THE SECRET LIFE OF HATHA YOGA
CONTENTS
PRACTICE PAGE
1. PURIFICATION: THE SIX ACTS 2
2. ASANA: HOMAGE TO THE SOURCE 5
3. MUDRA and BANDHA: 25 SEALS and BONDS 10
4. FIVE CONCENTRATION SEALS 13
5. PRANAYAMA: CONSCIOUS BREATHING 16
6. PRATYAHARA: DRAWING-IN THE WIND 19
7. DHYANA: MEDITATION PRACTICES 20
1. PURIFICATION: THE SIX ACTS (shat karma)
The six cleansing techniques bring about purification ...
Gheranda Samhita 1.10
1. CLEANING (dhauti, from dhav, “to rinse, wash, cleanse, purify, make bright”). The dhautis clean the body; they’re to be kept secret and never revealed. There are four types of Cleaning:
A. Inner Cleaning (antar dhauti). There are four sub-types of Inner Cleaning:
a. Air Cleaning (vata sara dhauti; 1.15-16): Perform Crow Seal, slowly inhale, “move the stomach, and then expel the air through the lower passage [i.e. anus].” This act “cleans the body, destroys all diseases, and increases the body’s [abdominal or digestive] fire (jathara agni).”
b. Water Cleaning (vari sara dhauti; vari means “water pot, pitcher, jar; 1.17-18): Slowly drink water until “full up to the throat [NOT recommended here]. Move it through the stomach and expel it from the stomach downwards.” This practice is supposed to clean the physical body and lead to a “divine body (divya deha).”
c. Fire Cleaning (vahni sara dhauti, also called agni sara dhauti; vahni means “any draft animal; one who conveys or bears along; applied to a charioteer or rider, or to various gods; the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods, especially said of Agni, ‘fire’; the digestive fire; 1.19): “Move the navel plexus to the spinal column 100 times.” This cures intestinal diseases and increases the digestive fire.
d. Expelled Cleaning (bahish krita dhauti; 1.21-24): With Crow Seal, fill the stomach with air, hold for 90 minutes (and unless you can do this, don’t practice this Cleaning), and “move it through the lower passage (i.e. intestines).” Standing in navel-deep water, draw out the intestines (shakti nadi, NOT recommended here), wash them clean, and put them back inside the belly. This Cleaning creates a “divine body.”
B. Teeth Cleaning (danta dhauti). There are four sub-types of Teeth Cleaning:
a. Cleaning the Root of the Teeth (danta mula dhauti; 1.26): “Using acacia resin or clean earth, rub the base of the teeth until the impurities are removed.”
b. Tongue Cleaning (jihva dhauti, also called jihva shodhana; 1.28-31): “A long tongue can get rid of old age, death, disease, and the like. Join together the index, middle, and ring fingers, put them into the throat and rub clean the root of the tongue. By very gentle rubbing the yogi can prevent phlegm imbalances. After repeatedly pulling its tip with iron tongs, rub it with fresh butter and milk over and over again. Do this carefully every day at sunrise and sunset. When done regularly in this way, the tongue becomes long.”
c. Ear Cleaning (karna dhauti; 1.32): With the index fingertip, “rub clean the apertures of the ears. By regular practice the inner sound (nada) will manifest.”
d. Skull Cleaning (kapala dhauti; 1.33): “With the right thumb, rub the aperture at the roof of the mouth. By practicing thus one can prevent imbalances of kapha (phlegm). The nadis become clean and divine sight arises.” It should be practiced three times daily: on waking up, after eating, and before going to bed.
C. Heart Cleaning (hrid dhauti). There are three sub-types of Heart Cleaning:
a. Cleaning With a Stick (or Stalk) (danda dhauti; 1.36-37): “Insert a stick of plantain, turmeric, or cane into the gullet, move it about, and then slowly withdraw it.” This “ejects phlegm, bile, and slime through the upper passage,” and eliminates diseases of the throat.
b. Cleaning by Vomiting (vamana dhauti; 1.38): When finished eating, drink water until full up to the throat, then vomit the water. Regular practice “prevents imbalances of kapha (phlegm) and pitta (bile).” Cleaning by Vomiting is similar to a practice called Elephant Technique (gaja karani), described by Svatmarama (HYP 2.38): “Those who have the nadis under control from gradual practice raise the apana wind in the esophagus and vomit the stomach’s contents.”
c. Cleaning With a Cloth (vaso dhauti; 1.39-40): “Slowly swallow a piece of cloth four fingers wide [and 15 hands long] and then withdraw it.” This cures intestinal tumors, fever, diseases of the spleen, skin ailments, and imbalances of kapha and pitta.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.24-25) writes that this Cleaning cures coughing, asthma, enlargement of the spleen, leprosy, and twenty other phlegm diseases vanish.
D. Root Cleaning (mula shodhana; 1.41-43): “Until the yogi cleans his rectum he will have difficulties with wind (flatulence). ... With the help of either a stick of turmeric or the middle finger, carefully and repeatedly wash the rectum with water.” This prevents intestinal problems and the buildup of undigested matter, brings about “beauty and health, and kindles the digestive fire.”
2. BLADDER (vasti, also means “lower belly; injection syringe”; also written basti). There are two types:
A. Wet Bladder (jala vasti; 1.45-46): Squat in navel-deep water with a special pipe inserted in the anus, then contract and dilate the anal sphincter. Prevents urinary diseases, constipation, and problems with wind (krura vayu, “cruel wind”). The practitioner “becomes like the God of Love (Kama, the Hindu Cupid), with a body of one’s own choosing.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.27-28) writes that Bladder “gives clarity to the bodily constituents, the senses, and the mind. It gives luster to the body, stimulates the gastric fire, and eliminates all defects.”
B. Dry Bladder (shushka vasti, also called sthala vasti; 1.47-48): Assume Intense-Stretch-of-West Pose (paschima uttanasana). Very gently move the belly and contract and dilate
the anus with the Dawn Horse Seal (ashvini mudra). This prevents intestinal ailments, increases the digestive fire (jathara agni), and eliminates constipation and wind (flatulence).
3. NETI (no translation; 1.49-50): “Insert a thin thread nine inches long into the nostril and then draw it out of the mouth.” Neti leads to mastery of Space-Walking Seal (khechari mudra), cures phlegm imbalances, and gives divine sight. Svatmarama (HYP 2.30) calls neti “purifier of the skull and giver of divine sight,” and says the practice “quickly destroys the flood of diseases originating above the collarbone.”
4. TO-AND-FRO MOVEMENT (nauli, also called or lauli, lauliki, “rolling”; 1.51): Rotate the stomach quickly [with the speed of a strong whirlpool] on both sides. This cures all diseases and increase the “bodily fire.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.33-34) praises To-and-Fro as the “crown of Hatha practices. It kindles a weak gastric fire, restores all digestion, always brings happiness, and dries up all defects and diseases.”
5. TRATAKA (no translation; 1.52): Stare at a small object without blinking until tears begin to fall. There are two types:
A. External Trataka (bahya trataka): Stare with open eyes at some external object or image, called a “mark” (lakshya). Traditional texts suggest we stare at bodily places like the mid-brow (bhru madhya) or nose tip (nasika agra), while modern books give us plenty of other marks, often an object or symbol with some spiritually-charged significance like: the Sun (NOT recommended here), the full Moon, or a star; the tip of a needle hanging against a wall; a dot, a cross, or the mantra OM drawn with black ink on a white background; a picture of your favorite deity or a yantra (literally, “instrument for holding or restraining or fastening,” in this case, our attention; generally a yantra is a geometric representation of either universal or human energetic circuits); your own reflection in a mirror or pool of water; a crystal; complete darkness; or a lighted candle. Gheranda (GS 1.53) says this act cures diseases of the eyes, and gives you “divine sight.”
B. Internal Trataka (antara trataka): Stare “inward” with closed eyes, at some imagined object or image. It’s also possible to combine these two types in two ways: you can first stare outward at some object, then inward at the object’s after-image; or, paradoxically, you can stare outward and inward at the same time, a practice called Shiva’s Seal.
6. SKULL BRIGHTENER (kapalabhati, also called bhalabhati, Brow Brightening, mastakabhati, Head Brightening, and kapala shodhana, Skull Purifying; 1.54-59). There are three types:
A. Air process (vata krama; 1.55-56): Inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right. Then reverse: inhale right, exhale left. Do this quickly and don’t hold the breath. Gheranda doesn’t say how many times to repeat.
B. Inversion process (vyut krama; 1.57): Sniff water in through the nostrils and spit it out through the mouth. This is supposed to cure diseases of phlegm.
C. Cooling process (shit krama; 1.58-59): Drink in water through the mouth and force it out through the nostrils. Gheranda says that by this practice you become like Kama, the Hindu “God of Love.”
2. ASANA: HOMAGE TO THE SOURCE
From the Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Shiva Samhita
I bow to that Lord Primeval who taught in the beginning the science of the Training of Hardiness (Hatha Yoga)--a science that stands out as the first rung on the ladder that leads to the supreme heights of Royal Training (Raja Yoga) (opening salutation from the Gheranda-Samhita).
There are eighty-four hundreds of thousands of Asanas described by Shiva. The postures are as many in number as there are numbers of species of living creatures in this universe. Among them eighty-four are the best; and among these eighty-four, thirty-two have been found useful for mankind in this world.
Gheranda Samhita 2.1-2).
Being the first accessory of Hatha Yoga, asana is described first. It should be practiced for gaining steady posture, health and lightness of body.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1.19
GAZING (drishti) at the middle of the eyebrows is called “mid-brow gazing” (bhru madhya drishti) and is performed in asanas marked with an up-triangle(▲). GAZING at the tip of the nose (nasa agra drishti) is performed in asanas marked with a down-triangle (▼). JALANDHARA’S BOND (jalandhara bandha) is performed in asanas marked with a square (■). For pictures of the modern equivalents of the pose, see the [bracketed page numbers] in Light on Yoga by B.K.S Iyengar.
NAME (in Sanskrit) MODERN
“English” EQUIVALENT RESULT
1. VAJRASANA Similar to Virasana Gives psychic powers
“Adamantine,” “Diamond” [89]
Sit on your heels, either with the tops of the feet on the floor, or the toes turned under (sometimes this pose is demonstrated with the buttocks between the feet). VARIATION: lean back on your hands, fingers pointed forward. Then lift your buttocks off the heels.
2. GOMUKHASANA* Starting position for Simhasana [82]
“Cow Face”
3. SIMHASANA*✝▼■ Similar [109] Destroys disease, facilitates the three major
“Lion” bandhas (mula, jalandhara, uddiyana, see below)
Note: In the Iyengar version, the knees are close together. Another version I’ve seen has the knees spread very wide.
4. MANDUKASANA Like wide-knee Virasana [compare 89]
“Frog”
Toes together, heels apart, sit on the inner feet [86]. Spread your knees at least as wide as the hips.
5. UTTANA MANDUKASANA Same as Mandukasana (#5) with arms raised, elbows bent,
“Extended Frog” hands touching scapulas
“Hold the head with the elbows ... resembling an upright frog” (Gheranda). In some versions the hands are placed on the same-side shoulder blades. In other versions the forearms are crossed and the hands placed on the opposite shoulder blades. You can find a drawing of this pose in Feuerstein’s Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga, p. 318.
6. KURMASANA* None, but similar to Balasana (Child’s Pose)
“Tortoise”
Bend forward from Mandukasana. Press your thumbs into your armpits, and your elbows to your knees. ALTERNATE: sit with the buttocks on the floor between the feet (as in the modern virasana). Then turn the feet onto their inner arches and press them to the floor.
7. BHADRASANA*✝▼■ Baddha Konasana [101] Destroys disease, gets rid of fatigue
“Auspicious,” “Happy” (Bound Angle)
VARIATION: lean forward, and push your elbows against your thighs [102].
8. SVASTIKASANA* Same (not illustrated in Light on Yoga)
“Fortunate,” “Prosperous”
Often performed as a simple cross-shin pose. Gheranda says to “ put the soles of both feet
between the calves and the thighs and sit with a straight body.” In this sequence we’ll perform it as a “loose” cross-leg stretch. Place your left heel to the outside of your right hip and cross your right leg on top, with the right ankle to the OUTSIDE of your left knee (so your right sole is perpendicular to the floor). If you want more stretch slide the left shin forward to bring both shins parallel. Then reverse. VARIATION: lean forward and lay your torso on your inner thighs.
9. SAMKATASANA Gomukhasana [80], leg position only
“Critical,” “Dangerous”
VARIATION: though not described in the traditional texts, perform the arm position demonstrated in Light on Yoga for Gomukhasana. Note: when the right leg is high, the right arm is low; same on the left.
10. PADMASANA*✝▼■ Same [104] Destroys all disease, awakens Kundalini
“Lotus”
Sometimes described as Bound Lotus (baddha padmasana [118]). Press the root of the upper teeth with your tongue, contract your anus, and raise the apana vayu. Experienced beginner can perform Half Lotus (ardha padmasana)
11. YOGASANA▼ Yoga Mudrasana [120]
“Union” (Union Seal Pose)
Bend forward from either Lotus or Half Lotus.
12. KUKKUTASANA* Same [140]
“Cock”
Sit in Padmasana. Slip your arms between the calves and thighs, and lift your body off the floor.
Here perform Scale Pose (tolasana, literally “poising one’s self) [134].
13. VIRASANA* Similar to the leg position for Bharadvajasana II [298].
“Hero” (Bharadvaja’s Pose)
Sit on your buttocks. Bend the left knee and draw the leg back into Half Hero (ardha virasana, see the leg position in [138]). Bring the right leg into Lotus. VARIATION: bring one leg into Half Hero and the other into Half Bound Angle (ardha baddha konasana). This version of Virasana is sometimes called the Bull Pose (vrishasana).
14. UGRASANA Upavishta Konasana Stimulates prana, destroys dullness
“Stern” [148] (Seated Angle)
Described only in the Shiva Samhita. I’ve taken a liberty with this postures in performing it like Upavishta Konasana. Ugrasana is probably just another name for Pashchimottanasana (#16 below).
15. MAHA-MUDRA*✝▲■ Same [125] Cures all disease, destroys death, confers
“Great seal” siddhis
Perform this pose like Janu Shirshasana [126]. Press the left heel against the perineum, and keep the right leg straight. Then hold the sides of the right foot with your hands (or a strap).
16. PASHCHIMOTTANASANA* Same [153] Directs breath through sushumna, increases
“Intense-Stretch-of-the-West” appetite, reduces obesity, cures diseases
(i.e. the back of the body)
17. DHANURASANA* Akarna Dhanurasana [172]
“Bow” (Near-the-Ear Bow)
18. MATSYENDRASANA*▲ Ardha Matsyendrasana I [311] Increases appetite,
“Lord of Fish” destroys most deadly diseases, awakens Kundalini, stops
nectar shedding from “moon” (at the base of the brain or the uvula)
19. SHALABHASANA Similar, leg position only [60]
“Locust”
Place your “hands by your chest ... and raise the feet nine inches” (Gheranda). VARIATION: put your fists under the lower abdomen, just inside the hip points, and lift your legs.
20. MAKARASANA Same [62] Increases body heat
“Sea Monster”
21. USHTRASANA Like Dhanurasana [63], but thighs stay on floor
“Camel”
22. BHUJANGASANA Same [72] Increases body heat, destroys disease, awakens
“Serpent” Kundalini
23. UTKATASANA Somewhat similar (see [42] for modern utkatasana)
“Superior,” “Hazardous”
In this sequence, perform Utkatasana like the squat shown in [317], except raise your heels off the floor. You can either stretch your arms out in front of you, parallel to the floor, raise them perpendicular to the floor, or touch the palms in Anjali Mudra.
24. VRIKSHASANA Same [2]
“Tree”
25. GARUDASANA Similar leg position only, hands on knees [56]
“Eagle”
VARIATION: though not described in the traditional texts, perform the arm position demonstrated in Light on Yoga for Garudasana. Note: when the left leg is high, the left arm is low; reverse on the right.
26. VIPARITA KARANI MUDRA (1) Shirshasana [180] Destroys decay and death;
“Inverse-Action Seal” (Headstand) the adept “does not perish,” even at the dissolution
of the universe
“Place the head and both hands on the ground, raise the feet, and remain steady” (Gheranda). I have found two interpretations of these instructions:
1. The pose looks like Shirshasana
2. The pose looks like Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand).
We’ll perform the pose first as Headstand, then as Shoulderstand (#29).
27. MAYURASANA* Same [352] Removes abdominal disorders, digests bad food,
“Peacock” destroys poisons, all diseases
28. VAJRONI MUDRA Not illustrated in Awakens Shakti, extends life, gives
Sometimes called Vajroli Light on Yoga perfection and emancipation; retention of
seed is obtained
“Support yourself on the ground with the palms of both hands and raise the head and feet into the air” (Gheranda). I’ve found different instructions for this mudra. In this sequence perform it like Full Boat (paripurna navasana [78]), except with the palms pressed to the floor slightly behind the hips. I’ve also seen this mudra described like Adho Mukha Vrikshasana (Handstand). Svatmarama describes this vajroni in a completely different way.
29. VIPARITA KARANI MUDRA (2) Shoulderstand [219]
30. MATSYASANA Same [114] Destroys disease
“Fish”
The photo in Light on Yoga shows the legs in Lotus. In this sequence, perform the pose with the legs in a simple cross. Be sure to cross the legs both ways, and spend an equal length of time in each cross.
31. SIDDHASANA* Same [84] Opens door to salvation, purifies nadis
“Accomplished,” “Perfect.”
One heel at the base of the perineum, the other at the top of the perineum (Gheranda).
32. MRITASANA* Shavasana [592] Destroys fatigue, calms mind
“Death” (Corpse)
OMITTED POSES (from Gheranda):
NAME (in Sanskrit) MODERN
“English” EQUIVALENT RESULT
1. GORAKSHASANA▼■ Like Siddhasana Brings success
“Cowherd”
Insert your feet between the calves and thighs (but not hidden like Guptasana), and cover the heels with upturned hands.
2. GUPTASANA Like Siddhasana
“Hidden, Concealed”
Hide your feet between the calves and thighs and sit your buttocks on top of them.
3. MUKTASANA Like Siddhasana Brings success
“Liberated”
Position your left heel under the buttocks and the right heel on top of the left. Sit up straight.
4. SVASTIKASANA* Like Siddhasana Destroys disease (Shiva Samhita)
“Lucky”
Insert your feet between the calves and thighs, sit up straight. Also called Sukhasana (Easy Pose).
5. UTTANA KURMASANA* Like Garbha Pindasana [141]
“Extended Tortoise” “Embryo-in-the-Womb”
While in Kukkutasana, recline on your back and hold your neck with both hands.
6. VRISHASANA
“Bull”
Sit your buttocks on the right ankle, turn the left foot out beside the hip.
3. MUDRA and BANDHA: 25 SEALS and BONDS
From Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and Shiva Samhita
There are twenty-five mudras, the practice of which gives success to the Yogis.
Gheranda Samhita 3.1
The Gheranda Samhita describes 25 mudras and bandhas. Below, the 10 practices from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika are indicated with a star (*). The 10 practices described in the Shiva Samhita are indicated with a cross (✝). GAZING (drishti) at the middle of the eyebrows is called bhru madhya drishti (“mid-brow gazing”) and is performed in mudras marked with an up-triangle(▲). Jalandhara’s Bond (jalandhara bandha) is performed when the practice is marked with a square (■).
NAME (Sanskrit) RESULT
“English”
1. ASHVINI MUDRA Invigorates the body, cures diseases of the rectum, and
“Dawn-horse Seal” helps awaken Kundalini
Contract and dilate the anal sphincter muscle repeatedly.
2. BHUJANGINI MUDRA Destroys all stomach diseases
“Serpent Seal”
Extend the neck a little forward and draw in air through the esophagus.
3. JALANDHARA BANDHA*✝ Closes the 16 supports (adharas); destroys death; “he who
Net-Holding Bond” practices for six months is an adept”
Press the chin and the top of the sternum bone together. The 16 supports are the: thumbs, ankles, knees, thighs, prepuce, organs of generation, navel, heart, neck, throat, palate, nose, middle of the eyebrows, forehead, head, fontanelle (brahma randhra).
4. KAKI MUDRA Destroys all disease
“Crow Seal”
Shape the mouth like a crow’s beak and then suck in air.
5. KHECHARI MUDRA*✝▲ Destroys disease, decay and death; the body becomes
“Space-walking Seal” divine, it can’t be burned by fire, dried by wind, wetted by
water, bitten by snakes; it becomes “beautiful”; samadhi is
quickly attained
Sit in Vajrasana. “Gently insert the tongue into the base of the palate.”
The next three bandhas must be performed together (in the order 7, 6, 8). “These three are the great secrets” (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 3.30):
6. MAHA BANDHA*✝■ Destroys decay and death; “by its grace the yogi can achieve
“Great Bond” whatever he wants”
Press the left heel against the anus, put the right foot on the left thigh; slowly contract the muscles of the rectum and base of the pelvis (perineum); restrain the breath with Jalandhara Bandha.
