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Sickness and psychosomatic
problems are healed through regular practice. Concentration
on the breath in hatha pranayama keeps the body's cholesterol
level under control, as well as being a cure for high and
low blood pressure, and many allergies, anxieties and other
problems. However, hatha yoga is a branch of yoga, which primarily
aims to strengthen the human body. Every muscle and organ
of the body including the heart may be brought under perfect
control, yet the spiritual progress may not be compared to
that attainable through kriya yoga.
In kriya yoga, the physical body undergoes
an even more intensive process of purification. The mind begins
to find peace and the body becomes healthier, even after a
short time of practice.
The brain and memory capacities of
the kriya practitioner develop at a rapid rate so that it
is possible to gain extensive internal knowledge about the
mechanisms of the body. Consciousness evolves to the extent
where kriya reveals the secrets of man's true identity, birthright
and relationship to God.
The sexual potential increases through
kriya yoga, as does life expectancy, since the slowing down
of the heartbeat stems the natural processes of decay in the
body's tissue and cells. However, it should be remembered
that these are side effects of practice and not the aim kriya
yoga, which is to unite with God.
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Pranayama
:
The ancient yogis who used to live
in the forest made the observation that the lifespan of every
living creature is determined according to their respiration.
Cats, dogs and rabbits breathe in and out some forty times
per minute, and live for between ten to twenty years. Animals
with slower respiration such as the snake, elephant and tortoise
have a far greater longevity. The giant tortoise, for example,
takes approximately four breaths per minute and lives for
up to three hundred years.
Due to the amount of times man
normally takes respiration, he has to take birth and rebirth
millions of times. His brain and conscious level develop very
slowly. Through natural breath, it is never possible to reach
samadhi. Kriya pranayama practiced in lone life is always
transferred to the next and is never lost. The chain of karma
resulting from all those lives is gradually broken as the
yogi frees himself of ego and desire.
Although we breathe subconsciously
through two nostrils, the cosmic force known as prana controls
each inhalation and exhalation. The left channel or never
is known as Ida nadi and the right channel as Pingala nadi.
These run through the spinal cord and work alternately in
our bodies. When one is open, the other is closed, and the
change occurs automatically at regular hourly intervals.
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There are eight types of pranayama
in hatha yoga, where concentration is focused on Ida
and Pingala, the external channels. These types of pranayama
include alternate breathing, and ujjayi, which involves
inhaling for ten seconds and exhaling for twenty.
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In between these external channels
known as Ida and Pingala, is another more subtle nerve,
Sushumna. It is a hollow canal, and at the moment that
the external channels change, a little air is sent through
Sushumna. In kriya yoga pranayama, concentration is
focused directly on Sushumna, rather than on Ida and
Pingala, for this is the most superior of all pranayamas.
Prana may therefore be explained in simple terms as
the cosmic energy in every living thing. Acting in the
external world of science it is also the power behind
steam, electricity and other forms of energy. |
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