Surya Pranayama Rejuvenation Method
ANCIENT PRACTICES, MODERN SCIENCE
Surya Pranayama is a set of specific breathing practices designed to rejuvenate the physical body and uplift one’s energy.
SP is based on traditional Yogic Pranayamas and Kriyas combined with modern scientific understanding of how oxygen and carbon dioxide moderate health and aging.
Common benefits:
- reduction in anxiety, insomnia, stress, and panic attacks
- improved digestive function
- reduction in sleep apnea episodes and asthma
- anti-aging of internal organs, facial skin, and cranium
More specifically, these techniques have the following effects on different body systems:
Nervous system. Inducing the relaxation response.
Endocrine system. Stimulating the pituitary gland and reducing cortisol levels.
Cardiovascular system. Lowering the heart rate, and improving heart rate variability.
Circulatory system. Optimizing blood flow to the lungs, cranium, brain, facial skin and scalp.
Digestive system. Toning the smooth muscles of internal organs.
Respiratory system. Strengthening and cleansing the lungs, dilating the bronchial tubes and helping distribute blood flow through the lungs, as well as increasing lung capacity by mobilizing the ribcage.
Immune system. Promoting an overall state of well-being and mental peace.
Additionally, practitioners are able to raise their subtle energy (Prana) to assist with meditative states.
In ancient times, these practices were taught only to a select few initiated students, always in person under the careful supervision of a master Pranayama teacher, and never through a book, or a video.
I believe these practices can be considered a "Fountain of Youth."
However, in the modern fast-paced world, students do not have time for a practice that has to be done daily to achieve results. People want a magic pill. These exercises are magic, but they are not one and done. They will only work if you practice them every day.
I often think of them in a similar way as brushing teeth. It has to be done every day. This is the internal organ hygiene - "brushing and rinsing" of the internal organs.
Surya Pranayama contains the following 9 techniques:
1. Savor the Breath (Easy Box Breathing)
2. Pumps (Internal Pressure and Vacuum)
3. Agni Rising (Yoga of Inner Fire, aka Tummo, aka Agnisar Dhauti)
4. Uddhyana Prana
5. Amrita Brahmari (Nectar of Immortality)
6. One-Minute Breath (aka Advanced Box Breathing of the ratio of 12-12-24-12)
7. Nadi Suddhi. Alternate Nostril Breath combined with One-Minute Breath
8. Bastrika - Bahia Kumbhaka
9. Monk Breath meditation (aka "the breathless state").
Each exercise is mastered with practice. The order of the exercises may be changed to suit needs and abilities.
Slava has been practicing yoga for over two decades and teaching yoga therapy, Vedanta philosophy, and healing arts since 2002.
Slava is a certified Buteyko Breathing Method instructor. He is proficient in multiple styles of breathwork and has extensive training in clinical applications of yoga and breathwork to specific conditions such as anxiety, asthma, sleep apnea, and hypertension.