Roshi's Raw Lifestyle » yoga

sheetali pranayama

rishi — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:17:57 +0000

Sheetali pranayama is a breathing technique to reduce heat in the body. It is often referred to as the “Cooling Breath”. Using the cooling tendencies of the tongue, sheetali pranayama only allows cool, relaxed breaths to enter the body. These breaths have the effect of lowering the temperature of the body, as well as cooling the mind. People with disorders resulting from excess heat in the body/mind, such as high blood pressure, acidity, or ulcers will benefit greatly from the daily practice of this pranayama. Remember, since this technique is very cooling to the body, it is preferrable to practice it in warm weather compared to cold weather.

For further reading, check out these links:
http://yogashaastra.blogspot.com/2008/05/beat-heat-with-sheetali-sheetkari.html
http://www.healthandyoga.com/HTML/news/sheetali.html
http://living.oneindia.in/yoga-spirituality/yoga/sheetali-surya-bhedan-pranayama.html

–Rishi

series of pranayama videos

rishi — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:25:43 +0000

Since I got back from India, I’ve been wanting to do a series of videos on pranayama, since most of the videos I found that actually explained the techniques well were in Hindi. Now that I finally have some free time, I’m going to really get these started. I’ll try to make these as easy to follow and as full of useful information as possible. I won’t go into too much detail, however, because there is a lot of supplemental info about pranayama all over the web.

So here they are, the first two videos in our series on pranayama:

Pranayama – Part 1: Introduction

Pranayama – Part 2: How to Sit

If you have any comments or questions about the videos, please leave them below.

I hope you enjoy these!

–Rishi

practicing kavala graha (oil pulling): how-to and benefits

rishi — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:52:04 +0000

While staying at an ashram near Bangalore in India, I was introduced for the second time to the Ayurvedic practice of kavala graha, commonly known in English as oil pulling. Ro had first told me about kavala graha when he came back from a 6 month study abroad trip in India 3 years ago. Practicing kavala graha daily, Ro was able to get rid of small bumps he used to have on his skin within a few weeks; a problem he had for nearly 10 years. At the time, my skin was quite clear (I eliminated refined sugars and starches from my diet in 2001), so I didn’t try kavala graha myself.

However, while I was attending a yoga training program in the ashram, I was made to practice oil pulling every morning. All I have to say is wow! Within two weeks I found my skin was the softest it had been since I was a child. A bleeding problem I had with one spot in my gums also dissappeared, along with sensitivity in one of my molars. After getting such great results I knew this was something I had to share with everyone I knew.

What you need:

- A bottle of cold pressed sesame or sunflower oil (preferable sesame)
- A tablespoon

How to do it:
As soon as you wake up, place around one tablespoon of oil into your mouth. Keep your jaw closed and relaxed, and push the oil through your teeth with your tongue. Bring the oil back inside your teeth using your cheeks. Keep repeating this process. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the oils thick consistency will change to become much thinner and watery. At this point, spit the oil out of your mouth into a sink. If the oil is watery and whitish in color, you did it correctly. Quickly rinse out your mouth with water several times. And your done!

Important Notes:

- Oil pulling should be done BEFORE brushing
- Oil pulling should be done on an empty stomach
- Try not to swallow any of the oil

Benefits:

- Removal of toxins from the digestive system
- Clearer skin
- Whiter teeth
- Healthier gums
- Better overall Health

If you decide to try kavala graha out, tell us! We’d love to hear whether it worked for you or not and share the results with everyone else.

Also, I’ll be posting an instructional video for this post later this week.

–Rishi

I practice kavala graha everyday with Raw Coconut Oil. It does wonders for the hair and skin. Basically, you can do this with any raw and cold-pressed oil.

–Rohit