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Bari Khathu Pranam improves the immunity

A physician's COVID-19 briefing and guided yoga session for a yoga camp.

"Please use a mask. The reason is our breath... Coronavirus is spread by moist, small water particles."

"What we can do is protect our mouth by using alcohol... The virus needs a host—a human body or an animal—to survive."

Dr. Nemrud Bukhaya, a physician from Sweden, addresses the camp, providing detailed information on coronavirus transmission, testing, and protective measures like masks and hygiene. He answers questions on particle spread and the role of nasal cleansing (netī), emphasizing general health through sleep and yoga. He then leads the group in a guided practice of Bārikhāṭu Praṇām, a sequence of movements, followed by a deep relaxation and mantra chanting.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Praṇām Swāmījī, dear yoga brothers and sisters. My name is Nemrud Bukhaya. I am a physician in the south of Sweden. My profession is general practitioner; I am the chief doctor in family medicine. I would like to give some further information on the coronavirus, referring to what we heard from my dear colleagues, Dr. Vera and Dr. Chitra Purī. Corona concerns all of us, not just here in the yoga camp, but the entire world and all of humanity. You can have corona without any signs. Please stay at home if you have a fever, headache, throat ache, or chills, until you are symptom-free for at least 48 hours. Coronavirus was first discovered in 1937. It is called Corona because the molecule looks like the crown of a king. The correct name is SARS-CoV-2. '19' stands for the year it was discovered and word spread, and SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. This means it attacks the lungs mostly and changes the lung's working organ. Healthy lungs look like yellow spongy tissue, but when contaminated with Corona, the entire lung tissue is changed. Oxygen cannot go through the lungs to the blood, and carbon dioxide cannot go back to the lungs and out. From our mouth, it's very lethal. Many people are dying. Unfortunately, I have taken many samples from deceased people to confirm they had corona. There are two tests: one for if you have corona right now, and another for if you had corona. The test we use now is taken from the nose or mouth, and the PCR technique shows if you have corona. But the test is unreliable because 47% are false negatives. This means if 100 people take the test, 47 will be negative although they have the coronavirus. Please use a mask. The reason is our breath. All of you wearing a mask feel some moisture on it. Coronavirus is spread by moist, small water particles. For instance, if I sneeze, particles can fly 11 meters—like from here to the third tree. When I'm sitting and talking, normal particles come from our mouth; that's normal physiology. These small particles, if I have corona, can infect people around me. Please use masks. The majority of people who get coronavirus do not need intensive care. For instance, in Sweden, with more than 82,000 cases, the death figure is 5,800. Doctors like me meet them, measuring temperature and oxygen saturation. Saturation is how much oxygen is in your blood circulation. Normally it is between 95 and 100, mostly around 97 (this is not for people with asthma or chronic diseases). For a healthy person, it should not be below 95. Currently, more than 20 million people on Earth are contaminated with corona. What we can do is protect our mouth by using alcohol. We have different masks: M1, M2, and M3. The M3 is easier to breathe through; for people with glasses, it doesn't become moist and is more protective. M3 is the best one. If you don't have anything, use paper; that's better than nothing. I am very glad to see that in the yoga camp there is alcohol everywhere. Of course, I didn't mean the drink. The virus needs a host—a human body or an animal—to survive. We don't know how long this will last. Most of you heard about the Spanish flu, a kind of SARS virus. It began in 1918, lasted two years, and killed between 20 and 50 million people. Scientists think this will slowly become less and less, and we will survive. But for that, use gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. I was glad to hear that the rooms will be disinfected after us. I saw the karma yogīs cleaning door handles several times a day; it is recommended at least four times per 24 hours. The problem is we become tired of the mask, but it's a very cheap insurance for our life, our families, and all humanity. So keep distance, use a mask, and wash your hands. The coronavirus shell, the outer layer, does not withstand soap or alcohol. If you don't have alcohol, use soap and water. If you don't have water, use alcohol. The surface does not absorb either alcohol or normal soap, so normal soap is enough. Praṇām Swāmījī, dear yoga brothers and sisters, thank you for listening. Q&A and Further Discussion A question was asked: if a person speaks normally, how far can particles reach? Particles from our lungs reach one to one and a half meters; that's why this distance is recommended. If you cough, you should cover your mouth with your elbow. The most water particles come from the mouth. Through the nose, I don't know the exact distance. The important thing is the mouth because when we talk or cough, particles fly more. This is a normal physiological process; when we talk with our mouth open, particles fly up to a meter and a half. Another question was about sūtra nets (netī). Is it true that practicing netī is good not only for prevention but can also help cure it? Cleaning the nose means viruses may go more easily. Viruses are all around us; we live in symbiosis with them. But medical science believed this virus, normally existing in animals, would not cross the barrier to humans. I don't have any medical report about these exercises, but once the virus enters your body and goes to the lungs, you cannot do much. What you can do is improve your health: sleep well, and yoga exercises are perfect. I would like