7. MAHA MUDRA*✝▲■ Cures all disease, destroys death, confers siddhis
“Great Seal”
Press one heel against the anus, keep the other leg straight; hold the big toe of the straight leg (like janu shirshasana). Restrain the breath with Jalandhara Bandha.
8. MAHA VEDHA*✝■ Destroys decay and death
“Great Piercer”
Sit in Maha Bandha and restrain the breath (after exhalation) with Jalandhara Bandha. Then, with the support of the hands, lift off the ground and gently tap the ground with the buttocks several times.
9. MANDUKI MUDRA The body gets “eternal youth”
“Frog Seal”
Press the tip of the tongue against the palate.
10. MATANGINI MUDRA Destroys decay and death, confers great strength like an
“Elephant Seal” elephant (Gheranda)
Stand in neck-deep water. First draw in water through the nostrils and expel it out the mouth; then draw in water through the mouth and expel it through the nostrils.
11. MULA BANDHA*✝ Destroys decay; controls prana
“Root Seal”
Press the left heel against the anus and contract the rectum (ashvini mudra); press the intestines near the navel against the spine; press the right heel against the pubis.
12. NABHO MUDRA Destroys all disease
“Ether Seal”
“Wherever the yogi may be, he should always, in everything he does, be sure to keep his tongue turned upwards and constantly hold the breath” (Gheranda). Similar to Khechari Mudra (#5).
13-17. PANCHA DHARANA MUDRA (five Concentration Seals): See page 12.
18. PASHINI MUDRA Awakens Kundalini
“Bird-catcher Seal”
Wrap the legs around the neck, like Yoga Nidrasana (“Yoga sleep”).
19. SHAKTI CHALANI MUDRA✝ Destroys decay and death
“Stirring-the-power Seal”
Sit in Siddhasana. There are two different descriptions of this seal.
1. Wrap the midriff in a cloth [nine inches long, three inches wide, soft, white, and fine] and tie to your body with a string. Rub your body with ashes and sit in Siddhasana. Inhale and force the prana to join with apana. Perform Ashvini Mudra until the air is forced into Sushumna Nadi. Always practice this mudra before Yoni Mudra (#25) (Gheranda).
2. Sit in Vajrasana, hold the ankles, and press the lower belly (kanda); perform Bellows (bhastrika) (Svatmarama).
20. SHAMBHAVI MUDRA (Shiva’s Seal): see chapter 7.
21. TADAGI MUDRA Destroys decay and death
“Pond (or Tank) Seal”
“Draw the belly backwards and upwards so that it looks like a pond.”
22. UDDIYANA BANDHA* The “Great Bird” forced up into the Sushumna; makes
“Flying-up Bond” emancipation easy; “a lion against the elephant of death”
Forcefully contract the abdomen and press the viscera up towards the diaphragm and back towards the spine.
23. VAJRONI MUDRA Awakens Shakti, causes long life, emancipation
Sometimes VAJROLI
“Thunderbolt”
Sit with legs raised, hands on ground (looks like Paripurna Navasana with hands on floor).
24. VIPARITA KARANI MUDRA✝* Destroys decay and death; yogi won’t perish even
“Inverse action seal” at pralaya (i.e. dissolution of the universe)
Perform Shoulderstand; sometimes interpreted as Headstand.
25. YONI MUDRA Never polluted by sins
“Perineal seal”
Sit in siddhasana. There are two different descriptions of this seal.
1. Yoni mudra is used as another term for what we call Shan Mukhi Mudra: close the ears with the thumbs, eyes with the index fingers, nostrils with the mid fingers, upper lip with the ring fingers, lower lip with the little fingers. Draw in the breath with Kaki Mudra (#4). Contemplate on Shiva/Shakti, and realize self-identity with Brahma, the “source” (yoni) within (Gheranda).
2. Contract the perineum (yoni) (Shiva Samhita).
UDDANA BANDHA Destroys sins, sorrows, disease and death; purifies the navel
“Upward Bond” (and thereby the “winds”), and kindles gastric fire; gives “power over the microcosm” (vigraha siddhi)
Described only in Shiva Samhita. The viscera below and above the navel are brought to the left side above the navel.
4. THE FIVE CONCENTRATION SEALS
(pancha dharana mudra)
By practicing the [five] dharanas, everything on earth is possible. The yogi can come and go from the heavenly realms in his mortal body; he can move as fast as the mind and has the power of traveling through space.
Gheranda Samhita 3.57-58
When the fivefold perception of Yoga, arising from (concentrating the mind on) earth, water, light, air and ether, have appeared to the Yogin, then he has become possessed of a body made of the fire of Yoga, and he will not be touched by disease, old age or death.
Shvetasvatara Upanishad 2.12
The five concentrations upon the elements [respectively have the power of] stopping, inundating, burning, destabilizing, and dessicating. ... The Yogin who is intelligent [in the use of these techniques] is released from all suffering.
Goraksha Paddhati 2.59-60 (translation by Georg Feuerstein)
The Attributes, Mantra, and Location of the Centers
Like the fingers on the hand, the number five in India has long been “good to think with.” Even if its multiple pentads are expansions on the primal sacrificial triad–of fire (agni), oblation (rasa), and the wind (vayu) that conveyed the smoke and aroma of the offering to the gods–the Hindu cosmos has been, for at least three thousand years, a fivefold one.
David Gordon White, The Alchemical Body, 32
1. EARTH Concentration Seal (parthivi dharana mudra) (GS 3.59)
Color: Yellow (as orpiment, a mineral)
Symbol: Square (earth = strength, firmness, solidity, cohesion)
Seed syllable: Lam (la, a name of Indra)
Presiding deities: Brahma/Dakini (or Savitri)
Body region: Heart or sacrum center (Root-Foundation Wheel)
Benefits: Brings about “steadiness and conquers death.”
2. WATER Concentration Seal (ambhasi dharana mudra) (GS 3.60)
Color: White (as a jasmine flower, or the moon or a conch)
Symbol: Half-moon (water = contraction)
Seed syllable: Vam (va, a name of Varuna, means “ocean, water”)
Presiding deities: Vishnu (from vish, “to pervade”)/Rakini
Body region: Throat or center between pubis and navel (Own-Base Wheel)
Benefits: Removes “unbearable suffering and sins.” It’s also noted that the Yogi who masters this seal “never meets death even in frightful deepest water.”
3. FIRE Concentration Seal (agneyi dharana mudra) (GS 3.61)
Color: Blazing red (it resembles a Indragopa insect, whose crushed and dried body is used to make red dye)
Symbol: (Inverted) Triangle (fire = heat, light, expansion)
Seed syllable: Ram (ra, “fire, heat”)
Presiding deities: Rudra (“crying, howling, roaring, dreadful, horrible”)/Lakini
Body region: Palate or navel center (Jeweled City Wheel)
Benefits: Removes the “deep fear of death.” It’s also noted that should the Yogi be “thrown into a blazing fire, this mudra would keep him alive, without fear of death.”
4. AIR Concentration Seal (vayavi dharana mudra) (GS 3.62)
Color: Black (it resembles a mass of lampblack, which is used as unguent for the eyes), sometimes grey-blue or smokey because surrounded by vapor
Symbol: Circle or a pair of locked triangles (air = movement)
Seed syllable: Yam
Presiding deities: Ishvara (or Isha, “lord”)/Kakini
Body region: Between the eyebrows or heart center (Unstruck [Sound] Wheel)
Benefits: Brings about the “ability to move through space.” It’s also noted that this seal “conquers old age and death,” and that the Yogi who masters it “need not fear death from any aerial accidents.”
5. SPACE (or ETHER) Concentration Seal (akashi dharana mudra) (GS 3.63)
Color: Colorless or clear like water; also said to be smoky violet in color
Symbol: None or a circle (ether = space)
Seed syllable: Ham (ha, name of a form of Shiva, also: “cipher; meditation, auspiciousness, sky, heaven; blood, dying, fear; knowledge; moon; war; pride; cause, motive”)
Presiding deities: Sada Shiva (or Ardha Narishvara), who’s androgynous: its right half is male, its left half is female, the goddess Uma (also called Parvati and Durga)/Shakini
Body region: Crown (brahma randhra, “brahma aperture”) or throat center (Pure Wheel)
Benefits: Breaks down the “doorway to liberation.” It’s also noted that the Yogi who practices this seal is untouched by “old age and death.”
Practice 1:
Sit in any comfortable Yoga seat. You might want to start by gazing at the colored geometric shape or shapes that you’ll be visualizing (see p. 21). For example, if you’re working with the first center, spend a few minutes gazing at the yellow square. Then close your eyes and run your awareness through your entire body, just to get a feel for your “inner space.”
After a minute or so, concentrate your awareness in the first (lowest) center, whether the sacrum or heart. Technically, Gheranda says to “fix” the breath in this center, by which he no doubt means retain the breath there (kumbhaka). I think it’s probably best to just simply imagine that you’re breathing into and out of the center. Visualize the yellow square with its accompanying feelings of heaviness and solidity, and repeat silently to yourself (or whisper) the seed lam. Depending on available time and your inclination, you can work with just one center for your entire practice, or climb the ladder of centers from lowest to highest.
According to Gheranda, each concentration is supposed to last for 2 hours (= 5 ghatikas), but that seems a bit extreme, unless you’ve got 10 hours to spare. I would think about 2 to 5 minutes at each center would be more than sufficient.
Practice 2:
Follow the directions for practice 1 up to the point where you repeat the seed mantra for the lowest center. Then raise your awareness to the Water center and, while you visualize its attributes and repeat its mantra, imagine dissolving the solidity of Earth into the fluidity of Water. Continue in this fashion: Water then dissolves in Fire, Fire in Air, and Air in Ether, and finally Ether is dissolves in the self. Finally, as one text instructs (Maha Nirvana Tantra 5.105), repeat the mantra so’ham, which means “I am It (or He or She)”; in other words, I (aham) or this individual self (atman) is the same as It (sah), the cosmic self (brahman).
5. PRANAYAMA: CONSCIOUS BREATHING
From Gheranda Samhita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika
Just as lions, elephants and tigers are controlled by and by, so the breath is controlled by slow
degrees, otherwise (i.e., by being hasty or using too much force) it kills the practitioner himself
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
ABBREVIATIONS:
R = right nostril RET = retention (kumbhaka)
L = left nostril JB = Jalandhara Bandha
PRELIMINARY PRACTICE:
“PURIFICATION OF THE CHANNELS” (nadi shodhana)
The wind cannot flow through nadis clogged with dirt. How could pranayama succeed? How could knowledge of Reality arise? Therefore ... first purify the nadis and then practice pranayama.
