Pränäyāmaḥ

We breathe from birth to death. It happens even without our conscious effort or awareness. Thank God! Left to us, we might have forgotten to breathe one day! Is it possible or necessary to control the breath? To what purpose? Can that become a technique of meditation? The following three verses explain:

चित्तादिसर्वभावेषु ब्रह्मत्वेनैव भावनात् । निरोधः सर्व वृत्तीनां प्राणायामः स उच्यते ॥ ११८ ॥
निषेधनं प्रपञ्चस्य रेचकाख्यः समीरणः । ब्रह्मैवास्मीति या वृत्तिः पूरको वायुरीरितः ॥ ११९ ॥
ततस्तदूवृत्तिनैश्चल्यं कुंभकः प्राणसंयमः । अयं चापि प्रबुद्धानामज्ञानां घ्राणपीडनम् ॥ १२० ॥

cittadi-sarva-bhaveşu brahmatvenaiva bhāvanāt, nirodhaḥ sarva vṛttīnām prāṇāyāmaḥ sa ucyate. (118)
nişedhanam prapancasya recakākhyaḥ samiraṇaḥ, brahmaivăsmīti ya vṛttiḥ pūrako vāyuriritaḥ. (119)
tatas-tadvṛtti-naiścalyam kumbhakaḥ a-samyamaḥ, ayam capi prabuddhānām-ajñānāṁ ghrana-pidanam. (120)

चित्तादिसर्वभावेषु – in all mental states such as memory; ब्रह्मत्वेन – as the Truth; एव – verily; भावनात् – through understanding; निरोधः -restraint; सर्व वृत्तीनाम् – of all modifications of the mind; (य: -which ); प्राणायामः – pränāyāma (control of the vital forces); सः – that; ईरितः – is called निषेधनम् – negation; प्रपञ्चस्य – of the phenomenal world; रेचकाख्यः – known as recaka (exhalation); समीरण : breath (अस्ति– is); अहम् – I ; ब्रह्म – the Truth; एव – alone; अस्मि- am; इति – that; या – which; वृत्तिः – thought; (सा – that); पूरकः – püraka (inhalation); वायुः – breath; ईरितः -is called ततः – thereafter, तद्वृत्तिनैश्चल्यम् the steadiness of that thought; कुंभकः – kumbhaka (holding the breath); ( उच्यते – is called); प्राणसंयमः – the control of the vital force ( i.e. prānāyāma); ( भवति – is); अयम् -this; अपि च – also; प्रबुद्धानाम् – of the enlightened; अज्ञानाम् – of the ignorant, घ्राणपीडनम् – pressing of the nose; ( भवति – is )

118-120. The restraint of all modifications of the mind by regarding all mental states like the memory as the Truth alone, is called prānāyāma. The negation of the phenomenal world is known as recaka (exhalation), the thought, ‘I am verily Brahman’, is called pūraka (inhalation), and the steadiness of that thought thereafter is called kumbhaka (holding the breath). This is the prāṇāyāma of the enlightened, whereas the ignorant only torture the nose.
Once we are well established in the meditation posture and our body, limbs and sight are steady, what do we do next? The breath and the mind are even more closely related than the body and the mind. Our breathing is affected with the slightest fluctuation in our thoughts. When the mind is agitated, our breathing is faster and when calm, it is slow and rhythmic. When in the deep sleep state the mind is dormant, our breathing pattern changes completely. To control our breathing (prāṇā nirodhaḥ) is relatively easier than controlling our thoughts (vṛtti nirodhaḥ). Hence the practice of breath control (prāṇāyāmaḥ) is adopted to make the mind pure, subtle and concentrated. This also has tremendous beneficial effect on the entire body and its functioning.
There are many types of prāṇāyāma practices. One is the observation of the breath – prāṇā vīkṣaṇa. Even by the practice of japa (repetition of the name of God), rocking on a swing or chair, walking and so on, the breathing becomes rhythmic and to that extent the mind becomes calm. Haṭha Yoga propounds methods which involve the control of the outgoing breath (recaka), incoming breath (pūraka), holding the breath within (antar kumbhaka) and holding the breath without (bāhya kumbhaka). The common prāṇāyāma practices are anuloma-viloma, kapāla bhāti, bhastrikā, ujjayī, and so on. These should be practised under guidance of an accomplished teacher. ‘The vāsanās and false notions of one established in prāṇāyāma get exhausted.’
How can prāṇāyāma become a technique of meditation? We generally categorise, analyse and judge thoughts as good, bad, ugly, right, wrong, restless, calm, unwanted and so on. These differences are merely apparent, not real or permanent. For example, the function, shape and names of gold ornaments are apparently different, but in essence they are the same gold. To see all thoughts as the Self or Truth alone is ‘prāṇāyāma meditation’ according to Vedānta. By this practice there is automatic control and cessation of all diverse thoughts (sarva vṛttīnāṁ nirodhaḥ).

Some feel they are caught up in their daily routine or tied down by the love of their family and friends or bound by social commitments or burdened by duties and responsibilities. When we think about it, we realise that it is we who hold on to the world, are attached to pleasures, relatives and friends, identify with social causes and have assumed responsibilities unto ourselves. When asked by a disciple how to gain Liberation, the Master climbed a tree and held on to a branch shouting, “I am caught by the tree (world). Save me! Free me!” The disciple shouted back, “Don’t hold on. Just leave the branch. You are already free!”
The two false notions that bind us are identification with the not-Self (anātmani ātma buddhiḥ) and giving absolute reality to the ever-changing world (jagati satyatva buddhiḥ). To practise giving up these notions, replacing them with thoughts like ‘I am not the body or mind which are finite’, ‘the world is but apparent’, is called ‘recaka prāṇāyāma meditation.’ A worldly man asked the Master to bless him with the vision of the Lord.The Master asked him for all his worldly possessions in return for this ‘Grand Vision’. The man hesitated and decided he would rather have his wealth. One cannot hold on to the false and gain the Truth also.
If I am not the body and the world is not Absolute, then who am I and what is Real? To fill our mind with the thought, ‘I am the infinite Truth, which alone is real and absolute’, is ‘pūraka prāṇāyāma meditation.’ To hold on steadily to this thought is ‘kumbhaka prāṇāyāma meditation’.