SOME BREATHING TECHNIQUES USED IN YOGA: -

The science of breath is called “savarodaya or swara vigana”, lord Shiva to his wife parvathi explained this completely, we have given only some of it here as it is relates to meditation. (There are different types of breathing for different needs of sadhana, what are given here are only those that are required for beginning level of purification and establishing a pattern (habit). The other levels will become aware to the aspirant as he progresses. This is necessary as there is danger of releasing high amount of energy and causing health and other disorders if introduced in the beginning.)  Release of accumulated energy from the body locked up due to attachment will be gradual and manageable.

Yes many of us in the beginning will feel if we don’t differentiate anything by describing it, then how will we know that we are there and that it is not a figment of our imagination? Or how can we make it known to others? The answer; - is there a necessity to know everything only by differentiation when we can experience everything as the same thing as it exists knowing that it is the modification of energy? And why is it important to tell others? (As this can be one of the reasons that we want to describe it in details). This is not the only way to experience things as we know till now. (remember that everything will be the same as before due to the collective consciousness of all living beings the world does not disappear, the difference is that we are experiencing it differently as one same thing not giving importance to the difference, in other words we are relating to everything in the realm of energy). This necessity to know and differentiate is external to us we were not born with it, our parents, teachers, and everyone we interacted with till now taught us! I can only assure you that there is much more to experience in this state than can be imagined.

Soul breaths even after it leaves the body because consciousness goes along with it, the only difference is that we breathe air, while it breathes energy as heat, light, sound and pure subtle undifferentiated energy. This means consciousness is the real “I”. Thus we have a proof here that we never die. We breathe the mixture of air, which includes some amount of the air we and others in the vicinity breathe out, the slower and the longer inhalation we use in  breathing  the more amount our own breath will be absorbed back as we inhale. This is true only if the surrounding air is not disturbed by a draft of wind or the temperature gradient is not too large around our body. Heat and other wastes that come out through our out breath disperses into the surrounding so fast reducing their concentration, thus we don’t feel or detect them, this is because the concentration of wastes in the out breath is higher than the surrounding it diffuses into it readily.

But the soul has the option to absorb and expel either its own energy or that of other sources around it by just desiring it. This way it can decide whether to interact with the surrounding or just limit its interaction with itself.  Remember that the time lapse in the spiritual realm does not present thus it can imagine and manifest things instantly (it is more accessible to the vertical component of time than us humans). Thus its experience will be limited to either its own awareness or to the limits it can expand its awareness, this gives a very important clue that reducing our external breath and tuning to the absorption and expelling of energy when still living in this body is one of the way to directly reach the state of meditation. In other words this is called silent breathing, a state reached while we are in deep meditation. This is the reason that we will not be disturbed by changes of even smell from the surrounding. Smell is the last sense organ from which we withdraw consciousness. Stopping of breath thus does not say we are no longer living or the breathing is completely stopped it reduces to such a level that the sense organs cannot detect it, for the matter of fact neither is stopping or reduced rated of heartbeat an indication of death. Normal breathing rate as observed in each animal is different, thus their life period is accordingly determined, the faster we breathe the shorter the period we live within the body, with consciousness occupied by the sense organs. And the slower and deeper we breathe longer we live with out the consciousness occupied by anything in particular, all energy is made to flow upwards through the central channel with detachment to the all the  manifested things and associate our consciousness with the spiritual things when we are in this state.  This silent breathing is one of the ways to cheat death (a topic we may deal with at a latter date).

All of us breathe, as the situation demands this is what we know as casual living.

Guided living is forming a pattern to create the desired environment we want both inside and outside the body. The technique this is attained through yoga is one of the tried and tested ways elaborated in the texts of ancient India by the sages who through regular practice gained purification, perfection and maturity, their observation of the cycles of mother nature its living things was the bases of this technique. The body has an automatic method of changing the breath based on many things, one of them is the temperature (the surroundings, body, and the state of mind), Feelings meaning of words and desire are others. The center where this is done is the brain. The method used by it is secretion of chemicals from the glands that react with the basic elements creating heat or cold. This decides the state of mind.

The state of mind plays an important part in every act. Different moods require different level of oxygen and vital energy the breathing rate changes. The mood or thoughts similarly change with flow of breath in the nostrils supplying adequate energy to that gland which can generate it by the reaction of chemicals secreted into the blood stream, so we can safely say that flow of breath in either nostril are also responsible for the duality of everything that exists in nature. State or thoughts of people can thus be read by tuning to the breathing pattern coupled with face reading (this is not so easy, it requires a lot of practice for perfection, this is done by observing the thoughts rising in our own mind while concentrating on the subject whose thoughts we are interested in knowing). The energy released by the body is carried by the surrounding air thus fear, joy, and other states can be read by learning to differentiate it in the subtle level. Children and Animals have this unique way to sense danger and is displayed as fear or joy and love, one more reason they can do so is that they have not yet been taught the other state thus their mind is purely concentrated on only one topic. This means we have to regain that quality which we have lost by forgetting it due to attachment to other likes. YES WE HAVE TO LEARN THIS BY OBSERVING OUR CHILDREN.

Alternate nostril breathing is necessary to balance the temperature of the body (caused by the heating, breath flowing in right nostril or cooling, and breath flowing in left nostril). Thus this is where we start our purification exercise. This occurs in the energy sheath, this is where we start, as all the sheaths are interconnected this is necessary to calm the mind and develop a state conducive for sitting for long periods as mind and energy sheath are closely linked. In normal persons the breath automatically changes nostrils, a healthy person will experience two to three hours in each nostril during the day and night or depending on the body temperature. This also depends on the lunar phases we had mentioned earlier articles. 

The time duration of one “prana” (one type of measurement of time in the subtle level correlated with macro level measurement) is 12 continuous blinking of the eyelids each blink is termed as one “matra”, this is with relation with slight type of breath using this we overcome tiredness and fatigue. Slight breathing is done during deep dreamless sleep, medium when we are awake and intense during heavy work.

Medium type of breathing is twice this time 24 matras using this we overcome agitation, and

Intense type is twice medium duration 36 matras using this we overcome dejection.

Practicing this all the faults developed during living are overcome, this is similar to burning them, which is similar to going beyond duality.

We can confirm this by observing animals in different states of mind the angrier or agitated their breath will be faster and when tamed they display soft slow breathing. The similar thing with our mind reduce the breathing and then guide the mind everything will become simple and easy. The type of breathing we are required to attain by practice is equal to the slight breathing, and the quantity of air adjusted to the time frame of intense breathing (3 pranas). This means large quantity air is very gradually inhaled, retained, and expelled. Final emancipation is achieved by 4 conditions: - cessation of consequences of action, power of attaining everything, harmony, and

serenity. Only when good and bad (duality) of action die away mind attains peace.

Meditation can dawn only when we can calm the agitation of the mind. Agitation is due to intellectual activity, which is trying to find similarity and dissimilarity between the stored and experienced information brought to it by the sense organs. Thus the requirement to stopping differentiation.

There are other breathing techniques that will be written to aspirants as the need arises only if these detailed above are perfected. The aspirants can alternately seek the accomplished yoga teachers or refer books as they like. There are four stages that will be recognized by the aspirant as calmness, politeness, and body fragrance pleasant & sweetness.