Gheranda Samhita 5.35
1. FIRST CYCLE
Seed syllable (of the air element, resident in the Heart): YAM (smoke colored and shiny). Breath: IN (L) > RET > EX (R).
2. SECOND CYCLE
Seed syllable (of the fire element, resident in the navel): RAM. Raise the fire element (tejas tattva) from its seat at the root of the navel and join it with the earth element (prithivi tattva) Breath: IN (R) > RET > EX (L)
3. THIRD CYCLE
Seed syllable (of the water element): VAM. Gaze at the “shining orb of the moon” at tip of the nose (i.e., the bahir lakshya, “external sign). IN (L) > RET with the seed syllable VAM and meditate on the self “being flooded with the nectar of immortality” > EX (R) with the seed syllable LAM.(of the earth element)
PRANAYAMAS (or KUMBHAKAS)
The wise beginner should keep his body firm and inflexible, his hands joined as if in supplication, and salute the Gurus on the left side. He should also pay slautations to Ganesha on the right side, and again to the guardians of the worlds and the goddess Ambika, who are on the left side
Shiva Samhita
NAME (in Sanskrit)
“English” RESULTS
1. SAHITA Ability to move through space, destroys disease, the “practitioner of
“Combined” pranayama becomes happy”
There are two types of Sahita Pranayama: “with seed” (sagarbha) and “without seed” (nirgarbha).
A. Sagarbha: IN (L) with seed syllable A, contemplate red Brahma > at the end of IN, before RET, perform Uddiyana Bandha > then RET with the letter U as you contemplate black
Vishnu > EX (R) with the letter M as you contemplate white Shiva. Then repeat this process, switching nostrils for IN/EX.
B. Nirgarbha: Same as Sagarbha, but without recitation of sacred syllable.
2. SURYA BHEDA Destroys decay and death, awakens Kundalini Shakti, increases
“Sun-piercing” body fire (Gheranda); cleanses the skull, destroys worm, wind diseases (Svatmarama).
IN (R) > RET with JB, hold until there is “sweat in their nails and hair”; raise the five vayus from the navel > EX (L). Repeat many times.
3. UJJAYI Destroys decay and death, removes diseases of phlegm, increases
“Victorious” digestive power; practitioner never attacked by nervous diseases, indigestion, dysentery, consumption, cough, fever, enlarged spleen.
IN both nostrils, hold air in and “rinse” the mouth > RET the breath in the mouth with JB > EX (L) (Svatmarama). ALTERNATE: EX through both nostrils. Svatmarama says Ujjayi can be done while walking or standing.
4. SITKARI Become a second “God of Love [i.e., Kama], removes hunger, indolence,
“Making the breath sleep, thirst, develops vitality, practitioner “completely free of all
[sound] sit (seet)” disabilities on earth”
Described by Svatmarama only. Similar to #5 below. Purse the lips (as if sipping from a straw) and touch the tongue to the lips. “Sip” through the mouth on the IN > RET for as long as possible > EX through both nostrils.
5. SHITALI Practitioner never gets indigestion, fever, enlarged glands, never feels
“Cooling” hungry or thirsty
Curl the tongue and protrude it through pursed lips (kaki mudra). IN through tongue with a hissing sound > fill abdomen slowly and RET a short time > EX through both nostrils. Repeat 15-20 times. The tongue protrudes further in Shitali than in Sitkari.
6. BHASTRIKA Practitioner never suffers from any disease (Gheranda); Purifies energy
“Bellows” channels (nadi), gives pleasure, Kundalini rises quickly, pierces the
three “knots”(granthi) in Sushumna (i.e. Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra), which
allows the prana to ascend Sushumna (Svatmarama).
A. According to Gheranda: Slowly draw in air through both nostrils “in the same way that a blacksmith’s bellows successively opens and closes.” Perform 20 times, then RET
B. According to Svatmarama: EX through both nostrils so it “resonates” in the heart, throat, skull > quickly IN air to heart lotus > repeat with speed just as a”blacksmith works the bellows with speed. When tired, IN (R) and fill belly with air > RET > EX (L).
7. BHRAMARI Success in samadhi; bliss and delight in the mind
“Bee”
A. According to Gheranda: In a quiet place “past midnight,” close the ears with the hands. Listen to the sounds in the right ear. Listen for: crickets, lute, thunder, drum, beetle, bells, gongs, trumpets, etc. The last sound heard is the “unstruck” (anahata) sound rising from the heart. In this sound is Light, and in that Light the “mind should be immersed.”
B. According to Svatmarama: IN rapidly through both nostrils with the sound of a bee
> slow EX with the sound of a female bee.
8. MURCHHA Bliss
“Fainting”
A. According to Gheranda: Fix consciousness in the space between the two eyebrows, join the mind (manas) with the self (atman).
B. According to Svatmarama: IN through both nostrils > RET breath for as long as
possible > EX slowly through both nostrils.
9. PLAVINI Practitioner floats “happily like a lotus leaf, even in bottomless water”
“Floater”
Fill the belly with large amount of air.
10. KEVALI or Awakens Kundalini, “nothing in the three worlds is hard to win by one
KEVALA who masters” Kevala.
“Absolute” or “Alone”
A. According to Svatmarama: Retention (kumbhaka) is of two kinds: with inhalation and exhalation (sahita), and without inhalation and exhalation (kevali). For Kevali, “abandon exhalation and inhalation. Hold the breath comfortably.”
B. According to Gheranda: “When air is confined in the body there is Kevalakumbhaka ... Draw in air through the nostrils and perform Kevalakumbhaka. On the first day hold it from one to sixty-four times. Do it eight times a day, every three hours
6. VAYU PRATYAHARA: DRAWING-IN THE WIND
Direct the breath (or prana) in succession to, and holding it in, 18 vital points (marman) of the body. These points (there are a total of 107) can be loosely compared to acupuncture points; they’re energetic centers on or in the body, each of which therapeutically affects different physical or subtle organs or systems. Different texts have slightly different lists of 18 (and some points are rather vaguely situated); for our purposes we’ll work with the following 12 (and feel free to add one or more of your own):
big toes; ankles; mid-calves; knees; mid-thighs; perineum; navel; heart; throat (jugular notch just above the sternum); eyes; mid-forehead; crown.
NAME (Sanskrit) RESULT
“English”
VAYU PRATYAHARA Practitioner is freed from disease and all bondage, and “will live as
“Drawing-in the Wind” long as the moon and the stars exist. ... Among the Pratyaharas, this one is considered as the best by yogis” (YYS 7.30-31);
relaxes and revitalizes the body and brain; symbolizes the ascent of awareness from the gross
“earth” at the feet to the spiritual “space” at the crown; reversed it can represent symbolic the
descent of spiritual power into our body.
Sit in a comfortable Yoga seat, eyes closed. It might be helpful to first physically touch in turn and so “enliven” each of the vital points on your body. This is similar to a traditional practice called “casting” or “placing” (nyasa), a ritualized, meditative touching that sanctifies various body parts or areas.
Begin the breathing sequence at the big toes, and climb up the body-ladder, directing one or more breaths into each marman in turn. Of course, when there’s two of anything–big toes, ankles, calves, thighs, eyes–you have to direct your breath into both points simultaneously.
It’s also possible to reverse the order of breathing, and start from the crown and work your way down to your big toes. Repeat 2 to 5 times.
7. DHYANA: MEDITATION PRACTICES
From Goraksha, Svatmarama, Gheranda, Shiva
NAME (Sanskrit) RESULT
“English”
JYOTIS
“Luminous”
In the Root Wheel (muladhara chakra = sacrum), visualize a serpent and the embodied self (jivatman) as the flame of lamp. Meditation/Gheranda.
GHANTIKA Cures disease, concentrates attention, leads to spiritual bliss
“Bell” (= uvula)
Turn back tip of tongue toward the soft palette. Stimulates a small channel through which nectar (amrita) flows from the Moon Wheel (chandra mandala) in cranial vault to lower body. Adhara/Goraksha.
BHRU MADHYA Entire body made calm and cool, steadies attention
Mid-forehead (= between the eyebrows)
Focus eyes toward this spot, and imagine the luminous disc of Moon, shining white and cool. Adhara/Goraksha.
LALATA Develops vital and mental strength, adds to brightness and vigor of
Forehead body (tejasvi bhavati)
Fix attention here, imagine a mass of self-shining light (jyotih punja). Adhara/Goraksha.
AJNA CHAKRA Happiness, destroys past karma
“Command Wheel”
Meditate on the brilliant Moon in the Ajna Chakra whether “standing or walking, sleeping or waking.” If you contemplate on this Moon at the time of death, you’ll be absorbed in the Great Self (paramatman). Meditation/Shiva.
MANASA SNANA Heavenly felicity
“Mental Bathing”
Just as pilgrims bathe in the confluence of the three holy rivers to purify themselves, you can symbolically purify yourself by “bathing” in the confluence of the three nadis. Meditation/Shiva.
SHAMBHAVI MUDRA*▲ “He who knows Shambhavi is Brahma” (GS 3.56); quiets
“Shambhu’s (Shiva) Seal” the brain and leads to meditation
After performing external Trataka on a candle, close your eyes for 30 seconds and hold the internal after-image steady. Then without “losing sight” of the “inner candle,” open your eyes and gaze out into the room. Hold the candle’s afterimage and the surrounding space in your awareness, looking both inward and outward, simultaneously.
NADA First stage: divine body, divine radiance, divine fragrance,
Subtle “Sound” freedom from disease, a full heart; second stage: wisdom, equality with the gods; third stage: bliss, free of defects, misery, old age, hunger, sleep; fourth stage: unification of mind, undisturbed happiness; liberation
Sit in Muktasana, perform Shambhavi Mudra and Shan Mukhi Mudra, and listen with concentration for a subtle sound in your right ear. What sounds are heard? In the beginning: ocean, cloud, kettledrum; in the middle: drum and conch, bell and drum; in the end: tinkling bell, flute, a bee. Meditation/Svatmarama.
DHUM DHUM KARA NADA Mind filled with joy; realization of sound as expression of Self
Close ears, listen to continuous dhum-dhum sound in center of brain; fix attention on this sound, which will gradually take on the monotonous drone of OM. Antara lakshya/Goraksha.
NILA JYOTI Spiritualization of consciousness
“Dark blue light”
Concentrate on blue light (nila jyoti) in the center of your eyes. Antara lakshya/Goraksha.
ANY OUTER OBJECT Will see Self manifested in all forms
Fix attention on chosen object, see it as manifestation of Self. Possible objects: Sun, Moon, any star, burning candle, icon. Bahir lakshya/Goraksha.
