Is there any better breathing excerise than "Sudarshan Kriya" ?

Question

Sudarshan Kriya is a breathing exercise developed by Shri Shri RaviShankar ji. This is a very powerful breathing exercise.
What other types of powerful known breathing exerises are there like Sudarshan Kriya ?

Answer 1

I think just breathing is a pretty good exercise. I'll stick to that.

Answer 2

Breathing, as many people including the so-called swamijis believe, is not an exercise. It is a natural process that happens without our interference. If we are conscious or unconscious, aware or unaware, if we like it or not, the breathing continues without asking our permission. Then where is the need to make it an exercise?
Following the natural breath gives us enormous energy and supreme consciousness. No breathing exercise can provide us with so much energy as the natural breath. All breathing exercises will only make our mind numb but can not help us to eliminate it and go beyond it. In breathing exercises, the mind is still present. We have to transcend it. Then only the real action starts. Then how to do it?
Our consciousness is observer by nature. So start observing the natural rythm of your breath. To do this, sit on a floor or a chair, cross the legs, clasp the fingers of both hands with one another, close the eyes and the mouth, and start observing the breath that flows in and out of your nostrils. Cut the thoughts whenever they arise and bring back your attention to the natural breath. If the breath is short, let it be. If it is long, let it be. Heavy or shallow, let it be. Don't force the breath in any manner. Just keep on observing the breath as it flows. A time comes when you do not feel any more breathing in your nostrils. You have achived a no-thoughts state. During this time, abundant cosmic energy flows into your body through Brahma Randhra (a place on your head). Be in that state as long as you like. It cleanses your body of all your diseases one by one. Sometimes you may feel bodily pains due to this cleansing process. No problem. Once you get up from this posture, you will not feel it anymore.
Our energy is wasted through five ways: Feet, hands, eyes, speech and thoughts. Thatswhy we should cross our legs, clasp our hands, close our eyes and mouth, and cut the thoughts. Then the cosmic energy received by us will be retained within us.

Answer 3

Developed by Ravishankar is an overstatement.
These kind of statements are only attempts to create a myth around the person.
If you make these self proclaimed swamijis stand in a line, you will find each of their hands in another's pocket.

This breathing was borrowed from Mahesh Yogi where Mr Sri Sri attended a course.

Now coming to the breathing part.
To be aware of your breathing is nothing but to increase your concentration on that.
Continuously doing that will make your mind go numb & you'll enter into a suspended sate of mind
Alternative methods of doing this is using external stimulants, sex, or plain getting beaten up - all these will induce the brain to go numb.

Rhythemically changing the pace of breathing is a new experience which normally a person wouldn't do. This will act like switching channels on TV remote.
Prolonged usage of this will act similarly as that of the remote - you get bored of all the programs inspite of having 200 channels.

Try going thru Patanjali's yoga sutras, to get the background on breathing & let's for once stop getting carried away by quacks

Answer 4

yaar57 has answered well.I do the Sudarshan Kriya. I also found Ramdeo Maharaj's breathing exercises v good. You can see him on any of the numerous TV channels. I have combined these breathing techniques & come out with a breathing exercise which works well for me.

Answer 5

Sudarshan Kriya breathing exercises are an Excellent form of exercise, and an exercise called Mindfulness Meditation {Mindfulness of Breathing exercises) is also. They are Very Similiar to each other !! According to Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD. this meditation enhances the Cognitive areas of the brain, increasing one's intellectual and cognitive abilities, enhances the memory, improves concentration and focus, and helps one clearly see things, people, situations as they really are. This method, which your probably aware of, has been around, and has been effectively practiced for 2,500 years. It has only been greatly practiced in the United States for the last 90 yrs. And even doctors use this method for helping their patients.
For the lay person, it also helps them relax, reduce stress, worry, anxieties, mild depression, Providing them with a stable
Peace of Mind.

Sudarshan Kriya is Most Excellent also.
I encourage you to continue in your practice.

With Metta {Loving-kindness & Friendship).

