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Breath Control & Yoga Pranayama Book - Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise - Ch 1
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Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama
Yoga Breathing Exercise #1: The Breath of Fire
Free Online Yoga Video of Breath of Fire
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Video is from the article: Breath of Fire Video - Free Online Yoga Videos
What Is The Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
The first Yoga breathing exercise we will explore lies at the heart of Kundalini Yoga practice, it is the legendary Breath of Fire Yoga Pranayama.
As mentioned above this breathing exercise is absolutely essential to the practice of Kundalini Yoga. The roots of this pranayama are impossible to trace but I would like to thank my teacher Ravi Singh under whose expert guidance I learned this technique.
Tools Required for Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
Just your nose :-D.
Benefits of Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
Primary:
- Quickly oxygenates your blood, thus helping the body detoxify itself and remove waste more effectively.
- Builds lung capacity and helps purify the respiratory system.
- Generates heat and increases your level of energy by activating the energy flows in your body.
- Syncronizes your entire system under one rhythm, thus promoting greater internal harmony and health.
Secondary:
- Balances and strengthens the Nervous System.
- Magnifies the benefits of exercises done in conjunction with this breath.
- When done forcefully, the pulsating of the diaphragm massages the internal organs, thus improving the digestive system.
Cautions for Practicing Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
- If you feel dizzy when practicing Breath of Fire, you should stop and substitute normal breathing. If you suffer from vertigo, you should use caution in practicing this breathing exercise.
- If you are menstruating you should not practice Breath of Fire, use Long Deep Breathing instead.
- You should be careful practicing Breath of Fire if you have high blood pressure, heart disease or suffer from stroke or epilepsy. Also, if you have acid or heat related gastric issues such as ulcers you should use caution.
How To Do Basic Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
- To practice this breathing exercise sit up in a comfortable position.
- Elongate your spine upwards, lengthen your neck and subtly bring your chin back and in like a soldier at attention. This will align the spine with the back of your head.
- Close your eyes.
- Rest your hands in any comfortable position.
- Relax your stomach muscles.
- Now begin to breathe rapidly through the nose with equal emphasis on the inhalation and exhalation. It will be like very fast sniffing. Keep the breath shallow, just at the tip of the nose. Proceed at a comfortable pace and establish a steady rhythm. Pay no special attention to the chest or diaphragm other that staying relaxed. You will find the stomach pulses on its own in rhythm to the breath. That’s it, continue for 1 minute.
How To Do Intermediate Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
- Perform the breathing at a faster pace.
- Increase the duration of the exercise to 3 minutes
How To Do Advanced Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
- Build up the pace and power with which you do the breathing.
- Build up the time for this pranayama to 11 minutes.
Secret of Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:
So the trick question is, "How many breaths are you taking when doing the breath of fire yoga pranayama"? This will be of some special concern to those who believe in the idea that each of us is born with a preset number of breaths and once we finish our quota - the fat lady sings. So for those folks it would be rather alarming to practice this exercise regularly, as they would be drastically reducing their life span - but, thankfully they need not worry. The beauty of this breathing exercise, aside from its lengthy list of benefits, is that it registers to the brain as only 1 breath. So put your worries aside and enjoy the practice of this pranayama which I have found to be one of the real gems of Kundalini Yoga.
Article Series - Yoga Pranayamas, Breath Control and Breathing Exercises
- Free Online Yoga Breathing Exercises (Yoga Pranayama) E-Book
- Breath Control & Yoga Pranayama Book - Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise - Ch 1
- Chakra Balancing Breathing Exercise - Breath Control & Yoga Pranayama Book
- Powerful 4 Part Deep Breathing Exercise for Vitality - Free Online Yoga Pranayama Book - Ch 3
- Bhastrika Yoga Breathing Exercise to Burn Fat for Natural Weight Loss & More
- Kapalbhati Yoga Breathing Exercise for Optimum Health & Healing- Free Online Pranayama Book- Ch 5
- Sheetali Pranayama Breathing Exercise for Stress & Anger Management
- Beginner’s Guide to Yoga Breathing Exercises (Pranayama)
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on April 30th, 2007 at 3:11 am
Anmol, could you expand a little bit the mysterious “it registers to the brain as only 1 breath”? How come? How do we know that? I’m not worried about the quota of breaths, but this idea interested me immensely.
on April 30th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Joanna, Much of the Science of Yoga and Meditation is derived from direct perception resulting from refined and subtle awareness that Yogis & Monks develop. Recently, some empirical studies have begun to prove these ageless Truths, but I am not aware of any study on this specific topic.
Here though is a proposed basic experiment that could shed some light on this hypothesis…
Control Group: Brainwaves w/ normal breath
Group A: Advanced meditators Brainwaves w/ suspended breath
Group B: Advanced meditators Brainwaves w/ Breath of Fire
Then to compare the brain waves to see if Group B subjects’ brainwaves match the Control Group or Group A more closely.
