The verse and its meaning · Yoga in Practice · Yoga in Practice — Pranayama

Surya bhedana — the sun-piercing breath

Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.48

आसने सुखदे योगी बद्ध्वा चैवासनं ततः। दक्षनाड्या समाकृष्य बहिःस्थं पवनं शनैः ॥

Meaning · English

Seated on a seat that gives ease, and having bound the posture, the practitioner slowly draws in through the right channel the air that stands outside the body.

The heading names the practice. Surya is the sun and bhedana is piercing, so this is the sun-piercing breath. The sun is the right side: the commentary reads the right channel as the pingala nadi, the right-hand line among the body's subtle pathways in the tradition's account. The line itself says only 'the right channel'. Now the plain sense. First comes the seat. The practitioner sits in a posture that gives ease, and the posture is bound, meaning settled and fixed before any breathing begins. The commentary adds its own detail: a clean, quiet place, a seat neither too high nor too low, spread with cloth, deerskin and kusha grass. It cites an Upanishad asking for a neck, head and body in one line. It names the svastika, vira, siddha and padma postures as the choices and takes siddha as the chief. Second comes the breath. The air outside the body is drawn in slowly through the right nostril. The commentary reads 'slowly' as little by little, a filling without hurry. The line gives no reason of its own. The hold, the exit through the left and the claims come in the verses after it. What it asks of a practitioner is a steady seat first, then one slow in-breath on one side.

1. Sit where you are steady, on a seat that gives ease, with the spine upright and the body settled. 2. Fix the posture first, and let the body stop adjusting before you begin to breathe. 3. Draw the air in slowly through the right nostril, gently and without sound. 4. Watch the cool stream entering the right side. When the mind wanders, come back to that one point. 5. Let the breath out softly when the in-breath is full, and hold nothing. 6. Stop if you feel dizzy or strained. Breathe normally and sit still for a minute.

1. Sit on a folded blanket in a posture you can hold without strain: cross-legged, or in siddhasana if the hips allow. Support the knees with cushions if they float. 2. Lengthen the spine, let the shoulders drop, and keep the neck and head in line with the trunk. 3. Close the eyes, or let the gaze rest softly downward. Breathe normally for a few breaths. 4. Raise the right hand. Fold the index and middle fingers into the palm. This hand position is modern teaching, not in the text. Rest the thumb by the right nostril and the ring finger by the left. 5. Close the left nostril with the ring finger. Breathe in slowly through the right for 4 counts, quietly and evenly. 6. Do not hold the breath. Close the right nostril with the thumb, open the left, and breathe out through the left for 4 counts. The next verse gives this left-sided exit. 7. Breathe in again through the right. That is one round. Begin with 5 rounds. 8. Way out: lower the hand, breathe through both nostrils, and sit quietly for a minute before moving. The text gives no counts and no second side. The counts here are modern teaching. A 4:4 ratio is where a beginner starts, and the out-breath may later lengthen to 6, but never at the cost of comfort. The sequence always goes in on the right and out on the left, so there is no other side to switch to. The in-breath is smooth, with no sniffing or rasping in the throat, and the face and belly stay soft. A beginner holds no breath at all. The long holds taught in the old texts can harm, and they are learnt only with a teacher. Stop at once at dizziness, tightness in the chest or head, or any strain, and return to ordinary breathing.

The body does most of its work before the breath starts. A steady seat on supported hips lets the spine stand tall with little muscular effort, so the ribs and diaphragm can move freely. A slow breath in through one nostril is a narrow, gentle passage, which naturally slows the pace. The in-breath widens the lower ribs and lets the belly swell a little. The shoulders and jaw stay still. The breath changes only the length of each cycle, not the posture. Nostrils are in fact not equal: one side is usually more open than the other, and this alternates through the day. So the right nostril may feel easy or a little tight, and that is ordinary. For the mind, the shape is simple. There is one seat, one nostril and one slow inflow, so attention has a small place to rest and a clear mark to return to when it drifts. The tradition has its own account. The Pradipika's heading calls the right channel the sun, and in that account this breath works on the right nadi and its heat. That is the tradition's picture of what happens, not a description of physiology.

This line states no benefit of its own. It only lays out the seat and the in-breath. The claims come in the verse after the hold and exit. There the Pradipika says the practice cleanses the skull, removes the faults of wind and of worms in its own terms, and that it is the best of its kind to repeat again and again. These are the text's claims, given in the old vocabulary, and they are not promises about health. The commentary on this line promises nothing beyond the instruction itself: a clean, ready place, a firm seat and a slow in-breath through the right.

A retired schoolteacher sits on the edge of his bed on a cold morning, presses one finger to a nostril and breathes in slowly. Many people find such slow, quiet nasal breathing settling. A steady upright seat and an unhurried out-breath fit what a doctor would say about calm breathing in general, and the nasal cycle, one side more open than the other and swapping through the day, is real. Beyond that, the evidence is thin. There is no solid basis for saying that breathing through one particular nostril warms the body, changes alertness in a reliable way or alters blood pressure. The sun channel, the nadis and the cleansing of the skull have no modern counterpart, and the tradition's remarks on wind and worm faults do not match any current medical idea. Long breath holds, which the next verse brings in, can cause dizziness or fainting, which is why a slow, unheld breath is the cautious form.

This is general information, not medical advice. A teacher can correct what a page cannot, and this breath is best learnt with one. Take particular care with high or low blood pressure, heart or lung conditions, asthma, a blocked nose or recent nasal surgery, any recent operation, pregnancy, and anxiety or panic. In these cases ask a doctor first, and keep the breath short and soft, or leave it out. Sit on a support if the knees or hips complain, and never push into a posture for the sake of the breath. Never force the count, hold the breath, or breathe through a blocked nostril. The long holds in the old texts can harm if followed literally. Stop at once with dizziness, pain, tightness or strain.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: Eight Kinds of Kumbhaka · Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.44
• Next: Ujjayi — the victorious breath · Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.51
• All of Yoga in Practice · Ask Krishna about it

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