Pranayama by Swami Ramdev

Swami Ramdev (born 1974) is an iconic figure who has rejuvinated interest in Yoga and Pranayama among the Indian masses. His 2-Part DVD on Yoga and Pranayama is very popular. For readers unfamiliar with the term, a nice article: What is Pranayama?

Videos by Swami Ramdev

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The videos below are in Hindi. YouTube Playlist of Pranayama Videos in English is available. The instructions in Hindi videos are more vivid (how to breathe, what to think, where to focus, what benefits to expect) and more spiritual. For full-screen mode, click on the video itself — that would take you to YouTube website — then click on the bottom right icon for full-screen.

Part 1 — Introduction and Bhastrika (9:58):

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Part 2 — Kapalbhati (9:47):

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Part 3 — Baharya (6:39):

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Part 4 — Anulom-Vilom (9:34):

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Part 5 — Bhramari (9:00):

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Part 6 — Udgeet (9:11):

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Part 7 — Ujjayi (7:52):

Timing and Duration

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Guidelines from Timing and Duration of Pranayamas (maintained by http://www.ramdevyoga.net/, the official website for Swami Ramdev), copied verbatim:

1. Bhastrika Pranayam: 5 Minutes, can take breaks if needed.

2. KapalBhati Pranayam: 10 Minutes for a Healthy Person who want to keep their body organs healthy, 15 to 30 Minutes to cure body problems. 30 to 60 Minutes to loose weight. Tip: 5 Minutes of continues Kapalbhati is needed to cure problems.

3. Baharya Pranayam: 3 times to 5 times normally. max upto 11 times. and extremely max upto 21 times (in winters).

4. Anulom Vilom Pranayam: 5 to 10 Minutes for a Health Person who want to keep their body organs healthy, 15 to 30 Minutes to cure body problems. For cancer patients, kidneys patients, lever patients: 30 to 40 Minutes for rapid effect. 2 times a day in morning before breakfast in evening before dinner.

5. Bhramri Pranayam : 10 to 20 Times works good for brain, to relieve stress, depression.

6. Udgeeth Pranayam: 10 to 20 normally, it is meditation also if you like you can do it as long as you want. Short temper people should do it more often it will calms down their nerves and temper.

Books and Articles

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The classic reference for Pranayama is Chapter II of Hatha Yoga Pradipika, originally written in the 15th century AD.

The best-known modern reference is The Light On Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing (294 pages, 1985) by B K S Iyengar (born 1918). The book emphasizes that Pranayama can be dangerous — it must be done under the guidance of an experienced teacher, and only after one has sufficient practice with Yoga (which prepares the body for Pranayama). Check out B K S Iyengar practicing in 1938 (silent films): Part I and Part II. And see him practicing in 1991.

The Science of Pranayama by Sri Swami Sivananda (First Edition in 1935, Freely available on the web since 2000).

High quality articles are available at Yoga Vidya Dham (Nasik, India) Website on Kapalbhati — Tribandha — Anulom-Vilom I — Anulom-Vilom II — Bhramari — Ujjayi.

The Himalayan Institute has some articles: Kapalbhati Pranayama and How to Perfect Kapalbhati

Teachers in Silicon Valley, California

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Ramanand Patel is a disciple of B K S Iyengar and Dayanand Saraswati. He is known as the ‘Teacher of Teachers’ in Silicon Valley because he has trained numerous Iyengar Yoga teachers who have opened myriad Yoga studios here. Ramanand Patel is closely associated with Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco.

Art of Living Foundation (AoL) by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar runs stress reduction programs worldwide. The main technique taught in the introductory AoL course is Sudarshan Kriya, which is a sequence of Pranayamas to be practiced about 30 minutes every day.

Mt Madonna in Watsonville was established in early 1970s by Baba Hari Dass. The center teaches according to the 8-step Ashtanga Yoga as outlined by Patanjali — Pranayama is the fourth limb out of eight.

Vasanthi Bhat teaches Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation in San Jose. She has been teaching for 25+ years.