Swami Krishnananda Yoga

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conditions that are going to be imposed on it, and hence any
attempt to practice retention should be avoided. In place of
the quick breathing that we do daily, a slow breathing should
be substituted, and instead of the usually shallow breathing,
deep breathing should be practiced, gradually. Vexed minds
breathe with an unsymmetrical flow. Submerged worries are
likely to disturb pranayama. One may be doing one s
functions like office-going, daily, and yet be calm in mind. But
another may do nothing and be highly nervous, worried and
sunk in sorrow. One should be careful to see that the mind is
amenable to the practice.
In breathing for health, the chest should be forward
during inhalation. We feel a joy when we take a long breath
with the chest expanded to the full. Deep intakes of fresh air
daily are essential for the maintenance of sound health. An
open air life for not less than two hours a day should be
compulsory. Pranayama is a method not only of harmonizing
the breath but also the senses and the mind. Be seated in a
well-ventilated room and take in a deep breath. Then, exhale
slowly. This practice should continue for sometime, say, a
month. Afterwards, the regular pranayama with proportion
in respiration may be commenced. The technical kind of
breathing which, in yoga, generally goes by the name of
pranayama is done in two stages:
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Exhale with a slow and deep breath. Close the right
nostril with the right thumb. Inhale slowly through the left
nostril. Close the left nostril with the right ring finger and
removing the right thumb from the right nostril, exhale very
slowly through the right nostril. Then, reverse the process
commencing with inhalation through the right nostril. This is
the intermediary stage of pranayama without retention of
breath and with only alternate inhalation and exhalation.
This practice may be continued for another one month. In the
third month, the perfected pranayama may be started:
Inhale, as before, through the left nostril; retain the breath
until you repeat your Ishta Mantra once; and then exhale
slowly. The proportion of inhalation, retention and
exhalation is supposed to be 1:4:2. If you take one second to
inhale, you take 4 seconds to retain, and two seconds to
exhale. Generally, the counting of this proportion is done by
what is called a matra, which is, roughly, about 3 seconds, or
the time taken to chant OM thrice, neither very quickly nor
very slowly. You inhale for one matra, retain for four matras,
and exhale for two matras. There should be no haste in
increasing the time of retention. Whether you are
comfortable during retention or not is the test for the
duration of retention. There should be no feeling of
suffocation in retention. The rule applicable to asana is valid
to pranayama, also. Sthira and sukha, easy and comfortable,
without strain or pain of any kind, are both asana and
pranayama to be in a practice which is a slow and gradual
progression of the process.
The length of time of pranayama depends on individual
condition of the body, the type of sadhana one does and the
kind of life one leads. All these are important factors which
have to be taken into consideration. The normal variety of
pranayama in yoga is the one described above, and it is
termed sukhapuraka (easy of practice). The other types of
pranayama such as the bhastrika, sitali, etc., are only
auxiliaries and not essential to the yoga of meditation. There
are many details discussed in Hatha Yoga concerning
pranayama. One of them, for instance, is that in retention a
threefold lock (bandhatraya) consisting of mulabandha,
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uddiyanabandha and jalandharabandha is preferable. But
these are all not directly related to the aim of yoga.
Pranayama is not the goal of yoga but only a means to it.
Ultimately, it is the mind which has to be subdued and
pranayama, etc. are the preparations. When one has to meet
a great authority, many hurdles have to be overcome, and
many lesser levels have to be satisfied with one s credentials.
Likewise, we have these guardians of the bodily system, the
pranas, and they cannot be bypassed easily. They have to be
given their dues. We have to do something with the body and
the pranas, befitting their status and function. We have our
social problems and there are also personal problems. Social
situations have to be tackled by the practice of the yamas,
and the system has to be calmed by the niyamas. The prana is [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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