CONTENTS
PRACTICE PAGE
1. PURIFICATION: THE SIX ACTS 2
2. ASANA: HOMAGE TO THE SOURCE 5
3. MUDRA and BANDHA: 25 SEALS and BONDS 10
4. FIVE CONCENTRATION SEALS 13
5. PRANAYAMA: CONSCIOUS BREATHING 16
6. PRATYAHARA: DRAWING-IN THE WIND 19
7. DHYANA: MEDITATION PRACTICES 20
1. PURIFICATION: THE SIX ACTS (shat karma)
The six cleansing techniques bring about purification ...
Gheranda Samhita 1.10
1. CLEANING (dhauti, from dhav, “to rinse, wash, cleanse, purify, make bright”). The dhautis clean the body; they’re to be kept secret and never revealed. There are four types of Cleaning:
A. Inner Cleaning (antar dhauti). There are four sub-types of Inner Cleaning:
a. Air Cleaning (vata sara dhauti; 1.15-16): Perform Crow Seal, slowly inhale, “move the stomach, and then expel the air through the lower passage [i.e. anus].” This act “cleans the body, destroys all diseases, and increases the body’s [abdominal or digestive] fire (jathara agni).”
b. Water Cleaning (vari sara dhauti; vari means “water pot, pitcher, jar; 1.17-18): Slowly drink water until “full up to the throat [NOT recommended here]. Move it through the stomach and expel it from the stomach downwards.” This practice is supposed to clean the physical body and lead to a “divine body (divya deha).”
c. Fire Cleaning (vahni sara dhauti, also called agni sara dhauti; vahni means “any draft animal; one who conveys or bears along; applied to a charioteer or rider, or to various gods; the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods, especially said of Agni, ‘fire’; the digestive fire; 1.19): “Move the navel plexus to the spinal column 100 times.” This cures intestinal diseases and increases the digestive fire.
d. Expelled Cleaning (bahish krita dhauti; 1.21-24): With Crow Seal, fill the stomach with air, hold for 90 minutes (and unless you can do this, don’t practice this Cleaning), and “move it through the lower passage (i.e. intestines).” Standing in navel-deep water, draw out the intestines (shakti nadi, NOT recommended here), wash them clean, and put them back inside the belly. This Cleaning creates a “divine body.”
B. Teeth Cleaning (danta dhauti). There are four sub-types of Teeth Cleaning:
a. Cleaning the Root of the Teeth (danta mula dhauti; 1.26): “Using acacia resin or clean earth, rub the base of the teeth until the impurities are removed.”
b. Tongue Cleaning (jihva dhauti, also called jihva shodhana; 1.28-31): “A long tongue can get rid of old age, death, disease, and the like. Join together the index, middle, and ring fingers, put them into the throat and rub clean the root of the tongue. By very gentle rubbing the yogi can prevent phlegm imbalances. After repeatedly pulling its tip with iron tongs, rub it with fresh butter and milk over and over again. Do this carefully every day at sunrise and sunset. When done regularly in this way, the tongue becomes long.”
c. Ear Cleaning (karna dhauti; 1.32): With the index fingertip, “rub clean the apertures of the ears. By regular practice the inner sound (nada) will manifest.”
d. Skull Cleaning (kapala dhauti; 1.33): “With the right thumb, rub the aperture at the roof of the mouth. By practicing thus one can prevent imbalances of kapha (phlegm). The nadis become clean and divine sight arises.” It should be practiced three times daily: on waking up, after eating, and before going to bed.
C. Heart Cleaning (hrid dhauti). There are three sub-types of Heart Cleaning:
a. Cleaning With a Stick (or Stalk) (danda dhauti; 1.36-37): “Insert a stick of plantain, turmeric, or cane into the gullet, move it about, and then slowly withdraw it.” This “ejects phlegm, bile, and slime through the upper passage,” and eliminates diseases of the throat.
b. Cleaning by Vomiting (vamana dhauti; 1.38): When finished eating, drink water until full up to the throat, then vomit the water. Regular practice “prevents imbalances of kapha (phlegm) and pitta (bile).” Cleaning by Vomiting is similar to a practice called Elephant Technique (gaja karani), described by Svatmarama (HYP 2.38): “Those who have the nadis under control from gradual practice raise the apana wind in the esophagus and vomit the stomach’s contents.”
c. Cleaning With a Cloth (vaso dhauti; 1.39-40): “Slowly swallow a piece of cloth four fingers wide [and 15 hands long] and then withdraw it.” This cures intestinal tumors, fever, diseases of the spleen, skin ailments, and imbalances of kapha and pitta.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.24-25) writes that this Cleaning cures coughing, asthma, enlargement of the spleen, leprosy, and twenty other phlegm diseases vanish.
D. Root Cleaning (mula shodhana; 1.41-43): “Until the yogi cleans his rectum he will have difficulties with wind (flatulence). ... With the help of either a stick of turmeric or the middle finger, carefully and repeatedly wash the rectum with water.” This prevents intestinal problems and the buildup of undigested matter, brings about “beauty and health, and kindles the digestive fire.”
2. BLADDER (vasti, also means “lower belly; injection syringe”; also written basti). There are two types:
A. Wet Bladder (jala vasti; 1.45-46): Squat in navel-deep water with a special pipe inserted in the anus, then contract and dilate the anal sphincter. Prevents urinary diseases, constipation, and problems with wind (krura vayu, “cruel wind”). The practitioner “becomes like the God of Love (Kama, the Hindu Cupid), with a body of one’s own choosing.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.27-28) writes that Bladder “gives clarity to the bodily constituents, the senses, and the mind. It gives luster to the body, stimulates the gastric fire, and eliminates all defects.”
B. Dry Bladder (shushka vasti, also called sthala vasti; 1.47-48): Assume Intense-Stretch-of-West Pose (paschima uttanasana). Very gently move the belly and contract and dilate
the anus with the Dawn Horse Seal (ashvini mudra). This prevents intestinal ailments, increases the digestive fire (jathara agni), and eliminates constipation and wind (flatulence).
3. NETI (no translation; 1.49-50): “Insert a thin thread nine inches long into the nostril and then draw it out of the mouth.” Neti leads to mastery of Space-Walking Seal (khechari mudra), cures phlegm imbalances, and gives divine sight. Svatmarama (HYP 2.30) calls neti “purifier of the skull and giver of divine sight,” and says the practice “quickly destroys the flood of diseases originating above the collarbone.”
4. TO-AND-FRO MOVEMENT (nauli, also called or lauli, lauliki, “rolling”; 1.51): Rotate the stomach quickly [with the speed of a strong whirlpool] on both sides. This cures all diseases and increase the “bodily fire.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.33-34) praises To-and-Fro as the “crown of Hatha practices. It kindles a weak gastric fire, restores all digestion, always brings happiness, and dries up all defects and diseases.”
5. TRATAKA (no translation; 1.52): Stare at a small object without blinking until tears begin to fall. There are two types:
A. External Trataka (bahya trataka): Stare with open eyes at some external object or image, called a “mark” (lakshya). Traditional texts suggest we stare at bodily places like the mid-brow (bhru madhya) or nose tip (nasika agra), while modern books give us plenty of other marks, often an object or symbol with some spiritually-charged significance like: the Sun (NOT recommended here), the full Moon, or a star; the tip of a needle hanging against a wall; a dot, a cross, or the mantra OM drawn with black ink on a white background; a picture of your favorite deity or a yantra (literally, “instrument for holding or restraining or fastening,” in this case, our attention; generally a yantra is a geometric representation of either universal or human energetic circuits); your own reflection in a mirror or pool of water; a crystal; complete darkness; or a lighted candle. Gheranda (GS 1.53) says this act cures diseases of the eyes, and gives you “divine sight.”
B. Internal Trataka (antara trataka): Stare “inward” with closed eyes, at some imagined object or image. It’s also possible to combine these two types in two ways: you can first stare outward at some object, then inward at the object’s after-image; or, paradoxically, you can stare outward and inward at the same time, a practice called Shiva’s Seal.
6. SKULL BRIGHTENER (kapalabhati, also called bhalabhati, Brow Brightening, mastakabhati, Head Brightening, and kapala shodhana, Skull Purifying; 1.54-59). There are three types:
A. Air process (vata krama; 1.55-56): Inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right. Then reverse: inhale right, exhale left. Do this quickly and don’t hold the breath. Gheranda doesn’t say how many times to repeat.
B. Inversion process (vyut krama; 1.57): Sniff water in through the nostrils and spit it out through the mouth. This is supposed to cure diseases of phlegm.
C. Cooling process (shit krama; 1.58-59): Drink in water through the mouth and force it out through the nostrils. Gheranda says that by this practice you become like Kama, the Hindu “God of Love.”
2. ASANA: HOMAGE TO THE SOURCE
From the Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Shiva Samhita
I bow to that Lord Primeval who taught in the beginning the science of the Training of Hardiness (Hatha Yoga)--a science that stands out as the first rung on the ladder that leads to the supreme heights of Royal Training (Raja Yoga) (opening salutation from the Gheranda-Samhita).
There are eighty-four hundreds of thousands of Asanas described by Shiva. The postures are as many in number as there are numbers of species of living creatures in this universe. Among them eighty-four are the best; and among these eighty-four, thirty-two have been found useful for mankind in this world.
Gheranda Samhita 2.1-2).
Being the first accessory of Hatha Yoga, asana is described first. It should be practiced for gaining steady posture, health and lightness of body.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1.19
GAZING (drishti) at the middle of the eyebrows is called “mid-brow gazing” (bhru madhya drishti) and is performed in asanas marked with an up-triangle(▲). GAZING at the tip of the nose (nasa agra drishti) is performed in asanas marked with a down-triangle (▼). JALANDHARA’S BOND (jalandhara bandha) is performed in asanas marked with a square (■). For pictures of the modern equivalents of the pose, see the [bracketed page numbers] in Light on Yoga by B.K.S Iyengar.
NAME (in Sanskrit) MODERN
“English” EQUIVALENT RESULT
1. VAJRASANA Similar to Virasana Gives psychic powers
“Adamantine,” “Diamond” [89]
Sit on your heels, either with the tops of the feet on the floor, or the toes turned under (sometimes this pose is demonstrated with the buttocks between the feet). VARIATION: lean back on your hands, fingers pointed forward. Then lift your buttocks off the heels.
2. GOMUKHASANA* Starting position for Simhasana [82]
“Cow Face”
3. SIMHASANA*✝▼■ Similar [109] Destroys disease, facilitates the three major
“Lion” bandhas (mula, jalandhara, uddiyana, see below)
Note: In the Iyengar version, the knees are close together. Another version I’ve seen has the knees spread very wide.
4. MANDUKASANA Like wide-knee Virasana [compare 89]
“Frog”
Toes together, heels apart, sit on the inner feet [86]. Spread your knees at least as wide as the hips.
5. UTTANA MANDUKASANA Same as Mandukasana (#5) with arms raised, elbows bent,
“Extended Frog” hands touching scapulas
“Hold the head with the elbows ... resembling an upright frog” (Gheranda). In some versions the hands are placed on the same-side shoulder blades. In other versions the forearms are crossed and the hands placed on the opposite shoulder blades. You can find a drawing of this pose in Feuerstein’s Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga, p. 318.
6. KURMASANA* None, but similar to Balasana (Child’s Pose)
“Tortoise”
Bend forward from Mandukasana. Press your thumbs into your armpits, and your elbows to your knees. ALTERNATE: sit with the buttocks on the floor between the feet (as in the modern virasana). Then turn the feet onto their inner arches and press them to the floor.
7. BHADRASANA*✝▼■ Baddha Konasana [101] Destroys disease, gets rid of fatigue
“Auspicious,” “Happy” (Bound Angle)
VARIATION: lean forward, and push your elbows against your thighs [102].
8. SVASTIKASANA* Same (not illustrated in Light on Yoga)
“Fortunate,” “Prosperous”
Often performed as a simple cross-shin pose. Gheranda says to “ put the soles of both feet
between the calves and the thighs and sit with a straight body.” In this sequence we’ll perform it as a “loose” cross-leg stretch. Place your left heel to the outside of your right hip and cross your right leg on top, with the right ankle to the OUTSIDE of your left knee (so your right sole is perpendicular to the floor). If you want more stretch slide the left shin forward to bring both shins parallel. Then reverse. VARIATION: lean forward and lay your torso on your inner thighs.
9. SAMKATASANA Gomukhasana [80], leg position only
“Critical,” “Dangerous”
VARIATION: though not described in the traditional texts, perform the arm position demonstrated in Light on Yoga for Gomukhasana. Note: when the right leg is high, the right arm is low; same on the left.
10. PADMASANA*✝▼■ Same [104] Destroys all disease, awakens Kundalini
“Lotus”
Sometimes described as Bound Lotus (baddha padmasana [118]). Press the root of the upper teeth with your tongue, contract your anus, and raise the apana vayu. Experienced beginner can perform Half Lotus (ardha padmasana)
11. YOGASANA▼ Yoga Mudrasana [120]
“Union” (Union Seal Pose)
Bend forward from either Lotus or Half Lotus.
12. KUKKUTASANA* Same [140]
“Cock”
Sit in Padmasana. Slip your arms between the calves and thighs, and lift your body off the floor.
Here perform Scale Pose (tolasana, literally “poising one’s self) [134].
13. VIRASANA* Similar to the leg position for Bharadvajasana II [298].
“Hero” (Bharadvaja’s Pose)
Sit on your buttocks. Bend the left knee and draw the leg back into Half Hero (ardha virasana, see the leg position in [138]). Bring the right leg into Lotus. VARIATION: bring one leg into Half Hero and the other into Half Bound Angle (ardha baddha konasana). This version of Virasana is sometimes called the Bull Pose (vrishasana).
14. UGRASANA Upavishta Konasana Stimulates prana, destroys dullness
“Stern” [148] (Seated Angle)
Described only in the Shiva Samhita. I’ve taken a liberty with this postures in performing it like Upavishta Konasana. Ugrasana is probably just another name for Pashchimottanasana (#16 below).
15. MAHA-MUDRA*✝▲■ Same [125] Cures all disease, destroys death, confers
“Great seal” siddhis
Perform this pose like Janu Shirshasana [126]. Press the left heel against the perineum, and keep the right leg straight. Then hold the sides of the right foot with your hands (or a strap).
16. PASHCHIMOTTANASANA* Same [153] Directs breath through sushumna, increases
“Intense-Stretch-of-the-West” appetite, reduces obesity, cures diseases
(i.e. the back of the body)
17. DHANURASANA* Akarna Dhanurasana [172]
“Bow” (Near-the-Ear Bow)
18. MATSYENDRASANA*▲ Ardha Matsyendrasana I [311] Increases appetite,
“Lord of Fish” destroys most deadly diseases, awakens Kundalini, stops
nectar shedding from “moon” (at the base of the brain or the uvula)
19. SHALABHASANA Similar, leg position only [60]
“Locust”
Place your “hands by your chest ... and raise the feet nine inches” (Gheranda). VARIATION: put your fists under the lower abdomen, just inside the hip points, and lift your legs.
20. MAKARASANA Same [62] Increases body heat
“Sea Monster”
21. USHTRASANA Like Dhanurasana [63], but thighs stay on floor
“Camel”
22. BHUJANGASANA Same [72] Increases body heat, destroys disease, awakens
“Serpent” Kundalini
23. UTKATASANA Somewhat similar (see [42] for modern utkatasana)
“Superior,” “Hazardous”
In this sequence, perform Utkatasana like the squat shown in [317], except raise your heels off the floor. You can either stretch your arms out in front of you, parallel to the floor, raise them perpendicular to the floor, or touch the palms in Anjali Mudra.
24. VRIKSHASANA Same [2]
“Tree”
25. GARUDASANA Similar leg position only, hands on knees [56]
“Eagle”
VARIATION: though not described in the traditional texts, perform the arm position demonstrated in Light on Yoga for Garudasana. Note: when the left leg is high, the left arm is low; reverse on the right.
26. VIPARITA KARANI MUDRA (1) Shirshasana [180] Destroys decay and death;
“Inverse-Action Seal” (Headstand) the adept “does not perish,” even at the dissolution
of the universe
“Place the head and both hands on the ground, raise the feet, and remain steady” (Gheranda). I have found two interpretations of these instructions:
1. The pose looks like Shirshasana
2. The pose looks like Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand).
We’ll perform the pose first as Headstand, then as Shoulderstand (#29).
27. MAYURASANA* Same [352] Removes abdominal disorders, digests bad food,
“Peacock” destroys poisons, all diseases
28. VAJRONI MUDRA Not illustrated in Awakens Shakti, extends life, gives
Sometimes called Vajroli Light on Yoga perfection and emancipation; retention of
seed is obtained
“Support yourself on the ground with the palms of both hands and raise the head and feet into the air” (Gheranda). I’ve found different instructions for this mudra. In this sequence perform it like Full Boat (paripurna navasana [78]), except with the palms pressed to the floor slightly behind the hips. I’ve also seen this mudra described like Adho Mukha Vrikshasana (Handstand). Svatmarama describes this vajroni in a completely different way.
29. VIPARITA KARANI MUDRA (2) Shoulderstand [219]
30. MATSYASANA Same [114] Destroys disease
“Fish”
The photo in Light on Yoga shows the legs in Lotus. In this sequence, perform the pose with the legs in a simple cross. Be sure to cross the legs both ways, and spend an equal length of time in each cross.
31. SIDDHASANA* Same [84] Opens door to salvation, purifies nadis
“Accomplished,” “Perfect.”
One heel at the base of the perineum, the other at the top of the perineum (Gheranda).
32. MRITASANA* Shavasana [592] Destroys fatigue, calms mind
“Death” (Corpse)
OMITTED POSES (from Gheranda):
NAME (in Sanskrit) MODERN
“English” EQUIVALENT RESULT
1. GORAKSHASANA▼■ Like Siddhasana Brings success
“Cowherd”
Insert your feet between the calves and thighs (but not hidden like Guptasana), and cover the heels with upturned hands.
2. GUPTASANA Like Siddhasana
“Hidden, Concealed”
Hide your feet between the calves and thighs and sit your buttocks on top of them.
3. MUKTASANA Like Siddhasana Brings success
“Liberated”
Position your left heel under the buttocks and the right heel on top of the left. Sit up straight.
4. SVASTIKASANA* Like Siddhasana Destroys disease (Shiva Samhita)
“Lucky”
Insert your feet between the calves and thighs, sit up straight. Also called Sukhasana (Easy Pose).
5. UTTANA KURMASANA* Like Garbha Pindasana [141]
“Extended Tortoise” “Embryo-in-the-Womb”
While in Kukkutasana, recline on your back and hold your neck with both hands.
6. VRISHASANA
“Bull”
Sit your buttocks on the right ankle, turn the left foot out beside the hip.
3. MUDRA and BANDHA: 25 SEALS and BONDS
From Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and Shiva Samhita
There are twenty-five mudras, the practice of which gives success to the Yogis.
Gheranda Samhita 3.1
The Gheranda Samhita describes 25 mudras and bandhas. Below, the 10 practices from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika are indicated with a star (*). The 10 practices described in the Shiva Samhita are indicated with a cross (✝). GAZING (drishti) at the middle of the eyebrows is called bhru madhya drishti (“mid-brow gazing”) and is performed in mudras marked with an up-triangle(▲). Jalandhara’s Bond (jalandhara bandha) is performed when the practice is marked with a square (■).
NAME (Sanskrit) RESULT
“English”
1. ASHVINI MUDRA Invigorates the body, cures diseases of the rectum, and
“Dawn-horse Seal” helps awaken Kundalini
Contract and dilate the anal sphincter muscle repeatedly.
2. BHUJANGINI MUDRA Destroys all stomach diseases
“Serpent Seal”
Extend the neck a little forward and draw in air through the esophagus.
3. JALANDHARA BANDHA*✝ Closes the 16 supports (adharas); destroys death; “he who
Net-Holding Bond” practices for six months is an adept”
Press the chin and the top of the sternum bone together. The 16 supports are the: thumbs, ankles, knees, thighs, prepuce, organs of generation, navel, heart, neck, throat, palate, nose, middle of the eyebrows, forehead, head, fontanelle (brahma randhra).
4. KAKI MUDRA Destroys all disease
“Crow Seal”
Shape the mouth like a crow’s beak and then suck in air.
5. KHECHARI MUDRA*✝▲ Destroys disease, decay and death; the body becomes
“Space-walking Seal” divine, it can’t be burned by fire, dried by wind, wetted by
water, bitten by snakes; it becomes “beautiful”; samadhi is
quickly attained
Sit in Vajrasana. “Gently insert the tongue into the base of the palate.”
The next three bandhas must be performed together (in the order 7, 6, 8). “These three are the great secrets” (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 3.30):
6. MAHA BANDHA*✝■ Destroys decay and death; “by its grace the yogi can achieve
“Great Bond” whatever he wants”
Press the left heel against the anus, put the right foot on the left thigh; slowly contract the muscles of the rectum and base of the pelvis (perineum); restrain the breath with Jalandhara Bandha.
