How much harm does smoking have on the practice of pranayama?

How much harm does smoking have on the practice of pranayama? This question was asked by one of our Facebook friends and received several answers. Do you have any other comments? Jake: one of the worst thing you can do...I will say that pranayama will help to cleans the lungs of smokers so don't stop practicing! Bobby: have been smoking and doing pranayama for 40 yrs. Pranayama seems to cancel the ill effects of smoke. It certainly adds motivation to the endeavour. Shoumava: entire effect of Yoga is nullified with tamsic behavior like alcoholism, smoking etc. It impurifies the air in the lungs and does more damage to the nerve cells which Yoga tries to repair and rejuvenate its like a diabetes patient taking medicine and sweets together Guru Bala: It's a must for yogis to practice Iyama and Niyamas of the yoga discipline ! Shoumava: @Guru it is not Iyama it is spealt as Yama may be it was a typing mistake only :P but infact practice of yoga will increase your immunity and decreases chances to fatal diseases due to smoking and also increase your will power and help you quit smoking Annie: I think it does some damage to the lungs, capacity to process oxygen, AND, if you're going to smoke, PLEASE do pranayama. It can't hurt, and can only help. It's also an effective tool for stress control when you're trying to cut back or quit. The process of taking a long deep breath is a part of the appeal of smoking. It's why people believe it calms them when in fact it tends to excite the system. Because breathing deeply, even polluted air, calms and mellows the mind and the system.... Sita Chaitanya: That's an excellent comment Annie. I never thought of it that way before but it seems you might be right. They also put a lot of chemicals in cigarettes that do any number of things to the body, increasing cravings and other things. Shoumava: i dont think they put a lot of chemicals in cigs i dont know if such cigs are there but nicotine itself is harmful. Nicotine combines with haemoglobin which is an O2 carrier and forms CO carbon monoxide which is a poisonous gas as well this CO bubbles can form clots in the arteries leading to blockages if at periphery of body they lead to peripheal vascular disease with oedema and gangerene this condition my father suffered bcos of excessive smoking but by Gods grace was saved from amputation of his legs Sita Chaitanya: There are 599 additives added to cigarettes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_additives_in_cigarettes . There may be some brands of cigarettes where this is not the case but I think that would be the exception. I have a student now who is... a 3 pack a day smoker and has a lesion on his lung, non-cancerous, and has tried to quit so many times. Some of the additives are to increase craving and addiction and make you buy more. Shoumava: OMG i never knew this but whatever I have never smoked still we being city dwellers suffer chances of same problems and are passive smokers. the more worse thing is nowadays women also smoke and some men do not care smoking in front of pregnant women which affects the health of a baby in the future Sita Chaitanya: Exactly, the second-hand smoke has proven in some ways to be worse than it is for the smokers. It's a scary list that's for sure. Colette: We all have our own personal battles. We all need Yoga/Pranayama. We all need Hope. Elise: dont smoke . never have. It is totally in opposition with Yoga and breathing. Keerthana: first stop smoking then do any pranayama. Zak: Keep up with pranayama and meditation, I did......and smoking will drop by the wayside. you wont have to quit, it will simply fall aside on its own. Sita Chaitanya: I agree with you Zak. Not just for smoking but for tamasic food as well, after awhile you just don't want it anymore. Keerthana: first we should stop consuming red and green chillies. it wil prepare yourself for any meditations

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How much harm does smoking have on the practice of pranayama?

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