||Pranayama||
Guruji,
Want to know whether anulom vilom pranayam can be practiced while walking or not. Since mornings are usually rush hour for me, hence getting o to pranayam while walking usually helps cut on time.
Siddharth Kumar
Beloved Siddharth,
Although this question may sound absurd at the beginning however it is quite intelligent one from someone’s perspective and truly it is! The logic would be – If we can breathe walking why not anulom-vilom can be done walking. Right?
Anulom Vilom is not pranayama – It is simplest, least effective and most widely used version of Nadi-Shodhana.. but most of people don’t know what is nadi-shodhana.
Howsoever you may want to intellectualize about these simple laid down processes of breathing in and breathing out in various fashions it is not possible for anyone to alter it a bit or lax it for that matter. The methodologies are well defined for nadi-shodhana and they work only when you are calm, your mind and body is not engaged in any other volunteering actions and Nadishodhana is not done walking!
And Yes! Walking is not as simple thing as you thought for that matter.. out of around 640 muscles of your body while taking one single step you engage more than 200 muscles that is almost one third of of your whole muscle-mass. Amazing, is it? Apart from that when you walk your mind is continuously engaged in balancing your body, giving you direction-sense, eyes are also alert.. isn’t it? I am sure you wouldn’t be walking bind-folded in any case. So your body and mind is not calm to that extent when you are walking.
Secondly – when you walk.. howsoever slowly you do this.. you trigger additional consumption of energy in your body and the energy currents move towards legs, hands, chest, spine, lower back, neck, abdomen, lungs and heart. It simply means while you are walking your energy-body is already loaded with inertia.. the inertia of movement to be precise. Not a condition when Nadishodhana will work for you.
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Last but most important point is – whenever you are walking the additional oxygen requirement of your body in those times sets in higher and deeper breathing patterns to cater to this requirement hence your breathing patter doesn’t remain normal. And during Nadi-Shodhana you are supposed to regulate the breath with some known ratios where time of exhale should be always greater than the time taken in inhaling. Even if you could forcibly achieve longer exhale timings in your breathing that will be like depriving your body of the much needed oxygen and Nadi-shodahana doesn’t have to practiced like that.
Siddharth, you say your morning is rush hour.. yes it is.. (especially so when evenings and nights are stretched bit too long in the lazy-activities). Morning is rush… hmm.. and what about your ‘life’? I guess your life too is being spent in a ‘rush’.. it is your choice to keep rushing or strike a balance between your inner world and outer. Give some ‘quality time’ to your being.. so that you are able to see the beauty and experience the fragrances and colors a life within has to offer. So that you can become aware of what this universe has in store for you.. how these simple ingredients enrich and empower your being.
I suggest.. no, I don’t… it is up to you what you decide for yourself. And yes.. the straight answer to your question is A BIG NO.
May this year be full of divine adventures for you and everyone..
Shivoham!
– Ach. Agyaatdarshan Anand Nath
Its all about you! 