Keval Kumbhak ~ Dawn of Yoga

Many Yoga practitioners have asked me a question about Keval Kumbhak...

Nowadays many people are getting interested in Yoga Philosophy and in fact, they have started doing Yoga techniques either on their own or through their Yoga teachers. But most of the Yoga practitioners are having knowledge about Asanas, some of the breathing techniques which they referred to as Pranayam like Purak (Inhalation), Rechak (Exhalation) and Kumbhak (Retention of breath). But all these breathing exercises have been practiced by them in conscious level or in other words, we can say that they are doing all these breathing exercises in robotic form. Though Breath is not to be controlled forcefully.

Keval Kumbhak means an absence of Purak (Inhalation) and Rechak (Exhalation). Which means complete cessation of breath, neither inhalation nor exhalation. But this condition is not to be obtained by forceful restraint of breath either outside or inside the body like in Hathyoga. Then the next question arises, how this could be possible.

Before explaining the phenomenon, I want to tell you that mainly Prana (Vital force) in our body is divided in five main Pranas and five sub pranas.

PRANAS:

1. PRANA: For respiration like breath in.
2. APANA:Respiration i.e. breath out.
3. UDANA: It discharges body impurities. Swallowing of the food. Sleep. 
4. VYANA: Air that moves throughout the body maintaining body pressure to perform body organ functions. Circulation of Blood.
5. SAMANA:  Samana is the air that maintains equal pressure all over the body . Digestion.

Sub Pranas:

1. NAGA: Burping, Hiccup.
2. KURMA: Blinking, Opening of the eyes.
3. KRUKARA: Sneezing, Hunger and Thirst.
4. DHANANJAYA: Opening and closing of heart valves. Decomposition of the body after death.
5. DEVADUTTA.: Yawning.

So through all pranas, the human body works and whenever the flow of any prana is disturbed, the diseases occur in the human body.

Apart from other physical functioning of Prana Shakti (Vital force), our mind is also get associated with the Prana. Mind and Prana are just two sides of the same coin. If you can control one, the other will get controlled automatically.

If you can control your thoughts then your prana will also get controlled and poised.

Saints generally don't work directly on Prana Shakti directly but they work on their mind i.e. Chitta, which is to be controlled primarily, by doing meditation on the holy word (Shabd) given by the Sadguru to his disciple.

But the yogis do work on their Prana day by day by using Yogic Kriyas and make their Prana totally poised, which gives them full control over their Prana as well as Chitta. And the controlled Chitta ultimately lead the soul to Moksha or Salvation or Atmasakshatkar.

Now, the basic question remains the same that how any person can cease inhalation and exhalation without stopping it forcefully.

The profound yogis have developed various Yogic Kriyas like Khechari Mudra by which, your breath cycle starts reducing in caparison to the normal human body.

On an average, human take 23040 breath per day which means 960 breath per hour. But the yogic kriyas reduce this breath rate from 23040 to less than 1440 without any stress on the body, which ultimately makes the pulsating Prana Shakti calm down and become poised. And this Yogic process ultimately leads to Cessation of Prana (Inhalation) and Apana (Exhalation) and they Unite together.

In Geeta it is written -

apane juhvati pranam
prane 'panam tathapare
pranapana-gati ruddhva
pranayama-parayanah
apare niyataharah
pranan pranesu juhvati 

Meaning thereby that -

If anyone can offer Prana (downward air) in Apana (Outward air) or vice versa, the Pranayam is done.

Hence, the Keval Kumbhak is not only the final outcome but it is the only pranayama, which yogi do. 

But the basic principle is that Keval Kumbhak happens on its own and not by any force.

I have experienced this Keval Kumbhak by another Yogic Kriya known as Chakra Anusandhan or Chakra Bhedan Kriya. It is one of yogic kriya of Kriya Yoga. 

I want to say many more on this topic... so I will keep updating the same. The interesting one may contact me on my email - judis.legal@gmail.com

How to start Yogic Life in Today's world

I have come across a common question from many people that how they could lead Yogic life in today's Choatic daily routine... The question which has been put to me is a practical difficulty for many more.

Before giving the answer to this question let me say something about what the yogic life is ?

Yogic life doesn't mean that you have to leave your daily work or you have to restrain yourself from your daily life routines but it means you have to learn how to Remain Calm and posed in all situations... Which is not that easy..

Yoga teaches us how to calm our various energies and how to channelize them.

Most of the people will ask - what do you mean by Channelize.

Channelize means when you start working on your energies/Prana/Vital force then you have also started Channelizing them i.e. to change the direction of that vital force/energy from the outer world to inner world. Which at present has become more Chaotic than the outer world due to the effects of our deeds on our mind and soul.

Let me explain this.. Whenever you closed your eyes.. you start seeing another world of thoughts surrounding you and making you uncomfortable. And to avoid that thought process, you again start focussing on the outer world which again makes you more disturb and in fact, it weakens your natural ability/instint to go inward easily.

For this reason only, the Gurus/Saints/Yogies have invented various Yogic Techniques to make your mind calm and posed by doing simple practices so that your Chitta (mind) could be posed/fixed for some time on the single point.

The meditative techniques or methods or ways may be different for different persons but the aim is the same i.e. to get in touch with yourself by cutting the mind from the outer world.

As I have many times suggested to many persons, that if you don't know anything about yoga even then you can try to sit in simple asana (sitting simply on the bed) with eyes closed and straight spine and doing nothing. Because doing nothing is also a kind of yoga which later or sooner will lead to focused mind. The habit of mind is to go outward and not inward. Due to which reason Maharishi Patanjali said that Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha .. stopping modifications of mind is Yoga.

So in today's world, where there are numerous and never-ending aspirations, desires, situations etc. then how these yogic states could be attained. Now the answer lies in the question.

All such aspirations, desires, situations etc. are the outcome of our deeds done in past or even in past births and it has not been arisen in a day or month or in a year. And such aspirations, desires, have been further strengthened by us due to our day to day lifestyles and old habits.

But if we make a determination to change the same by adopting the correct way of life and by devoting some time in meditation to learn how to make our mind calm and posed then definitely in some time, you will find that your life is not that Chaotic as it was earlier and you will find your life in more harmony with your soul and nature.


I can suggest a very simple method to do this. We call it Naam Jap or Surat Shabd Yoga. Naam Jap is the simplest and easy to do meditative technique for those persons who do not have the time to learn complex meditative techniques.

My suggestion is that Naam/Shabd needs to be taken from the Sadguru/True master, who has practiced this yoga. Though you can start on your own also by taking any name of God (short one) and start focusing on that seed word. It may be Ram, Shreem, Kreem, Allah, Humm etc.

At the time of Chanting such seed words, you can also try to focus on your nose tip or on Kutastha which is a point where the nose and two eyes meet. But my advice is to not do such Yogic Kriyas on your own and try the same in the guidance of an expert teacher.  Please take my words as a caution. But the chanting name of God with eyes closed can make you to achieve calm and posed mind atleast. Although the aim of Yoga is much higher. But such a simple thing will change your life and will make your mind more focussed.

This topic does not end here.... I will keep writing on this...

My next post will be on keval kumbhak... What the Keval Kumbhak is and how it could be achieved.