Pranayama's miraculous powers have been verified not just by ancient experts but also by more contemporary ones.
- Pranayama eliminates karmas, according to Swami Niranjanananda, and Yogeshwaranand Paramahamsa, founder of Yoga Niketan, agrees that concentrating on the heart lotus in kumbhaka destroys karma from past incarnations.
- The great yogi Nathamuni predicted the present trend, in which yoga is limited to the execution of asanas.
- He distinguishes between those who practice just asana and those who follow the full Ashtanga Yoga path in his Yoga Rahasya, which was passed down via T. Krishnamacharya.
- The sage sought to make it clear that practicing just postures was not part of Patanjali's conventional eightfold yoga (Ashtanga Yoga). Nathamuni goes on to emphasize the importance of pranayama.
- The founder of modern yoga, T. Krishnamacharya, need little introduction. B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, B.N.S. Iyengar, SrivatsaRamaswami, T.K.V. Desikachar, and A.G. Mohan were his students.
- He said that pranayama was the most essential of the eight limbs and the most effective way to live longer.
- It did so by preventing illnesses, which it accomplished by balancing the body's three doshas (humours).
- Krishnamacharya further claimed that pranayama would lead to the higher limbs of dharana and dhyana, and that dharana would be difficult to achieve without pranayama practice.
- The great instructor also stated in his first book, Yoga Makaranda, published in 1934, that in eight-limbed yoga, one only receives advantages linked to the specific limb that one practices.
- If the practice is limited to only asanas, the sole advantage is a stronger body and better blood circulation.
- Pranayama should be included if one wants to reap the benefits of health and longevity, intellectual strength, clarity, and strength of expression.
- In the same book, Krishnamacharya describes how pranayama allows the yogi to concentrate on and picture the chakras, resulting in a plethora of health advantages.
- He also believes that pranayama is the path to dhyana and samadhi. Sundaradeva, author of the 1000-page Hatha Tatva Kaumudi, backs this up by claiming that pranayama is the most essential Hatha Yoga practice, despite Hatha Yoga not being a distinct type of yoga but the lower limbs of Patanjali's eight-limbed Ashtanga Yoga.
- Swami Ramdev, the founder of India's strong pranayama revolution, has a similar viewpoint, criticizing those who teach Ashtanga Yoga only asanas.
- He argues that postures alone are insufficient to treat severe and chronic illnesses, and that pranayama and traditional ayurvedic medication should be used instead to decrease India's reliance on imported Western pharmaceuticals.
- Swami Ramdev responds to those who discourage students from practicing pranayama by making it seem difficult and unachievable by saying that it is so safe that even toddlers and the elderly may practice it.
- Hatha Yoga (the asana and pranayama portions of the eight-limbed yoga) and Kundalini Yoga (the concentration dimension of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga) are also more essential than ever, according to Swami Ramdev, since there are no more instructors who can provide shaktipat. Shaktipat refers to the power of one's own achievement to reveal mystical states to others.
- According to Swami Ramdev, this power is now extinct, since there are no more gurus of such caliber.
You may also want to read more about Pranayama and Holistic Healing here.