7. MAHA MUDRA*✝▲■ Cures all disease, destroys death, confers siddhis
“Great Seal”
Press one heel against the anus, keep the other leg straight; hold the big toe of the straight leg (like janu shirshasana). Restrain the breath with Jalandhara Bandha.
8. MAHA VEDHA*✝■ Destroys decay and death
“Great Piercer”
Sit in Maha Bandha and restrain the breath (after exhalation) with Jalandhara Bandha. Then, with the support of the hands, lift off the ground and gently tap the ground with the buttocks several times.
9. MANDUKI MUDRA The body gets “eternal youth”
“Frog Seal”
Press the tip of the tongue against the palate.
10. MATANGINI MUDRA Destroys decay and death, confers great strength like an
“Elephant Seal” elephant (Gheranda)
Stand in neck-deep water. First draw in water through the nostrils and expel it out the mouth; then draw in water through the mouth and expel it through the nostrils.
11. MULA BANDHA*✝ Destroys decay; controls prana
“Root Seal”
Press the left heel against the anus and contract the rectum (ashvini mudra); press the intestines near the navel against the spine; press the right heel against the pubis.
12. NABHO MUDRA Destroys all disease
“Ether Seal”
“Wherever the yogi may be, he should always, in everything he does, be sure to keep his tongue turned upwards and constantly hold the breath” (Gheranda). Similar to Khechari Mudra (#5).
13-17. PANCHA DHARANA MUDRA (five Concentration Seals): See page 12.
18. PASHINI MUDRA Awakens Kundalini
“Bird-catcher Seal”
Wrap the legs around the neck, like Yoga Nidrasana (“Yoga sleep”).
19. SHAKTI CHALANI MUDRA✝ Destroys decay and death
“Stirring-the-power Seal”
Sit in Siddhasana. There are two different descriptions of this seal.
1. Wrap the midriff in a cloth [nine inches long, three inches wide, soft, white, and fine] and tie to your body with a string. Rub your body with ashes and sit in Siddhasana. Inhale and force the prana to join with apana. Perform Ashvini Mudra until the air is forced into Sushumna Nadi. Always practice this mudra before Yoni Mudra (#25) (Gheranda).
2. Sit in Vajrasana, hold the ankles, and press the lower belly (kanda); perform Bellows (bhastrika) (Svatmarama).
20. SHAMBHAVI MUDRA (Shiva’s Seal): see chapter 7.
21. TADAGI MUDRA Destroys decay and death
“Pond (or Tank) Seal”
“Draw the belly backwards and upwards so that it looks like a pond.”
22. UDDIYANA BANDHA* The “Great Bird” forced up into the Sushumna; makes
“Flying-up Bond” emancipation easy; “a lion against the elephant of death”
Forcefully contract the abdomen and press the viscera up towards the diaphragm and back towards the spine.
23. VAJRONI MUDRA Awakens Shakti, causes long life, emancipation
Sometimes VAJROLI
“Thunderbolt”
Sit with legs raised, hands on ground (looks like Paripurna Navasana with hands on floor).
24. VIPARITA KARANI MUDRA✝* Destroys decay and death; yogi won’t perish even
“Inverse action seal” at pralaya (i.e. dissolution of the universe)
Perform Shoulderstand; sometimes interpreted as Headstand.
25. YONI MUDRA Never polluted by sins
“Perineal seal”
Sit in siddhasana. There are two different descriptions of this seal.
1. Yoni mudra is used as another term for what we call Shan Mukhi Mudra: close the ears with the thumbs, eyes with the index fingers, nostrils with the mid fingers, upper lip with the ring fingers, lower lip with the little fingers. Draw in the breath with Kaki Mudra (#4). Contemplate on Shiva/Shakti, and realize self-identity with Brahma, the “source” (yoni) within (Gheranda).
2. Contract the perineum (yoni) (Shiva Samhita).
UDDANA BANDHA Destroys sins, sorrows, disease and death; purifies the navel
“Upward Bond” (and thereby the “winds”), and kindles gastric fire; gives “power over the microcosm” (vigraha siddhi)
Described only in Shiva Samhita. The viscera below and above the navel are brought to the left side above the navel.
4. THE FIVE CONCENTRATION SEALS
(pancha dharana mudra)
By practicing the [five] dharanas, everything on earth is possible. The yogi can come and go from the heavenly realms in his mortal body; he can move as fast as the mind and has the power of traveling through space.
Gheranda Samhita 3.57-58
When the fivefold perception of Yoga, arising from (concentrating the mind on) earth, water, light, air and ether, have appeared to the Yogin, then he has become possessed of a body made of the fire of Yoga, and he will not be touched by disease, old age or death.
Shvetasvatara Upanishad 2.12
The five concentrations upon the elements [respectively have the power of] stopping, inundating, burning, destabilizing, and dessicating. ... The Yogin who is intelligent [in the use of these techniques] is released from all suffering.
Goraksha Paddhati 2.59-60 (translation by Georg Feuerstein)
The Attributes, Mantra, and Location of the Centers
Like the fingers on the hand, the number five in India has long been “good to think with.” Even if its multiple pentads are expansions on the primal sacrificial triad–of fire (agni), oblation (rasa), and the wind (vayu) that conveyed the smoke and aroma of the offering to the gods–the Hindu cosmos has been, for at least three thousand years, a fivefold one.
David Gordon White, The Alchemical Body, 32
1. EARTH Concentration Seal (parthivi dharana mudra) (GS 3.59)
Color: Yellow (as orpiment, a mineral)
Symbol: Square (earth = strength, firmness, solidity, cohesion)
Seed syllable: Lam (la, a name of Indra)
Presiding deities: Brahma/Dakini (or Savitri)
Body region: Heart or sacrum center (Root-Foundation Wheel)
Benefits: Brings about “steadiness and conquers death.”
2. WATER Concentration Seal (ambhasi dharana mudra) (GS 3.60)
Color: White (as a jasmine flower, or the moon or a conch)
Symbol: Half-moon (water = contraction)
Seed syllable: Vam (va, a name of Varuna, means “ocean, water”)
Presiding deities: Vishnu (from vish, “to pervade”)/Rakini
Body region: Throat or center between pubis and navel (Own-Base Wheel)
Benefits: Removes “unbearable suffering and sins.” It’s also noted that the Yogi who masters this seal “never meets death even in frightful deepest water.”
3. FIRE Concentration Seal (agneyi dharana mudra) (GS 3.61)
Color: Blazing red (it resembles a Indragopa insect, whose crushed and dried body is used to make red dye)
Symbol: (Inverted) Triangle (fire = heat, light, expansion)
Seed syllable: Ram (ra, “fire, heat”)
Presiding deities: Rudra (“crying, howling, roaring, dreadful, horrible”)/Lakini
Body region: Palate or navel center (Jeweled City Wheel)
Benefits: Removes the “deep fear of death.” It’s also noted that should the Yogi be “thrown into a blazing fire, this mudra would keep him alive, without fear of death.”
4. AIR Concentration Seal (vayavi dharana mudra) (GS 3.62)
Color: Black (it resembles a mass of lampblack, which is used as unguent for the eyes), sometimes grey-blue or smokey because surrounded by vapor
Symbol: Circle or a pair of locked triangles (air = movement)
Seed syllable: Yam
Presiding deities: Ishvara (or Isha, “lord”)/Kakini
Body region: Between the eyebrows or heart center (Unstruck [Sound] Wheel)
Benefits: Brings about the “ability to move through space.” It’s also noted that this seal “conquers old age and death,” and that the Yogi who masters it “need not fear death from any aerial accidents.”
5. SPACE (or ETHER) Concentration Seal (akashi dharana mudra) (GS 3.63)
Color: Colorless or clear like water; also said to be smoky violet in color
Symbol: None or a circle (ether = space)
Seed syllable: Ham (ha, name of a form of Shiva, also: “cipher; meditation, auspiciousness, sky, heaven; blood, dying, fear; knowledge; moon; war; pride; cause, motive”)
Presiding deities: Sada Shiva (or Ardha Narishvara), who’s androgynous: its right half is male, its left half is female, the goddess Uma (also called Parvati and Durga)/Shakini
Body region: Crown (brahma randhra, “brahma aperture”) or throat center (Pure Wheel)
Benefits: Breaks down the “doorway to liberation.” It’s also noted that the Yogi who practices this seal is untouched by “old age and death.”
Practice 1:
Sit in any comfortable Yoga seat. You might want to start by gazing at the colored geometric shape or shapes that you’ll be visualizing (see p. 21). For example, if you’re working with the first center, spend a few minutes gazing at the yellow square. Then close your eyes and run your awareness through your entire body, just to get a feel for your “inner space.”
After a minute or so, concentrate your awareness in the first (lowest) center, whether the sacrum or heart. Technically, Gheranda says to “fix” the breath in this center, by which he no doubt means retain the breath there (kumbhaka). I think it’s probably best to just simply imagine that you’re breathing into and out of the center. Visualize the yellow square with its accompanying feelings of heaviness and solidity, and repeat silently to yourself (or whisper) the seed lam. Depending on available time and your inclination, you can work with just one center for your entire practice, or climb the ladder of centers from lowest to highest.
According to Gheranda, each concentration is supposed to last for 2 hours (= 5 ghatikas), but that seems a bit extreme, unless you’ve got 10 hours to spare. I would think about 2 to 5 minutes at each center would be more than sufficient.
Practice 2:
Follow the directions for practice 1 up to the point where you repeat the seed mantra for the lowest center. Then raise your awareness to the Water center and, while you visualize its attributes and repeat its mantra, imagine dissolving the solidity of Earth into the fluidity of Water. Continue in this fashion: Water then dissolves in Fire, Fire in Air, and Air in Ether, and finally Ether is dissolves in the self. Finally, as one text instructs (Maha Nirvana Tantra 5.105), repeat the mantra so’ham, which means “I am It (or He or She)”; in other words, I (aham) or this individual self (atman) is the same as It (sah), the cosmic self (brahman).
5. PRANAYAMA: CONSCIOUS BREATHING
From Gheranda Samhita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika
Just as lions, elephants and tigers are controlled by and by, so the breath is controlled by slow
degrees, otherwise (i.e., by being hasty or using too much force) it kills the practitioner himself
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
ABBREVIATIONS:
R = right nostril RET = retention (kumbhaka)
L = left nostril JB = Jalandhara Bandha
PRELIMINARY PRACTICE:
“PURIFICATION OF THE CHANNELS” (nadi shodhana)
The wind cannot flow through nadis clogged with dirt. How could pranayama succeed? How could knowledge of Reality arise? Therefore ... first purify the nadis and then practice pranayama.
