Second year (fourth sem) – Paper 1

Gheranda Samhita - Chapter 5

Pranayama

1. Preparation for Pranayama

Four things are necessary in practicing pranayama.

a. Sthana
b. Kaala
c. Mithahara
d. Nadi shudhi

a. Sthana

Yoga practice should not be attempted in

- a far off country because one loses faith
- in a forest because one is without protection
- in a capital city or in the midst of crowd because there is danger of
exposure
If one does so, he loses success.

The place indicated for yoga practice is

- In a good welfare country
- Where one can get alms easily(food is easily and abundantly procurable)
- Where there is no nuisance
In such a place, one should erect a hut.

Characteristics of Yoga Mata/hut

- Raise compound wall
- In the compound dig a well or tank.
- The hut should built neither very high nor very low.
- Free from insects.
- Completely smeared over with cow-dung.
In such a secluded place, one should practice pranayama.

b. Kaala

A beginner has to commence the yoga practice in the following seasons

- Vasanta (Spring)[Caitra & Vaishaka]
- Sharada (Autumn)[Ashvina & Karthika]
By doing so, the practitioner attains success and he does not become liable to disease.

One should not commence the practice in

- Hemantha(winter)[Margashirsha & Pausha]
- Shishira(cold)[Magha & Phalguna]
- Grishma(hot)[ Jesta and Ashada]
- Varsha(rainy)[Sravana & Bhadrapada]
If one does so, it causes disease
c. Mithahara

He, who begins the practice of Yoga without moderation of diet, suffers from many
diseases and does not make progress in Yoga.

Grahyahara – Eatable diet

- A Yogi should eat food prepared from rice, barley, wheat, green gram, black
gram, and horse gram etc.
- It should be clean and free from chaff.
- May eat Patola, Surana, Mana, Kakkola, Sukashaka, Dradika, Karkati,
Rambha, Dumbari, Kantakantaka, Aamarambha, Baalarambha, Rambhadanda,
Moolaka, Vaartaki and Rddhi.
- Freah leafy vegetables like, Baalashaka, Kaalashaka, Patolapatraka, Vaastuka,
and Himalocika.
- Butter, ghee, milk, sugar, sugar-cane, jaggery, ripe plantain, cocoa-nut fruit.
- Pomegranate, grapes, Lavani, Dhatri, Juice which is not sour.
- Cardamon, nutmeg, cloves, Paurusha, Rose apple, Jambala, Haritaki, Dates.

Quality and quantity of food, which is to be consumed

- It should be pure, sweet, and lubricating.
- Easily digestible, agreeable and cooling food.
- Which nourish all the dhatus of the body.
- which is palatable, desirable and is eaten to please the self.

- Fill the half stomach with food, one quarter with water and one quarter shold
be kept empty for the movement of air.

Agrahyahara – Prohibited foods

In the beginning of the practiceone should avoid
- bitter, sour, salt, pungent, and roasted food
- curd, butter milk, heavy vegetables, liquor, palm nut and over-ripe jack-fruit
- Kulattha, masura, pandu, kushmanda, vegetable stem, gourds and berries.
- Kapittha, Kanta-bilve, Palaashaka
- Kadamba, Jambira, Bimba, Lakuca, Lasuna
- Lotus stalk fiber, Kamaranga, Piyala, Hingu, Shalmali, Kemuka
- Much travelling, company of women, and basking near fire.

- Avoid food that is hard, polluted, putrid, producing heat inside the body, stale,
extremely cold and extremely hot

Should avoid early morning bath, fasting or anything that causes fatigue.
Should avoid eating once a day, or not eating at all or eating again within three hours.

In the beginning, he should take a milk and ghee daily and take his food twice a day,
once at noon and once in the evening.
d. Nadi shudhi

Seating arrangements
- Sit on a thick seat of kusha grass, antelope skin, tiger skin, a blanket.
- Sit facing East or North

Necessity of purification of Nadi

- As long as Nadi are full of impurities vayu does not enter them.
- Pranayama will be successful only when Nadis are prurified.
- And finally it leads to the attainment of tattva jnana.

