Some persons are drawn to the practice of
prāṇāyām
, which is loosely translated as “control of breath.” This involves
Pūrak
—the process of drawing the breath into the lungs.
Rechak
—the process of emptying the lungs of breath.
Antar kumbhak
—holding the breath in the lungs after inhalation. The outgoing breath gets suspended in the incoming breath during the period of suspension.
Bāhya kumbhak
—keeping the lungs empty after exhalation. The incoming breath gets suspended in the outgoing breath during the period of suspension.
Both the
kumbhaks
are advanced techniques and should only be practiced under the supervision of qualified teachers, else they can cause harm. Yogis who are inclined toward the practice of
prāṇāyām
utilize the process of breath control to help tame the senses and bring the mind into focus. Then they offer the controlled mind in the spirit of
yajña
to the Supreme Lord.
Prāṇ
is not exactly breath; it is a subtle life force energy that pervades the breath and varieties of animate and inanimate objects. The Vedic scriptures describe five kinds of
prāṇas
in the body—
prāṇ, apān, vyān, samān, udān
—that help regulate various physiological bodily functions. Amongst these,
samān
is responsible for the bodily function of digestion. Some people may also be inclined toward fasting. They curtail their eating with the knowledge that diet impacts character and behavior. Such fasting has been employed as a spiritual technique in India since ancient times and also considered here a form of
yajña
. When the diet is curtailed, the senses become weak and the
samān
, which is responsible for digestion, is made to neutralize itself. This is the nature of the sacrifice that some people perform.
People perform these various kinds of austerities for the purpose of purification. It is desire for gratification of the senses and the mind which leads to the heart becoming impure. The aim of all these austerities is to curtail the natural propensity of the senses and mind to seek pleasure in material objects. When these austerities are performed as a sacrifice to the Supreme, they result in the purification of the heart (as mentioned before, the word “heart” is often used to refer to the internal machinery of the mind and intellect).