Sudarshan Kriya

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Sudarshan Kriya (Sanskrit: su = right, darshan = vision, kriya means purifying action)[1] 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.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India has conducted some studies on Sudarshana Kriya, and found that it reduces anxiety and depression significantly.[1]

Sudarshana Kriya has been found effective for trauma relief under some circumstances. [2]

Process:

This kriya, as done at the Art of Living workshops, involves regulating one's breath to the sounds of So-hum ('So' for inhale and 'hum' for exhale)coming from the tape recorder in Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's voice. The entire kriya involves multiple rounds with each round having long, medium and short inhalation and exhalations with varying rhythms and intensities.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has described the working of the Sudarshan Kriya thus:

"There is a rhythm in nature. Seasons come and go. In your own body also, there is a rhythm. Life has a particular rhythm. Similarly, your breath also goes in a pattern. Your emotions move in a particular rhythm, as well as your thoughts. All these rhythms arise from your being, which has its own rhythm.
"In Sudarshan Kriya, we get into the rhythm of our being and see how our being is permeating our emotions, our thoughts, our breath and our bodies. Soon, every cell of our body becomes alive and releases all the toxins and negative emotions it has stored from times past. Once again, we are able to smile from our hearts."

Sudarshan Kriya is accompanied by certain other breathing techniques like Ujjayi Pranayama and the Bhastrika Pranayama, which proponents claim help in quelling the turmoil of the mind. According to Sri Sri 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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b http://www.aolresearch.org/pdf/EEG%20during%20SKY.M%20Bhatia.pdf
  2. ^ Trauma Relief

[edit] External links : Sudarshan Kriya

  • [http://www.yjmag.com/views/738.cfm Sudarshan Kriya : The kriya requires breathing in and out through your nose in circular breaths without pausing in between the inhalation and the exhalation. During the retreat, this lasts about 25 minutes and is done in time with the tape of Shankar. The at-home instructions are to start with 20 long and slow in-out breaths, followed by 40 medium-length breaths and 40 small, fast ones.This 20-40-40 is done three times and lasts a total of seven to nine minutes. After that, you let the breath do what it wants for one minute and then finish with five long, slow "so-hums." We were told to allow our thoughts and emotions to flow, to deny nothing. After about 25 minutes, the breathing over, we were told to lie on our backs and then our right sides—which felt excellent. What descended then was the quiet empty space that meditation can bring. It was nice. Calm.

and Thomas E. Van Cantfort, PhD : Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC