Dynamics of breathing Flashcards
(36 cards)
What makes the breath such a potent teacher of yoga?
Breathing has dual nature of being both voluntary and autonomic, which is why the breath illuminates the eternal inquiry about what we can control or change and what we cannot. We all face this personal yet universal inquiry at some point if we desire to evolve.
Name the three parts that cells consist of
The cell membrane (solukalvo in Finnish) The nucleus (tuma) The cytoplasm (sytoplasma)
What happens when nutrients penetrate the membrane (solukalvo)?
They are metabolized (aineenvaihdunta) and turned into energy that fuels a cell’s life functions
What is the unavoidable by-product of all metabolic activity and what must happen to it when it’s inside a cell?
Waste - it must get back out through the membrane
What can happen if a cell is unable to let nutrients in or let waste out?
Death by starvation or toxicity
Which yogic concepts relate to the cell function?
Prana and apana
Which yogic concepts relate to the structural properties of the cell membrane and support it?
Sthira and sukha
What does the sanskrit term prana mean?
Prana is derived from pra-, a prefix meaning before, and an, a verb meaning to breathe, to blow and to live. Prana refers to what nourishes a living thing, but it has also come to mean the action that brings the nourishment in. When capitalized, Prana is a more universal term that can be used to designate the manifestation of all creative life force.
What does the sanskrit term apana mean?
Apana is derived from apa, meaning away, off and down. Apana refers to the waste that’s being eliminated as well as the action of elimination.
What do prana and apana encompass together?
They are balancing forces that complement each other. They are also fundamental yogic terms that encompass the essential functions of life on every level, from cell to organism.
What of the structural conditions that have to exist in a cell in order for nutrition to enter and waste to exit?
The function of the cell membrane - a structure that must be just permeable enough to allow material to pass in and out. If the membrane is too permeable (lapaiseva), the cell loses integrity, causing it to either explode from pressures within or implode from pressures without.
What principle balances a cell membrane’s permeability (lapaisevyys)?
Stability
What does the Sanskrit term sthira mean?
Sthira can mean firm, hard, solid, compact, strong, unfluctuating, durable, lasting or permanent.
What does the Sanskrit term sukha mean?
Sukha is composed of two roots: su meaning good and kha meaning space. It means easy, pleasant, agreeable, gentle, and mild. It also refers to a state of well-being, free of obstacles. Sukha also means having a good axle hole, implying a space at the centre that allows function. Like a wheel, a person needs to have good space at his or her centre, or functional connections become impossible.
Give an example of a successful man-made structure that exhibits a balance of sthira and sukha.
A suspension bridge is flexible enough to survive wind and earthquakes, but stable enough to support its load-bearing surfaces.
Explain how prana and apana works in the human body in terms of nourishment and waste.
We take in prana - solid and liquid nourishment at the top of the system. They then enter the alimentary canal and move through the digestive process, and after a lot of twists and turns, move down and out as waste matter. This is the only way waste can go, because the exits are at the bottom. The force of apana must move down to get the waste out.
What other form can prana enter our bodies other than nourishment?
Breathe - gaseous form
Explain how prana and apana works in the human body in terms of breath.
The breath enters at the top where it remains above the diaphragm (pallea) in the lungs, exchanging gases with the capillaries (hiussuonissa) at the alveoli (keuhkorakkulat). The waste gas in the lungs needs to be expelled, but it gets out the same way it came in. The force of apana, when acting on respiratory waste gas, must move up to get out. Apana must be able to operate freely both upwards and downward, depending on what type of waste it acts upon.
In yogic terms what does our breathing bodies have to be in a state of for prana and apana to have a healthy reciprocal relationship in the body?
What state should it not be in?
It should be in - Sukha (Literal translation - good space)
It shouldn’t be in - Dukha (bad space)
What is the sanskrit term DUKHA derived from? What does it mean?
From dus, meaning bad, difficult or hard
And kha, meaning space
Generally translated as suffering, uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant and difficult
Explain how sukha and dukha work together in terms of breath?
Exhalation is an action of removing waste from the system, another practical way of applying this insight is that if we take care of exhalation, the inhalation takes care of itself. If we get rid of the unwanted (dukha), we make room for what is needed (sukha).
What is the most relevant ability the abdominal and thoracic cavities do to breathing?
Change shape - although an important structural difference exists in how they do so
Explain why it is important to keep you abs healthy and strong in terms of breathing.
Because thoracic shape change is inextricably linked to abdominal shape change, you can also say that the abdominal cavity also changes shape (not volume) in three dimensions (up-down, side-to-side, front-back). In a living, breathing body, thoracic shape change cannot occur without abdominal shape change. That is why thecondition of the abdominal region has such an influence on the quality of our breathing and why the quality of our breathing has a powerful effect on the health of our abdominal organs.
When should we inhale and when exhale in yoga postures?
Inhale - spinal extension
Exhale - spinal flexion
