Frequently Asked Questions (Spirituality)

PRANAYAMA

I just wanted to express my appreciation for your web-site and, what I suspect is your passion. My experience with pranayama and other eastern breath practices for going on 25 years has been, shall we say, a "learning" experience. The path I took would have been better served having had someone like yourself around to correct the unintended mistakes (learning from experience is not always the best way). My current understanding certainly supports and agrees with your well-written perceptions. Thank you. Gary A

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PRANAYAMA #2

Hi Mike,

This is Vijay from India. I have been to your site and found it very enlightening! I have recommending it to my friends by word of mouth and also by e-mails. Also, I have been practicing some of the techniques given by you. I must say they are quite effective. Thought I would share something with you. The Hatha Yoga gives some excellent techniques of breathing called Pranayam. Though they are very difficult to practice, simplified versions can be practiced by anyone. I have been practicing one for quite some time, and with a good result to show. It is called Bhasrika Pranayam. The technique is:

1. Sit cross legged on the floor with both hands on knees.
2. Exhale completely by pulling in your stomach.
3. Then inhale deeply.
4. Now exhale with a force and quickly.
5. Inhale with a force and quickly [all through nose].
6. Do this repeatedly and increase the tempo. This makes breathing very noisy. Also, it clears off the nasal channels. Do this continuously for a minute.

After this you will get a beautiful feeling of peace and calm.

Enjoy this now breathing normally.

This is a very effective technique and cures a number of illnesses connected with breathing.

Regards,

Vijay, India

From Mike:
Vijay:

Good to hear from you.

ANY extra breathing has the power to heal. If you do the SAME exercise too long though you will restrict the mechanics of breathing and distort many perceptions as well as natural breathing.

I have included many different and safe exercises in the manual and tapes to offset this tendency.

Hatha Yoga is in many ways God's gift to the human body. I am not comfortable with the cross legged position. It blocks the energy into the legs, forces the person to bend slightly forward compressing the mid breath, and the sitting position stresses my knees. See the PRP and Straw Experiment in the #176 Rapidly Improving Your Breathing Video video & #191 Secrets of Optimal Natural Breathing manual for more on this.

Blessings, Mike

PRANAYAMA #3

Dear Mike,

Thanks a lot for the prompt and encouraging reply. I would give some of my personal background.

I am 35 years. For the past 18 years I am in the business of...I have got a... Reaping monetary benefit is not on the top of my agenda. I will certainly as you have rightly advised join a yoga class.

I fully agree to your view that breathing is often steeped in esoteric agendas here in India. That was exactly the reason that I decided to look out for other sources from where I could gather information, learn and inculcate good breathing habits.

When I read some Indian books on Pranayama they appeared to me to be not touching the immediate subject, that of the psyche and the physique. When I asked about Pranayama to some elderly persons, I was warned not to practice or to think about it as it was considered to be dangerous when what I only wanted was knowing good breathing habits.

I have no direct control on my heart. Hence I cannot directly control the pace of my heart and whatever other functions it may be doing. There are innumerable such organs, systems and processes which are beyond my voluntary control and hence I cannot meddle with them. Which entails I cannot directly influence them and do them incorrectly or wrongly.

However since breathing has a voluntary part in it, it can be done incorrectly. More the reason I felt that I must know what is correct breathing. What is correct breathing when I am eating, relaxing, doing physical work, reading, having a work out, traveling, sleeping, etc. That is all what I wanted to know.

After having visited your website and that of Dennis Lewis, Illse Middendorf, Carl Stough I recognized that the physical and psychic aspects of correct breathing are very important. Without any foreign body intervention in our body this magical gift of breathing has the potential to do wonders to us.

Importantly for me it is absolutely and truly the natural way of living.

Having come to this conclusion I feel I could live correct breathing as well as make a livelihood from teaching it when I become proficient enough.

Thanks a lot for your invitation. I will remain in touch via the e-mail and the net.

Namaste

S

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PRAYER & BREATHING

Hi Mike,

I have been working with the reflexive breath. I thought I would try and combine breathing with prayer, so I used a variation of the Jesus Prayer that I found in Orthodox Christianity. I said half the prayer on the inhale, and the other half on the exhale, trying to maintain the reflexive breathing pattern. I got very powerful results.

It is really amazing how this Optimal Breathing process integrates so many other processes.

Thanks, Rick

From Mike:
Thank you. keep experimenting and making notes. What results did you experience?

Mike

From Rick:

I experienced a calm, blissful state. I will stay with it and let you know what happens.

Rick

RELIGIONS AND BREATHING

Just one more question. Why is it more 'Spiritual' teachers don't emphasize the breath? To me, now, I can't even visualize going on without this work. I realize the Tao & Chi-kung people talk about it and Yoga people, but many western people who awaken and turn teaching just ignore it. I can only surmise that it's just not in their experience and therefore not important. It's almost as if they see the radical ups & downs as somehow valuable to the seeker as a 'lesson' of some sort or as a way of encouraging one to abandon the ego because of the painfulness of it all. I find this a potentially dangerous approach and now that I'm working on my breathing I will never take that road again.

From Mike:
Many religions have breathing in the form of chanting, chorals, singing, toning, as an integral part of their activities. Some do not. I suspect that less emphasis is on the breathing and more on the thinking because the thinking supports the way of being and doing that support the specific religion sustain itself. Paradigm, dogmas etc. I have not experienced any successful religions that do not have some sort of extra-breathing included.

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