Practice of Sri Anand Yoga
SAY Breathing in Rhythm - Background
We have earlier seen scientific aspects of breathing as per medical science and Breathing as per spiritual science. We have also seen importance given to breathing in ancient scriptures. There are many breathing exercises as per different schools of yoga, commonly called as Pranayama. The most popular amongst them all is as taught by Rishi Patanjali in his Yog Sutras.
Pranayama is also covered in Hatha Yoga. Almost every school of Yoga has Pranayama as its integral part. All these exercises have their own benefits as well as harmful effects if done in a wrong or excessive manner. The common thread in all these exercises is ‘Control of Breath’, Manipulation of Breath’ or ‘Regulation of Breath’
In Sri Anand Yoga we do Breathing in Rhythm. Let us first understand the basic principles.
Each human being has his own distinct and unique characteristics in the whole Universe. Scientists have identified 9 body parts which are unique to each individual. These are Iris, Ear, Lip Print, Tongue, Voice, Toe Print, Teeth, Retina and Gait. Certainly there will be many more - like our unique DNA. However, the much less understood aspect is about the rhythm of our breath. We have earlier learned about biological rhythm in section on medical science. Every individual also has his own unique rhythm of breathing in the resting stage. This rhythm of breathing forms the motion of the wheel of his life. It is the most central part of his life. If this rhythm is disturbed, all sorts of disturbance sets in. The first disturbance is in his emotional state. Next is his health. Therefore it is of utmost importance to keep and reinforce this rhythm. Every living element in this Universe has its own unique LIfe Field. And each such Life Field has its own Rhythm. This is the fundamental tenet of SAY. All the philosophy and practices of SAY have this tenet as their base.
We have seen that there is a rhythm of every cell, Earth and the Universe. This rhythm is maintained by the rhythm of our breathing. It is also a basic concept of SAY that this Universe is also unique to each individual. The individual human being is at the centre of his own Universe. He is an integral part of the whole. Rather, the manifested Universe is sustained by the individual.It gets its meaning because of the existence of an individual. And at the core of this whole cosmos is RHYTHM which is sustained through the Breathing of the individual.
In SAY, we maintain our own unique rhythm of breathing. We call our breathing exercise as SAY Breathing in Rhythm.
In the next chapter, we will understand about the actual practice of SAY Breathing in Rhythm.
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