Alternate Nostril breathing or Spinal breathing?

[solo]

I have been steadily adding to my practice.  This can make meditation sessions quite time consuming.  In an effort to keep my practice to 35 minutes, I do the following:

2.5 minutes alternate nostril breathing
2.5 minutes spinal breathing
2 minutes dynamic chin pump
20 minutes mantra meditation
2 minutes YMK
5 minutes samyama

Given my time constraints, do you think it would be better to practice either alt nostrril breathing or spinal breathing or do you think that doing short durations of both is fine?

[Jo-self]

Solo:

I think just Spinal Breathing Pranayama (SBP) is good enough.  

In some ways, alternate nostril breathing (ANB) is a preparatory practice (I could be wrong).  Plus, if you read the Hatha Yoga Pradipka, it says that ANB should be practiced with breath retention for as long as possible.  This, in my opinion is dangerous and not needed with SBP, as you know.

-- jo-self

[Shanti]

quote:Originally posted by solo

I have been steadily adding to my practice.  This can make meditation sessions quite time consuming.  In an effort to keep my practice to 35 minutes, I do the following:

2.5 minutes alternate nostril breathing
2.5 minutes spinal breathing
2 minutes dynamic chin pump
20 minutes mantra meditation
2 minutes YMK
5 minutes samyama

Given my time constraints, do you think it would be better to practice either alt nostrril breathing or spinal breathing or do you think that doing short durations of both is fine?

I agree with Jo-self, go with 5 min of spinal breathing rather than 2.5 min of ANB and 2.5 of SpB.

[solo]

Thank you both!  As always, your input is much appreciated

[Holy]

In my experience, alternate nostril breathing and spinal breathing pranayama are both very powerful. But I am not sure, if there is any big difference what you do, if it is just 5 minutes anyway. In that case, sticking with one would make the whole more simple and spinal breathing pranayama perhaps has the edge in the long term.

Although I know that this is not the approach in AYP, kriya yogis do their spinal breathing pranayama hours per day with intense effects. Also hatha yogis do hours of alternate nostril breathing also with intense efects. I did both in seperate times too and also can verify that 2 months of long breathing sessions did infinitely more to my opening than regular 30 min combined sessions twice a day over half a year or a year.

The problem is, to have high focus on breathing, you need to change your living style very fast to not burn. That means eating light, having lots of physical activity etc. The awakening speed is dramatic. 5min of pranayama and 20 min of DM is much more stable, the changes are more subtle and slow, easy to get used to them and is more safe in the long term to reach higher states of awareness.

In your place, I would try it out. Especially if those 2 minutes of dynamic chin pump are doing a big deal if there is just 5 min of pranayma beforehand. Perhaps 7 minutes SBP would have the greatest effect.

[Akasha]

SbP is probably like the magic wand and very powerful.

And NS is   probably v balancing for the nadis and pranic currents,ida and pingala.It's reputedly good for stress,tension and calming the mind.

The SBp i am still exploring.It does trace the spinal nerve (with the breath and Mind)so there is little wonder why it has effects.

I'm still learning  the apporpiate dosage. Even if one does'nt feel whacked but serene & blissful in one's dm, 3o mins later, one may feel something different some time later. I don't know. we'll see.

[christiane]

I am also exploring the Spinal Breathing effect
I've been doing alternate nostril breathing along with other kriyas, for the past 3 years, and all I can say, from my experience, is that it's a powerful balancing tool that prepare the ground for other practices and meditations..
I'm still exploring the different combinations those days.
This morning I did:

- spinal breathing (7 minutes)
- alternate nostril b. (about 10 minutes)
- deep meditation

Tomorrow, will try to start with ANB before SBP to see if it's better.. but I feel both are complementary and work fine together before DM.

Explore...

[Akasha]

When i used SbP in tantra(a sexual sublimation method)with hatha yoga-asana etc the  energy revneue genereated was quite extraordinary- like i felt like i could subsist on 3 hours of sleep . i  could meditiate for 3 hours just normally. like 3-4 X revenue generated with just hatha yoga.   so  i had come across SBp before but had used it in a tantra context before orgasm  in addition to a dedicated hatha practice.i was'nt really that clued up on it though i just went by a script in a document as i was  newb.-still am.  but as a man it was revelatory.

i was sending the energy from the perineum to the crown and siwrling it  around as a white light in the crown at the point of orgasm ( while preserving the seed) and then returing it back down.

 the extra revenue  i got seemed like 3-4 times above my early morning asana regimen taken on it's own. but the body was prepared. i did get surges that people speak of, and perhpas yeah there are biochemical dynamics going on.  like the  whole body would  violently tremor and quake. i did wonder what that was about. much possibly symptom of slight over-load. certainly interesting little experiment.

i felt i could see sexual desire for whatit was as a natural force not to  feel funy about etc. and gained  a higher sexual relationship experience with the world at large.  like sustained and at large.

certainly interesing-- completely lfit the lid off that evolutionary urge that man has  enslaved hismelf by.  maybe i'll get back to those good old days----'ascension'- there's an interesting word.

[Akasha]

I will expand on that and just say that the rationale of using SbP just before orgasm and certainly before ejaculation wa to  convert the prana base sexual energy into a more rareified ojas - spiritual energy.--- yes that was the theory,  going on this document i stumbled across, and yes indeed it worked. maybe it was likea turbo0charged SbP, not that it's not powerful enough and one needs to do that.. these tools  are very powerful hence less is more in yoga in general. and i've learnt that too.

increases a man's staying power obviously too. so one can pleasure his woman better and longer. sounds good to me.i liked the control it gave me over my mind perhasp anything else and the fact that sex was actuallu okay, and no big deal etc

[Holy]

@christiane

the effects are stronger, if you first clean the two main side channels and then fuse the energy within the central channel. On the other hand, your way should bring more calmness and peace. I never tried it out that way, but in whatever energetic situation my body was, ANB always brought about relaxation and peace and an easy flow throughout the body.

[christiane]

quote:Originally posted by Holy

@christiane

the effects are stronger, if you first clean the two main side channels and then fuse the energy within the central channel. On the other hand, your way should bring more calmness and peace. I never tried it out that way, but in whatever energetic situation my body was, ANB always brought about relaxation and peace and an easy flow throughout the body.

Hi Holy,

Yes this is my feeling too: I feel that ANB first, then SBP has a strong effect, and I can feel lots of ecstatic energy in the spine..
The reverse option has a more calm & balancing effect, which is a good preparation for meditation..

Thank you for confirming


Love.

[JDas]

How do YOU feel following each?
What does your body tell you?
I will perform each this weekend, record my feelings and report back.
Int'ing experiment.

Tks.

Jon

quote:Originally posted by solo

I have been steadily adding to my practice.  This can make meditation sessions quite time consuming.  In an effort to keep my practice to 35 minutes, I do the following:

2.5 minutes alternate nostril breathing
2.5 minutes spinal breathing
2 minutes dynamic chin pump
20 minutes mantra meditation
2 minutes YMK
5 minutes samyama

Given my time constraints, do you think it would be better to practice either alt nostrril breathing or spinal breathing or do you think that doing short durations of both is fine?

[solo]

This is a most excellent experiment!

I did SpB first today.  I did reach a very deep state of relaxation.

Tommorrow I will try ANB first.