RE: Pranayama link / natural breath retention

[Guest guest]

 

mumble cat [mumblecat]

Thursday, May 18, 2000 8:34 AM

Pranayama link / natural breath retention

 

Patanjali also mentions in the Yoga Sutra that

breath retention will come during meditation,

"when the body is ready for it".

 

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.

 

Thanks for sharing the link with us.

 

Love,

 

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

[Guest guest]

Dear Amanda and Harsha,

 

Thank you so much for mentioning our article on

natural or involuntary breath retention and pointing

out that the traditional name for it is kevala

kumbhaka. I didn't realize that when I printed the

article.

 

I would like to incorporate in our article some

references to this subject in the classical literature,

but I'm having trouble finding a text that contains more

than a suggestive hint. Maybe you can help me. So far

I've found --

 

Yoga Kundlini Upanishad 24 and 58. Mentions kevala

kumbhaka but doesn't describe what it is.

 

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."

 

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? I checked

some literal translations of that sutra and

apparently, the Sanskrit omits all the verbs, so it's

the translator's guess whether Patanjali said that

"breath retention WILL come" or whether he said

"breath retention SHOULD only be practiced..."

Most of the translations I checked opted for the

second interpretation, but apparently they are guessing

or inferring.

 

A question about II.51. I think this must be

a reference to the double-breathing Amanda

mentions...?

 

It seems unclear to me whether Patanjali is talking

about kevala here. Iyengar, in his commentary,

says he's talking about something "similar" to

kevala.

 

Seems to me Patanjali is saying there that in addition

to inhaling, exhaling, and retention, there is a fourth

state of the breath. Feuerstein's translation for

that sutra is:

 

"[The movement of breath] transcending the external

and internal sphere is the 'fourth'."

 

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong verses. Please let me

know if I am. I am quite ignorant about this subject

and if this message appears smart-alecky that is not

my intention, I'm just trying to get accurate info so

I can print it on our website.

 

Many thanks.

 

Best regards,

 

Rob

(Rob Sacks, editor)

http://www.realization.org

 

 

--------------------

>

> Message: 14

> Thu, 18 May 2000 07:01:11 -0400

> "Harsha" <harsha-hkl

> RE: Pranayama link / natural breath retention

>

>

> mumble cat [mumblecat]

>

> Patanjali also mentions in the Yoga Sutra that

> breath retention will come during meditation,

> "when the body is ready for it".

>

> 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.

>

> Thanks for sharing the link with us.

>

> Love,

>

> 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