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Yoga
Sutras 2.49-2.53:
Pranayama and Breath Control,
Rung #4 of 8
(Previous
Next Main)
 Fourth rung is Pranayama: The
fourth of the eight rungs (2.29) of
Yoga is Pranayama, which is regulating the breath so as to
make it slow and subtle (2.50), leading to the experience of the steady flow of
energy (prana), which is beyond or underneath exhalation, inhalation, and
the transitions between them (2.51).
The fourth Pranayama: The three
pranayamas are exhalation, inhalation, and the transition (2.50).
However, the fourth pranayama is that continuous prana which surpasses, is beyond,
or behind the others (2.51).
Thinning the veil of karma: The
experience and repeated practice of this fourth pranayama thins the
veil of karma, which usually clouds the inner light, allowing that to come
shining through (2.52).
Posture is the prerequisite: To
successfully practice and attain the full benefits of breath control and
pranayama, it is necessary that it be built on the solid foundation of a
steady and comfortable sitting posture (2.46-2.48).
Pranayama is preparation for concentration:
Through these practices and processes of pranayama the mind acquires or develops the fitness, qualification,
or capability for concentration (dharana), which is the sixth rung (3.1-3.3).
See also:
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2.49
Once that perfected posture has been achieved, the slowing or braking of
the force behind, and of unregulated movement of inhalation and exhalation is
called breath control and expansion of prana (pranayama), which leads to
the absence of the awareness of both, and is the fourth of the eight
rungs.
(tasmin sati shvasa prashvsayoh gati vichchhedah pranayamah)
- tasmin = upon that
(perfection of meditation posture)
- sati = being
accomplished
- shvasa = inhalation
- prashvsayoh = exhalation
- gati = of the
uncontrolled movements
- vichchhedah = slowing,
softening or
braking of the force behind
- pranayamah = expansion
of prana, regulation of breath
Slowing the force behind breath:
Imagine that you are driving a car, and that you quickly accelerate by
firmly pressing the gas pedal with your foot. Imagine that when you want
to slow down, you sharply press your foot on the brake pedal. In both
cases there is a firm pressure being exerted. Now, imagine that you very gently
press the gas pedal to accelerate, and that you very gently press
the brake pedal to slow down. You are using less force in both
accelerating and decelerating. That backing off, or slowing of the amount
of force is what is done with the exertion towards exhalation and
inhalation (vichchhedah). Through that slowing process, there is an
expansion of awareness of the entire field of prana, which is called
pranayama.
Breathing and pranayama practices:
This sort of slowing, softening or braking of the effort in breath is used with such
foundation practices as breath awareness,
diaphragmatic breathing, alternate
nostril breathing, and two-to-one
breathing. The entire science of breath and pranayama rests on this
foundation.
Eliminate the pause: One of the
most important aspects of regulating the breath is the elimination
of the pause between breaths. The question of intentional breath retention
(kumbhaka) is a separate matter, and is built on a solid foundation of
well regulated breathing. By consciously practicing the elimination of the
pause, allowing the transitions between breaths to be very smooth, with a
backing off of effort, a deep sense of calm comes. This is the preparation
for deep concentration and meditation, which is described in sutra 2.53.
Sandhya, ida and pingala: This
deep calm is called sandhya, the wedding
of sun and moon, the energy flows of ida
and pingala. From this place the mind only wants to be quiet and calm,
going inward to meditate, with the opening of sushumna. (See the pages on describing
ida and pingala and balancing
ida and pingala)
Absence of awareness of breath: At
some point the attention moves inward, past the breath. The senses turn
inward (pratyahara, 2.54-2.55) towards
concentration, meditation, and samadhi (3.1-3.3),
the last three of the eight rungs of Yoga. When this absence of awareness
of breath happens, it is as if one forgets he or she is breathing,
although it is not a mere forgetting like when one is absent-minded.
Rather, it is a case of transcending breath awareness. This is similar to awareness of body (2.46-2.48)
falling away when attention becomes absorbed in the breath, and to worldly
awareness falling away when attention becomes absorbed in the body and
sitting posture. In this systematic
process, attention moves inward through all
the levels of ones being.
One of the predictable obstacles:
In earlier sutras (1.30-1.32) nine
predictable obstacles and four ensuing companions were described, one of
which was irregularities in the breath (1.31).
Although one-pointedness was introduced as the antidote (1.32)
for all of those obstacles, a subtler, more specific approach is being
introduced here, which is more intimately involved with the obstacle of
irregular breath itself.
Awareness
of breath: One of the finest methods there is to stabilize and calm
the mind is breath awareness. First, be aware of the transitions between
the breaths, and allow them to be smooth, without an abrupt transition,
and without pausing between breaths. Consciously practice seeing how
delicately smooth you can make the transitions. Allow the breath to be
quiet, and to have no jerkiness.
