Ways to perceive nada

What are the sources through which the yogi can perceive nāda? There are two main ways. The first is mantra yoga (tantras), the second is haṭha-yoga (prāṇāyāma, mudrās, etc.). Here is what the Śāradā-tilakam tantra (Рrathamaḥ paṭalaḥ) tells us:

सच्चिदानन्दविभवात् सकलात् परमेश्वरात् ।
आसीच्छक्तिस्ततो नादो नादाद् बिन्दुसमुद्भवः ॥७॥

saccidānandavibhavāt sakalāt parameśvarāt ।
āsīcchaktistato nādo nādād bindusamudbhavaḥ ॥7॥

From the eternal goodness of Parameśvara, whose nature is Eternity-Knowledge-Bliss, Śakti (power) manifested first, then the vibration (nāda) manifested from the power, and bindu manifested from the peak of the tension of nāda.

That is, if you practice yoga, then by doing practices to activate Śakti, such as bhastrikāprāṇāyāma, etc., Śakti can release the pulsation, the vibration of nāda. Or, if you practice mantras, then “activating the mantras“, awakening them in various ways, you will also come to the perception of nāda.

Of course, these methods in the traditions have always been directly transmitted from Gurus to their students. It is more than just information or theory, although knowledge of the theory, one way or another, can help.

How to understand the term aṅga in the context of yoga

What is अङ्ग / aṅga in yoga, is it a step or a section? On the one hand, we find following interpretations in the Viveka Mārtaṇḍa:

117. Thanks to the twelve prāṇāyāmas – pratyāhāra is achieved. Thanks to the twelve pratyāhāras – good dhāraṇā is attained.

118. Thanks to the twelve dhāraṇās – dhyāna is known, and due to the twelve dhyānas, samādhi is achieved.

On the other hand, we find quite a few texts where aṅgas often go in a sequence that is not popular for most.

https://matsyendranatha.com/?p=353

Basically, the free order of aṅgas is found either in tantras or in texts that have been influenced by tantra. These are partly Purāṇas, as well as Nātha texts. If we look at the meaning of the term ‘aṅga’ in different dictionaries, it means: ‘a part’, ‘a division’, ‘relating to the base’, ‘anything inferior or secondary’, ‘supplement’, ‘contiguous’. In tantric texts, methods are sometimes named as ‘upāya’, which also means ‘a trick’, ‘a ruse’. This allows us to understand that it is impossible, in practice, to put a technique higher than its main goals, which often causes the “modern yoga“. The “parts” can be compared with the organs of the body; we cannot say that we need a heart, but we do not need a brain or liver. We need an organism in which absolutely everything works simultaneously and harmoniously. In this regard, āsanas cannot exist separately from pratyāhāraprāṇāyāmadhyāna or samādhi (even if it is fragmentary). The yoga state and the yoga path are primary, while aṅgas are secondary, but they all work on the main tasks.

Elements of yoga in Tantras

Despite the fact that some traditions criticise methods of other sampradāya, sometimes it happens, however, that they themselves utilise them. For example, Abhinavagupta and others criticised Patañjali’s methods. Even though you can often come across the usage of methods of yoga in Kaśmir Śaivism and other tantric traditions, they are actually considered there as an integral part of tantra. In the same way as tantra, they are supporting elements on the path of yoga. I can cite a simple example of such quotations from the description of several techniques from Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra (VBT), which were commented by Śivopadhyaya. In one part, he explains a method from VBT quoting Patañjali, and in another he quotes Viveka-mārtaṇḍa of Gorakśanāth.

सर्वस्रोतोनिबन्धेन प्राणशक्त्योर्ध्वया शनैः |
पिपीलस्पर्शवेलायाम् प्रथते परमं सुखम् || ६७ ||

sarvasrotonibandhena prāṇaśaktyordhvayā śanaiḥ |
pipīlasparśavelāyām prathate paramaṁ sukham || 67 ||

By blocking all channels (jñānendriyas), the force of prāṇa slowly goes upwards. Then there is a sensation like the motion of an ant, and it comes the highest state of euphoria.