Two kinds of purification of Nadis

1) Samanu - done by mental process with Bija mantra
2) Nirmanu – is performed by physical cleanings( shat kriyas)

For samanu refer chapter one.

2)Nirmanu
- Sit in Padmasana
- Perform the adoration of Guru

- Contemplate on vayu-bija mantra – Yam

- Has a smoky colour and is lusturous.
- Inhale through the left nostril, repeating the Bija 16 times.
- Retain the breath for a period of 64 repetation of the mantra.
- Exhale through the right nostril, repeating the Bijamantra 32 times.

- The root of the navel is the seat of Agni-tattva.

- Raising the Agni from that place, join the Prithvi-tattva with it; then
contemplate on this mixed light.
- Inhale through the right nostril, repeating the Agni-Bija(Ram) 16 times.
- Retain the breath for a period of 64 repetation of Bijamantra.
- Exhale through the left nostril, repeating the mantra for 32 times.

- Fixing the gaze on the tip of the nose and contemplating the luminous
reflection of the moon
- Inhale through the left nostril, repeating Bija Tam 16 times.
- Retain the breath by repeating the Bija Vam 64 times.
- Meanwhile imagine that the nectar flowing fom the moon at the tip of the
nose runs through all the vessels of the body, and purifies them.
- Thus contemplating, exhale by repeating Prthvi-bija Lam 32 times.
2. Types of Parnayama or Kumbhaka

8 types of people pranayama.

1) Sahitakumbhaka
2) Surya-bheda
3) Ujjayi
4) Sitali
5) Bhastrika
6) Bhramari
7) Murccha
8) Kevali

1) Sahitakumbhaka

Two types -
a) Sagarbha - with Bija mantra
b) Nigarbha – without Bija mantra

Sagarbha
- Sit in Sukhasana posture facing East or North

- Contemplate on Brahma associated with rajas, red in colour.

- Inhale through left nostril repeating A 16 times.
- After inhalation but before exhalation perform uddiyanabandha.

- Contemplate on Hari, of a black colour and of sattva quality.

- Retain the breath by repeating U for 64 times.

- Contemplate on shiva of white colour and of tamas quality.

- Exhale through right nostril repeating M for 32 times.

- Then inhale through right, retain by kumbhaka, and exhale through left as
above method.
- Practice this, alternating the nostrils again and again.
- For kumbhaka, to close the nostrils, use thumb for right nostril and left by
ring-finger and little-finger.
- Never use index and middle fingers.

Nigarbha
- It without Bija manta.
- Period of Puraka, kumbhaka and recaka, may be extended from one to
hundred.

Ratio of pranayama – purakaa: Kumbhaka: Rachaka – signs of attending success.

Best - 20(mantra): 80(mantra): 40 (mantra) – Leads to levitation.
Moderate - 16: 64 : 32 - Gives rise to tremor, particularly in spinal column
Lowest - 12: 48 : 24 - The body begins to perspire copiously
 Results of pranayama
- Khecari sakti is attained.
- Diseases are cured.
- Kundalini Shakti is awakened.
- One enters Manonmani state.
- The mind experiences bliss and the practitioner becomes happy.

2) Surya-bheda

Method
- Inhale the external air through right nostril according to once capacity.
- Retain it with great effort by means of Jalandharabandha.
- Continue Kumbhaka till heat is felt right up to the tips of nails and roots of
hair.
- Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, Vyana – all these are connected with the
Surya (in the navel and connected with the right nostril).
- Inhaling through the right nostril, the Yogi should raise them from the root of
the navel and then exhale by the left nostril carefully with a continuous flow.
- Again inhaling through the right nostril and having retained the breath in the
manner prescribed let him exhale.
- This process should be repeated.

Benefits
- Destroys decay and death.
- Awakens Kundalini Shakti.
- Increases heat of the body.

