The Incredible Benefits of Tibetan Pranayama and How To Do It

The Tibetan yogis say that when one nostril is blocked, it is related to the reduced functioning of that side of the brain. After doing 9 rounds of Tibetan Pranayama, you can unblock the nostrils and rebalance the two hemispheres of the brain, restoring full function. It can also improve your overall physical health, help recover from nervous disorders and prolong your life; Lama Yeshe further says:

“You can scientifically measure how many times you inhale and exhale per day. Buddhism has also calculated this. If you train yourself in breathing meditation and practice breathing in and out slowly every day, you can prolong your life. If air enters your nervous system in a disrupted way, it can disturb your mind. You should breathe slowly, steadily, naturally and fully, like a reliable old clock ticking away.

Although physical and mental health are important effects of this training, they are not the main focus of Buddhist yogis. In the context of Mahayana Buddhism, once your mind is calm and focused, you can penetrate deeply into the nature of yourself and uncover and fully connect with your enlightened nature to free yourself from all mental and emotional dysfunction and become fully realize that there is great love and intuitive wisdom. of the greatest benefit to yourself and all other beings.

Pranayama is more commonly associated with the Hindu yoga traditions and because of its remarkable ability to heal and focus the mind, it is widely used by yoga teachers around the world. I can testify that this little known Tibetan technique has worked for me. I first learned it about ten years ago when I was studying the Tibetan Buddhist system full-time and I have usually only used it when my mind has been severely disturbed, as a powerful way to relax and concentrate, but because of its benefits to health and the ability to focus the mind I now use it regularly for a session which I have found has improved my calm mind and sense of well-being. I also noticed that when I introduced it to my meditation group, everyone had great experiences and was able to follow along and go deep into what meditation techniques I would lead them to next.

Another reason for the incredible benefits of this practice is that it attracts prana, chi, or life force energy. This is a universal energy available to all of us that has healing properties and also brings vitality and strength, literally the force that animates all things. This energy is a subtle energy that flows through all things and is a life force that can be depleted when we are ill or suffering mentally or emotionally. You can often feel like you have no energy left or little vitality. This is a perfect time to practice 9 round breathing
to breathe new life into yourself.

I haven’t written about Tibetan Pranayama yet because I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to describe and teach it in writing, but I assure you it’s an easy technique once you remember it, so bear with me, read one below number of times carefully and above all put it into practice and try it while reading it. This exercise uses similar visualizations of the subtle energy channels and leads beautifully into another breathing exercise called Tummo or Inner Fire meditation. If you like this exercise, I would highly recommend Tummo. As my Tibetan Buddhist teacher Geshe Tashi Tsering used to say: Buddhist teachings are like medicine and like medicine, if it just sits on the shelf and is not used, it won’t do you any good, you have to try it.

How to practice Tibetan Pranayama (9 rounds of breathing)

1) First adopt a good meditation posture. It is important to sit very upright during this meditation, as the subtle energy channels that run along either side of the spine are an essential feature of this practice. In short, good posture is aligned and straight, but also comfortable and relaxed, which actually reflects the state of mind you are trying to achieve: relaxed and focused.

2) Take a few long, slow breaths: As you inhale, sit upright, as if you were being pulled up by the crown, and as you exhale, subtly relax the shoulders, face and hands, but maintain good alignment.

3) Visualize yourself as hollow, like a balloon. Your skin radiates and glows and on the inside there is only empty space. Take a moment to powerfully create this visualization.

4) Visualize a ‘central canal’ about 1cm thick from your perineum at the base to the crown of your head and two ‘side canals’ going in through the nostrils up to the third eye or eyebrow level and then out on either side go downstairs. the central canal joins just below the navel. All ‘channels’ are hollow, just like drain pipes. Take a moment to create this visualization; with practice it becomes easier and even instantaneous. See image.

5) Now gently bring your hand to your face and press the outside of your LEFT NOSE STRINK to block it. Breathe in long, deeply, and smoothly through the RIGHT NOstril, imagining that you are drawing universal white healing light through the RIGHT channel and down into the abdomen. See image

6) Hold the breath briefly in the central channel just below the navel (see picture) and then BLOCK the RIGHT nostril and allow the air to go up through the LEFT channel and out the LEFT nostril. Imagine black smoke representing all negativity, illness and blockages coming out through the left nostril.

7) Repeat this 2 more times

8) Now do the opposite by INHALING THROUGH THE LEFT and EXHALTING THROUGH THE RIGHT nostril with the same visualizations. Do this 3 times.

9) For the final round of breathing, do not block any nostrils, but simply take a long, slow breath through both nostrils, imagining white light filling the channels up to the navel and then release the breath through both nostrils, releasing dark smoke is dispelled which represents negativity.

KEEP IN MIND THAT:
That’s a full 9-round cycle and is actually an advanced version that is rarely taught to beginners. I wanted to include it here to give everyone a chance to experiment with it.

An easier beginners practice
is to simply breathe without the visualization.

*In short, the beginners exercise is: Inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the LEFT nostril – do this 3 times. And then IN through the LEFT NOstril and out through the RIGHT NOstril – do that 3 times. And then in through BOTH NOstrils and out through BOTH NOstrils – do that 3 times. In total that is 9 rounds of breathing and that is the practice of Tibetan Pranayama 9 rounds of breathing.

Tip1:
When you focus all your concentration on the breath, try to get the feeling that your attention or mind is literally riding on top of the breath. As if you float on the breath and stay with it all the way, so that your breath and your attention become one.

Tip2:
Your breath should be visualized as white light, this is to realize the prana aspect of the practice. Your breath is not just air or oxygen, it is the vital life force of yourself and of all things.

As always, experiment, adapt, and follow your own intuitive wisdom. After doing this meditation, I recommend sitting quietly and fully feeling and sensing your body for at least a few minutes and feeling the difference and vitality in your body. I usually do this for two full rounds before meditating with my usual daily routine watching my breath and just being
see here for full instructions on how I meditate.

Good luck, feel free to ask questions, share experiences or comment below.

Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation and has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who lived in a retreat hut for six years and studied and practiced meditation full-time. He now has over twenty years of experience teaching meditation. Chad likes regularly
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Online meditation coachingprovides three online programs – The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to gradually guide people from the basic principles of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of consciousness.
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The bliss of inner fire This is a Buddhist tantric method to clear energy blockages and connect with the clear light of bliss. You can also get Chad’s free ebook now Insights on the go.