I will keep an eye on this topic though and let you know if I come across any more information on it. Thanks for your very interesting question.
on May 26th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
[…] Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise: 1-3 minutes […]
on June 25th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
great stuff…thank you!!
on June 25th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
on September 24th, 2007 at 3:46 am
[…] Dan wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptYoga pranayamas are breathing exercises for expanding, purifying and optimizing your entire mind-body-spirit complex. It is the science of breath control. This book will explain and detail the best pranayamas and breathing techniques … […]
on October 3rd, 2007 at 9:31 am
Amnol,
I’ve been experiencing a runners type cramp in my side while practicing Breath of Fire. Any thoughts?
Thank You!
on October 3rd, 2007 at 9:58 pm
This is not uncommon and you should back off a bit when doing Breath of Fire if this happens. Either reduce the power/pace with which you are doing it, or take a break and switch to Long Deep Breathing or Normal Breathing until the cramp/stitch subsides. As you develop your capacity this issue will resolve itself over time.
Best Wishes,
Anmol
on October 24th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
It’s harder than I thought it would be! I’ll have to give this one a try more often.
on October 24th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
For Kundalini Yoga practice, mastering Breath of Fire is a must. Even otherwise it has so many benefits that is it certainly worth learning.
The most common mistake is to use your diaphragm voluntarily instead of just letting it pulse due to the rapid shallow breath at the tip of the nose. In other words don’t try to breathe in deep into the belly - just do fast sniffing. Let me know how you make out.
Best,
Anmol
on December 18th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Hi Ammol,
I´ve been experiencing some pain/discomfort in the ribcage and diaphragm area while practicing breath of fire, what do you think of this?
thank you,
Key
on December 18th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
First and most important question is if you are doing it correctly. The breath should not be forced into the abdomen, it should be pulsed instead at the tip of the nose. The diaphragm will move on it’s own.
Not sure if you have seen the video, but there I have demonstrated this common error. Here is the video link…
Video of Breath of Fire
If you are doing it right and experiencing pain, then back off and only practice it lightly in shorter bursts, mixing in normal breathing to take breaks. Also, make sure you are sitting up straight so the abdomen is not collapsed.
Let me know if these adjustments help.
Best,
Anmol
on March 5th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
[…] You may do this stretch with the Breath of Fire or with Long Deep Breathing. […]
on March 10th, 2008 at 9:49 am
[…] Begin the Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise and keeping your legs straight rotate them in a big circle clockwise. Make the circle as big as you can without touching the floor. […]
on March 29th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Great instruction! The only thing I would change about the above is to improve the lighting for taping (maybe a soft source face-level both to the right and left of the videographer, by maybe 5 feet) to fix the shadows falling across your face. :)
on March 31st, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Yup yup agree one hundred percent. I think this was my very first video :-P. I have improved them in the subsequent ones a whole lot, but my wife is tired of me stealing the living room lamp, so I think it’s time to invest in some better lighting to meet your suggestions.
Thanks for your helpful comments.
Cheers,
Anmol
on April 7th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
[…] You will also need to learn the Breath of Fire breathing exercise, which is taught in the following video article: Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama. […]
on April 11th, 2008 at 12:23 am
i was just wondering, why should the breath of fire not be done while a woman is menstruating?..
on April 12th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I’ve also always wondered about this, (re: bri’s question)are there restrictions when a woman is menstruating and why?
on April 15th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
The general rule of Yoga & Ayurveda (See Intro to Ayurveda for more info on this healing science), is that it is best to rest and relax during menstruation. Yoga can be done, but it should be done in a relaxed way.
Breath of Fire is a stimulating breath and can put strain on the abdominal region. Those are the 2 primary reasons it’s not recommended during this time.
Some quick guidelines for Yoga during menstruation:
1. No inversions
2. No Breath of Fire or other pranayamas that strain the abdominal area or are very stimulating (generate a great deal of inner heat).
3. No exercises which strain the abdominal region or lower back excessively.
I have been requested to put together an article on this topic, hope to get to that in the near future.
Best,
Anmol
on April 24th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
how long should the breath of fire last? in other words, how long to you continue with the breath of fire during a meditation? one minute? 2 minutes? is the breath of fire to be done at the beginning of a meditaiton or at the end (or middle?) Can it be done more than once during a meditation?
thank you very much,
loribeth
on April 25th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Normally for a particular exercise where the breath of fire is indicated, the duration varies and is also explicitly indicated. So you may do Stretch Pose for 2 mins w/ Breath of Fire in one set, or another set may require the same pose done for 4 mins w/ Breath of Fire.
If you are practicing Breath of Fire by itself, start with 1 minute and build up to 3 and then to 5.
Only a few Kundalini Meditations use BOF, and again there it should be stated how long it is to be done for.
Be careful of generating too much heat in the body though, and if that was to happen back off from BOF.
Hope this answers your questions.
Best,
Anmol
on May 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I’d like to know what Pranayama exercises I should follow to keep my cholesterol levels in balance. I have very high LDL/triglycerides & I’d like to reduce them with diet and pranayama. For that, I’d like your help!!
on May 11th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Please practice Kapal Bhati Pranayama. Start slowly and build up from there.
Best,
Anmol
on June 29th, 2008 at 8:05 am
really excellent information, thanks anmol. i have been reading about this practice for years, and and in classes it has never been taught to me as well as your video did. thanks so much!
please keep up with the kundalini yoga lessons
ally