Last week we talked about how specific asanas in yoga can help enhance your trekking experience. This week we will focus on pranayama and meditation techniques that will help you with your breathing during a trek and keep you in the right frame of mind. Upassna Singh, a Life Coach, an avid trekking enthusiast and a Yoga Instructor from the Ashtang School of Yoga and yours truly have put together Pranayama and meditation routines that are specially designed for trekkers and will help transcend your trekking experience.
What is Pranayama?
Prana literally means life force and Ayam means control. This life force when regulated through the act of breathing is called Pranayama. Pranayama provides a number of benefits to the body and is an essential component of yoga along with Asanas. Daily stresses and strains can impact our body and the ability to breathe in the right manner. We then tend to breathe in a shallow manner and this can result in physical and mental ailment . We can notice that our breathing is linked to our emotional state of mind. When we are agitated or upset, we tend to breathe in a more shallow irregular manner and this can impact our mind and body. But if we consciously focus on our breathing and take in deep slow breaths, our body and mind tend to calm down and we are able to consciously deal with any problem in a calm and rational manner.
How does Prananyama help with trekking?
Pranayama is a very important for trekking as it not only helps prepare and strengthen your respiratory system, but also your cardiovascular and your nervous system. Pranayama improves blood circulation, increases oxygenation and builds lung capacity. Proper breathing techniques can enhance stamina and endurance and can help you preserve energy. It can also be most effective for high altitude treks where oxygen levels are low and you need to take slow, deep and steady breaths that will help you take in more air into your lungs. Pranayama also helps keep you in a calm and steady state of mind that is most important for a trek.
What are the various Pranayama techniques that can help change the way I trek?
Om is a Sanskrit word and an ancient mantra often used in the practices of Hinduism and Buddhism. Om Chanting is a practice that energises our mind and body. It can be chanted aloud or silently. It releases strength and helps enhance your focus and concentration. It is the starting point for any yoga practice and is generally chanted three times in a row and is also used at the end of a yoga session. It is done in a slow and steady fashion. It can also be used as a meditative technique in itself and can be chanted 108 times as a daily practice to experience stillness and infuse you with energy and power. A trekking journey preceded by Om chanting can prepare you to handle the challenges with a calm and collected mind.
Anulom Vilom is one of the key Pranayamas used in yoga practice. In this, the first word Anu roughly translates as ‘with’ and word Loma means hair implying “with the grain” or “natural”. The meaning of Viloma is “against the grain.” Anuloma is the opposite of Viloma. It is an alternate nostril breathing technique and provides immense benefits for those with respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis etc. It boosts your immune system and is very good for your heart and lungs. It can also serve as a mood enhancer and help with mental health conditions. Morning is the best time to practice Anulom Vilom and to begin with, it can be done for five rounds. Do ensure that the time used for inhalation and exhalation remains the same and is constant.
Kapalbhati literally translates into ‘the shining forehead,’ and this indicates that this Pranayama makes your forehead glow not only from the outsides but refines and sharpens your intellect and thought process on the inside. It is a rapid, forceful breathing technique that detoxifies the vital organs of the body and has a number of benefits including improving circulation, aiding digestion, energising the nervous system and calming the mind. Beginners could start by doing three rounds each of around ten breaths. It can be gradually increased to 30 to 40 counts per round over a period of time.
Ujjayi breathing is another common Pranayama technique that allows you to relax the mind. Ujjayi is commonly translated as “victorious breath,” or “oceanic breath,” and helps synchronize breath and body. It helps with increased oxygenation, regulates blood pressure and increases self awareness. Practising Ujjayi breath helps reduce wear and tear in the body and is regularly used by runners and other athletes to work on their respiratory system. Ujjayi breath will require practice before you master it, but can provide immense benefits before and during trekking.
What is Meditation and how can it help you with trekking?
Meditation or Dhyana exists as a practice within the yoga tradition and in combination with asanas and pranayamas can provide immense benefits to the mind and body. Upassna describes meditation and its benefits beautifully when she says “Meditation helps you keep that equanimity of mind in all situations. It brings about awareness , mindfulness, and clarity of thought . Being present to the breath , brings presence to the thought , which further brings presence to the beliefs and leads to the awareness of your actions. Meditation puts you firmly in the now and present and helps you focus on key issues which need your attention , so that you are able to take the right action to create the experience you want to experience when you plan a trek.”
There are many types of meditation in yoga, but a most common form of meditation that can be practised even by beginners is Yoga Nidra.
Nidra means ‘sleep’ but Yoganidra is to “sleep consciously”. It can generally be done as a culmination to your yoga session and helps to recharge and creates a sense of complete relaxation and calmness within you. Yoga Nidra causes a state of deep physical and mental relaxation, and can enable you to connect to the subconscious and attain higher levels of consciousness. It is a guided form of meditation that can take about 30 to 45 minutes and can be done by anyone. You follow the voice of the instructor, as he or she takes you through a process which enables you to relax every part of your body and provides a profound level of relaxation and rest. A yoga Nidra session after a trek can also help you to reflect on and learn from the trekking experiences of the day, revitalise and energise the body and find inner balance and harmony in a beautiful setting surrounded by mountains.
For many trekkers, the trek in itself and putting one step in front of the other, is a form of meditation. Away from your jobs and the pull and push of life, it provides you a space where you can contemplate and reflect on issues and challenges facing you, in a calm and rational manner. Trekking is not meant to be a race, and walking at an unhurried pace, focusing on the trail ahead and its challenges, and admiring the unfolding scenery ahead of you is meditative and can bring about changes in mind and body.
Here are a few precautions to take before you start on Pranayama and Meditation
- Consult a medical expert before you begin practising pranayama or meditation, as it may not be advisable for certain medical conditions.
- Work with a yoga instructor and expert to ensure that you are practising Pranayama and meditation techniques in the right manner
- Always practise Pranayama and meditation on an empty stomach, or atleast three or four hours after a meal.
- Do not pursue Pranayama or meditation when you are in a hurry or do not have the required time
- Do not engage in Pranayama or meditation if you are not feeling well or have tiredness or are experiencing discomfort.
- Practise pranayama by sitting in a pose that is comfortable for you. Poses like Padmasana (lotus pose) may not be comfortable for all. It could be done sitting in Vajrasana ( thunderbolt pose) or Sukasana (foundational seated pose).
I do hope you will practise the asanas from Part 1 and the pranayama and meditation from Part 2 to engage in a complete and holistic yoga practise. This along with other forms of exercise will prepare you adequately for a trek. If you enjoyed my blog post, do share and comment. My post next week will focus on the right kind of clothing for a trek.
No comments:
Post a Comment