Lesson 49 - Pranayama Q&A – Perspiration

From: Yogani
Date: Tue Dec 16, 2003 0:35pm

New Members: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the
archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first
lesson is, "Why This Discussion?"

Q: Pranayama before meditation is great. I can really tell the
difference since we started pranayama. When I am doing spinal
breathing, I feel like I am really sinking my teeth into something.
After I breathe slowly for ten minutes, I am sometimes covered with
perspiration. I don't get out of breath or hot or anything. My heart
rate doesn't go up. I am just sweating like crazy. Is this a normal
experience?

A: Yes, it is normal. It is a good thing. It is a direct symptom of
purification going on in your nervous system as prana flows through
in increasing amounts. You are not doing aerobic exercise, or anything
physical that would cause such perspiration. It is the internal
exercise of prana moving on the nerves that is driving the
perspiration out through your body, carrying impurities with it.

The sweating will not last forever. Gradually, as the body becomes
more purified, the perspiration will become less. Other experiences
will be coming up that indicate purification also. These will be more
subjective, internal sensory experiences. With pranayama, we begin
with the physical and work our way inward, opening and enlivening the
spinal nerve as the master control of the whole nervous system. With
meditation, we dive completely beyond the mind and body and work our
way outward as pure bliss consciousness. With these two approaches,
we have the deep obstructions surrounded and are flushing them out in
large quantities. Sometimes we can actually see it happening with our
eyes. Hence the perspiration.

If discomfort, restlessness or irritability accompany the
purification process, make sure to take an appropriate amount of time
to rest when coming out at the end of meditation. The importance of
adequate rest at the end of practice was covered in the meditation
Q&As. Usually, pranayama will not lead to discomfort in meditation.
It almost always has a calming and deepening effect. But anything is
possible as the body is being purified, so be mindful about following
the guidelines for dealing with the uncomfortable experiences that
can come up from time to time. It is all the process of purification,
and we each will experience it in different ways. So it is important
that we each supervise our own practice. We should know our
strengths, and take advantage of them. We should also know our
limits, and work within them.

As a practical matter, if you are soaking wet at the end of
pranayama, take a few minutes to dry off before meditating. Change
your clothes if it helps you be more comfortable. It is not necessary
to meditate in a puddle of your perspiration. But do not delay the
start of meditation for more than a few minutes after completing
pranayama. We want to carry the effects of pranayama into our
meditation.

The guru is in you.

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