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Pranayama question

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

robbyzuniga

Roberto Zuniga
Mar 25, 2004
45
0
0
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Recently I was reading Umberto Pelizzari's book. In the book there is a section that talks about Pranayama and exercises; but for a person who doesn't know too much about prana, its difficult to really do the movements perfectly and there are some diagrams I am not really sure I am doing them well. So i have two questions: :)

1)If there where a good , simple and easy to read pranayama book for the freediver which would you recomend?
2)In one clip of the movie of Ocean Men I see that Umberto Pelizzari is training with monks from China and he inhales and reduces his waist to a degree that the monk inserts his fist inside him. what is the name of that technique and what benefit there is for the freediver? :duh

Roberto
New York
 
I think maybe you are talking about one of the bandhas (locks) called Uddyana - where you exhale then draw the abdomen in and upward. Not sure - but that is what it sounds like. Do a search here on pranayama and you'll find many posts. Eric Fattah has done a great deal of work with this and Qigong in relation to freediving - and has posted some of his observations here.

I recommend getting some good instruction in these practices. They are quite difficult to learn properly from video or books. What suffers most it individual adaptive changes in the practice, and proper monitoring of effects - which you can do youself once you have the sensitivity - but it is very helpful to have a teacher.
 
Last edited:
Hi Roberto,
i cant answer to your second question, but i may can help you with your first...
I`m not sure that a pranayama book exists for freediver use only, but i bought a book which leads into the technique of pranayama and the excercises have a good explanation... You start with easy excercises and they became more special, it has a training plan - that you can be sure, that you do nothing wrong...
It is a Yoga book and not specially for freediving!

Light on Pranayama of B.K.S. Iyengar

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0824506863/qid=1100887109/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-9091191-4734362"]Amazon.com: Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing (9780824506865): B. K. S. Iyengar, Yehudi Menuhin: Books[/ame]

Visit the amazon homepage to read some reviews....

But i can tell you it is pretty hard to do :)
May you dont have to do all the excercises and you dont have to follow the training plan for making your breathing tecnique better, but if you really want to be a real Yoga dude you should.... if this is the case, i`ve been told to start with asana....

I hope i was able to help you and you did understand my english... :)
Good Luck
Mat
 
That is right - normally there is a progression from asana to pranayam to deeper practices. The reasons for the asana to pranayam progression are quite practical - but alot depends on the individual. I also agree Iyengar's book is very thorough and methodical. Pranayama is a wonderful practice.
 
As well, many cities these days have many Yoga studios, which will include Pranayama in the instruction. You can usually find studios that charge on a per class basis, monthly, or yearly. Sometimes the first class is free. It may be wise if you are seriously interested, to have somebody to critique your technique. Going to a couple weeks of classes day after day, can really help.

Cheers
 
this book is good:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0878771832/qid=1100893919/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-8087934-0101564?v=glance&s=books&n=507846"]Amazon.com: The Breath of Life: Mastering the Breathing Techniques of Pranayama and Qi Gong (9780878771837): George Ellis: Books[/ame]

The Breath of Life: Mastering the Breathig Techniqes of Pranayama and Qi Gong
by George Ellis

it's not as advanced as the Iyengar book. i bought it out of curiosity more than anything and have since sold on my copy. it's good if you want to learn about basic pranayama and qi gong, but don't expect it to make you a better freediver! :)
 
Wow guys thanks a lot!! I will take a look at both books. The first one I see has very good recomendations and the last looks interesting because talks about Chi gong and pranayama. I don't know about you guys but I've been practicing for 7 months Chi gong and I am a better freediver and a better individual; feelig more in control with myself and my sorroundings. I also was kind of addcited to mild stimulants like coffee, but with a session know of chi gong I don't need coffee and freedive with a lot of energy and focus.

So I plan to implement a little bit of pranayama with my chi gong practice just to see the effects on my freediving and myself. Eric recomends a book fir chi kung called the Way of energy from master Lam kam chuen and it is very easy to follow and you feel and see the results. I've bought other books of chi gong, but for the beginner this is the book I like the most. So I will check out this books and I'll let you know!!!

Roberto Zuniga
 
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