to ask Paramahaṁsa Swāmījī to teach more about strengthening the immune system. By exercising yoga daily, you can support your immune system. In Sweden, 5,800 died; the majority were elderly, and many were overweight or obese. The most vulnerable are mainly elderly people. Another problem is that strange diseases and hyper-inflammation are suddenly increasing in kids, unknown to medical science until now. Please keep good health, sleep well, do yoga exercise, and God bless all of us. Guided Yoga Practice: Bārikhāṭu Praṇām Now we are going to do one of the best yoga movements, which we call Bārikhāṭu Praṇām. For two years, I have been trying to perfect it. Now, everyone please make a line. Oṃ Tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭi-vardhanam, urvārukam-iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt. Oṃ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Please prepare yourselves, sit in Vajrāsana. Relax your palms on your thighs. Keep your back straight. Slowly, with the next inhalation, lift your hands up. Draw the palms above the head. Look into your palms. Now slowly bend forward. Place your palms, forearms, and forehead on the floor. Slowly pull your body forward into the position of eight points (palms, chin, knees, and toes on the floor). Slowly straighten your body and pull your hands behind. Interlock your fingers and pull your hands up. Lift your legs. Relax the position and go with the palms on the floor. Lift the upper part of your body. Now, lift your pelvis up into a posture with palms and feet on the floor. With the right leg, make a big step forward, placing your foot between your palms. Look forward. With the next inhalation, bring your hands behind your body, hold your wrists or elbows, lift your hands up above your head, and join your palms. Exhaling, bring the hands to the floor and make one big step forward. Lean forward, relax your upper body. Now bring your body up, place your palms above the knees, and look forward. On the next inhalation, lift your body up, join the palms, and look into them. Slowly, with the exhalation, lean forward again to a perpendicular position, hands behind the back holding your wrist. Slowly exhale and lean down forward. With the right leg, go one big step backwards. Again, bring the hands behind the back, hold your elbows, lift your hands up, and join the palms. Bring the hands to the floor. Keep your back straight, and take one big step backwards into mountain pose. Slowly, through your knees, come down on your belly and lift the upper part of your body. Bring your hands behind your body, interlock the fingers, stretch your body, and lift your legs. Release the position and enter the position of eight points again. Push your body back. Again, place palms, forearms, and forehead on the floor. Bring your hands behind your back and hold your wrist. Inhaling, come up with a straight back, continue with your hands above your head, join the palms, and look into them. With the exhalation, bring your hands onto your thighs. Take a deeper inhalation and exhalation. We will continue with one more round, now practicing with the left leg. We will go through the sequence again. Remember, when your hands are behind your back, your head should be strong, looking up—that's called the horseback posture, not like a camel. Let's practice. Corona will go out. Now, lie down for deep relaxation. You can lie on your back, side, or stomach, as you like. Corona may be at the mouth, but do not let it in. It will go out. Relax your whole body from toes to the top of your head, and from the top of your head to your toes. Feel your whole body relaxed. Relax your toes, hips, stomach, back muscles, shoulders, arms, elbows, palms, fingers, and jaw. Feel the whole body. Let all the beautiful oxygen into the body. Know that you are here, relaxing in our Strelky Yoga Center Park with closed eyes. Amazing. See yourself performing that movement, Bārikhāṭu Praṇām. With closed eyes, mentally visualize practicing the individual movements. Do not go anywhere outside; just be in your body. Feel your body relaxed and comfortable. The oxygen is coming very clean from this park. I am relaxed. I feel comfortable. When I inhale, my lungs expand, and when I exhale... Now feel and concentrate on your heartbeat. Then concentrate and feel the space between your chest. Feel the inhalation and exhalation. Know that you are inhaling and exhaling very comfortably. Lie down and feel that you are here on this beautiful park, on green grass with beautiful trees, relaxed with closed eyes. Know that you are inhaling. Know that you are exhaling. Feel your fingers from the right thumb: index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, the palm, the wrist. Similarly, feel your left hand, right elbow, left elbow, upper arms. Relax. Feel your shoulders, left and right. Relax. Feel your whole trunk. Relax your stomach. Feel inhalation and exhalation. Feel your back muscles, both your legs, your whole body. Again, bring your awareness into your heart and mind. Try to feel this park. Imagine all these trees. Very beautiful air. Take a deep inhale and exhale three times. Move your fingers, palms, close your fists, open your arms, spread them, and stretch your hands above your head on the ground. Stretch your hands towards your head and your heels outward. Bring your hands back to the sides of your body. Turn to your left side, then right side, left side, right side, and finally to the left side to sit up. Chant the mantra with me: Oṃ Tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭi-vardhanam, urvārukam-iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt. (Repeat) Oṃ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Rub your palms together and bring them to your face. Open your eyes, rub your palms, and slowly remove them. Hari Om. This was Bārikhāṭu Praṇām. There will be some mantras for each limb of the body, but they will be very difficult and very easy. We will write them after. Thank you.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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