Yogic Process of Controlling the Breath

The ancient yoga system places great emphasis on prāṇāyāma, the science of controlling the breath. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the mind is naturally restless, constantly wandering between different sense objects. To curb this oscillation, the yogī manipulates the vital air within the body. This article explores the mechanical execution of breath control, its ultimate purpose in fixing the mind on the Supreme, the immense powers it can generate, and Śrīla Prabhupāda's analysis of its feasibility in the current age.

Mechanics of Prāṇāyāma

Śrīla Prabhupāda describes prāṇāyāma as a technical process involving specific sitting postures (āsana) and the regulation of air circulation. He explains that before one can control the mind, one must control the bodily airs through the stages of inhalation (pūraka), retention (kumbhaka), and exhalation (recaka).

• A yogi can place his mind and intelligence within the air circulating inside his body, and by practicing the art of breath control he can mix that air with the air that blows all over the universe outside his body.
• Before practicing the real yoga system, one has to practice the sitting postures because this helps in the breathing exercises which control the airs going upwards and downwards.
• This system of yoga for controlling the breathing process is called pranayama, and in the beginning it is practiced in the hatha-yoga system through different sitting postures.
• While continuously staring at the tip of the nose, a learned yogi practices the breathing exercises through the technical means known as puraka, kumbhaka and recaka - controlling inhalation and exhalation and then stopping them both.

Purpose: Controlling the Mind

The breathing exercises are not an end in themselves but a means to a higher goal. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the mind is the central controlling factor of the senses; therefore, the breath is restrained specifically to force the mind to become steady and focus on the form of Viṣṇu within the heart.

• The mind, by nature, is always oscillating, for it is very fickle, but the breathing exercise is meant to control it. This process of controlling the mind might have been very possible in those days millions of years ago.
• The purpose of yogic performances is explained here (SB 3.15.7). It is said that an experienced mystic attains full control of the mind and senses by controlling the breathing process. Therefore, controlling the breathing is not the ultimate aim of yoga.
• One should control the sitting posture, regulate the breathing process by the yogic pranayama and thus control the mind and senses and with intelligence apply the mind to the gross potencies of the Lord.
• By this astanga-yoga system, by sitting posture, by controlling the breathing, by modes of different posture of seeing, so many things there are. The real thing is to control the mind and concentrate it on the form of Visnu.

Power of Breath Control

According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, a perfect yogī who has mastered the breath can achieve extraordinary feats, such as extending their life span by conserving vital energy. He often cites the historical example of Dhruva Mahārāja, whose practice was so intense that when he suspended his breath, the universal breathing process was choked.

• Because of Dhruva Maharaja's controlling his breathing, the entire universal breathing process was choked.
• If you don't spend it, then the hundred dollar remains. Similarly, your duration of life is there, and it is being wasted by breathing. If you can control the breathing process, then your life can be increased.
• By controlling the breath, the perfect yogi can continue his life for as long as he likes.
• There the great sage concentrated his mind by the yogic breathing exercises, and thereby controlling all attachment, he remained standing on one leg only, eating nothing but air, and stood there on one leg for one hundred years.

Prerequisites and Modern Feasibility

Despite its potential, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that prāṇāyāma is extremely difficult to execute in the modern age. He emphasizes that it requires strict celibacy, seclusion, and a regulated lifestyle that is rare today. Consequently, he recommends the chanting of the holy names as the only practical means of mind control for this era.

• Control the breathing, it requires celibacy, no sex life. Yoga-indriya-samyamah. That is called yoga, not that showing some gymnastic and smoking and yoga system. This is going on.
• Practicing the yoga system of exercise and breath control is very difficult for a person in this age, and therefore Lord Caitanya recommended (CC Adi 17.31) , kirtaniyah sada harih.
• Actually, it is very difficult to control the mind. So artificially, by controlling the breathing system, there is the process, but still, it is difficult.
• The yoga practice is to control the breathing period. And this breathing can be controlled if you can control your sense pleasure. Otherwise it will not be possible. Especially sex.

Conclusion

The yogic process of controlling the breath is a valid and scientific method for subduing the mind and senses, provided it is executed according to the strict rules of the scriptures. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the ultimate goal of prāṇāyāma is to fix the mind on Kṛṣṇa. Since the mechanical regulation of breath is arduous and often impractical in Kali-yuga, the same result—absorption in the Supreme—is more easily and happily achieved through bhakti-yoga. As Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes, one who is engaged in the service of the Lord automatically attains the control of the mind and senses that the yogīs strive for through breath control.

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Controlling the Breath. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience his teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

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This content is a part of Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani Temple. Source: https://vanipedia.org