Prana Yoga
Prana Yoga is another term for Pranayama, a Sanskrit word roughly translated as “lengthening of the Prana” Prana is the Sanskrit term for both “breath” and “life energy”. Yoga in its original form was a path to spiritual enlightenment through various meditative practices. From that we can infer that Prana Yoga is a form of meditation focusing on breathing.
The belief is that human beings go throughout their daily lives dealing will all sorts of stresses. These stresses have a subconscious affect on your breathing patterns, causing us to inhale in short, shallow breaths; only taking air into the upper quadrants of the lungs. Through this shallow breathing we fail to fully oxygenate the blood, decreasing the body’s ability to function properly. It inhibits the body from properly disposing of toxins and wastes, suppresses the immune system, and causes improper digestion. By practicing Prana Yoga you learn to take in deeper breaths from the belly, fully inflating the lungs. You also learn the cyclic pattern of breathing that is so very important. It is not enough to just breathe deeply, but also slowing the breath, pausing after inhalation (puraka) to allow the lungs to absorb as much oxygen as they can. This is called kumbhaka, or retention. It also allows the air in the lungs to take up the impurities in the body to be removed upon exhalation (rechak). Exhalation is just as important as inhalation; one must completely empty the lungs of all the air and the impurities it takes on to allow the lungs to take in as much good clean air in the next breath as possible.
With continued practice of Prana Yoga you will find your mind is less stressed because of the increased health and condition you body will be in. You will no longer suffer from a suppressed immune system or poor digestion and because of this you will experience less stress on a subconscious level. Prana Yoga is also effective at toning the muscles in the upper abdomen as you will use them more often in your breathing. Most people who practice Prana Yoga will have one or two small sessions each day where they focus on their breathing, but some people who have been steadily working on this their whole lives have effectively changed the way they breathe normally each day. This is the goal of every person who practices Prana Yoga.