Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.24
॥
Devanāgarī
दक्षनाड्या समाकृष्य बहिष्ठं पवनं शनैः । यथेष्टं पूरयेद्वायुं रेचयेदिडया ततः
Transliteration (IAST)
dakṣanāḍyā samākṛṣya bahiṣṭhaṃ pavanaṃ śanaiḥ | yatheṣṭaṃ pūrayedvāyuṃ recayediḍayā tataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दक्ष-नाड्या समाकृष्यdakṣa-nāḍyā samākṛṣyaby the right channel, having drawn in
बहिष्ठं पवनं शनैःbahiṣṭhaṃ pavanaṃ śanaiḥthe outer air slowly
यथा-इष्टं पूरयेत् वायुंyathā-iṣṭaṃ pūrayet vāyuṃas much as he wishes, shall he fill with wind
रेचयेत् इडया ततःrecayet iḍayā tataḥshall he release by ida then
Translation
"Having slowly drawn in the outer air by the right channel, filling with wind as much as he wishes, he shall then release it by ida".
Version
fd0a0f3ee094 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The first technique is described, surya-bheda: inhale by the right, exhale by the left. Two words in these descriptions are worth noting, which recur and make up their whole substance: shanaih, "slowly," and yathestam, "as much as he wishes." The first is said of the inhalation. Rapid breathing is not counted an exercise: this whole science is, in essence, a science of slowing down.
The second cancels counting. Not "in sixteen parts" and not "to the limit," but — as much as you like; and this is again the same as "by one's own strength" (1.12). Both words together make the technique safe and manageable; and it is worth noting that later manuals, by introducing counting and limits, made it more dangerous, not more perfect.
The Vaishnava side has no objections whatever to breathing techniques of this kind — slowly and as much as one likes; they are simply a sensible handling of the body. Objections begin where promises are added to them that they cannot fulfill. Separately, a word must be said about bahishtham, "outer." The air is called outer; and this, for all its obviousness, is worth attention. Everything by which a man lives comes from without: air, water, food, light, the word. He has nothing of his own, except what he makes of these.