First of all, it is clear that it is a description of yoni-mudrā (or ṣaṇmukhi-mudrā). Also, there is an interesting description of kuṇḍalinī movement, which is characterised as pipīlikā-calana (like the motion of an ant) in Nātha texts. That could often be found in Nātha texts in the description of Śakti uprising, in addition to some other motions like vihaṅgama (bird), sarpa (snake) etc. Furthermore, Śivopadhyaya, in his comments to this technique quotes Patañjali, where he defines prāṇāyāma.

.बाह्याभ्यन्तरस्तम्भवृित्तः देशकालसङ्ख्यािभः पिरदृष्टो दीघर्सूक्ष्मः॥५०॥

bāhyābhyantarastambhavṛttirdeśakālasaṅkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭo dīrghasūkṣmaḥ 50

The fluctuations of prāṇa could be outward and inward (exhales and inhales), it could also come to a standstill (of breathing). It should be observed, that this process would be elongating, subtle, happens according to time, place and quantity.

Also, Śivopadhyaya cites sutra 49, where Patañjali defines prāṇāyāma as a cessation (vicchedaḥ) of inhales and exhales (śvāsapraśvāsa). Although the term ‘viccheda’ could indeed be translated like that, I would define it in other way. It could also mean ‘cutting off’, like something that is no longer needed ‘comes off’. If the goal of prāṇāyāma is calming of consciousness and prāṇa (with which it’s connected), than it is exactly ‘cutting off’ prāṇavṛtti and cittavṛtti. But, it is actually happening in a natural way with the involvement in the process of proper contemplation. Consciousness, being agitated by the sensual experience is unable to calm down, it is fragmented. Only when the practise enables an involvement in higher orientations and higher dimension, it subsides and everything in excess ‘comes off’, ‘cuts off’ by itself. It happens as at the level of sensual perception, as well as of prāṇa and mind.

Equally interesting explanation of the quotation from the Viveka-mārtaṇḍa, also the Bhagavadgītā appears in the description of a technique from VBT in the other part of the text:

मध्यजिह्वे स्फारितास्ये मध्ये निक्षिप्य चेतनाम् |
होच्चारं मनसा कुर्वंस् ततः शान्ते प्रलीयते || ८१ ||

madhyajihve sphāritāsye madhye nikṣipya cetanām |
hoccāraṁ manasā kurvaṁs tataḥ śānte pralīyate || 81 ||

With the middle of the tongue (it is the tip, if you look at it from the particular angle), pointed in the centre of something that is widely open (the head area – ‘ākāśa’), you should mentally recite the uprising sound ‘ha’, dissolving your mind in calm.

Śivopadhyaya quotes this śloka:

कपालकुहरे जिह्वा प्रविष्टा विपरीतगा|भ्रुवोरन्तर्गता दृष्टिर्मुद्रा भवति खेचरी ॥

kapālakuhare jihvā praviṣṭā viparītagā|bhruvorantargatā dṛṣṭirmudrā bhavati khecarī

When the tongue points backwards and enters the cavity of skull, and the look is directed between the eyebrows – it is khecarī-mudrā.

Śivopadhyaya points out that it is from the Viveka-mārtaṇḍa (68), although you can come across it in many texts – it seems that many authors have copied it from Gorakśanāth. You can see it in the Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad, the Yogacūḍāmaṇi Upaniṣad, in the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, the Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā etc. It’s quite obvious that Śivopadhyaya implies khecarī-mudrā, which is known in haṭhayoga in particular, in spite of the fact that in Kaśmir Śaivism it is also known as the practise performed inside consciousness. It is clear, that in India, some masters could claim that practises from different traditions cannot be mixed, but other gurus boldly mixes them and see their interconnection. I incline towards the latter approach. It is interesting that Śivopadhyaya quotes śloka from the Bhagavadgītā while commenting this śloka from VBT:

स्पशार्न्कृत्वा बिहबार्ह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः।
प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचािरणौ ।।५.२७।।

sparśānkṛtvā bahirbāhyāṃścakṣuścaivāntare bhruvoḥ
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantaracāriṇau ।। 5.27।।

Leaving with external (world) the tangency (of consciousness), concentrating the look between the eyebrows, a yogin balances prāṇa and apāna.

