Are there any dangers associated with doing advanced pranayama exercises?
Yes, there can be, especially for people who don’t already breathe naturally, who carry a great deal of tension in their chests, backs, and bellies. People who practice pranayama exercises without good teachers or much experience can easily hurt their diaphragms and other breathing muscles. They can also cause imbalances in their internal chemistry. For most people, one of the main keys to transforming one’s breathing in a safe and effective way has to do with gradually relaxing and opening up all the breathing structures of the body–with releasing unnecessary tension–so that the body is free to breathe in the way it was designed to breathe, with harmonious coordination among the various breathing muscles and tissues. In general, this process requires deep relaxation, not willful effort. It also requires inner sensitivity and awareness, a more direct contact with our sensations. “The great spiritual pathfinder G. I. Gurdjieff … warned that without complete knowledge of our organism
Yes, there can be, especially for people who don’t already breathe naturally, who carry a great deal of tension in their chests, backs, and bellies. People who practice pranayama exercises without good teachers or much experience can easily hurt their diaphragms and other breathing muscles. They can also cause imbalances in their internal chemistry. For most people, one of the main keys to transforming one’s breathing in a safe and effective way has to do with gradually relaxing and opening up all the breathing structures of the body–with releasing unnecessary tension–so that the body is free to breathe in the way it was designed to breathe, with harmonious coordination among the various breathing muscles and tissues. In general, this process requires deep relaxation, not willful effort. It also requires inner sensitivity and awareness, a more direct contact with our sensations. “The great spiritual pathfinder G. I. Gurdjieff … warned that without complete knowledge of our organism