Elongation of exhalation:
Second, after establishing sound and steady awareness of the breath, allow
the exhalation to gradually elongate, such that the amount of time spent
exhaling is longer than the amount of time inhaling. The air will move
outward more slowly with exhalation than with inhalation. Gradually allow
the ratio to be two to one, where the exhalation is approximately twice as
long as the inhalation. Pranayama is often translated as breath
control. The root ayama actually means lengthening. Thus,
pranayama more specifically means lengthening the life force.
Not rechaka, puraka, and kumbhaka:
There are other breathing practices that include rechaka (exhalation),
puraka (inhalation) and kumbhaka (intentional holding of the breath).
These practices are not the intent here in this sutra, particularly not
the practice of breath retention. Though these may be useful practices at
some stage of practice, they are not the subject of this sutra in relation
to stabilizing the mind and making it tranquil.
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2.50
That pranayama has three aspects of external or outward flow (exhalation),
internal or inward flow (inhalation), and the third, which is the absence
of both during the transition between them, and is known as fixedness,
retention, or suspension. These are regulated by place, time, and number,
with breath becoming slow and subtle.
(bahya abhyantara stambha vrittih desha kala sankhyabhih paridrishtah
dirgha sukshmah)
- bahya = external
- abhyantara = internal
- stambha = holding,
restraint, suspension, stationary, retention, cessation, transition
- vrittih = operations,
activities, fluctuations, modifications, changes, or various forms of
the mind-field
- desha = place, spot,
space, location
- kala = time, period,
duration
- sankhyabhih = by these
three, number, count of
- paridrishtah = regulated
by, observed by
- dirgha = made long,
prolonged, slow
- sukshmah = and subtle,
fine
Train three aspects of breath: Three
aspects of breath and prana are trained when doing any of the specific breathing
practices:
- Exhalation: Training the
exhalation is removing the jerkiness, allowing the flow to be slow and
deep, as well as diaphragmatic.
- Inhalation: Training the
exhalation also means eliminating jerkiness, breathing slowly, and
using the diaphragm.
- Transition: Between exhalation
and inhalation, and between inhalation and exhalation there is a
transition, which is experienced as suspension, retention, or
cessation, etc. The training of the transition is to make it very
smooth, as if there were no pause at all.
Suspension means transition: When
the word stambha is translated as suspension or retention, this can
be taken to mean the intentional holding of the breath over some period of
time, which is a
practice called kumbhaka. However, it is stambha that is
used here, not kumbhaka. Between exhalation and inhalation there is
a transition when one is neither exhaling nor inhaling. Between
inhalation and exhalation there is also a transition when one is
neither inhaling nor exhaling.
Slowing the breath: A slowing or
braking process was described in the last sutra (2.49).
This gentle regulation and releasing of effort is very important to
understand and practice with all three aspects of breath: exhalation,
inhalation, and transition.
Regulation by place, time, and number:
During breathing practices, the cycles of
breath (exhalation, inhalation, and transition) are witnessed and
regulated in three ways:
- Place (desha, spot, space,
location): The awareness of breath or its flow of energy is
intentionally focused in some location, such as the diaphragm, one or
both nostrils, up and down the spine, throughout the whole body, or
with attention placed in one point (navel, heart, or eyebrow centers,
etc.). The different points of attention will bring different
experiences and different depths of benefit.
- Time (kala, period, duration):
The timing of exhalation, inhalation, and transition are also
consciously regulated. The pause between breaths is gently eliminated,
or later, in the case of kumbhaka practices, might be intentionally
lengthened. Exhalation and inhalation might be made of equal duration,
or exhalation might be lengthened, such as in two-to-one breathing. As
the pauses are eliminated, the exhalations and inhalations might
become quite slow, transcending the gross breath (2.51),
and bringing a great peace to the mind, leading to concentration and
meditation (2.53).
- Number (sankhyabhih, count):
One may count the number of seconds or heartbeats associated with
inhalation and exhalation, causing the number to be the same for
exhalation and inhalation. For example, one may initially count 6
seconds each for inhalation and exhalation, which is a total of 12
seconds per breath, or 5 breaths per minute. With two-to-one
breathing, one might exhale 8 seconds and inhale 4 seconds, which is
also 12 seconds per breath, or 5 breaths per minute. The counts may be
made higher, allowing the breath to be longer. Another way of counting
is by measuring the distance below the nostrils at which the flow of
air can be felt with the hand or fingers. The further the distance can
be felt, the quicker the breath. The less the distance the air can be
felt below the nostrils, the slower the breath.
