Pranayama
For the Rauto [people of Papua New Guinea] much of the power of magic is thought to be carried on the breath of the magician. When a leading magician begins to age, people will sometimes say that the magician’s breath has gone … or that the breath has lost heat and has become ‘cold’ and ‘light,’ and thus no longer laden with power.”
Thomas Maschio, To Remember the Faces of the Dead: The Plenitude of Memory in Southwestern New Britain, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1994
Pranayama is the fourth limb and like Asana, one of the more well-known. Prana means breath, energy or life force. As we learned earlier, yama means control. In the practice of meditation, the use of breath control is a key to concentration. The meditator uses the techniques of Pranayama to quiet and slow the breath, the breath in turn quiets the mind and the mind then continues to quiet the breath. This practice forms a positive feedback loop. It helps the meditator prepare for later stages of meditation.
Pranayama can help us with our concentration but also help with relaxation, stress reduction and stage fright. Pranayama alone will not cure stage fright. It will help release the nervous energy that tends to build up prior to performance. A great deal of stage fright is due to lack of preparation. Knowing your material increases your confidence and greatly reduces stage fright.
As conjurers, we need to learn to breath fully and deeply. Many seem to forget to breath in practice and performance. I have become concerned for some performers I have watched as they seem to have stopped breathing in a performance.
Your ability to breath fully and deeply is helped by your posture or Asana. This is why Patanjali has Asana as the third limb and Pranayama as the fourth. Sitting of standing with a straight relaxed spine allows the breath or Prana to flow freely.
I use and recommend three techniques: the double breath, the full yogic breath and even count breathing. All are easy to learn and can provide great benefit.
Double Breath:
- Inhale with a “double breath:” a short, sharp inhalation through the nostrils, followed immediately with a longer inhalation ― no exhalation between them.
- As you are inhaling in this manner, tense the body in a wave from the soles of the feet upward to the head beginning with low, then medium, then high tension, lightly vibrating the body for a second or two.
- Then immediately exhale with a double breath (“Huh, haaaaah”) through mouth and nose as you release the tension from high to medium to low to complete relaxation.
- Repeat 3 to 5 times. Pause 10 to 30 seconds after each cycle to check to enjoy the relaxation and consciously release any lingering tension and to feel an increase in relaxation and calm alertness.
The Full Yogic Breath:
- Breathe in slowly, expand the abdomen, then the ribcage, and finally the upper portion of the lungs.
- Breathe out in the same manner, upper portion of the lungs, then the rib cage and finally letting the abdomen cave in as you exhale.
- Repeat 3 to 5 times.
Even Count Breathing:
- Take slow, deep breaths in order to free the blood stream of any excessive build-up of carbon
- Inhale, counting to 6
- Hold, counting to 6
- Exhale, counting to 6
- Repeat 3 to 5 times.
Reflection In Action:
- Select a breathing technique and put it into practice. Has it changed how you feel?
