Small pranayamas aren’t very typical for yoga and aren’t used by all Schools. Legend has it that small pranayamas were found by one of the Teachers in an old library. However small because pranayamas aren’t mentioned in the original yoga sources I know, I suppose they were taken from another system. Because of their Manipura martial character, most probably they come from martial arts schools, which were in abundance presented in India. Doing small pranayamas you should pay attention to the following three clues.
1. Pranayamas should be done with Manipura set-up.
2. Exercises are done at a breath hold. All the particularities of performing Kumbhaka (as indicated above) should be taken into ac-count.
3. Arms in pranayamas 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 should be straight in elbows, shoulders down. This pose drives energy to Anahata. Otherwise exercises lose the most of its effect (see warming-up in the chapter «First steps in hatha-yoga»).
Pranayama № 1 (tree) #
Starting position. Standing, feet together, hands down long the body.
Technique. With the full yoga inhalation raise your arms by sides to joint your hands above the head. Elbows should be straight, all the body stretched from the tips of fingers to toes. Do Kumbhaka. Exhaling, put your hands down in the reverse order. Inhalation should be as long as exhalation.
Pranayama № 2 (skier) #
Starting position. Standing, feet together, hands down long the body.
Technique. With a full yoga inhalation, raise your straight arms before yourself, hands clenched in wrists. With Kumbhaka do some energetic flap motions by your arms going up and down to the highest degree. They should move synchronously, parallel to each other. Avoid folding your elbows (typical for breached Anahata). As soon as the breath-hold becomes uncomfortable, return your arms in the position parallel to the floor and do the «kha» exhalation. Put your arms down.
Pranayama № 3 (mill) #
Starting position. Standing, feet together, hands down long the body.
Technique. With the full yoga inhalation raise the straight arms before yourself, the middle and the index fingers pressed by the thumb, little finger and the ring finger straight. Do Kumbhaka. One arm goes backwards (to make the angle between hands 180º). Synchronously rotate your arms by the shoulder joint (keeping clavicles still). End up as in previous exercise.
This pranayama relaxes the shoulder girdle.
Pranayama № 4 #
In this pranayama you should push up from the floor, holding Kumbhaka. Take off the breath-hold, exhaling «kha».
Pranayama № 7 (hammer) #
Starting position. Standing, feet apart, wider than shoulders.
Technique. With the full yoga inhalation raise your straight arms by the sides to join them above the head in a lock. Holding Kumbhaka, rotate your body, rocking more and more the lower back (as al-ways vertebra after vertebra). Having reached the widest amplitude of turning the whole body, gradually diminish the amplitude, stopping rotation from the bottom up. When the rotation is over, exhale with «kha».
Pranayama № 8 #
Starting position. Standing, feet apart, wider than shoulders.
Technique. With the full yoga inhalation raise the straight arms before yourself. Clench the fists and do Kumbhaka. Sharply move your hands apart, «opening» your chest to the full. Join your hands by the wrists before yourself (central position). Leaving one hand before yourself, turn your body back and put another hand behind yourself, the head turned to the back hand (i.e. look back). Come back to the central position. Do the same thing for the other side. Continue the cycle until Kumbhaka is over. Exhale with a «kha».
NOTE. Turn your body just by pivoting your spine. Keep your elbows straight. Motion is energetic with Manipura set-up.
Pranayama № 10 (breathing for steady nerves) #
Starting position. Standing, feet together or slightly apart.
Technique. Inhale with FYB, raising the arms before yourself till the level of shoulders, palms up. Clench fists, hold your breath and with an effort (as if overcoming the inside resistance) fold your arms in elbows. The same way, with an effort, unfold them. As soon as your arms unfold parallel to the floor, immediately relax them and, relaxed, fold them quickly again. Unfold with an effort. Repeat this cycle several times. Finish exhaling «kha».
In this exercise nerves are steadied by quick changing of tension/relaxation. Indeed, the healthier your nerve system is, the wider your scope of states: from the extreme tension to the extreme relaxation and the rest. The problem person finds it difficult both to relax completely and to strain strongly. Making this scope wider is one of yoga’s goals.
Pranayama № 11 (waking up lung cells) #
Starting position. Standing.
Technique. Inhale with FYB and start striking your chest with tense fingers from bottom up. Holding breath, massage the thorax. Exhaling, repeat the striking. This pranayama intensifies the blood flow in lung alveolus, improving respiratory metabolism and make the phlegm cough out. That’s is why after this pranayama you should cough. It also relaxes thorax muscles.
Variation. Striking is done more intensively — with fists. Exhaling, hum with the open mouth. This variation of pranayama helps «to open» vocal resonators.