हठयोग प्रदीपिका (योगी स्वात्माराम - ज्योत्स्ना टीका सहित सटीक)

SECOND CHAPTER

1. The Yogin having perfected himself in the Āsana-s, should practise Prāṇāyāma according to the instructions of his Guru, with his senses under control, conforming to a beneficial and moderate diet.
2. When the breath wanders [i.e. is irregular], the mind is unsteady, but when [the breath is] still, so is [the mind] still and the Yogin obtains the power of stillness. Therefore the breath should be restrained.
3. Life is said to exist only so long as there is breath in the body; its [the breath’s] departure is death. So one should restrain the breath.
4. When the Nāḍī-s are full of impurities, the breath does not go into the middle [Nāḍī, Suṣumnā]. How then can there be the Unmanī-avasthā? How can there be the attainment of the goal?
5. When all the Nāḍī-s, which are full of impurities, become purified, then only does the Yogin become expert in the control of breath.
6. So control of breath (Prāṇāyāma) should be done daily with a mind in which the sāttvika (pure) element prevails, till the Suṣumnā Nāḍī is free from impurities. In the above verses, ‘breath’ does not mean the air taken in and breathed out, but the Prāṇa, i.e. the magnetic current of breath, as it would be otherwise absurd to say that the breath