Pranayama link / natural breath retention

05-19-2000, 04:37 PM

---

Nosce te ipsum

On Thu, 18 May 2000 16:48:53 Editor wrote:

>Hatha Yoga Pradipika III.41 and V.70-76. Doesn't
>say that kevala is involuntary. Does say that with
>it, the yogi can hold his breath "as long as he likes."

I suppose as long as the mind is kept to minimum activity, breath can be
suspended for a very long time.
I am personally not familiar with this source in
detail.

>Yoga Sutras -- Amanda, I can't find Patanjali's
>remark that "breath retention will come during
>meditation, when the body is ready for it".
>
>Is this somebody's translation of II.49?

>A question about II.51. I think this must be
>a reference to the double-breathing Amanda
>mentions...?

Yes, II.52 is the one.
You're right, my quote was not from Patanjali himself, but the commentator whose
translation I bought, that of Sri Swami Satchidananda,
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 6th edition, by Integral
Yoga Publications. The II.52 and commentary are on
pages 161-163.
Sorry for that faulty quote of source.

It's a long time since I looked in the book.

II.52, page 161:
"There is a fourth kind of pranayama that occurs during concentration on an
inertenal or external object."

Satchidananda's commentary runs:
page 162: "The fourth type of pranayama happens automatically. We do not have to
concentrate on retention of breath here, because it will stop automatically just
by concentrating the mind on a chosen object or idea. This is also called kevala
kumbhaka, the easy unintentional retention which occurs automatically in deep
meditation.
When the mind comes to a standstill, the prana automatically does the same [...]
(This is also the basis for doing pranayama in the first place, so the mind can
be controlled -my commentary)
When breath retention happens during our japa or meditation it is good. It won't
happen unless the system is ready."

He more or less says the same to commentary to I.34 page 57-58.
And also gives a useful warning against practicing breath retention w/out proper
guidance from an experienced teacher in the commentaries to the stanzas
preceding II.52.

That's the most accurate reference to kevala
kumbhaka I can find in my books, Rob.

It is is a strange phenomenon, though, but perhaps
not as strange compared to the double breathing of
birds.

I hope this helps you out.

Also, I enjoyed reading the small article on Kundalini
and Jnana Yoga on your website.
Is Laura no longer the editor ?

Love,

Amanda.

Angelfire for your free web-based e-mail. http://www.angelfire.com

05-21-2000, 06:52 PM

> One form of natural breath retention is called
> khumbaka (sp ?) when there is no active breath
> retention, but a kind of double breathing
> appears, inhalation seemingly goes on at the same
> time as exhalation and vice versa.

> Amanda.
>
> Thanks for bringing this up Amanda. You are extremely knowledgeable about
> these topics. Perhaps you should give us some background on your yogic and
> meditative practices. Natural breath retention is called Kevala Kumbhaka and
> happens spontaneously in deep meditation and leads to samadhi. The beauty of
> Kevala Kumbhaka is that it happens when the body is ready as you say. I
> will pass this on to the NDS.
> Harsha

This double breathing..., using different "symbols" or "word experience"
to describe the "same" _thing_,... this double breathing could it not be
also looking at the moon at midnight and see the sun shining, or looking
the sun shining but seeing at the same time the moon shine at noon.

Or feeling the emptiness of space become so full and matter become so
empty, and vice versa, at the same time. Standing between matter and
energy, and as time loses its direction, rather times shows that it
shines in all direction, one may only come to understand where he/she
stands.

Nowhere/Now here

Antoine

05-25-2000, 10:16 PM

--- In HarshaSatsangh (AT) egroups (DOT) com, "mumble cat"
wrote:
>
> (...snip...)
>
> That's the most accurate reference to kevala
> kumbhaka I can find in my books, Rob.

>

> I hope this helps you out.

Dear Amanda,

Thanks very much! The additional info you supplied
was a big help.

> Also, I enjoyed reading the small article on Kundalini
> and Jnana Yoga on your website.

Glad you liked it. We get practically no feedback
from anybody so it's kind of weird picking articles.
I just print stuff that I liked reading myself. Then
I wonder if anybody agreed.

> Is Laura no longer the editor ?

She needed to take some time off from the website,
so I'm sort of sitting in for her. Trying, anyway.

Love,

Rob