Ten Days Calm 

Day 8: Pranayama

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Pranayama is a word from yoga, ‘prana’ meaning life energy and ‘yama’ meaning control. Pranayama is a breathing practice, it teaches us to regulate and control the breath. This not only has benefits for our respiratory system but also a calming and soothing effect on body, mind and nervous system. 

 

The pranayama we will look at here is called Kaya Kriya and we will do it as a stand alone practice.

 

Kaya refers to the physical body, and Kriya translates from Sanskrit as an activity of process. Kaya Kriya involves us moving the physical body in response to our breath.

 

On a physiological level, when we exhale our body is expelling things we don’t need such as carbon dioxide gas, and when we breathe in we inhale oxygen to nourish the body.

 

But on a deeper level we can think of letting go of anything we are holding on to that we don’t need. This may include physical discomfort, tension, stress and negative feelings. Similarly when we breathe in we can think of bringing in more energy, life and positive feelings into our body.

 

During Kaya Kriya, as we inhale and exhale we add in physical movements to enhance the feeling of letting go. We rotate ankles and legs, hands and arms and head. This movement resembles wringing out a cloth or sponge, squeezing out the waste to make space for the new. As well as the visualisation of wringing out the body, the movement as it is slow and gentle can also have a calming and relaxing effect on the physical body.

 

The recording today is a short practice of Kaya Kriya. Once you have practiced it a few times with the recording for guidance you can then practice by yourself, maybe lengthening the practice.

 

After each Kaya Kriya practice write down how you feel, the effect of body on breath and breath on body. Does the physical movement help the body and mind to switch off?