Pranayama stress relief techniques and Pranayama (Breathing) Exercises & Poses

Pranayama is a Sanskrit word alternatively translated as "extension of the prāṇa (breath or life force)" or "breath control." The word is composed from two Sanskrit words: prana meaning life force (noted particularly as the breath), and either ayama (to restrain or control the prana,Pranayam (also spelled Pranayama) is an ancient Indian practice concerned with controlling your breath. Research has shown that practicing Pranayama may be able to relieve symptoms of asthma
 It may be beneficial in treating stress related disorders,such as anxiety and depression. There are a total of six types of Pranayam practice, all of which are detailed here.

V. S. Apte provides fourteen different meanings for the word prāṇa (Devanagari: प्राण, prāṇa) including these:

• Breath, respiration
• The breath of life, vital air, principle of life (usually plural in this sense, there being five such vital airs generally assumed, but three, six, seven, nine, and even ten are also spoken of)
• Energy, vigor
• The spirit or soul

Of these meanings, the concept of "vital air" is used by Bhattacharyya to describe the concept as used in Sanskrit texts dealing with prāṇāyāma. Thomas McEvilley translates prāṇa as "spirit-energy".The breath is understood to be its most subtle material form, but is also believed to be present in the blood, and most concentrated in men's semen and women's vaginal fluid.

There are a total of six types of Pranayam practice, all of which are detailed here.

Bhastrika Pranayam: Bellows Breath-

1-Breathe in deeply through your nostrils. First, feel the diaphragm move down, allowing the lungs to expand and forcing the abdomen out; then feel your chest expand with your collar bones rising last.

2-Breath out quickly through your nostrils. Feel your collar bones dropping, chest deflating, and abdomen shrinking as the lungs collapse. This process of exhaling should be much faster than the process of inhaling -- almost like a rapid deflation.

3-Repeat the process. When correctly done, your chest will expand when you breathe in and deflate when you breathe out. Continue doing this for 5 minutes.

4-With practice, speed up your breathing. Beginners should always start slowly to avoid hyperventilating, but eventually it will be possible to turn this into a rapid breathing technique.

Medical

Several researchers have reported that pranayama techniques are beneficial in treating a range of stress-related disorders.A Cochrane systematic review on the symptomatic relief of asthma by breathing exercises did not find a statistically significant improvement but did find that there was a statistically significant increase in the dose of histamine needed to provoke a 20% reduction in FEV1 (PD20) during pranayama breathing but not with the placebo device.

Safety

Authoritative texts on Yoga state that, in order to avoid injuries and unwanted side effects, pranayama should only be undertaken when one has a firmly established yoga practice and then only under the guidance of an experienced Guru. Although relatively safe, Hatha Yoga is not risk free. Sensible precautions can usefully be taken such as beginners should avoid advanced moves if they have any physical health related issue. It can get dangerous if someone is trying to pose tough exercise which requires extreme flexibility and good shapes of bones. Hatha Yoga should not be combined with psychoactive drug use, and competitive Hatha Yoga should be avoided. Person should inform the teacher or trainer of their physical limitations and concerns before getting involved themselves for extreme pose positions. Functional limitations should be taken into consideration. Modifications can then be made using props, altering the duration or poses.

According to at least one study, pranayama was the yoga practice leading to most injuries, with four injuries in a study of 76 practitioners. There have been limited reports of adverse effects including haematoma and pneumothorax, though the connections are not always well established.