This technique is known in haṭhayoga as bhrūmadhyadṛṣṭi or śāmbhavī-mudrā. It is for a reason, that it is often associated with sādhana of khecarīmudrā. However, in Kaśmir Śaivism, this practise means the way to achieve pratimilanasamādhi, or bhairavīmudrā (the union of internal and external spaces), that is often acquired through the practise of maithuna in kaula ritual. Then in accord with the Tantrāloka and the Mahārtha Mañjarī (the text which is connected with Gorakśanāth according to nāthas), the sound ‘ha’, which is made during mahākśobha (orgasm) – is the sound of anāhata, which dissolves (laya) the mind. However, it is more likely that in this practise it is implied ‘the internal coition’ of Kuṇḍalinī Śakti, upraised to Śiva in sahasrāra cakra, where Śakti was released in the space above the crown of the head.

All these methods, actually, could become the one unified process for those who don’t stuck in modern yoga, where everything is being ‘divided’,everyone ‘comes up with something new’ because of the obsession with markets and trade concepts.

 

Two nāḍī-śuddhi prāṇāyāmas

In Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (4-35-44), at first, purification of nadīs is given in the form of using the alternate breathing technique with breath holdings, using bijas, which we can find in tantric rituals, such as bhūta-śuddhi or, for example, those intended to remove doṣas (defects) from some offerings. In that way, impurities are dried up by the bija of Air यं ‘yaṃ’ and then they are burned by the bija of Fire रं ‘raṃ’. Further, the remained ash is getting wet by the element of Water or Nectar by the corresponding bija वं ‘vaṃ’ (as it often happens in tantric practices), but sometimes in yogic and tantric texts another bija symbolising nectar ठं ‘ṭhaṃ’ is suggested to use instead. Then a newly formed body should be strengthened by the bija of Earth लं ‘laṃ’. Some prāṇāyāmas reduce these elements to only three bijas (of Air, Fire and Nectar) because in yoga, it is very typical to minimise the practise to the most essential components.

As in a tantric ritual, in Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā, there is a description of the further use of the alternate breathing but in combination with praṇavaOm’. Also, in the third part of Vasiṣṭha Saṃhitā prāṇāyāma with the use of praṇavaOm’, or, more precisely ‘A-U-M’ – three mātrās or counts of breath lengths, is described. It is said that a practitioner must mentally repeat अं ‘aṃ’ a certain number of times on the inhalation, then उं ‘uṃ’ during kumbhaka and मं ‘maṃ’ on the exhalation. It is recommended to meditate on each of the three elements as on one of the Goddesses, namely ‘A’ – Gāyatrī, ‘U’ – Sāvitrī and ‘M’ – SarasvatīGāyatrī is described as बाला bālā in a Sanskrit text, which usually means ‘a child, a girl at the age of eight’. She is red in color and rides on a swan (haṃsavāhinī). U-kara is Sāvitrī, she is described as युवती ‘yuvatī’ (she’s 15 y.o.). She is white in color and rides on Garuḍa (garuḍavāhinī). Similarly Ma-kara, or repetition of the vibration of ‘M’ correlates with Sarasvatī, who is described as वृद्धा ‘vṛddhā’, she is 28 years of age or older and she rides Vṛṣabha.

In Gāyatrīhṛdayam from Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa is said:

॥ गायत्रीहृदयम् ॥
पूर्वा भवति गायत्री, मध्यमा सावित्री, पश्चिमा स्नध्या सरस्वती ।
रक्ता गायत्री, श्वेता सावित्री, कृष्णा सरस्वती ॥ १२॥

pūrvā bhavati gāyatrī, madhyamā sāvitrī, paścimā snadhyā sarasvatī ।
raktā gāyatrī, śvetā sāvitrī, kṛṣṇā sarasvatī ॥12॥

In the morning it is necessary to worship Gāyatrī, at noon – Sāvitrī, and in the evening –SarasvatīGāyatrī is red in color, Sāvitrī is bright, Sarasvatī is dark.

Although, there are differences about vāhanas (beings used as vehicles), for example in Gāyatrī Hṛdayam:

पूर्व सन्धि ब्राह्मी, मध्य सन्धि माहेश्वरी, परा सन्धि वैष्णवी ।
हंसवाहिनी ब्राह्मी, वृषवाहिनी माहेश्वरी, गरुडवाहिनी वैष्णवी ॥ १४॥

pūrva sandhi brāhmī, madhya sandhi māheśvarī, parā sandhi vaiṣṇavī ।
haṃsavāhinī brāhmī, vṛṣavāhinī māheśvarī, garuḍavāhinī vaiṣṇavī ॥14॥

In the first sandhya (in the morning) she is known as Brahmī, at noon as Maheshvarī, and in the evening she is Vaishnavī. Brahmī rides a swan, Maheshvarī rides a bull, Vaishnavī rides Garuda.

Something similar exists in many yogic texts where it is recommended to use praṇava (OM).

For instance, in the fifth upadesha of Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (shlokas 48-50) there is also a recommendation to use A-kara, U-kara and Ma-kara. But there, A-kara is connected with raja-guṇa and Brahma and is red in color, U-kara is connected with sattva and Viṣṇu and is black. And Ma-kara, in opposite, is white in color and connected with Śiva.

Here, as you can guess, some similarities with Śri Vidya are immediately come to mind. In the third part of Jñānārṇāva Tantra (shlokas 11-12), it is said that Tripurasundarī is a Goddess with three aspects, the one is with bijaaiṃ” and white in color, the Goddess in red color with kama-bijaklīṃ” and the Goddess suvarṇa (the golden color) with bijasauḥ”. At first she is like Bala, a girl at the age of eight, then she is Pancadaśī (15 y.o.), this is a time full of passion (kāma), and finally she is Śodaśī or Mahaśodaśī (from 16 to 28 years of age or older) – she is full of wisdom.

In yogic texts, It is also said that prāṇāyāma is the unity of three matras, i.e. in case they are unrelated to each other – it would mean a loss and a waste of the vital energy (prāṇa), but not it’s enhancement.

The signs of the progress in prāṇāyāma

Different texts give the different signs of the progress in prāṇāyāma. The most famous is the division of the levels into the duration of the breath holding, namely कनिष्ठ kaniṣṭha (short period), मध्यम madhyama (medium) and उत्तम uttama (high). The yogin controls sweating (स्वेद sveda) on the first one, trembling in the body (कम्प kampa) on the middle and on the highest, according to the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (5-56), “earth abandonment” is happening or levitation (भूमि त्याग bhūmi tyāga). In other texts for example, in the description of the third stage, it is said about “fatigue”, “melancholy” (विषाद viṣāda), but since “triumph” (जय jaya) is used in relation to the three conditions, so it is about “conquering the gravity”, above “fatigue”, i.e. in contrast to the lightness. Therefore भूमि त्याग bhūmi tyāga can be understood not necessarily as a physical levitation, but more often as an “easy state,” although in some cases one cannot exclude the other.

Some tantras, for example, the Āgamarahasya-tantra or Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa (Ch. 36) give a similar description, the Kūrma-purāṇa (2.36, 21-26) says about the four processes of progress in prāṇāyāma. They are as following:

  1. ध्वस्ति dhvasti – the cessation of attachment to the fruits of good and bad actions.
  2. प्राप्ति prāpti – independence from such conditions as kāma, lobha, moha; abandonment of the wishes of the ordinary (ऐहिक aihika) and other (अमुष्मिन् amuṣmin) worlds. Acquisition of the abandonment of all desires (स्यात्सर्वकामिकी syātsarvakāmikī).
  3. संविद् saṃvid – knowledge (comprehension) of the past (अतीत atīta), the future (अनागत anāgata), nearest and remote objects, the moon, the sun, the planets, etc. (of the macrocosm).
  4. प्रसाद prasāda – realisation of “mercy”, “divine grace” thanks to which the mind, feelings, senses and five pranas are appeased.

There is a description of the other four elements closely associated with the four aforementioned in the purāṇa, for example in the Vāyu-purāṇa (11.4 – 11) and in the cases where they are quoted by tantras accordingly.

  1. शान्ति śānti – getting rid of imperfections (पाप pāpa).
  2. प्रशान्ति praśānti – perfection in speech, elimination of the problems associated with the father, mother and other relatives (पितृमातृप्रदुष्टानां pitṛmātṛpraduṣṭānāṃ).
  3. दीप्ति dīpti – enlightened vision, the vision of the past and the future, comprehension of the objects of the universe (the sun, the moon, etc.).
  4. प्रसाद praśāda – an appeasement of the five prāṇa, the mind, the senses and their objects of perception.

About breath measurement, depth and so on

Touchy questions that I am often asked on seminars, specifically about the practice of prāṇāyāma.

Which ancient texts mention “full breathing”? Is there a description that firstly you need to fill the lower part of the lungs, then the middle and finally the upper one? Why various sources differently correlate inhalation and exhalation with prāṇa and apāna?

Let’s start with the “full breath”. In truth, I have never met such a description of the “wave” going from the bottom or top in ancient texts, as can be found in the works of later authors. Some modern teachers recommend to fill your belly from the bottom and spread the filling upwards, while exhale backwards. Others recommend to fill your belly from the bottom going upwards, and to exhale, too, from the bottom, gradually emptying the top.

In the classical texts, everything is described simply as “take a breath in and exhale” But often there are recommendations regarding the use of your belly. Find some examples below.

Haṭhayogapradīpikā, the description of bhastrikā includes the following:

When the belly becomes full of inhaled air, close the nostrils with thumb, middle and little fingers. (2.64)

Dattātreyayogaśāstra:

He (a yogi) should inhale through the right nostril, gently filling his belly. After holding the breath as long as possible, he should exhale calmly through the left nostril. (63)

Yogabīja:

A wise yogi should inhale through the both nadīs on sides of the kuṇḍalinī and hold it in the belly, then exhale again through ida. (104)

Viveka Mārtaṇḍa

Inhaling through the solar nostril, you should slowly fill the belly with air, then, according to the method, hold your breath, then exhale through the lunar nostril. (100)

Haṭhayogapradīpikā:

अथ प्लाविनी।
अन्तः प्रवर्तितोदारमारुतापूरितोदरः।
पयस्यगाधेऽपि सुखात्प्लवते पद्मपत्रवत् ॥७०॥

atha plāvinī |
antaḥ pravartitodāramārutāpūritodaraḥ|
payasyagādhe’pi sukhātplavate padmapatravat ॥ 70॥

Now begins plāvinī.

Fill the abdomen with air to the limit and you can move freely on the water like a floating lotus leaf (2.70).

The term आपूरित āpūrita – “filled” – is used here, the word पूरक pūraka, which is translated as an inhalation, in fact, also means “full” or “whole” (from “filling” or “filling up”). There is already the idea of fullness in the term itself, the root पूर pūra means “overflow”.

However, as I said above, the concept of breathing is not quite what many understand. In that regard, the “overflow” could “contradict to physiology”. Here’s another example from the Haṭhayogapradīpikā:

आकेशादानखाग्राच्च निरोधावधि कुम्भयेत्।
ततः शनैः सव्यनाड्या रेचयेत्पवनं शनैः॥४९॥

ākeśādānakhāgrācca nirodhāvadhi kumbhayet।
tataḥ śanaiḥ savyanāḍyā recayetpavanaṃ śanaiḥ ॥ 49 ॥

He holds his breath until the air is held in his whole body from the fingernails to the top of the head (crown). Then he exhales slowly through the left channel (2.49).

The texts of yoga are not only about the physical side, (even if “physical exercises” are there) as all the exercises are a combination of meditation and physical activity. That is the full breath in both the physical and energetic sense.

I think there is a lot of confusion because of various factors. I suggest to move to the analysis of the terminology itself. The root अन् an means “breathing”, prefix प्र pra – “forward” and अन् an or आन āna – “breathing”, i.e. “breathing forward”, resulting in the term प्राण prāṇa. अपान apāna – from अप apa –  “outside” and आन āna – “to breathe”. Just like समान samāna from सम sama (“balanced”) and आन āna (“balanced breathing”) or उदान udāna – from उद् ud (“up”) and आन āna (“breathing up”), व्यान vyāna from वि vi – “separately” and आन āna – “breathing”, that is, distributed “breathing” (in different parts of the body). Breathing is not always understood only as a physical process, you сan see that, at least, by the example of breathing “distributed over the body”. I would not take as an example such a description of prāṇa as in Prāṇa-sūkta from Atharvaveda, which is a hymn dedicated to prāṇa as the Absolute itself, i.e., kind of a pulsating force or energy.

On the whole, I am a supporter of the version that recaka is prāṇa, and pūraka is apāna. Recaka comes from the root रेच (rec), which means “devastation”, this root produces रेचक (recaka) or रेचन (recana), which can be both adjectives and nouns in three genders. The term रेचक (recaka) can also mean “purification”; in this connection, it could mean अपान (apāna) from अप (apa) – “back” (opposed to “pra” or “prāṇa”), “down” or “away”, and आन (āna), which means “breathing”. Something that “moves outwards” – matches with recaka, but something that goes “backwards” – doesn’t. The meaning of “purification” could be qualified for category अपान (apāna) in connection with its function of removing unnecessary substances from the body. But in the case of रेचक (recaka), that is the exhalation of carbon dioxide through the nose, which is not connected, for example, with the discharge of excrements, menstrual blood, etc. As for the term पूरक (pūraka), there is a connection with पूर (pūra), which means “filling up, flooding, satisfaction, overflow, fullness”. Also, there is an obvious connection with the root पॄ (pṝ), which also means “filling, satiation, satisfaction”. Accordingly, पूरक (pūraka) is “filling” or “filling up”, or, simply speaking, – inhaling. If प्राण (prāṇa) consists of the prefix प्र (prā), which means the forward movement, the initial movement, and the suffix kvip, आन (āna), indicating the one who breathes, then it can also be associated with रेचक (recaka), since recaka is an exhalation of air outward. However, there are different interpretations, another common one is: प्राण (prāṇa) comes from the root पॄ (pṝ), पृणाति (pṛṇāti) which means “to fill, nourish, satiate”, and therefore it is related to पूर्ण (pūrṇa), fullness. If we look at the term प्राण in that context, then it could be similar to पूरक (pūraka), because it can mean “filling” too and there is the idea of ​​“satiation”.

I think both versions regarding प्राण (prāṇa) and अपान (apāna) have the right to exist, the point of view can vary depending on the specific sampradaya and even the specific Guru, which is normal for India. I am more intimate with the idea of ​​inhalation – as satiation and, accordingly, as the symbol of nectar, soma, associated with watery fluid; and exhalation – as fire, which purifies and absorbs the soma. Fire in the Indian tradition is very significant for purification, it accepts offerings and transfers them to heaven to Indra and other Gods. Thanks to the fire offering, Indra sends rain to the earth and everything starts to grow, to blossom. We also have a havan-kuṇḍa in the lower part of our body, the fire of kuṇḍalinī rises upward when it is nourished by the nectar from sahasrara-cakra. Fire, of course, is also a symbol of purification, and a symbol of passion (kāma) leading to death, that’s why many yogis avoid the outer fire as a symbol of gṛihastha life, but they have the inner fire in the form of kuṇḍalinīśakti.

Some descriptions of the breathing process in yogic resources are full of symbolism, in such cases, of course, one can derive a variety of interpretations. For example, here is an interesting description in Vāyu Purāṇa:

नालेन तु यथा तोयं यन्त्रेणैव बलान्वितः।
आपिबेत प्रयत्नेन तथा वायुञ्जितश्रमः ।। ११.२६ ।।

nālena tu yathā toyaṃ yantreṇaiva balānvitaḥ।
āpibeta prayatnena tathā vāyuñjitaśramaḥ ।। 11.26 ।।

Just like water is absorbed with effort by a pipe or a mechanical device, so a yogi should drink air diligently, but not bringing himself to fatigue.

नाभ्यां च हृदये चैव कण्ठे उरसि चानने।
नासाग्रे तु तथा नेत्रे भ्रुवोर्मध्येऽथ मूर्द्धनि ।। ११.२७ ।।

nābhyāṃ ca hṛdaye caiva kaṇṭhe urasi cānane।
nāsāgre tu tathā netre bhruvormadhye’tha mūrddhani ।। 11.27 ।।

The wind should be maintained gradually in the navel, heart, chest, throat, mouth, tip of the nose, eyes, between the eyebrows and in the head.

In yogic texts, sometimes there is a description of inhalation as “drinking” of air or prāṇa, in which case it can be assumed that the body is like a pitcher into which air is poured and held during kumbhaka. So, if the water is gradually poured into the vessel, firstly it fills the bottom, then the middle part and so on up to the top. Then it can be like above described in Vāyu Purāṇa, in one of the sections dedicated to yoga. That is the filling up and the movement of prāṇa goes from nābhi (belly), then hṛidaya (chest), throat and even higher up to the head (if we take the energetic part of the process into consideration). In that case, at least, we can deduce the “gradual filling” and the context of full breathing, as many do now.

The description of matras (counting the length of inhalation, exhalation and breath-holding). In different texts, there are various definitions of what is a high level, for example 16-64-32 (in Gheraṇḍasaṁhitā), somewhere smaller ratios are given. How to make a right choice of matras, if there are such contradictions in the texts? What do you consider to be lower, middle and higher levels as you master prāṇāyāma?

As for the counting of breath on inhale, while breath-holding and on exhale, you can find a lot of recommendations in the texts. Usually, texts divide mastering of prāṇāyāma onto three levels. It is said that at the lowest level of prāṇāyāma the fire rises in the body and sweat is produced, on the middle level there is a strong vibration, and at the highest – the state of lightness. However, the texts actually give different ratios for the number of counts. For example, in Gheraṇḍasaṁhitā, the highest ratio is 24-64-48. According to the Jogpradīpikā, “matras” (counts) during breathing are not only different, but there is one for those who practice according to the Vedas and the other – according to the Tantras. According to the Vedas, the highest level in sahitaprāṇāyāma is 8-19-9, and according to the Tantras it is 25-50-25. Viveka Mārtaṇḍa, as well as a number of other texts, gives the following prescriptions:

“In the beginning, it has twelve measures (i.e. 12-16-10), then twice as many (24-32-20), and the best one is three times as much (36-48-30). With the initial prāṇāyāma sweat is produced, with the middle one – the body starts to shake, and with the highest prāṇāyāma one reaches the immobility. So, a yogi should control the air” (107-108).

Obviously, in the latter version there is some connection with solar, lunar and fiery kalā (energy rays). However, I think that whatever regulations the texts give, it is necessary to be oriented on something different. The first thing which is necessary to understand is why texts recommend using the mental repetition of the mantra as a count and what connection is there between the mantra and breathing. The thing is that breathing and sound have the same origin, they both come from vibration, spandana, which manifests itself in us, for example, in the form of a pulse, etc. If we want prāṇāyāma to bring us full value, then during prāṇāyāma we need to learn to listen to yourself. We do not need to forcefully push our own capabilities of inhalation, breath-holding or exhalation, moreover, we should not try to immediately reach the proportion of 24-64-48. We must completely change our attitude to what is considered as vital energy and its manifestation in the form of breathing and other functions, and in the same way to the mantra. It is not by chance that in the Vedas there are hymns dedicated to prāṇa as the divine power and Brahman himself. And how can we put pressure on what is absolute? The same is with the mantra: the mantra is the spiritual body of the Divine, this is the Divine itself. We can perceive prāṇa at the level of vital functions or the Deity – at the level of mūrti, but these are only manifestations of that highest power, and we must learn to see what is behind the form. Furthermore, we must treat the form carefully, the Divine gives us signals through it, teaches us.

The disciple is not the one who imposes, but the one who learns to perceive and that is the one who is the practitioner. It’s just the outside world teaches us to seise everything, take it by storm, and often we automatically extend this inclination to spiritual practice. During practice of any prāṇāyāma we always have to focus our own attention on necessity to “let ourselves go”, leave “expectations” in order to report to someone that I have reached something in a long breath-holding. The texts say that one must be very cautious day by day, very carefully, to increase simultaneously the length of inhalation, exhalation, and breath-holding. Of course, you can, as it is recommended by many, firstly start to make equal proportions: 1-1-1, then 1-1-2, then 1-2-2, then 1-3-2 and go to 1-4-2. After, you can increase the number in that scheme: 4-16-12, gradually moving on to 5-20-10, etc. However, I would recommend to perceive all these schemes, even though they discipline and “set the course”, keeping the main goal in mind. The main thing is to dissolve your consciousness in spanda (anāhatanāda) coming from inside, it is necessary that your mantra would also be absorbed by the source of its own origin (anāhata). In short, the goal is to accept oneself, one’s nature, to perceive oneself as the eternal ātman, in which consciousness, mantra, feelings, and even a Devata as “saguṇa” dissolve. Then prāṇāyāma will really purify the nadīs and save you from many troubles, etc.

In that regard, contrary to the widespread descriptions of prāṇāyāma in many texts, which claim that prāṇāyāma with mantra is higher than prāṇāyāma without it, there are other interpretations that exist, and I would like to give an example. Devī-bhāgavata-purāṇa says that prāṇāyāma could be of six kinds:

धारयेत्तत्र चात्मानं धारणां धारयेद्‌बुधः । सधूमश्च विधूमश्च सगर्भश्चाप्यगर्भकः ॥
सलक्ष्यश्चाप्यलक्ष्यश्च प्राणायामस्तु षड्‌विधः । प्राणायामसमो योगः प्राणायाम इतीरितः॥

dhārayettatra cātmānaṃ dhāraṇāṃ dhārayed‌budhaḥ ।
sadhūmaśca vidhūmaśca sagarbhaścāpyagarbhakaḥ ॥
salakṣyaścāpyalakṣyaśca prāṇāyāmastu ṣaḍ‌vidhaḥ ।
prāṇāyāmasamo yogaḥ prāṇāyāma itīritaḥ॥

“Let the awakened one practice dhāraṇa, concentrating on ātman. Sadhūma (unstable breathing), vidhūma (unfluctuating breathing), sagarbha (breathing with a mantra), agarbha (breathing without a mantra), salakṣhya (with the concentration on a Deity within oneself or a divine symbol), alakṣya (beyond attributes) – these are six kinds of prāṇāyāma. In yoga, there is no higher method than prāṇāyāma.”

I.e. that focusing on alakṣhya or “alakh” (as Nāthas say in Hindi) – the eternal ātman, which is outside of any forms, is considered higher than with using the mantra. The immersion into the nature of ātman (into oneself), according to the Devī-bhāgavata-purāṇa, is the best guideline for prāṇāyāma, which differs from many other texts, where samantrakaprāṇāyāma (with a mantra) is higher. Then the body becomes like a metal, under the intense temperature of fire it acquires the qualities of fire. The body of feeling, immersing in nature, spiritualises.

When it’s said that prāṇāyāma improves health, it means that you achieve your natural state by getting rid of the unnatural. Health in Sanskrit is “svastha”, from the roots sva (own) and stha (existing),  but the meaning is much more than that. From yoga point of view the normal state includes a natural state of mind, feelings, etc. If we return to the subject of counting, I even received such recommendations as to use rhythm while chanting a mantra, so the mind immerses itself into the repetition of the mantra easier. It’s easier for immersion, because we won’t see anything spiritual in the practice of prāṇāyāma if it’s based only on counting, but after all prāṇāyāma removes the worldly state of mind. Theoretically rhythm captures the mind as for instance in the theory of chandas in Sanskrit poetics. I think, the practice of measuring the breath with the use of “matras” can be compared to riding a car to some destination, but somewhere, say, a traffic jam has been formed. Then a driver can look for another way, a little longer or shorter, but still to the same destination. There are basic guidelines during practice, but some small temporary deviations are permissible, if a practitioner feels they are needed.

However, all these subtleties, even such seemingly simple as matras, should be explained by a Guru. Because such elements as mantras, anāhata, etc., are more than simple technics as everybody understands them nowadays. Yoga is the highest level of spiritual practice, although it is bonded with simplicity and nature, many lost it in the artificial world and the artificial way of life. There should be a balance between the spiritual and the physical in yoga, that must always be remembered.