Answer 6

Sudarshan Kriya is a unique rhythmical breathing process that is said to have been revealed to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar during a spell of silent meditation that he had gone into for 10 days in 1982. The theory is that the kriya allows a healthy and pleasant mind to produce chemical messengers, which travel from the nervous system to the immune system, resulting in the overall betterment of both body and mind.

Ravi Shankar also teaches that besides certain yogic asanas and other processes, sudarshan kriya involves pranayama, which silences inner turmoil. According to Ravi Shankar, through this kriya the mind experiences deep rest. He states that the process also involves the infusion of a maximum amount of oxygen to the cells, which helps in the release of neuropeptides that regularize Abnormal Brain Wave patterns in patients suffering from neural disorders.

Pranayama -

"Pranayama is control of Breath". "Prana" is Breath or bio energy in the body. On subtle levels prana represents the pranic energy responsible for life or life force, and "ayama" means control. So Pranayama is "Control of Breath". One can control the rhythms of pranic energy with pranayama and achieve healthy body and mind.

Five types of prana are responsible for various pranic activities in the body, they are Prana, Apana, Vyan, Udana & Samana. Out of these Prana and Apana are most important. Prana is upward flowing and Apana is downward flowing. Practice of Pranayama achieves the balance in the activities of these pranas, which results in healthy body and mind.

Types Of Pranayama-

Quiet Breathing , Deep Breathing , Fast Breathing
Tribandha and Pranayama
Nadi Shuddhi Pranayama
Ujjayi Pranayama
Bhramari Pranayama
Pranayama from Hatha Yoga (Surya Bhedan, Bhasrika, Ujjayi, Shitali, Sitkari, Bhramari, Murchha & Plavini Pranayama)

Pls, do Pranayama with help of a Guru in the initial stages, so that he can correct if any fault found with.

Answer 7

Why look for something else when you have found out what you want. Practice it and you will be most powerful.

Answer 8

YES- TOIL YOUR BODY IN FARMING TILL YOU ARE OUT OF BEREATH AND THAT IS BETTER THAN ANY OF THE ARTIFICIAL EXERCISES PREACHED BY SO CALLED EXPERTS

Answer 9

The practitioner goes to a secluded place, sitting in the lotus position and holding his body straight. Breathing in, he knows he is breathing in; and breathing out, he knows that he is breathing out.

1) Breathing in a long breath, he knows, 'I am breathing in a long breath.' Breathing out a long breath, he knows, 'I am breathing out a long breath.'

2) Breathing in a short breath, he knows, 'I am breathing in a short breath.' Breathing out a short breath, he knows, 'I am breathing out a short breath.'

3) 'I am breathing in and am aware of my whole body. I am breathing out and am aware of my whole body.'

4) 'I am breathing in and making my whole body calm and at peace. I am breathing out and making my whole body calm and at peace.'

5) 'I am breathing in and feeling joyful. I am breathing out and feeling joyful.'

6) 'I am breathing in and feeling happy. I am breathing out and feeling happy.'

7) 'I am breathing in and am aware of the activities of the mind in me. I am breathing out and am aware of the activities of the mind in me.'

8) 'I am breathing in and making the activities of the mind in me calm and at peace. I am breathing out and making the activities of the mind in me calm and at peace.'

9) 'I am breathing in and am aware of my mind. I am breathing out and am aware of my mind.'

10) 'I am breathing in and making my mind happy and at peace. I am breathing out and making my mind happy and at peace.'

11) 'I am breathing in and concentrating my mind. I am breathing out and concentrating my mind.'

12) 'I am breathing in and liberating my mind. I am breathing out and liberating my mind.'

13) 'I am breathing in and observing the impermanent nature of all dharmas. I am breathing out and observing the impermanent nature of all dharmas.'

14) 'I am breathing in and observing the fading of all dharmas. I am breathing out and observing the fading of all dharmas.'

15) 'I am breathing in and contemplating liberation. I am breathing out and contemplating liberation.'

16) 'I am breathing in and contemplating letting go. I am breathing out and contemplating letting go.'