Slow and subtle are the goals: The
goal of the practices are to make the breath slow (dirgha, made long) and
subtle (sukshmah, made fine). It is very useful to keep in mind that these
two are the goals, regardless of which specific breathing
and pranayama practices are being done. It allows the mind to stay
focused on why the practices are being done, and how they fit into the
scheme of the eight rungs of Yoga (2.29),
leading to deep meditation and samadhi (3.1-3.3).
Posture is prerequisite: To
successfully practice and attain the full benefits of breath control and
pranayama, it is necessary that it be built on the solid foundation of a
steady and comfortable sitting posture (2.46-2.48).
Surely one can do breathing practices without the foundation of posture,
but the benefits are not as rich.
Diversity of views on pranayama:
There are a wide range of opinions and teachings about breathing and
pranayama practices. Some are compatible and some are conflictual, and it
seems unlikely that the differences will, or can be completely resolved
and integrated. Understanding this allows one to be able to choose wisely
about which practices to follow, as well as how and when to implement
them. Some of the confusion stems from not understanding the subtler, more
internal practices of meditation, and thus believing that pranayama has
solely to the more mechanical aspects of muscular breath regulation. The
deeper pranayama practices have more to do with awareness than mechanics.
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2.51
The fourth pranayama is that continuous prana which surpasses, is beyond,
or behind those others that operate in the exterior and interior realms or
fields.
(bahya abhyantara vishaya akshepi chaturthah)
- bahya = external
- abhyantara = internal
- vishaya = region,
spheres, realms, fields
- akshepi = going beyond,
surpassing, setting aside
- chaturthah = the fourth
The fourth pranayama: The fourth pranayama is that continuous prana which surpasses, is beyond,
or behind those others that operate in the exterior and interior realms or
fields. It refers to that pure prana that is beyond the three aspects we
know as exhalation, inhalation, and transition between these. It is a
process of transcending breath as we usually know it, so as to drop into
the energy of pure prana that is underneath, or support to the gross
breath. This comes after working with the three pranayamas, and these
rest on the foundation of the Yamas, Niyamas, and Asana, which are the
first three rungs of Yoga.
Like waves and the ocean: Imagine
that you are sitting at the ocean, just where the waves come ashore. When
a wave comes, it washes over you and runs up the beach. Then, the wave
turns around, and recedes over you, going back to the ocean. Then, the
current turns again, and another wave washes over you. Over and over, you
experience this cycling process. This is like the breath, which exhales,
transitions, inhales, transitions, and then starts the process again.
However, imagine that you swam away from shore some distance, and dove down to
the bottom (wearing your scuba tank). There, you would sit on the bottom
with no waves coming or going. You might feel a very gentle motion, but
very slight; you are beyond, or deeper than the surface motion of the waves.
So it is also with breath.
The fourth pranayama transcends the
waves: Similarly, in the fourth pranayama, your attention transcends
the process of coming and going of exhalation and inhalation, as well as
the transitions between them. In the fourth pranayama, you experience the
prana itself as an ever existing force, beyond the surface currents.
Through that pranayama the veil of karmasheya (2.12) that covers the inner
illumination or light is thinned, diminishes and vanishes, allowing the
inner light to come shining through.
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2.52
Through that pranayama the veil of karmasheya (2.12) that covers the inner
illumination or light is thinned, diminishes and vanishes.
(tatah kshiyate prakasha avaranam)
- tatah = then, thereby,
thence, from that
- kshiyate = is destroyed,
thinned, diminishes, vanishes
- prakasha = light,
illumination
- avaranam = veil,
covering
Results of the fourth pranayama: Through
the experience and repeated practice of that fourth pranayama the veil of karmasheya
(2.12), which covers the inner
illumination or light is thinned, diminishes and gradually vanishes. The
practice of pranayama, and the repeated experiencing of the fourth
pranayama (2.51) is a most significant part of
breaking the alliance of karma, which was introduced in previous sutras (2.12-2.25).
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2.53
Through these practices and processes of pranayama, which is the fourth of
the eight steps, the mind acquires or develops the fitness, qualification,
or capability for true concentration (dharana), which is itself the sixth
of the steps.
(dharanasu cha yogyata manasah)
- dharanasu = for
concentration, for dharana
- cha = and
- yogyata = fitness,
preparedness, qualification, capability
- manasah = mind
Fitness for concentration:
Through these practices and processes of pranayama, which is the fourth of
the eight steps, the mind acquires or develops the fitness, qualification,
or capability for true concentration (dharana), which is itself the sixth
of the steps (3.1). Implicit in this
is the fact that pranayama leads to the withdrawal of the senses
(pratyahara), which is described in the next two sutras (2.54-2.55).
The
next sutra is 2.54
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