthesis, as from lower oxygen intake, with age is a factor in the deficits of learning and memory of old people.

70% of toxins in your body are released by exhalation— rest by sweat, defecation and urine— surprised?

Oxygen drives the basic metabolic processes that permit growth and constant body temperature. The main purpose of respiration is to provide oxygen to the cells at a rate adequate to satisfy their metabolic needs. This involves transport of oxygen from the lung to the tissues by means of the circulation of blood. The precise object of respiration therefore is the supply of oxygen to the mitochondria.

Ganges' self-purifying quality leads to oxygen levels 25 times higher than any other river in the world. Ganga, show that it is able to reduce BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) levels much faster than in other rivers. Ganges cleans up suspended wastes twenty times faster than other rivers on the planet.

Ageing results from the accumulation of toxic reactions. A FREE RADICAL is a oxygen molecule that has an electron missing. ( like hydrogen peroxide ) Toxic damage to cells and tissues is the consequence of free radicals that are formed when oxygen is metabolized. Free radicals strip an electron from any available nearby source like DNA molecules or proteins.

Free Radical caused diseases are :--

Cancer

Heart attack

Stroke

Arthritis

Inflammatory bowel disease

Alzheimer's disease

Wrinkling

Graying

Stiff joints

The power of breathing lies in its relationship with your energy source. The mind is intimately connected to your breathing. Deep breathing triggers the lymph, your body’s sewage system which will give your cells more efficiency. It keeps the blood fully oxygenated. Breathe in the ration 1/4/2.

The physical aspect of lack of oxygen in the body is not as important as the mental and spiritual aspect.

Lack of oxygen always slows your reaction time. The more oxygen our brains receive the better they function. Glial cells are mediators between the neurons and blood vessels of the brain. Oxygenating the brain can slow down constant die off of brain cells, and can activate areas of the brain which usually idle from lack of blood.

The cells you use the least are the first to die off. 35000 brain cells die every day—more when there is lack of blood. But don’t worry, you have a stock of 100 billion brain cells.

Arterial blood is slightly more acidic in pH value ( 0.05 ) than the venous blood. Blood is an electrolyte. Blood is a carrier for oxygen and nutrients to the cells, but more fundamentally it is a carrier of electrical current. The movement of blood produces EM waves through changes in the electrical charge (voltage) and current (amperage) of the fluid.

Because oxygen is vital to life, the body and brain are extremely sensitive to even very small reductions . This is why exercise must be done at least ONE hour after a meal or oxygen required for digestion is used by muscles leading to indigestion and cramps.

Stress, fear and anxiety causes muscles to contract and blood vessels to constrict. When blood cannot be transported freely through the body to provide oxygen, and antibodies and to carry away and dispose toxic wastes, illness sets in.

Mind is non material , but it works in partnership with communicator molecules. With every thought mind moves atoms of hydrogen, carbon , oxygen and other particles in the brain .

Knowing the connection between breath and consciousness, the ancient yogis devised PRANAYAMA to stabilise energy and consciousness.

All that vibrates in this universe is the cosmic personality and prime mover Prana, potent in all living beings and non-living beings --- heat, light, gravity, magnetism, vigor , power , vitality,life, spirit.

When a man is contented and happy , he has more Prana inside him. Anxiety vanishes entirely when you are one with the rest of the universe. When your mind is disturbed the fundamental energy Prana leaks . Pranayama just reverses the process.

Oxygen levels on this planet has plummeted to half of what it was 500 years ago--due to man made reasons. Consume food based anti-oxidants ( dark coloured berries etc ) to convert toxic free radicals into harmless elements.

Yoga says that longevity depends on slow diaphragmic breathing. A tortoise takes 4 breaths a minute and so lives more than 200 years.

People who do Pranayama regularly have quieter nerves , less lethargy , better sleep and lower BP.  It prevents accumulation of Uric acid which gives joint pains.

Fluctuations of mind are controlled and hence Pranayama prepares you for meditation.

Pranayama was created by the vedic sages who lived on the banks of the river Saraswati in 9000 BC.

CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL