Kumbhaka
Kumbhaka is the retention of the breath in the yoga practice of pranayama. It has two types, accompanied (by breathing) whether after inhalation or after exhalation, and, the ultimate aim, unaccompanied. That state is kevala kumbhaka, the complete suspension of the breath for as long as the practitioner wishes.
Breath retention
The name kumbhaka is from Sanskrit कुम्भ kumbha, a pot, comparing the torso to a vessel full of air.[2]
Kumbhaka is the retention of the breath in
Sahit or Sahaja Kumbhaka is an intermediate state, when breath retention becomes natural, at the stage of withdrawal of the senses,
Kevala Kumbhaka, when inhalation and exhalation can be suspended at will, is the extreme stage of Kumbhaka "parallel with the state of
Historical purpose
The yoga scholar
[D]istractions ... act as barriers to stillness. ... One can subdue these distractions by ... pausing after breath flows in or out.
— Yoga Sutras, 1:30-34, translated by Chip Hartranft[11]
With effort relaxing, the flow of inhalation and exhalation can be brought to a standstill; this is called breath regulation.
— Yoga Sutras, 2:49, translated by Chip Hartranft[12]
According to the
The yoga scholars James Mallinson and Mark Singleton write that "pure breath-retention"[15] (without inhalation or exhalation) is the ultimate pranayama practice in later hatha yoga texts. They give as an example the account in the c. 13th century Dattātreyayogaśāstra of kevala kumbhaka (breath retention unaccompanied by breathing). They note that this is "the only advanced technique"[15] of breath-control in that text, stating that in it the breath can be held "for as long as one wishes".[15] The Dattātreyayogaśāstra states that kevala kumbhaka gives magical powers, allowing the practitioner to do anything:[15]
Once unaccompanied [kevala] breath-retention, free from exhalation and inhalation, is mastered, there is nothing in the three worlds that is unattainable.
— Dattātreyayogaśāstra 74[16]
The 15th century
The 18th century Gheranda Samhita states that death is impossible when the breath is held in the body.[18]
Mallinson and Singleton note that sahita kumbhaka, the intermediate state which is still accompanied (the meaning of sahita) by breathing, was described in detail. They write that the
See also
- Kapalabhati
- Tummo#Practice
- Uddiyana bandha
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8052-1031-6.
- ^ a b Anon (28 August 2007). "Breath Retention". Yoga Journal.
- ^ a b c Hajirnis, M. (1983). "Physiology of Pranayama". Bihar School of Yoga.
- ^ a b "Full breath retention- Kumbhaka Pranayama". The Yoga Institute. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Sahaja Kumbhaka". Yogapedia. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, p. 168.
- Joga Pradipika409-412
- ^ Mathur, Vaibhav (2 August 2018). "Remarkable 1851 documentation of Brahmin rituals by Mrs. S. C. Belnos". Curious India. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019.
In April, 1851, Sophie Charlotte Belnos, originally an amateur artist, later a lithographer, published a catalogue containing thoroughly researched and finely executed lithographs with accompanying texts documenting the daily rituals of Brahmins. Wife of the French miniature artist Jean-Jacques Belnos, who introduced lithographic printing in India in 1822, Belnos set up her studio in 1847 in Calcutta.
- ^ Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007). Greater Maghada: Studies in the Culture of Early India. Brill. pp. 26–27.
- OCLC 878953765.
- OCLC 64098584.
- OCLC 64098584.
- OCLC 230987898.
- ISBN 978-1931833189.
- ^ a b c d e Mallinson & Singleton 2017, p. 131.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, p. 156.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 132, 231–232.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 164–165.
Sources
- OCLC 928480104.