3) Ujjayi

Method
- Inhale through both the nostrils.
- Hold it inside by contracting the chest and the throat.
- Moving the air in the mouth, perform Jalanadharabandha by bending the
neck.
- Retain as long as one can do it with ease.

Benefits
- All works are accomplished.
- There will be no disorders of kapha, flatulence or indigestion, rheumatism,
consumption, cough, fever or enlarged spleen.
- Over comes old age and death.

4) Sitali

Method
- Draw the air by tongue.
- Fill the chest slowly.
- Perform Kumbhaka for short time.
- Exhale through both the nostrils.
 Benefits
- He will be free from indigestion, and from Kapha and Pitta disorders.

5) Bhastrika

Method
- As the bellows of blacksmith constantly dilate and contract,
- Similarly, one should steadily move the air in and out using both the nostrils.
- Repeat for 20 times, then perform Kumbhaka.
- Exhale from left nostril(K.dhama publication - see notes at the end).
- Perform Bhastrika three times in one sitting.

Benefits
- There will be no disease or suffering.
- Day by day he will gain in health.

6) Bhramari

Method

- At mid night,
- In a place where there are no sounds of any animal, etc., to be heard
- Let the yogi practice Puraka and Kumbhaka, closing the ears by hands.
- He will hear then various internal sounds in his right ear.
- First, the sound of cricket, then flute, thunder, drum, beetle, bell, gong,
trumpet, kettledrum, Mrdanga, military drum in order.
- Various sounds are cognised by daily practice of this Kumbhaka.
- Last of all is heard the Anahata sound rising from the heart.
- Of this sound, there is a resonance.
- In that resonance there is a light.
- In that light the mind should be immersed.
- When the mind is absorbed, then it reaches the Highest seat of
Vishnu(Parama pada)

Benefits
- By success in this kumbhaka one gets success in Samadhi.

7) Murccha

Method
- Perform Kumbhaka with comfort
- Withdraw mind from all objects
- Fix it in the space between the two eyebrows.
- This causes fainting of the mind, and gives happiness.

Benefits
- By joining Manas with Atma, verily there results bliss.
8) Kevali

Description about Ajapa Gayatri

- Breath entering in makes the sound SAH and coming out makes HAM.
- These two sounds make soham or hamsa
- Throughout a day and a night, there are 21600 respirations. (15 respirations
per minute).
- Every living being performs this japa unconsciously, but constantly.
- This is called Ajapa Gayatri.

Ajapajapa is performed in three places

- Muladhara
- Anahata lotus
- Ajna lotus

Length of body and length breath during different activities.

- Length of the body is 96 angulis/digits.
- Ordinary length of air current when expired is 12 digits (9 inches).
- In singing – 16 digits (one foot).
- In eating – 20 digits (15 inches).
- In walking – 24 digits (18 inches).
- In sleep – 30 digits (22.5 inches).
- In copulation – 36 digits (27 inches)
- In physical exercise – more than above.

Method
- As the natural range of the expired air decreases, life is prolonged.
- If the length of the range increases, life is shortened.
- If Prana stays inside the body, death does not come.
- When Vayu gets spontaneously confined to the body, there results Kevala
Kumbhaka.

- All Jiva are constantly and unconsciously reciting this Ajapa mantra, only for
a fixed number of times every day.
- Yogi should recite this consciously and counting the numbers.
- By doubling the reduction in rate of respiration the state of Manonmani is
attained.
- There are no regular Recaka and Puraka in this process.
- It is only Kumbhaka.

- By inspiring air by both nostrils, perform kevala kumbhaka.

- On the first day, retain breath from 1 to 64 times.
- Perform Kevali 8 times a day, every three hours
- Or do it 5 times a day ( early morning, at noon, in the evening, at mid-night,
and in the fourth quarter of the night)
- Or thrice a day dividing the day in three equal parts, every 8 hours.
- One should increase the rate of the Ajapajapa from 1 to 5 times a day till
success is achived.
Benefits
- He who knows Pranayama and kevali is the real Yogi.
- Anything can be achived in this world who has acquired success in Kevali
Kumbhaka.