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FakeYogi
India
100 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2022 : 4:21:37 PM
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While holding air inside during Kumbhakas, many times my fingers automatically pull away from pinching the nose and rub the temples of the forehead violently. I figure this happens due to Oxygen starvation to the brain and the body struggles to manually increase the blood flow to the brain by activating the hands. Is this to be taken a sign of over exertion and I should release the breath hold before this happens, or is it ok to continue holding and rubbing for a few more seconds? |
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Virochana
New Zealand
9 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2022 : 12:07:31 PM
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Why are you even pinching the nose? Leave the hands alone and after you inhale drop your breath down into the lower body while applying a slight natural bhand upwards in the lower body to contain it. It should feel very grounded and give a sense of clarity and freshness. When you exhale, do so slowly. If you cannot exhale slowly, then not time to do holding yet.
If you doing alternate nostril breath, then try without the hands at all, keeping them on the knees or in the lap. Just feel the breath alternately traveling in one nostril or the other, and move the sensation up and down each side with the breath, visualization, and connection. This is the way the alternate nostril breathing is done in kriya, until the tongue can be used internally.
Kumbhaka is to bring stillness. Because the 'energy' is kept inside, you can cultivate the feeling within the space that it opens without becoming scattered. If there is a sense of starvation, then you are pushing it and missing what it is all together. Open up the body instead and do small amounts of Kumbhaka. Over the years, you may find that you can do it longer and longer effortlessly which then reveals another side to it, and you understand that the outer breath is only an introduction, like training wheels when riding a bike. This is very beautiful.
If you force it, then you are missing the whole point, because the awareness does not internalize. It is like trying to capture air by closing your hands into a fist, instead of feeling it caress your skin. Their is a stage where forceful kumbhaka is useful, but only when there is a strong grounding and no dizziness, and the locks are second nature. It can be used to clear and open the body when internalized. But again, it is just a stage, which gives way over time to effortless kumbhaka.
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lightandlove
Germany
85 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2022 : 9:44:52 PM
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How should your breath ever naturally become still if you are acting with such strong force? The highest kumbhaka is kevala kumbhaka. |
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Blanche
USA
874 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2022 : 4:05:21 PM
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Hi FakeYogi,
Since you mention that you pinch your nose during this practice, I wonder if you describe what happens to you during Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka. Is this the case?
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