Prāṇāyāma
Prāṇāyāma · prāṇa-āyāma, “restraint of the breath”
Kuśa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kuśa. Prāṇa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Prāṇa. Yoga has other meanings too: see all meanings of Yoga.
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of prāṇa (the breath) and āyāma (restraint, drawing out): “the restraint of the breath”.
Meaning: control of the breath, one of the limbs of yoga, done in three parts: pūraka, drawing the breath fully in; kumbhaka, holding it; and recaka, letting it fully out. It purifies the nāḍīs, removes the doshas, and steadies the mind for pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā and dhyāna.
In the scriptures: the Bhāgavata Purāṇa teaches prāṇāyāma in the yoga of Kapila, Nārada, Ṛshabha and Śrī Kṛshṇa, and names those who practised it.
How it is done. Kapila tells Devahūti that, with mauna and daily practice of the āsana, the yogī slowly conquers the breath by prāṇāyāma: he breathes in and holds, breathes out and holds outside, or does the same in the reverse order, out, hold, in, hold. It purifies the nāḍīs and steadies the mind; as metal heated in the fire is cleansed by the air that is blown on it, the mind is quickly cleansed when the yogī conquers vāyu by prāṇāyāma, and it removes the doshas of vāta, pitta and the rest (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapter 28). Nārada teaches Dhruva prāṇāyāma of three kinds, pūraka, recaka and kumbhaka, joined with Oṃkāra; by it the movements of prāṇa and apāna become balanced, restlessness leaves the mind and the wandering of the senses ceases (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 8). To Yudhishṭhira he says that, gazing at the tip of the nose, one should do prāṇāyāma, pūraka, kumbhaka and recaka, until the mind gives up its saṅkalpas (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 7, Chapter 15).
Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Uddhava to purify the nāḍīs by recaka, kumbhaka and pūraka; practising prāṇāyāma with Oṃkāra ten times at each of the three times of day, one conquers prāṇa within a month (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 14). The sādhaka should sit firm on the āsana, do prāṇāyāma and make the mind one-pointed by practice (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 9); he should master the āsana, practise prāṇāyāma, offer his mind to Śrī Kṛshṇa, do dhyāna at the three times of day, and neither lose heart nor hurry (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 13). In the pūjā, the body is purified by prāṇāyāma and the fire of upāsana (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 27).
A limb of yoga. Śuka tells Parīkshit to practise prāṇāyāma without letting the mind leave Oṃkāra, to conquer the āsana, the breath, attachment and the senses, and then to fix the mind with the buddhi on the gross form of Bhagavān Vishṇu (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 1); the yogī who wishes to leave the world sits in a firm āsana, does prāṇāyāma with resolve and withdraws the senses (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 2). Ṛshabhadeva tells his sons to control prāṇa by prāṇāyāma, the senses by pratyāhāra and the mind by dhāraṇā and dhyāna (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 5). Those who meditate on Brahmā with bhakti master the breath by prāṇāyāma, the senses by pratyāhāra and the mind by dhāraṇā, and know no defeat (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapter 15). Yet Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Mucukunda that some without bhakti make the mind one-pointed by prāṇāyāma and dhāraṇā, but because the vāsanās in their minds are not destroyed, the mind runs again towards sense-pleasures (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 51).
Those who practised it. Śamīka Muni sat with eyes closed, senses withdrawn, breath held and mind restrained when Parīkshit came to him (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 18). Dhruva did prāṇāyāma and pratyāhāra (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 12). By prāṇāyāma Pṛthu controlled the five jñānendriyas and the mind and was freed from the bondage of saṃsāra (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 23). Malayadhvaja practised prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā and dhyāna and dissolved his mind in Parabrahman (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 28). The Pracetas withdrew from all action, kept silence, mastered the āsana, did prāṇāyāma and fixed the mind on Parabrahman (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 31). The varṇas of Śāka-dvīpa uproot rajas and tamas by prāṇāyāma (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 20). Ajāmila, freed from the dūtas of Yama, resolved to control his breath, senses and mind so as not to sink again into naraka (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapter 2). After the teaching of Aṅgiras and Nārada, Citraketu kept silence and did prāṇāyāma (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapter 16), and Pṛśni and Sutapas practised it in their tapas and scattered the impurities of the mind, before Śrī Hari was born to them (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 3).
Related terms: Pūraka · Kumbhaka · Recaka · Pratyāhāra · Dhāraṇā · Prāṇa · Yoga · Samādhi
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 18; Skandha 2, Chapters 1–2; Skandha 3, Chapters 15, 28; Skandha 4, Chapters 8, 12, 23, 28, 31; Skandha 5, Chapters 5, 20; Skandha 6, Chapters 2, 16; Skandha 7, Chapter 15; Skandha 10, Chapters 3, 51; Skandha 11, Chapters 9, 13–14, 27