Can Pranayama (breathing), Marma (vital point therapy), Dhyana (meditation), and Satvavajaya Chikitsa (psychotherapy) be used in yoga practices as an adjunct therapy in rogi Ayurvedic care? Yes! Collaborating with Anisha Durve, Dhanada Kulkarni, Robert Schneider and Lissa Coffey at the 15th annual NAMA conference in California was a real honor.
After much discussion at the conference of the gut-brain connection, we examined the lung-brain link — neuropulmonology — and how regulation of breath can improve vital functions like memory. In Pranayama, we “empty ourselves of form and transcend duality,” says Rama Vernon. By bringing forth a Sattvic mind for any Dosha, we can purify the subtle inner pathways. When we use Pranayama to tap into a third type of memory described by Patanjali as “supernormal” memory, we remember our oneness with all of creation. To learn more about how Pranayama can bring for the eternal cosmic vibration in yourself, see Rama’s new translation of the Yoga Sutras, Chapter 2 — in print and now available!