Gheranda Samhita 5.35
1. FIRST CYCLE
Seed syllable (of the air element, resident in the Heart): YAM (smoke colored and shiny). Breath: IN (L) > RET > EX (R).
2. SECOND CYCLE
Seed syllable (of the fire element, resident in the navel): RAM. Raise the fire element (tejas tattva) from its seat at the root of the navel and join it with the earth element (prithivi tattva) Breath: IN (R) > RET > EX (L)
3. THIRD CYCLE
Seed syllable (of the water element): VAM. Gaze at the “shining orb of the moon” at tip of the nose (i.e., the bahir lakshya, “external sign). IN (L) > RET with the seed syllable VAM and meditate on the self “being flooded with the nectar of immortality” > EX (R) with the seed syllable LAM.(of the earth element)
PRANAYAMAS (or KUMBHAKAS)
The wise beginner should keep his body firm and inflexible, his hands joined as if in supplication, and salute the Gurus on the left side. He should also pay slautations to Ganesha on the right side, and again to the guardians of the worlds and the goddess Ambika, who are on the left side
Shiva Samhita
NAME (in Sanskrit)
“English” RESULTS
1. SAHITA Ability to move through space, destroys disease, the “practitioner of
“Combined” pranayama becomes happy”
There are two types of Sahita Pranayama: “with seed” (sagarbha) and “without seed” (nirgarbha).
A. Sagarbha: IN (L) with seed syllable A, contemplate red Brahma > at the end of IN, before RET, perform Uddiyana Bandha > then RET with the letter U as you contemplate black
Vishnu > EX (R) with the letter M as you contemplate white Shiva. Then repeat this process, switching nostrils for IN/EX.
B. Nirgarbha: Same as Sagarbha, but without recitation of sacred syllable.
2. SURYA BHEDA Destroys decay and death, awakens Kundalini Shakti, increases
“Sun-piercing” body fire (Gheranda); cleanses the skull, destroys worm, wind diseases (Svatmarama).
IN (R) > RET with JB, hold until there is “sweat in their nails and hair”; raise the five vayus from the navel > EX (L). Repeat many times.
3. UJJAYI Destroys decay and death, removes diseases of phlegm, increases
“Victorious” digestive power; practitioner never attacked by nervous diseases, indigestion, dysentery, consumption, cough, fever, enlarged spleen.
IN both nostrils, hold air in and “rinse” the mouth > RET the breath in the mouth with JB > EX (L) (Svatmarama). ALTERNATE: EX through both nostrils. Svatmarama says Ujjayi can be done while walking or standing.
4. SITKARI Become a second “God of Love [i.e., Kama], removes hunger, indolence,
“Making the breath sleep, thirst, develops vitality, practitioner “completely free of all
[sound] sit (seet)” disabilities on earth”
Described by Svatmarama only. Similar to #5 below. Purse the lips (as if sipping from a straw) and touch the tongue to the lips. “Sip” through the mouth on the IN > RET for as long as possible > EX through both nostrils.
5. SHITALI Practitioner never gets indigestion, fever, enlarged glands, never feels
“Cooling” hungry or thirsty
Curl the tongue and protrude it through pursed lips (kaki mudra). IN through tongue with a hissing sound > fill abdomen slowly and RET a short time > EX through both nostrils. Repeat 15-20 times. The tongue protrudes further in Shitali than in Sitkari.
6. BHASTRIKA Practitioner never suffers from any disease (Gheranda); Purifies energy
“Bellows” channels (nadi), gives pleasure, Kundalini rises quickly, pierces the
three “knots”(granthi) in Sushumna (i.e. Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra), which
allows the prana to ascend Sushumna (Svatmarama).
A. According to Gheranda: Slowly draw in air through both nostrils “in the same way that a blacksmith’s bellows successively opens and closes.” Perform 20 times, then RET
B. According to Svatmarama: EX through both nostrils so it “resonates” in the heart, throat, skull > quickly IN air to heart lotus > repeat with speed just as a”blacksmith works the bellows with speed. When tired, IN (R) and fill belly with air > RET > EX (L).
7. BHRAMARI Success in samadhi; bliss and delight in the mind
“Bee”
A. According to Gheranda: In a quiet place “past midnight,” close the ears with the hands. Listen to the sounds in the right ear. Listen for: crickets, lute, thunder, drum, beetle, bells, gongs, trumpets, etc. The last sound heard is the “unstruck” (anahata) sound rising from the heart. In this sound is Light, and in that Light the “mind should be immersed.”
B. According to Svatmarama: IN rapidly through both nostrils with the sound of a bee
> slow EX with the sound of a female bee.
8. MURCHHA Bliss
“Fainting”
A. According to Gheranda: Fix consciousness in the space between the two eyebrows, join the mind (manas) with the self (atman).
B. According to Svatmarama: IN through both nostrils > RET breath for as long as
possible > EX slowly through both nostrils.
9. PLAVINI Practitioner floats “happily like a lotus leaf, even in bottomless water”
“Floater”
Fill the belly with large amount of air.
10. KEVALI or Awakens Kundalini, “nothing in the three worlds is hard to win by one
KEVALA who masters” Kevala.
“Absolute” or “Alone”
A. According to Svatmarama: Retention (kumbhaka) is of two kinds: with inhalation and exhalation (sahita), and without inhalation and exhalation (kevali). For Kevali, “abandon exhalation and inhalation. Hold the breath comfortably.”
B. According to Gheranda: “When air is confined in the body there is Kevalakumbhaka ... Draw in air through the nostrils and perform Kevalakumbhaka. On the first day hold it from one to sixty-four times. Do it eight times a day, every three hours
6. VAYU PRATYAHARA: DRAWING-IN THE WIND
Direct the breath (or prana) in succession to, and holding it in, 18 vital points (marman) of the body. These points (there are a total of 107) can be loosely compared to acupuncture points; they’re energetic centers on or in the body, each of which therapeutically affects different physical or subtle organs or systems. Different texts have slightly different lists of 18 (and some points are rather vaguely situated); for our purposes we’ll work with the following 12 (and feel free to add one or more of your own):
big toes; ankles; mid-calves; knees; mid-thighs; perineum; navel; heart; throat (jugular notch just above the sternum); eyes; mid-forehead; crown.
NAME (Sanskrit) RESULT
“English”
VAYU PRATYAHARA Practitioner is freed from disease and all bondage, and “will live as
“Drawing-in the Wind” long as the moon and the stars exist. ... Among the Pratyaharas, this one is considered as the best by yogis” (YYS 7.30-31);
relaxes and revitalizes the body and brain; symbolizes the ascent of awareness from the gross
“earth” at the feet to the spiritual “space” at the crown; reversed it can represent symbolic the
descent of spiritual power into our body.
Sit in a comfortable Yoga seat, eyes closed. It might be helpful to first physically touch in turn and so “enliven” each of the vital points on your body. This is similar to a traditional practice called “casting” or “placing” (nyasa), a ritualized, meditative touching that sanctifies various body parts or areas.
Begin the breathing sequence at the big toes, and climb up the body-ladder, directing one or more breaths into each marman in turn. Of course, when there’s two of anything–big toes, ankles, calves, thighs, eyes–you have to direct your breath into both points simultaneously.
It’s also possible to reverse the order of breathing, and start from the crown and work your way down to your big toes. Repeat 2 to 5 times.
7. DHYANA: MEDITATION PRACTICES
From Goraksha, Svatmarama, Gheranda, Shiva
NAME (Sanskrit) RESULT
“English”
JYOTIS
“Luminous”
In the Root Wheel (muladhara chakra = sacrum), visualize a serpent and the embodied self (jivatman) as the flame of lamp. Meditation/Gheranda.
GHANTIKA Cures disease, concentrates attention, leads to spiritual bliss
“Bell” (= uvula)
Turn back tip of tongue toward the soft palette. Stimulates a small channel through which nectar (amrita) flows from the Moon Wheel (chandra mandala) in cranial vault to lower body. Adhara/Goraksha.
BHRU MADHYA Entire body made calm and cool, steadies attention
Mid-forehead (= between the eyebrows)
Focus eyes toward this spot, and imagine the luminous disc of Moon, shining white and cool. Adhara/Goraksha.
LALATA Develops vital and mental strength, adds to brightness and vigor of
Forehead body (tejasvi bhavati)
Fix attention here, imagine a mass of self-shining light (jyotih punja). Adhara/Goraksha.
AJNA CHAKRA Happiness, destroys past karma
“Command Wheel”
Meditate on the brilliant Moon in the Ajna Chakra whether “standing or walking, sleeping or waking.” If you contemplate on this Moon at the time of death, you’ll be absorbed in the Great Self (paramatman). Meditation/Shiva.
MANASA SNANA Heavenly felicity
“Mental Bathing”
Just as pilgrims bathe in the confluence of the three holy rivers to purify themselves, you can symbolically purify yourself by “bathing” in the confluence of the three nadis. Meditation/Shiva.
SHAMBHAVI MUDRA*▲ “He who knows Shambhavi is Brahma” (GS 3.56); quiets
“Shambhu’s (Shiva) Seal” the brain and leads to meditation
After performing external Trataka on a candle, close your eyes for 30 seconds and hold the internal after-image steady. Then without “losing sight” of the “inner candle,” open your eyes and gaze out into the room. Hold the candle’s afterimage and the surrounding space in your awareness, looking both inward and outward, simultaneously.
NADA First stage: divine body, divine radiance, divine fragrance,
Subtle “Sound” freedom from disease, a full heart; second stage: wisdom, equality with the gods; third stage: bliss, free of defects, misery, old age, hunger, sleep; fourth stage: unification of mind, undisturbed happiness; liberation
Sit in Muktasana, perform Shambhavi Mudra and Shan Mukhi Mudra, and listen with concentration for a subtle sound in your right ear. What sounds are heard? In the beginning: ocean, cloud, kettledrum; in the middle: drum and conch, bell and drum; in the end: tinkling bell, flute, a bee. Meditation/Svatmarama.
DHUM DHUM KARA NADA Mind filled with joy; realization of sound as expression of Self
Close ears, listen to continuous dhum-dhum sound in center of brain; fix attention on this sound, which will gradually take on the monotonous drone of OM. Antara lakshya/Goraksha.
NILA JYOTI Spiritualization of consciousness
“Dark blue light”
Concentrate on blue light (nila jyoti) in the center of your eyes. Antara lakshya/Goraksha.
ANY OUTER OBJECT Will see Self manifested in all forms
Fix attention on chosen object, see it as manifestation of Self. Possible objects: Sun, Moon, any star, burning candle, icon. Bahir lakshya/Goraksha.
