Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.27
॥
Devanāgarī
यथा लगति कण्ठात्तु हृदयावधि सस्वनम् । पूर्ववत्कुम्भयेत्प्राणं रेचयेदिडया ततः
Transliteration (IAST)
yathā lagati kaṇṭhāttu hṛdayāvadhi sasvanam | pūrvavatkumbhayetprāṇaṃ recayediḍayā tataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यथा लगति कण्ठात् तुyathā lagati kaṇṭhāt tuas it touches, from the throat
हृदय-अवधि स-स्वनम्hṛdaya-avadhi sa-svanamto the heart, with sound
पूर्व-वत् कुम्भयेत् प्राणंpūrva-vat kumbhayet prāṇaṃas before shall he hold the breath
रेचयेत् इडया ततःrecayet iḍayā tataḥshall he release by ida then
Translation
"As it touches, from the throat to the heart, with sound; as before shall he hold the breath, then shall he release it by ida".
Version
52eaa5ca1ea5 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Ujjayi is described: with the throat constricted, the breath goes with a sound, and this sound is felt from the throat to the chest. Sa-svanam, "with sound," is the mark of this technique: the air, passing through the narrowed vocal opening, rustles as wind rustles in a narrow place. Worth noting is that what is described here is a sensation, not a mechanism: it says "as it touches" — yatha lagati — that is, as the touch is felt. This whole book, as noted when reading the seventh line, is a charting of sensations; and in this lies both its strength and its limit.
The strength is that sensations are verifiable: do it, and you will feel the same thing. The limit is that from sensations nothing follows about what lies behind them. The Vaishnava side draws this distinction firmly and brings it into every conversation about spiritual experience. The sensation is one's own; the object is another's. From the fact that a man feels good and warm, it follows neither that God exists nor that He has turned to him; and from the fact that he feels heavy and dry, the opposite does not follow either.
Hence the measure set in her books is not sensation but a change of life: has he grown more patient, has he stopped demanding, does he forgive more easily. This measure is coarser and slower, but it does not deceive.